Page 22 of Knot Their Reality

"Knowing your past, I can see why that wouldn't work for you—why you would have such an extreme reaction." There's nothing but understanding in his eyes as he looks down at me. "Honestly, the fact that you still want a pack after what you went through says a lot about the kind of woman you are. Strong. Independent. Beautiful—both inside and out. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I know it couldn't have been easy for you."

I duck my head, brushing away the last of the tears before looking up at him from beneath my lashes. "Thank you for listening to me. For not judging me before you heard me out."

"Even if you hadn't shared your story, I wouldn't have judged you. It's not my place." He hesitates, and I tilt my head.

"What?"

His tongue snakes out to wet his lips, and my eyes drop to his mouth as I suck my bottom lip into my mouth.

My attention immediately jumps back to his eyes when he laughs, my entire body flushing. "I want to kiss you, but I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to even ask. Obviously, that isn't a problem though, based on the way you were watching my mouth."

"You don't need to ask if you can kiss me, I promise. The answer will always be yes."

Brooks doesn't hesitate as he lowers his head and kisses me deeply. With each brush of his tongue against mine, he stokes my desire higher and higher. I'm restless in his hold, wanting to straddle him but knowing that this dress makes it impossible. That's probably for the best since I've known the man for all of what? An hour or two?

Fuck.

I pull back with that thought, and he rests his forehead against mine. "As much as I enjoy kissing you, I'm not sure that we can keep it to just kissing for much longer, and I'm just not ready to sleep with someone within hours of meeting them. My goal is to at least wait until after the first rose ceremony."

Brooks's head falls back as he laughs. "You're probably right. Why don't I walk you back to your room? I know there was supposed to be time tonight for us to hang out, but I think you need a break. Hell, I need a break. Just some time alone to get my head on straight so I don't go on a hunting spree."

"You wouldn't have to hunt too far, but it would probably be hard to get to them. They're still in prison and are unlikely to make it out anytime soon. I don't think they'll be up for parole for another five years. But I plan to show up at the hearing and do everything in my power to make sure they remain behind bars." I sigh. "But I think you're right. I need a bath and some time in my nest. Plus, I still need to talk to Bree. She knows some of my story but not all of it."

Brooks just smiles at me before dropping a kiss on the tip of my nose. "We know it's on camera. Tell her to watch the footage, if she hasn't already. You don't need to go over it with someone else."

"I will, I promise."

"Good girl."

And my panties are once again drenched, a shiver running up my body, which has the alpha grinning down at me. “Look, I might not be into Doms or being tied up—and yes, I did work with a Dom and a Domme to try to work through my shit, but it didn’t help—but I do have my own kinks that I’m into.”

"And praise kink is one of those?"

"Absolutely, but on that note, I think it's time to head to my suite." I scramble from his lap, and he quickly stands after me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I cuddle into his side, loving how safe he makes me feel.

We head inside, stopping outside my suite before he turns to me once more. "So I'm guessing that Pack Duval won't be joining us tomorrow for the group date?"

I shake my head. "Absolutely not. I'll see what Bree has to say, but I'm guessing we'll either go on a one-on-one date, or they'll have the suitors from yesterday join us."

"Well, I know which one I'd prefer," Brooks says with a laugh. He leans down to brush his lips against mine just once before stepping backward. "I'm sure today didn't go the way either of us expected it to, but I'm damn glad to be here."

"I'm glad you're here too, Brooks. Thank you for everything."

He starts to move closer to me, and I know that if he kisses me again, I'm going to end up inviting him into my room. But I can't seem to force myself to step away or to tell him no.

We spring apart before our lips even touch when someone clears their throat. My heart is racing for a completely different reason now as my eyes widen, turning to find Tessa and Bree standing there with grins on their faces.

"I'm sorry, did we interrupt something?" Tessa's smile is more of a smirk as she speaks.

Brooks clears his throat. "Nope, not at all. I was just walking Sophia back to her room. Good night, Sophia. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, you will." I bite my lip as he heads for the stairs, and not being able to stop myself, I move so I can watch as he climbs the stairs. When he hits the landing and turns left, I lose sight of him. With a sigh, I turn back to the women waiting for me. "Can we do this in my suite? I need to get the hell out of this dress and into something comfy."

"Of course we can."

They both follow me into my suite, sitting on one of the couches as I step into the bedroom, not even bothering to shut the door as I rid myself of both the dress and heels. I take the pins from my hair and shake it out into what I'm sure is a mess. I pull on a large t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts with little duckies on them before heading back to the sitting room.

"We watched the footage. You don't have to tell us anything." Tessa starts the moment my ass hits the chair. "And from watching it, I know you need some time to decompress, but we have to discuss a few things first."

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