Page 48 of Knot Your Karma
I nod, though I’m not sure it’s true. “That was... intense.”
“That was you being incredible under pressure,” Declan says from the driver’s seat, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror, expression fierce with protective pride. “The way you handled those conversations, the information you gathered—we wouldn’t have learned half of it without your expertise.”
“But we still don’t have the compass.” My voice still shakes.
“No, but we know where it is, we know who has it, and we know he’s not completely unwilling to deal,” Reed says, turning to look at me, expression warm despite tension still radiating from his posture. “That’s more than we had this morning.”
“And we know you can handle yourself in situations that would make most people run for the hills,” Adrian adds, thumb stroking across my cheek with gentle reverence. “Even when it gets dangerous.”
But they don’t understand how dangerous it really was. They think tonight was about maritime collectors and difficult negotiations. They don’t know Marcus Webb’s recognition, Blackwater’s threats, and the entire evening was about my connection to a criminal network that could destroy all of us.
“We should get you home,” Adrian says.
The drive back is quiet, all of us processing what happened and what comes next. But there’s something different in the truck—a shift in our dynamic that has nothing to do with the evening’s danger and everything to do with how we handled it together.
They kept me safe. They trusted my expertise. Theyworked together seamlessly to protect me and achieve their goal.
And I led them straight into danger while lying about why it was dangerous.
When we reach my house, Declan and Reed head to their truck with promises to regroup tomorrow and plan next steps. But Adrian walks me to the door.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asks as I unlock the front door with hands that only shake slightly.
“Getting there.” My pulse still races from leftover fear and something else entirely.
He steps closer, backing me against the door frame, his presence surrounding me with protective energy that makes my brain go quiet and grateful. “You were amazing tonight. The way you read that room, handled those conversations, kept your cool when things got threatening...”
“I was terrified.”
“You were terrified, and you did it anyway. That’s courage.” His hands find my waist, warm through dress fabric, and suddenly the space between us feels charged with more than protective energy. Adrenaline from the evening transforms into something hungrier, more desperate.
“Adrian, I need to tell—” I start, but words disappear when his mouth finds mine.
The kiss tastes like claiming and adrenaline—alpha relief that his omega is safe mixing with need to mark what’s his.
“When I saw that bastard looking at you like that,” he murmurs against my lips, voice rough with emotion, every word vibrating with controlled intensity, “all I could think about was getting you somewhere safe. Somewhere mine.”
“You did.” My hands fist in his jacket, anchoring myself to solid warmth. “You kept me safe.”
“Always,” he says, and the word is promise and claiming all at once, fierce and certain and absolute.
He kisses me again, deeper this time, and I melt into it.
When he finally pulls back, his eyes are dark with satisfaction and something possessive that makes my knees weak.
“Get some rest,” he says, though his voice suggests rest is the last thing on his mind. “Tomorrow we figure out how to get that compass back.”
That compass. Guilt hits like a physical blow, sharp and breathless, because it’s not just any compass anymore. It’s evidence of my betrayal, sitting in Sterling Ashworth’s collection like a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy everything.
“Adrian,” I start, needing to tell him, needing to confess everything.
“Tomorrow,” he says firmly, kissing my forehead with gentle finality that makes my chest ache with undeserved tenderness. “Tonight you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
I watch him walk back to his truck, lips still tingling from his claiming kiss, body still humming with protective energy and suppressed desire.
Tomorrow I have to tell them everything. Tomorrow I have to confess about Blake, about the theft, about the danger I’ve led them into.
Tonight, I’m going to hold onto the feeling of being protected, wanted, claimed by someone who thinks I’m worth keeping safe.
