Page 44 of Knotting With A Stranger

“That’s... a very specific kind of dream, and hot,” I gasp. Then I mentally shake myself, reality crashing back in. “I mean, no. Not hot. Not at all.”

Liar, a voice whispers in my head. I’m soaked through just from his words.

His mouth curves into a knowing smile. “You’re a terrible liar, Lily,” he murmurs. “Your pulse is racing.” His gaze drops to my throat, where my heartbeat must be visible, then back up to my eyes with naked hunger. “Your cheeks are flushed.” His free hand hovers near my face, not quite touching. “And your pupils are blown wide.”

I turn my face away, unable to maintain eye contact without revealing too much. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” His fingertips finally, finally make contact with my skin, turning my chin gently but firmly back toward him. The touch is an inferno, sending sparks down my spine, my body shuddering beneath him. “Tell me you don’t feel this, and I’ll back off.”

I open my mouth to deny it, to lie, to protect myself from whatever this is, but the words won’t come. I can’t lie—not about this, not with his gaze seeing straight through me.

“I have to go,” I blurt suddenly, ducking under his arm and pulling away. His hand shoots out, catching my wrist in a grip that’s firm but not painful.

“Lily.”

“No, I don’t think we should continue... anything.” My words shake despite my best efforts. “I need to be able to trust you, and I don’t.” The words come out in a rush, more honest than I planned.

His expression shifts from desire to confusion, his brows drawing together. “What are you talking about?”

I pull free from his grip and take a steadying breath. My hand trembles as I push a curl behind my ear, buying time. Just say it. Rip off the Band-Aid.

“Look, I know you were in prison, and you never once were truthful with me about that.”

He flinches, just slightly, but it’s enough to confirm what I already suspected. My sister had been right all along.

Damn!

His face goes through a rapid succession of emotions—shock, anger, and something that might be shame—before settling into a carefully blank mask. “How did you…”

“Does it matter?” I back toward the stairs, suddenly very aware that I’m alone in a basement with a man I know nothing about—except that he’s been incarcerated. “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t lie,” he says. “I just didn’t tell you everything.”

“A lie of omission is still a lie,” I counter, finding my footing on the first step. “And it’s a pretty significant thing to omit, don’t you think? ‘Hey, by the way, I’m messaging you from prison’.”

His jaw clenches. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it like?” I demand, anger rising to combat the fear and disappointment churning in my gut. “Please, explain to me how you accidentally forgot to mention you were behind bars while we were sharing our deepest secrets.”

“Lily—” he starts, taking a step toward me.

I hold up a hand. “No. I need... I need to process this.” I turn and climb the stairs, heart pounding in my ears, tears threatening despite my determination to hold them back.

Now, I’m not only stuck in a house with three Alphas, but one of them is a criminal who lied to me. A criminal I’m still, despite everything, painfully attracted to.

For all I know, they all are. Criminals, that is.

And the worst part? That doesn’t terrify me nearly as much as it should.

12

ARCHER

The ancient mahogany desk beneath my fingertips carries the scars of generations, much like the half-map spread beneath the heavy sheet of glass atop it. Hunter’s grandfather had a flair for the dramatic—splitting a treasure map in half between cousins who can barely stand to breathe the same mountain air.

Flames crackle in the stone fireplace across the study. The room wraps around Hunter and me like a leather-bound embrace—our sanctuary in the cabin fortress. Floor-to-ceiling shelves groan under the weight of books and weathered journals. The scent of aged paper and wood smoke feels more like home than any place I’ve ever owned.

Outside, the snowstorm batters the windows with increasing fury. White noise to accompany our treasure hunt.

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