Page 21 of The Knot Before Christmas

But Nick isn’t taking this very well. He’s pissed off and angry, because not only did this job go sideways, we’re stuck in this house unable to get the product out of the basement and safely where it needs to be. Add in the fact that we found our scent match when none of us were looking, and it’s causing him to spiral a bit.

“Fuck you,” she curses, nostrils flaring. If looks could kill, he would be six-feet-under.

“Nah, Little Joyrider,” he chuckles. “I’d much rather be fucking you.” He reaches up and brushes some of her wild, dirty-blonde curls out of her face. Her chest heaves with each breath she takes. “If you're a good girl and ask nicely, maybe I’ll gift you the pleasure of my cock.”

Yup. I just know that’s not going to go over well with Nova. She’s unlike any Omega we’ve met before. She’s sassy, strong willed, has a mouth with no filter, and a ‘gives no fucks’ kind of attitude. I hate to admit that her bitterness is a bit of a turn on. Fuck it, everything about her is a turn on.

The image of her naked in the bathroom earlier will forever be seared in my mind.

I have plans of wrapping one hand around my dick and the other around my knot as I fuck my hand to that image.

She bats Nick’s hand away, curling her lip back in a snarl. “I’d rather eat shards of glass than touch your dick.”

Nick’s hand shoots out, wrapping around her neck. He yanks her to her feet, pulling her to him and getting in her face. I take a step forward, wariness filling me as she gasps, eyes widening in fear.

“Let me make things fucking clear,” he says. His voice is deep, low, and dangerous as he bends down, getting in her face until they’re nose to nose. “Just in case I didn’t make myself clear before. I am not a nice person, Omega. Don’t fucking push me. If you do, don’t blame me for the things that will happen. I will not take any disrespect from you, do you fucking understand me?”

“What are you going to do?” She gasps as he tightens his grip. “Kill me?”

A sinister chuckle sounds around us, and I pray Nova stops pushing him. He’s only going to take so much before he snaps. And I don’t want to get in the middle of this.

A part of me screams to defend my Omega, but then there’s another part that tells me that she’s not mine. Even if the universe sent her to us. She’s an inconvenience. That‘s it.

At least that's what I keep on telling myself.

“Think of it this way, Nova. We’re in the middle of nowhere. No one knows we’re here. If I killed you, no one would miss you. Your mom is fucking your ex. They don’t care about you. If you died, no one would come looking.”

Fucking hell, man. That was a low blow.

“Nick!” Ian barks. “That's enough.”

Nova’s eyes fill with tears, her lower lip quivering. I feel bad for her. Damn it.

“Nick, back off,” I say, unable to hold back anymore. “She didn’t ask to be here anymore than we did.”

He lets go of her throat and she stumbles back a few steps. “I’m going to bed,” Nova whispers, stepping past us and running up stairs.

“What the fuck is your problem!” Ian gets in Nick’s face. “That's not how you're supposed to treat your Omega!”

“She’s not my Omega,” Nick snarls.

“She is!” Ian shouts back. “And not just any Omega. Our scent match. This might not be what we wanted at this very point in our life. And yes, it might fuck up our plans, but that’s life. Unexpected things happen. But she’s ours, whether you like it or not. And I don't plan to leave here without her after this is all done. I will not abandon her. That’s not what Alphas fucking do to their Omegas. We’re supposed to love her, treat her like a fucking queen. And you treat her like she’s nothing more than a common whore. Fuck you, Nick. You might not be able to see the gift we were given, but I do. And I’m not letting you take her from me.”

He shoulders past Nick and storms up the stairs.

“What the fuck is wrong with him?” Nick growls, running a hand through his wet hair. “Has he lost the plot? The deal was to bring her back after we get rid of our shipment. Now he’s gone and fallen for the damn Omega.”

“Nick, you’re acting like it’s just easy to shut off the hormones and biological urges Alphas have for Omegas. You damn well know it’s not. And with a scent match Omega, it’s a whole other ballgame. Do you know how hard it’s been to keep my hands to myself? Hardest fucking thing I’ve had to do in my entire life, especially when all I want to do is taste her slick and knot her until we both passed out.”

Nick shakes his head, growling an annoyed rumble in his chest as he heads for the kitchen. “This is why we avoided Omegas. Why we only fucked with Betas. Scent matches were never in the plan, Will.”

“I know the last thing we needed was to be stuck here with an Omega. But did you forget the fact it was you who brought her here. How else did you expect this to go? Reality is, we can’t leave her locked up there. We have no real reason to.”

“Easy. Just lock her in and let her out to piss,” Nick grumbles, going over to the fridge and grabbing a beer.

I sigh heavily. “No, Nick. She didn’t do anything to deserve being locked up like that. I know you're a raging asshole, but you’re not that mean.”

“I’ve killed men with my bare hands, Will,” he scoffs. “Don’t tell me I’m some fucking nice guy.

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