Page 152 of Tangled in Knots

“When have you ever had any patience?” she teases me.

Leaning down, I brush my lips against hers, enjoying the tiny gasp she releases.

“I have tons of patience, baby. I think you’re confusing me with the wrong brother,” I murmur, rubbing my nose against hers. I guess I’m going to have to show her with a little edging. “We should go inside and skate, don’t you think?”

Straightening, I smirk at her wide eyes and already panting breaths.

“So it’s like that, I see,” she murmurs, turning to face the door to walk inside.

While the rink is outside, the payment station and skates are inside, keeping the employees out of the wind and cold. I wrap my arm around her waist, wishing it was warmer for a small moment so there would be less layers between us.

“I plan to have you swallow your words, Adira,” I murmur as I pay for the both of us.

“I can have patience too, Damon,” she purrs, collecting her skates with a smirk.

Oh baby girl, a game of cat and mouse is my favorite.

There are benches surrounding the rink when we head outside, a place for Adira and I to sit as we change out our shoes for skates. She has good balance as we walk out to the ice, carefully getting the feel for skating.

Not wanting to make her self-conscious, I watch as I slowly skate next to her. Dad is the reason I know how to skate, andonly because he said it was important for us to be nimble and fast. I wouldn’t suggest having your kids skate on a frozen lake in the dark. It’s an absolute miracle the damn ice didn’t crack on us.

The list of childhood trauma my father inflicted on us is long. Adira’s pinkie hooks in mine, chasing away the cold as we skate around the rink.

There’s a few other people out here, parents with children as well as adults without, creating a fun environment. It’s in the middle of a beautiful park, the trees covered in snow.

“Where did you find this place?” Adira asks, looking around. “I haven’t had a chance to explore the city, but this is so pretty.”

“Minneapolis has a lot of great things to do. I did a little research, and found lots of great parks,” I admit. “You’re inside so much of the time, I figured this would be a nice change of pace.”

“It is,” she says. “I’ve never skated before, ah!”

Adira manages to catch her balance, my lips press against each other to hide my smile.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” I praise her, moving behind her to pull her tightly against me. “I got you, baby. I promise.”

Adira stills at my words, and I know she can feel the weight of my tone. Tapping her hip, I ease her into skating again.

“I’ve been looking at majors, so I can narrow the focus of my courses, but it’s overwhelming,” I tell her, pulling the focus of our conversation into another direction.

“That’s what you want to talk about?” she asks, amused. “I know I don’t have to choose for a while, but I think I may have discovered a new passion.”

“What’s that?” I ask her, brow raised. I know she can’t see me, but to be honest, the feel of her hips in my hands is heaven.

“Pissing off old women who have no business giving advice,” she says. “ROWS is airing podcasts that make my skin crawl.Telling omegas how to dress, act, even what occupations are the best for them to work in.”

“Are there jobs that they said omegas shouldn’t?” I ask, interested. If anything is going to piss Adira off, it’s this. There’s nothing sexier than this woman when she’s angry about something other than me.

“Actually, Emilia released a podcast today about that,” Adira grumbles. “Bartending, real estate, stripping, and owning their own businesses. The stress of owning a business has apparently been known to sour an omega’s scent, making her or him less attractive.”

“Wow,” I breathe. “She’s really pushing the envelope here.”

“You’d be surprised how many people thanked her for this,” Adira says. “Aisling has mentioned a few times that she had a hard time getting people to work with her when she was trying to buy property. She had money ready to purchase, yet people would tell her they didn’t have any properties. Aisling is certain it’s due to her age, but what if it’s also because she’s an omega?”

“It’s possible,” I admit. “Omegas sometimes get treated as less than, because alphas are taught they need to be protected.”

“I’d like to be able to protect myself,” she mutters.

“You’re certainly getting there,” I tell her. “I want to work on your upper arm strength. If you can scale someone’s body to ah, use pointy things, then I’ll feel better about it.”

---