Page 12 of Knot Alone

“And I know you were just being a good Alpha because my pheromones were all over the place, but… I feel better than I have in a week. Please.”

Linus stays close and drops a sweet kiss to my cheek before he murmurs back. “I’m honored. Frankly, I was hoping to.”

I smile. Save for that first real heal that doctors always want Omegas to pass under medical supervision, I’ve spent every heat at home alone. My heats aren’t painful, they’re just uncomfortable. Also, locking myself away from my family for the entire week has been difficult to the point of impossibility. During my last heat, I spent the final day with a hot pack on my belly and a laptop on my knees, going through a backlog of homework assignments my nephews needed to have checked.

I don’t want to endure a heat away from home, but if I must, Linus brings me comfort. “Thank you.” I sigh.

Linus cups my face and leans back far enough for us to meet one another’s eyes. He brushes his thumb along the line of my cheek. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. More all right than I have been.”

Linus stays there, his hands comfortable on my skin while he waits for more. I wish I could nod and moan my way through this conversation as clearly as I did through the sex. “I was nervous about having my heat someplace new. And nervous that… something would go wrong, you know?”

“I do.” Linus doesn’t seem like the type to have terrible, painful ruts, but the general anxiety of not being in control of yourself is probably the same.

I take his hands in mine and hold them close, summoning up the courage to say what I’m really thinking. “I trust you.”

It feels dirty to say. Dirtier and more intimate than any dirty talk could ever be. But it’s true. Linus doesn’t feel like a stranger. When the caseworkers shouted so much my body panicked into cramps, Linus quelled the stress. My brain and my body have never trusted so quickly before. Linus knew just what I needed when I couldn’t put it into words.

I barely have sex with people after I’ve been dating for months. And I certainly don’t have sex in an office with people I’ve just met. But what I did with Linus… it felt right.

Our peaceful moment breaks with the sounds of hissed scuffling in the hall. A sharp, “Don’t!” is all the warning we get before the door jiggles. The door unlocks and rams against the chair Linus shoved under the knob, which was a smart choice because I’m horrified at someone just walking in on us. What if it had been three minutes ago? How did they know we finished with the aftercare?

“Um.” A voice says from the other side as the door rattles again. “Are you all right?”

That’s Peterson, my caseworker. Linus checks with me and I roll my eyes in permission.

“Please verify that you’re all right!” Peterson shouts, and someone else out there—I assume Linus’ caseworker—sighs so loud I can hear it through the wood.

Linus tosses on his jacket and adjusts the tuck of his shirt. The man is as perfectly put together as he was when I walked in. They won’t be able to look at him and tell what we’ve been doing.

Thankfully, I don’t look terrible. Somewhere in the recovery, Linus righted my shirt and tugged my skirt down after using tissues to gently wipe away the excess from between my legs. So long as I stay in this chair behind the desk, we’ll look fine.

Other than the sweat cooling on my skin. And the scent of our arousal. And what I’m sure is a just-fucked flush to my cheeks.

Linus waits for my signal before he goes to the door. He stops just long enough to pick up my panties and tuck them in the interior breast pocket of his jacket with a wink.

Linus whips open the door before my caseworker can knock again. “Can I help you?”

“Mr. Lockridge!” Peterson chirps, like he’d been the one riding Linus’ tongue and hadn’t tried to walk in on us. “I’m Mr. Peterson.” He holds out his hand and barrels right along when Linus doesn’t take it. “I just knew you two would be a good match. And can I tell you how thrilled I am that Ms. Page finally listened to me? She needs an Alpha to help her through her heat, despite her beliefs to the contrary. But you know how Omegas are. I can’t imagine how she’s been suffering all for the sake of misunderstanding.”

An ugly flush roars up my throat, and my stomach roils. Peterson has been condescending every time we’ve met, but never like this. Never talking to some random Alpha about my heats instead of talking to me. It’s mortifying.

“Get out.” Linus snaps.

“What?”

“Unless Maggie would like you to stay.” Linus glances over his shoulder at me and waits for me to shake my head. “She doesn’t. So, get out.”

Peterson tries to puff up, but it’s useless. Linus doesn’t need to be tall—though he is—he has a presence. I don’t need to see Linus’ face to know he’s glowering without moving a single muscle, but it’s enough to make the caseworker stumble back.

“You can’t,” Peterson says, but it comes out more like a question than a demand. Linus could handle this man, and so could the other caseworker, but I’ve let Peterson talk to me like I’m an idiot for the last two weeks. I avoided calling him on it because I didn’t consider the fight worth it when I wasn’t going to cave to his demands anyway. But today, I’ve let him haul me up here to interrupt Linus’ meeting, let him speak for me to the other caseworker, and let him toss me into a room with an Alpha. All so he could make what happened happen.

I’m mortified I let him play me like that, but only for a moment. Yes, I let Peterson lull me into this room, but everything that came after was a choice. Linus made sure of that.

And now, he’s making sure I don’t have to deal with a caseworker who talks to me like I’m an idiot child instead of a grown woman. Disliking confrontation doesn’t mean I can’t handle it. Doesn’t mean I need a caseworker to order me around. It’s like I’ve floundered through everything with Linus. Like I’ve made him nudge me along while he’s given me space to express myself and made me safe.

And, you know, given me two screaming orgasms.

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