Page 53 of Ready or Knot

“I don’t care that you were the first,” he snarls, stepping closer to the desk. I cock an eyebrow. “I care that it was in such a vulnerable place and that she wasn’t even given proper aftercare.”

“Fuck you for thinking I wouldn’t make sure she was cleaned up afterwards,” I say, anger making my voice drop.

Logan barks a sardonic half-laugh. “Yeah, that’s fucking rich coming from you, Jude, since I’m the one who had to help clean her up after you left her newly post-orgasm on the island the other day.”

Now I scowl, setting my elbows on the cleared portion of my desk, perching my chin on my knuckles. “You did what?”

“It was either that or knot her, and since we had agreed,” Jude seethes, “and I had a mandatory department meeting, I chose the former.” His jaw clenches, a muscle in his neck twitching with the force of it. “She was safe and completely down from the orgasm before I left.”

Logan scoffs but doesn’t say anything else.

Jude opens his mouth, but I cut him off, my patience worn thin from the entire afternoon’s bullshit. “If you had taken even a minute to survey my office before rampaging,” I say, the words particularly biting, “you would have noticed that she’s cleaned up and comfortable enough that she fell asleep.” I shake my head and undo the cuffs of my shirt, quickly rolling the sleeves to my elbows. “I’m not an asshole, Jude. Of course I made sure she had what she needed.”

Logan nods once, stepping up next to Jude, his eyes immediately finding Faedra where she’s still resting at my feet under the other portion of my L-shaped desk.

“Does this mean I can start taking naps here, too?” Logan asks, chuckling, dropping her bag onto the desk, and I smile, shaking my head.

“Hell no, man. You fucking snore,” I joke back.

Logan laughs harder, shrugging. “She doesn’t seem to mind.”

Jude scowls again but collects his jacket and settles into a seat across from me. The mood of the room sours, and I sigh, rubbing my hand over my eyes.

“I’m grabbing some whiskey,” Logan announces.

He doesn’t ask us if we want any, but I know he’ll pour us each a knuckle’s worth. While he rummages in the bar tucked next to the wardrobe, I stare at Jude, an eyebrow cocked.

He grunts before blowing out a breath. “Fine. My bad for coming in here guns blazing. It’s clear she’s alright.”

I nod once but don’t say anything, waiting until Logan’s returned. “Oh, don’t drop the anger yet. I’m just making sure you have it aimed at the right part of this whole situation.”

Jude raises an eyebrow, taking a large gulp of whiskey, waving me on as he does so.

I sigh, running my hand through my hair. Keeping my eyes on him, I say, “Harper walked in while we were still knotted.”

Logan flinches, and Jude curses viciously before slamming the rest of his whiskey.

“Please tell me she didn’t see Faedra,” he groans as he sets the empty tumbler on my desk harder than necessary.

I shake my head. “I made sure she couldn’t see anything more than her hair.” I drop my hand, tapping the desk lightly. “Pretty sure she thought I was just fucking some random hook-up, but Faedra made a noise when I moved a bit, and she realized we were knotted.”

“That’s why you warned me Melanie might lose her shit,” Jude says. He glances out the windows, running his hand over his beard, lips tipped down.

Logan leans forward, perching his elbows on his knees. “We need to explain who they are. If Harper was persistent enough to barge past Amanda—who is downright terrifying when she wants to be—then I imagine Melanie is going to make a move soon, too. And the last thing Faedra deserves is being blindsided by your crazy ass exes.”

Jude sighs at the same moment I groan. Who the hell wants to explain to their Omega that a Beta they dated over five years ago is still refusing to let them go and goes out of their way to get attention from them—to the point of intentionally getting hired by a company contracted with their own?

Fuck.

“That’s on Carter,” Jude says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “I’ve already explained Melanie—at least who she is and that she works at the university.”

Logan relaxes marginally, his shoulders dropping, though he taps his finger on the desk.

“Alright, yeah. I’ll make sure to explain it all to her. But not tonight,” I say after a few minutes. Both men frown. I explain, leaning back in my chair and taking a sip of the whiskey. “She got into her top choices for the photography degree. Tonight we celebrate her, yeah? If she brings Harper up, then I’ll be honest. Otherwise I want to wait a day or two so that it doesn’t overshadow the good things that happened today.”

It’s clear that Logan doesn’t love that answer—but he’s always the one to charge into something head-on with no tact. It works well for his chosen career, but not so well with relationships. It surprises me when Jude agrees quietly with Logan, though he doesn’t push me on it at the moment. Faedra hums a bit, turning over until I can see her beautiful green eyes when I look over at her. The smile is second-nature as I go to her, crouching and running my hand through her hair.

“Hello, little Omega. Did you rest enough?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

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