Page 69 of Knot Your Baby

“Good. I want you to.”

I laugh, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. This time when I kiss her, there’s nothing gentle about it. My free hand tangles in her silky hair, tilting her head back as I deepen the kiss, savoring her sweet taste.

She melts against me, her fingers gripping my shirt as our tongues dance together.

The world seems to fade away, leaving only the two of us in this blissful moment. At least until Stone makes a small noise between us.

We break apart, both breathing hard.

“That was...” She blinks up at me, cheeks flushed.

“Perfect,” I finish for her, pressing my forehead to hers. “You’re perfect.”

Chapter 19

Thorne

I lean against thekitchen counter, watching her flit around our kitchen like she owns it.

Five days.

Five fucking days and she’s completely transformed the place.

Miller hovers near her, taking plates from her hands before she turns and stretches to reach for the cabinet. “Let me get those.”

“I’m not an invalid.” She giggles. She has this tinkling sound in her laugh that also reminds me of someone else.

But I’ve dealt with omegas like her before. And I know what she’s up to. Despite her telling me she’s here for Zane, I know she came here for me. She’s a con artist who reeled in my brother and Miller like two stupid flapping fish.

Why can’t they see it?

Zane sits at the island, watching her with puppy dog eyes. Pathetic. He’s been like this since he met her.

Both of them have.

Miller hasn’t pulled any more late shifts, and Zane...well, he’s just being more obvious about his obsession. It’s like he doesn’t give a shit about what I think.

They’re infatuated with her.

I’m just glad the air constantly smells of baked goods, not that it matters to me. But Miller asks me to come off the scent blockers because he wants me to smell her intoxicating scent. But Freya just managed to find the same level of perfume that matches my scent and then had it made up in the spray or whatever it is she is using to mask her true scent. Just like Maya did before I called her out on it.

It’s not real. I’d know. Soon Miller and Zane will too.

“Who wants chocolate chips in their pancakes?” She beams at Miller, then turns that sunshine smile on Zane. She doesn’t even glance my way.Good.

“I only want strawberries,” Zane coos, like a love dove, or more like a fucking pigeon that’s taken refuge on the balcony.

The sizzle of batter hitting the pan fills the kitchen. I can smell the real strawberries, and that’s enough for my inner alpha to claw at my chest.

It’s an identical level of sweetness to the girl at Club Midnight months ago—no, it’s nearly a year ago now—ten months at least. Anyway, that omega was more glamorous, and that’s why I thought it was Maya and we were playing a cat-and-mouse game that turned me on.

She always tries to reel me in and that night I was weak.

But it wasn’t Maya.

I scrub my hand over my stubble jaw. I’ll never fall for that again. That night she got me, and I don’t want to think about how I fell so easily.

Stone gurgles from his bouncer. She leaves the pancake to sizzle as she strokes under his chin and coos at him. Somethinginside me aches when I see her do that. I suspect it’s my need for a child of my own. I don’t know, but whatever it is. My chest tightens, watching them together.

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