Page 56 of Knot So Sweet

A thrill raced through me and I smirked.

"Like what you see, princess?" I purred.

Though my heart hammered faster with each passing second. I wanted to rile her up, to remind her just how much she wanted me earlier. How it felt when I kissed her.

A kiss I planned to repeat very soon.

She swallowed hard, her eyes narrowing slightly, yet I caught the flicker of lust in her gaze. "Shut up, Ghost," she grumbled, her voice laced with frustration, but the blush creeping across her skin told a different story.

I chuckled at her defiance. She couldn’t hide how her body responded to mine. It was intoxicating, watching her struggle between her desire and her need to maintain that tough exterior.

She was close to letting us in. Viper and I exchanged a knowing look.

Doc grabbed a stool and rolled it closer to examine my shoulder. His fingers were gentle yet methodical as he prodded the injury, his brow furrowing in concentration. I could hear Viper and Candi arguing in the background, their voices rising, but I was too focused on Doc’s examination to pay them much attention.

"You’re lucky," he muttered, glancing at the bruise. "Could’ve been a lot worse. Just a nasty bruise and some muscle strain."

Candi snorted from behind me, her annoyance palpable. "You’re being stubborn, Viper. At least consider it," she snapped, her words sharp as a knife. Clearly, she wasn’t over their earlier battle of wills.

"And you’re being reckless," Viper shot back, his tone ice-cold, every bit the protective alpha I knew him to be. "I won’t work with the Hounds."

The tension in the room thickened, a tangible thing that buzzed in the air. I could feel Candi's frustration simmering just beneath the surface, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer she could hold on before her heat took over.

Doc glanced up at Candi with a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. And turned back to me.

"Well Ghost, your shoulder could have been worse. But still, you should take it easy for a while."

"Can’t afford to take it easy, Doc."

Not with the chance of having Candi.

His gaze flicked to Viper, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "Are you going to introduce me?"

Viper grunted in response, his usual way of saying no without actually saying it. The tension between him and Candi still simmered just beneath the surface, but in this space, it seemed to settle slightly. Doc's calming beta scent–honey and vanilla—had that effect on people.

One of the many reasons he made a good doctor.

Candi clicked her tongue in annoyance, breaking the silence. "I'm Candi."

Doc smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's nice to meet you." His gaze flicked to mine and then back to hers, as if he wanted to say more, but thought better of it. I frowned, sensing the unspoken words hanging in the air.

He stood up, moving to his desk, but I could feel his eyes lingering on Candi, his gaze sharp and probing, like he was reading her in a way that went deeper than surface-level observations.

"Candi," he said suddenly, making her blink in surprise. "Your heat’s coming up soon, isn’t it? Are you spending it at the compound?"

Her entire body stiffened, and for a split second, I saw something flash in her eyes—something akin to vulnerability. It was a fleeting moment, quickly masked by her usual fierce demeanor.

"Your scent," Doc continued, matter-of-fact as always, "I can smell it. You’re close to cycling. I have a room upstairs you can use. Plenty of the club's omegas spend their heats here."

Candi’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, and I could see the fight brewing within her. She hated being called out on this—hated showing any kind of weakness. And her heat?

That was as vulnerable as it got for an omega.

"No," Viper snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "No way are you spending your heat anywhere but at my house."

Candi shot Viper a glare. "Who are you to tell me where I'm spending my heat, Viper?"

Viper shifted uncomfortably against the wall, his jaw tight as a coiled spring. He growled in frustration. The tension radiating from him was palpable, and I could feel the weight of his protectiveness suffocating the air between us.

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