Page 35 of Knotty New Year

“Pax?” I spun around too fast, losing my balance, and landed in Pax’s arms. “You came! Let’s dance.”

“Let’s not.” He shot a dirty glare at Rain, then looked back at me, his face a mask of color-changing disappointment. “Time to go home, sober up, and then we’ll talk about this little stunt.”

“No.” I pulled away from him, or tried to. He didn’t let go, and started taking off with me. “No! I’m not going home.”

“No, you’re going to my home, where you’ll stay until we leave for Colorado.”

“Fuck you.” The words were spoken before I could stop them, though I slapped a hand over my mouth right after they came flying out.

“What did you say?”

I was hazily aware of a line of security guards heading our way, and the cameras still flashing. But the “Sweet and Numb” drinks had done their job, and the disdain on Pax’s face was too much to bear.

“Just leave me here. I’m not going to your house either. You’re mad, and you’re just going to force me to sit alone in your stupid house while you sit around with stupid Margot Robbie doctor ladies, and do your stupid work.” I waved a hand around, and somehow it landed on Rain. “You tell him, Rain. You love me. Not like him. He doesn’t love me; he doesn’t even like me. He wishes I’d never knocked on his door.”

“I don’t,” Pax said, clenching his jaw.

“See?” I said, my heart tearing into tiny pieces. “He admits it.”

“That’s not what I said, baby.” He wrapped one arm around my waist, the other somehow scooping under my knees.

“Let me down! Let me down!” I kicked and struggled, but it was no use. He was bigger and older and meaner than me. “Let me down! I don’t want to be your true mate, Nicholas Paxson!”

Unfortunately, the music had stopped right then, and my words were all anyone heard.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.” Somehow, Trina and her friends were standing right in front of us. One of them had her phone out, recording everything. The cameras were still flashing, but no one near us said a single word.

They were all watching the train wreck of my life.

Pax flinched, closed his eyes like I’d stabbed him, then kept going, shooting quiet orders to the guards.

“Paulo? Take Miss Torres home. Anthony? See if you can buy up the paps.”

“Won’t happen, Mr. Paxson.”

Pax nodded. “Just try.” He wouldn’t look down at me, not when we got to the car, not even when it started heading toward Southeastern Georgetown.

A call from his PA came in. “Mr. Paxson? The online tabloids are already hitting.”

Pax rubbed his forehead. “How bad?”

“‘Billionaire Alpha Abducts Unwilling Young Omega.’”

“Shit. That bad?”

“That’s the best one, sir. They have recordings of her struggling to get away, fresh mate marks showing. They blurred out her exposed… nether regions, but—”

“Stop!” The PA stopped talking when Nicholas barked the word. “Get them all down. No matter what it takes.” After a few more moments, Pax hung up and slumped back on the seat, his head hanging.

“I didn’t mean it,” I whispered, and finally, he looked at me. I’d seen a lot of emotions in his eyes in the short time I’d known him. But this was something new, and terrible. It was… devastation.

“Are you sure, princess?” When I opened my mouth to answer, he held up a hand. “I told you I wouldn’t take away your choices. Where do you want to go right now—my house or yours? Where do you want to sleep it off?”

“Where will you be sleeping?” I asked, feeling like I might be sick.

“I won’t be. I’ll be doing cleanup with the press, then going to an early morning meeting with my board.”

That was all he needed to say. “Take me to my house.”

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