Page 7 of Knot Alone

Linus stills, and the moment between us stretches like taffy. I’ve been running hot for the last week, but I can still feel the warmth of him two feet and a desk away. It makes me want to burrow into him.

“She’s going to get herself hurt!” Our sticky silence breaks at a shout from the hallway. It’s mortifying to have them out there talking about me ‘needing’ to have sex.

I curl in on myself to yank away, but Linus puts his other hand atop mine, cradling my shaking palm between his.

“I’m sorry for her, but we have a responsibility to him too!” The other caseworker snaps back, and Linus flinches.

“I don’t like sex,” he blurts out.

“What?” Whatever in the world I’m expecting Linus to say, it isn’t that.

“No, it’s—I… rarely like sex… with people.” He struggles to get the words out, like he hasn’t explained this in ages and doesn’t quite remember how. “That’s why my Omega friends like to have me around for heats. They know I’m not going to… do anything. I’m just there, smelling unoffensive, apparently, and they like that.”

“Unoffensive?” My brain catches on the most baffling part of that sentence.

“I’ve been told that’s the best description for my scent.”

“You’re definitely not offensive.” If anything, he’s delicious. His scent isn’t spicy or dark. It’s soothing. Like a mug of the most perfectly seasoned hot chocolate.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

“Fair trade for what you told me. And you deserve to understand why my caseworker is fighting against this.” He strokes his thumb over the back of my hand and electricity shoots down my spine. “It’s not you.”

I feel safe with him. Comfortable. Like the two of us could sit here in this office and wait out the yelling and I’d be happy. “And it’s not you,” I reply.

He smiles at me, tender and relaxed. Linus has full lips that juxtapose the rest of his sharp, pressed lines. I’m hit by the urge to know if those lips are as soft as they look.

The scent of my arousal catches me off guard. Leaning this close over the table, Linus must be able to scent it too. His nostrils flare. This is mortifying.

But Linus is polite. He won’t say anything.

I glance up, ready to follow his lead and play it off. But Linus’ eyes aren’t on my siren-red cheeks. They’re looking straight down my gaping shirt at the clear view of my breasts, where I’ve leaned over a bit too much trying to reach his hand.

My embarrassment peaks and Linus’ whole face flinches to the ceiling. “Sorry.”

What? My breasts are small, nothing to write home about. And I’m wearing a skin-toned bralette. Nothing sexy. Nothing worth staring at.

And nothing worth the sharp scent of his nutmeg I can scent mixing with my raspberries, turning into something that makes my mouth water and my core wet.

I’m still mortified at scenting my arousal, even if Linus smells just as turned on as me. His Alpha pheromones blend with mine. The repressed, heat-addled part of my brain wants to shove him back in that chair and curl up in his lap so I can see if those two fingers are worth the ride.

What the hell, Maggie? Stop thinking about him that way! He’s just being nice and you’re being a tart! I yank my hand back and try to apologize for everything, but the second we break contact, my lower belly clenches in a crippling cramp. I hunch over, frozen, unable to do anything but ride out the unexpected burst of pain.

Linus’ hand wraps around the back of my neck like a hot pack. That’s not where I’m hurting, but at the touch of his skin, the pain vanishes. I reel in the yo-yo of pain to pleasure and come back to myself sitting in the chair. Linus’ steady hand is pressing my face into the curve of his throat. His other hand is on the chair’s arm, not touching me without permission.

“I’m sorry.” I croak.

“You’re stressed and in pre-heat. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“Still, I’m sorry.” Of their own accord, my fingers flutter out to brush over the sleek lapel of Linus’ jacket.

Linus clears his throat. “An orgasm would help.”

“What?” I startle up to meet his eyes, but neither of us leans away. His eyes are the same warm, chocolate brown of his scent.

“Orgasms help pre-heat cramping. Especially orgasms accompanied by an Alpha.”

I don’t… what?

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