Page 68 of Knot Just Their Nanny
He doesn’t look convinced but doesn’t push it, turning his attention to Mia instead, stroking her cheek with the back of his finger gently. “Want me to try?” he asks, indicating the bottle.
“Sure,” I murmur. “You’re riding a high. Go with it.”
He snickers and takes her from me, settling himself comfortably in the chair as I pass him the bottle.
Watching them together eases some of the tension in my chest. This feels normal; this feels safe.
But there’s nothing normal or safe about the way my pulse still hums from that kiss with Zara in the kitchen. The memory teases at my mind - her body against mine, her soft lips, the intensity in her eyes that matched mine. It scares me because it felt so right despite being so wrong.
It has to be wrong. Doesn’t it? It’s too soon for any of this.
But I can’t push the thought of the mating bond breaking when Zara was in her heat. It’s too much of a coincidence. Isn’t it?
I glance back at Liam as he manages to get Mia to suckle on her bottle. I don’t begrudge him the triumphant smile. Who cares who feeds her as long as she drinks?
“I kissed her,” I blurt out, full of unwanted exclamations today, it seems.
Liam raises an eyebrow. “Zara?”
“Obviously,” I growl, frustrated.
“And how was it?”
We stare at each other.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say after you’ve given her your knot.”
“You know about that.”
“This is my fucking house. I know what goes on in it.”
Liam shrugs, looking as unconcerned as his words would suggest. “I told you, this doesn’t bother me. If Zara wants us both, then I’m cool with it.”
But his words, meant to be reassuring, only grip my insides tighter. I know Liam’s easy going nature, but this isn’t just about what Zara wants. It’s about what I want too and if I’m honest, I haven’t got a clue.
Watching Mia, completely absorbed in her own little world of her bottle and Uncle Liam, I see her simplicity. My life – our lives – have just turned into something that resembles a lopsided Rubik’s Cube and I’m not sure there’s a solution where all the colours match up.
“Liam, it’s not that easy,” I finally admit, my voice low. “My bond with Nicole broke earlier, because of Zara. Her heat?—”
“I know. It brought on your rut. Same as me. It’s how I was able to help her. And weirdly, I did help her. Her heat wasbrought to the front to deal with all these underlying issues. Fate’s a bitch like that. But it’s not just about me; you and Henry are involved as well. He bought her a blanket, which she put in her nest. I could smell his scent all over it. She wanted him close by with her. She’s caught in the middle of three alphas, but as far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t have to choose.”
“Agreed,” Henry says, coming into the room. “She really had the blanket in her nest?”
“Yeah,” Liam says, looking up with a smile. “You moving in here was the tipping point. Her pre-heat bubbled over. I think it’s back under control for now, but her full heat will be back in a few days, and you two either need to shit or get off the pot, as that saying goes.”
“God, that’s disgusting,” I groan.
“But you get my drift, yeah?”
“I don’t even know where I stand with her,” Henry murmurs.
“Then go and find out.”
“How do you know so much about omegas and their heats?” I ask, annoyed that he seems to be this expert all of a sudden.
He gives me a smug grin worthy of Jeremy Clarkson. “I’ve made it my business to know. I’m not a selfish dick.”
Henry hesitates at the door, looking as though he’s about to go into battle rather than into the kitchen to have a heart-to-heart. I don’t blame him. Zara is a whirlwind – one that’s got us all twisted up inside.
