Page 21 of Hard Knot

“I’ll have to think about it,” I say, my voice deliberately teasing.

Carter straightens just slightly, and for a moment, his gaze burns so intensely it’s like he’s daring me to challenge him further. He’s magnetic, this towering Alpha with his taunting smirk and eyes that promise danger.

He’s dangerous…trouble. The worst kind.

All my warning bells are telling me to scurry away while I still can.

“While you’re thinking,” he drawls, leaning closer, “I’ll just keep making myself at home.”

I scoff, trying to mask the way my pulse quickens.

“If you’re caught here,” I snap, “they’ll expel you before you’ve even started.”

He doesn’t back away.

Instead, he leans closer, every inch of his towering presence driving home the point that he’s not intimidated by me—or anyone, it seems.

“Not officially enrolled yet,” he admits, his voice carrying that same lazy confidence. “So how could I possibly know the rules?”

I can’t help but snort.

“What if the rules mean you can’t touch me?”

He moves then, slow and deliberate, closing the space between us. His sheer presence is overwhelming as he stops just inches away, towering over me. I have to tilt my chin to meet his gaze, my breath catching at the sheer intensity in his hazel eyes.

There’s hunger there.

Undeniable, primal hunger.

His voice drops, barely more than a growl.

“I’ve always been a rule-breaker. But for you…” His gaze drops to my lips, lingering. “I might be tempted to behave. For now.”

The way he says it sends shivers skittering down my spine, though I refuse to let it show. Instead, I snicker, the sound light but edged with challenge.

“Good luck with that,” I say, biting my bottom lip purposefully, knowing exactly how it will draw his attention.

His reaction is instant.

His growl reverberates through the room, low and feral, and it takes everything I have to keep sitting in place, my thighs pressed together for the sake of my own sanity.

My Omega instincts roar to life, the suppressed primal part of me craving what I know I shouldn’t. This is surely wrong. Against my morals. Against all I’ve worked for, but how am I supposed to deny this connection?

I can’t…

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, giving in to the irrational, desperate urge clawing at me. My hand shoots out, grabbing the back of his neck, the warmth of his skin under my palm sending a jolt of electricity through me.

Carter doesn’t resist as I yank him down, our faces just inches apart before my lips crash into his. At first, he freezes, as though stunned by my boldness, but it lasts only a heartbeat.

Then he comes alive.

His large hand moves to my neck, tilting my head back further as he deepens the kiss with a passion that borders on brutality. I can’t stop myself from moaning in relief, my body burning up with thrumming need as he deepens the kiss.

The world narrows to just us. His lips move against mine, claiming, demanding, as though he’s been waiting his entire life for this moment. The way he growls into my mouth, so possessively and raw with intensity makes my body tingle with lust as I feel my pussy quake with the need to be filled.

His thumb brushes the sensitive skin just under my jaw, coaxing me further into the kiss. My breath hitches as he takes control, his tongue sweeping against mine in a way that makes me melt against him.

My fingers tighten in his hair as the kiss grows hungrier, more desperate. His other hand slides to my waist, pulling me flush against him, and I can feel the hard lines of his body, the heat radiating from him.

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