Page 40 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

I hum, staring in the direction he went, only marginally surprised when Jude urges me after him. “What do you want to do first, Button?”

“First?”

Tic and Hale follow us downstairs and into the kitchen. “Well, notfirstfirst, because we’re going to give Tic the chance to wow you with his culinary skills first, but when we’re done eating, what do you want to do?” Is it my imagination or is there a suggestive bent to his tone? Like he thinks maybe I’ll say I want to hop on his cock right this very minute or something?

But that’s not me… Not the Haven I am today. While I’m not my father’s dutiful daughter, I’m not the siren Jude met at the club. I wasn’t lying when I told Ren I wanted to come here to get to know them better, to figure out if this could be a forever thing.

I glance at Hale and find him staring hard at me, like he’s not sure who I am, like he’s never met me before and is trying to figure out why I’m here. I swallow and glance away, lacing my fingers together to keep from fidgeting. My father hates fidgeting.

So not doing it is ingrained in me.

Like most of his wishes and desires for my behavior.

“Haven?” Tic prompts when I’ve let the silence linger too long.

I look up to find the three of them watching me. “Do you have any board games?”

Board games are an excellent way to feel out a person. Or in this case, three persons. Because Creed is still locked away in his bedroom. The longer he does this, the more my omega instincts warn that he’s not happy I’m here. He doesn’t want me. And if one member of the pack doesn’t want me, that means the rest will eventually give up on me, too.

It’s the truth. A painful one, but the truth, nonetheless.

I push the feeling aside and focus on getting to know the three alphas who stayed with me, who seem to want to spend time with me.

We’re spread out on the living room floor playing Monopoly. Jude had suggested Twister, but I wasn’t prepared to be all tangled and twisted up with them like that, to have our bodies pressed together.

I know we’d work physically. The way I wanted to climb Hale like a tree the first time I met him was a strong sign of that, as was the grinding I did on the dance floor with Jude and the deep kisses Tic and I share.

The sexual chemistry between us is off the charts and I’m not worried about it at all.

What I am worried about is their character, their pack dynamics. If I choose to be with them, really be with them, defy my father and attempt to stick with them, suffer through the pain of denying the commands placed on me, I need to know it won’t just be more of the same. Trading one prison for another.

I need to keep my head.

And to do that, I need to keep some physical distance between us.

I just didn’t think it would be this hard.

Every glance from the alphas makes my blood heat. Every brush of our fingers as we pass dice or cards or money makes my skin tingle. This is the most erotic game of Monopoly and we’re all fully clothed.

I don’t know what is wrong with me.

No, that’s not true.

This is what happens when an omega finds a compatible alpha or pack.

That’swhat’s wrong with me. Compatibility.

I push the physical reaction away and focus on the game, how they react to it.

“Fuck yeah!” Jude crows as Hale lands on his property. “Pay up, motherfucker.” It turns out that Jude is incredibly competitive, though a little fly by the seat of his pants, buying any and all property he landed on with no rhyme or reason.

Atticus is more methodical, thinking through each of his actions before he takes them. I suppose that makes sense for a scientist.

And Hale? Well, Hale is a sore loser. Really sore. The longer this game goes on and the closer he gets to bankruptcy, the sourer his mood gets. Bordering on, dare I say, volatile? Like he’s one wrong word away from exploding and flipping theboard. And Jude seems to think that would be funny as hell with how he needles his prime.

Hale folds his arms over his chest and lifts his chin. “No, I’m not paying you. It’s fucking bullshit. You own half the board!”

“That’s the point of the game,” Tic says sardonically. “You’re supposed to own as much property as you can.”

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