Page 202 of Tangled in Knots

“Still an optimist, despite everything,”he murmurs. “You’re such a treasure, Short Stuff. I’m going to follow your lead on this then. Keep breathing, and I’ll hold onto my hope.”

“Okay,” she whispers as he says goodbye.

“Rock finds ways to try to get me to show emotion or anger by saying the worst things,” I tell her. “No matter what, I can’t show any emotions or care because I’m a monster made in his image. I look like him in every way that matters.”

“I don’t think so,” Adira breathes. “Your eyes have flecks of yellow in them, your hair looks like it has electricity running through it, because of its wildness. The two of you are very different. I don’t believe your father cares about anyone except himself. Alignment of interests only extends so far.”

“You really think that?” I ask, my hands supporting her as she shifts, until she’s straddling my lap.

Her fingers run through my dark curls, her fingers curving up as she watches them bounce back. They make me appear younger even though I’m the oldest child. Slowly, she traces the features of my face until she’s rubbing over my well kept facial hair.

While her eyes are red and her mascara streaks over her cheeks, her breaths are more even now. It’s as if she’s calming down with every touch along my skin.

“Yeah,” she murmurs. “If you tell me it’ll be okay at the end, I’ll believe it.”

Gazing into her midnight blue eyes feels like a gift I don’t deserve, and my hands tighten along her waist. There are so many different ways this could go sideways, things my father could do to change our plans. None of it matters, because I have to trust that I’ll be better than my father in every way.

His plans only go off without a hitch, because he has my pack to carry the burden. Except this time, our interests don’t align. My feelings for my father are ensnared in fear, disgust, and anger, and have never included love.

That emotion belongs to my pack and this little omega in my lap. I’ll give them fucking everything.

“It’ll be okay in the end,” I rasp, her faith in me making my eyes itch as my tear ducts threaten to actually work. A lone tear slides along my cheek, and I pull her down to kiss her.

“I promise I won’t let him touch you,” I growl, feeling an insane amount of anger at the very idea.

“I can manage that if you keep me armed,” she whispers. “You’re going to have to leave me.”

“I hate it,” I confess, my fingers shaking as I push them into her hair. I could fuck them with the amount of pins in her hair, and she makes a noise of caution, but I don’t care. Somehow I manage to avoid them, pulling her into another kiss. “They’re all going to be there together, which makes them three times more fucked up.”

“I want them to think I’m an easy target,” Adira says, kissing me back. Her hips shift, and she gasps as she feels my hard cock against her hot cunt. Whimpering, she tries to focus.

“I do my best work when people don’t expect me to strike.”

“And you also get hurt,” I counter. “You’re stubborn as fuck and hard headed. We have that going for you.”

Grinning, she shrugs. “I have a lot more than just that,” she says, humming as I devour her lips.

Our words to kiss exchange rates are about the same at the moment.

“You do,” I agree. “Beautiful, brave, selfless. Those are all things I’ll use to describe you.”

“Sounding better,” she teases me, her hips moving as if on their own as she grinds down on my cock. All I want is to sink inside of her, fuck her, knot her, and?—

A sharp knock on my window makes me jump as I gasp. The tint on this vehicle is barely short of legal, so as I turn my head, I know the policeman on the other side can’t see me. It does, however, mean the beautiful omega on my lap is going to have to move.

Cockblocked by the police. Wonderful.

“Ugh, my erection is going to be the death of me,” I groan. “Shift off, baby. Or I’m going to throw money at him to leave and fuck you in the car. I really want you to have better than that.”

“Do I need to remind you of the library?” the brat teases me as she moves back to her seat.

“Your ass would look so pretty with my handprints, baby girl,” I grunt, enjoying the way she gives me a saucy smile. I don’t want her to be afraid of me.

Hitting the button to lower the window, I’m very aware of how much the vehicle smells like cookies and leather. It’s an odd combination, but smells incredible to me.

“Hello, officer,” I say calmly, brow raised as if I don’t have a care in the world.

“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t having car trouble, is all,” he says. “This stretch always has people break down.”

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