Page 17 of Knot Their Reality

He smells of cinnamon, baking spices, and a hint of freshly poured tea. It takes a moment for me to realize that his scent reminds me of visiting Greg and Sylvia, making me feel instantly comfortable with him even though he's an alpha and not a beta. This is usually a response saved for betas—at least from omegas.

"Hi." I hold my hand out to him. "I'm Sophia."

Now he does smile, or at least a half smile that tugs up one side of his lips. When he speaks, I hear the hints of a British accent. "So you are, and you are quite breathtaking in this dress. I'm Brooks Wessex."

"Did you spend some time in England, Brooks?"

He laughs. "I did. The accent gives me away every time. I was born there, and we moved to America when I was six or so. Shortly after our move, my parents divorced, and Mum moved back to England while I stayed here with my dad. I would visit her every summer so I never fully got rid of the accent."

I laugh with him. "And you never should. Accents are sexy."

"Well, that is good to know."

I flush, realizing I'd just admitted I think he's sexy—which he is, so I don't know why I'm embarrassed by it. I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin, refusing to be meek just because I've embarrassed myself. "Why don't you tell me more about yourself?"

"I'm thirty, an alpha, and I work as a nurse practitioner in the emergency services unit. Which is just a fancy way of saying I'm like half a doctor who works in the ER." He laughs, and I find myself doing the same. "I love my job, but it can be hard at times. So in my downtime, I enjoy hiking, playing guitar, and reading—only smutty romance for this guy."

"So, you're telling me you're the perfect man?" I lift my eyebrows. "You're a nurse—which is an amazing profession, and I'm sure you do more work than the doctors so it's probably more like you're a doctor and a half. You play guitar, and you love reading smutty romance? Will you marry me now, or do we have to wait?"

Brooks laughs again, throwing his head back as his whole body shakes. "You know what, Sophia? I think you and I are going to get along just fine. I'm not going to answer your proposal yet because you need to learn my flaws before I can agree to marry you."

"Well, then I look forward to learning them."

"Why don't you tell me something about yourself, Sophia?" Brooks asks as he steps closer, making our conversation feel more intimate—even with the cameras still rolling.

"Oh, uh..." I blink, trying to think of something interesting about myself. I'm a workaholic. It's not like I have the time to do much more than work. "You're going to think I'm dreadfully boring. I'm a workaholic. It hasn't really allowed me time to do much or to develop hobbies. But I love learning about the law. So much so that I'd say it's bordering on being an obsession."

Brooks nods. "I can see how you might not have the time, and while I'm sure your obsession with the law is great for your work, it still involves your work. Are you telling me there isn't anything else you enjoy outside of working and the law? Nothing at all?"

"Oh! I know! I like baking and decorating cakes. I needed an elective in my senior year of college that we'd somehow missed, and they were offering a cake class. I thought it would be an easy A." I laugh at the memory. "It was not an easy A, but I still earned it. I don't have much time to do it now, but I've loved it ever since I took that class."

Brooks reaches up to push back a piece of hair that's fallen into my face before stroking his fingers over my cheek. "See? Was that so hard?"

Did it just get hotter out here? Oh, no. That's just me as my panties self combust. All I can do is stare up at him, my breaths coming out in little pants as I fill my panties with slick. I want him to kiss me. There are no other thoughts in my head besides that one—I need him to kiss me.

My eyes start to flutter as he lowers his head. A satisfied sound escapes him as his lips brush against mine, but before we can explore one another, someone clears their throat from behind us—someone male. We pull apart, and I'm super close to pouting as I spin around to see who had interrupted our kiss.

Ramsey stands there with his arms crossed over his chest, eyebrow cocked as he runs his tongue over his teeth. He's not even trying to hide the fact that he's the one that interrupted us or that he seems annoyed by the kiss.

My eyes narrow, anger rising as I stare at him. What right does he have to interrupt us? It's not as if Brooks was forcing himself on me—no, I was a very willing participant. Does he not realize that even if I choose his pack—which is looking less likely now—that they might not be the only ones I choose?

This isn't about him and his pack. This is about me. I'm here to find my pack. That's the entire point of this show, and I'll be damned if I'll let him ruin this because of jealousy. He has no claim on me. I've literally talked to the man for less than ten minutes.

Before I can step closer to give him a piece of my mind, Brooks's hand lands on my shoulder and squeezes. "Don't worry about it, Sophia. That's only the first of what I intend to be many kisses between the two of us."

I smile as I glance at him over my shoulder. "I think I like the sound of that."

"Good, because so do I."

Reginald moves over into my periphery at that moment, raising an eyebrow in question. I nod, and he smiles, his persona quickly falling back into place as he walks over to us. "Brooks, if you'll be a dear and join the Duval Pack for me?"

"Of course." Brooks nods to Reginald before lifting my hand to his lips, brushing them across my knuckles gently. "See you in a few minutes, pretty girl."

He heads to stand with the other suitors, including Ramsey, who has returned to stand with his pack, and I can't help but watch him as he does so with a dreamy smile on my face. A small sigh falls from my lips. "He's delicious."

"That he is, Sophia." Reginald laughs. "You've met your next four suitors, and you'll have the next twenty-four hours or so to get to know them. Are you looking forward to it?"

"I am. Today feels easier than yesterday. I have more of an idea of what to expect, and I wasn't nearly as nervous." I laugh. "I actually enjoyed both my conversation with Pack Duval and the one with Brooks. I was actually really excited about today."

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