Page 16 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
I wanted to flee into the house and hide in my room. They couldn’t be here. Not for me.
Dammit! When Lucian and I accidentally brushed our fingers, something happened. I tried to explain it away as static electricity, but it was so much more. In my sleeve, I fisted the hand that had touched him. The skin was still tingly and made more so by him smiling at me as if I were the most exciting thing he’s ever seen.
Balthazar stepped forward holding out a bouquet of red and white flowers. “It’s so good to see you again, Mariska.” The deep rumble of his voice went right to my core, making my panties wet. “These are for you.”
Miss Eloise moved between us and retrieved the flowers from him. I recognized white roses and holly, but not the red flowers that looked like butterfly wings. Even as she transferred the bouquet to my arms, I couldn’t find my voice.
What was going on? My body was still trapped by the expectation of terrible news, but the way Lucian and Balthazar looked like they wanted to eat me up could mean something worse.
I glanced at Jasper who held back at the far end of the porch. He had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black trench, and he seemed to want to be anywhere else but here. Yet that didn’t detract how hot he looked with the way the light hit his perfectly chiseled profile.
As I noticed that, their combined scents hit me with the wind swirling along the side of the house. I swallowed my gasp at the musky richness of a winter forest mingled with peppermint cocoa and oranges. I pressed my thighs together as a certain part of me grew hotter by the second. If there was any fragrance that screamed Christmas, it was this pack’s.
When I didn’t say anything immediately, Miss Eloise smiled at them. “What a lovely bouquet, gentlemen. I’m sure Mariska will thank you when she finds her voice.” I made a small surprised squeak noise that she would say that. “What can we help you with this evening?”
Balthazar’s smoldering gaze never left me. “We would like to ask you out on a date. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since we met on Sunday.” The intensity of his words sent a wave of near dizzying desire through me. He glanced at Miss Eloise. “My mom is willing to chaperon if that’s okay.”
The tissue wrapping around the flowers crinkled as I pressed them against myself. A date? The last thing I needed was to let a gorgeous Alpha distract me from everything I needed to do before I left for California.
“Yes, I trust Liz, but it would also be lovely to chat with her some more. What did you have in mind?” Miss Eloise smiled, sounding sort of amused. Amused!
No. They were planning things out and I hadn’t even said a word! “Wait.” I lightly cleared my throat as that came out kind of wobbly. “I haven’t said yes. I’m really busy this weekend. I need to get the rest of my shopping done and start packing everything up.”
Miss Eloise dipped her head and gave me a look.
“Oh, thank you for the flowers. They really are beautiful,” I quickly added. “But I am busy.”
Yet Balthazar and Lucian didn’t appear deterred. In fact, they shared a little smirk that made me straighten my back and prepare to dig in my heels even deeper.
“If you have shopping, I’d like to take you to the perfect place for it: The Old World Christmas Market at Elkhart Lake.” Balthazar raised a brow as if that offer was tempting. A crowded holiday fair with Christmas music everywhere? Oh no.
“The one at Osthoff Resort?” Miss Eloise perked up as both Lucian and Balthazar nodded. “I haven’t been there in years. How wonderful! I think I will come along and do some shopping myself.”
I scowled and turned to her, and shifted from foot to foot, unable to stand still. “I haven’t said yes.”
“You haven’t said no,” Lucian purred. I nearly gasped at the sound of his voice.
Damn it all. I ignored his statement and how he affected me. “Don’t you guys have to work? It’s the busiest season at your farm. Surely you’re needed.”
“Jasper and Lucian will be working during the day, but they’ll join us in the evening.” Balthazar’s grin said he had a counter for every excuse I put forth. He might be as tough as a bear, but small as I was, I was feistier. People often underestimated me because I was short and an Omega, but I wasn’t going to be moved.
“Mariska,” Lucian breathed out my name with a warm puff of mist. “After talking to you today, I’d like to get to know you better. I’ve never met anyone as bright, compassionate, and beautiful as you.”
Part of me was melting. The last time I received any attention from an Alpha was from Jack, and all that had beentainted by how the bastard treated me. I didn’t know these guys. They could be jerks hiding behind gorgeous smiles too. “I don’t think—”
“Look.” Jasper glided forward and put a hand on each of his friends’ shoulders, but his unreadable stare bore into me. “Let’s not play coy about this. Mariska, you’re a scent match for all of us. It’s a rare thing for a pack. We don’t want to miss our opportunity with someone who could be our Omega.” My heart stuttered.Their what?“To see if we’re more than physically compatible, we need to spend some time together.”
Scent matches. All of them? I believed it for Balthazar and Lucian. They were practically groping me with their eyes. Jasper didn’t seem to give a damn though, and for some reason, that hurt.
“But… but I’m leaving Wisconsin.” It sounded flaky with how I sputtered it out, but it was solid. It didn’t matter if we were scent matches. I wouldn’t be there at the end of the month and so there would be no way this could happen.
I unzipped my coat halfway, feeling too hot again. Flutters lightly battered my stomach and my heart beat wouldn’t slow.
“Nah, you won’t.” Balthazar’s easy confidence made me even hotter while at the same time riling me up to snap back at him that I was definitely going to California.
“We would like to offer you a deal,” Jasper continued smoothly. “Spend time with us and get to know what we’re really like. If by the time you have to leave you still want to go, then we’ll be thankful for the time we’ve had with you. And if you want to stay, well, we’ll be immensely grateful.”
“Give us a chance.” Lucian’s dreamy gray eyes shone with sincerity, chipping at my defenses.
