Page 69 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

“Please don’t be upset,” I say as I come to a stop in front of them. “We’re going to see each other tomorrow.”

“It won’t be the same,” Jude mutters, tucking his hands in his pockets. “I won’t be able to hug you or kiss you. Hell, we’ll probably barely even be able to acknowledge each other.”

My stomach sinks. Everything he just said is exactly right. I won’t be able to do any of that with them, not in public. “Maybe we can sneak away for a bit?”

He brightens a little. “Yeah? Sneak away and make out like teenagers?”

I nod and he grins, hands clamping over my cheeks to hold me in place so he can kiss me. Even though I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, anyway. I think he might have kept me there for a lot longer, wrapped up in his arms with his mouth on mine, but Creed lets out a grumble and pulls me away from him.

I smack into his chest with a small oof, and then his mouth is on mine. Devouring me, consuming me. I love it, so I just tilt my head further, resting it in his big palm as he kisses the daylights out of me. When he pulls back, he takes my bottom lip with him, scraping his teeth over it in the most delicious way. “Text when you get home so we know you’re safe, ‘kay, baby girl?”

I swallow and nod. “Promise.”

With one more peck to my lips, he passes me over to Hale, who loops his hands under my thighs and lifts. My limbs wind around him as naturally as breathing, my body trusting him implicitly. He won’t drop me. His fingers flex on my ass as he kisses me, slow and deep. “Be good for me, mouse.”

“I will,” I say against his mouth, kissing him as the sound of an approaching engine reaches my ears.

“Kiss me again,” he demands. I do so fucking willingly. He groans into my mouth, cock pressing against my core, making me whimper in pleasure.

“You’re going to send her home smelling like sex,” Tic says, like it’s not a bad thing. But it would be.

And if I was going directly home, I wouldn’t indulge like this. They don’t know I’m running to Ren’s first to shower and pick up my Frederick Bell approved clothes.

There’s a knock on the door and I reluctantly let my legs drop from Hale’s waist. He slowly lowers me to the ground, his mouth on mine the entire time, like he can’t bear to not have his lips on me.

I don’t know how I’m going to manage either. Not after days of being able to touch them whenever I want.

But I’ll have to. There is no other option.

Ren is here, and it’s time for me to go.

There’s something wrong. I know it as soon as I set foot in the house. There’s a chill in the air. A stillness that’s eerie. I pause on the other side of the door in the grand foyer my father loves so much, but that feels cold and lifeless to me.

My hand reaches behind me, seeking the door handle, tempted to retreat outside, call Ren to come back and pick me up. I don’t want to be here. I never want to be here, but now knowing what a real home should feel like, this is even worse.

But as the cool metal brushes my finger, I hear the buzz of the automatic electric lock turning, clicking into place.

Shit. I glance around as panic takes root in my chest. I don’t smell my father. His scent lingers in the air, but it’s stale. Not fresh. He shouldn’t be home. Which means he must be watching from one of the security cameras. Or he’s doused himself in descenter and is hiding somewhere in this house waiting to strike.

I wouldn’t put it past him.

My fingers move from the door to the handle of my suitcase, intending to hustle up to the relative safety of my room. But at my first step farther inside the house, his voice cracks out. “Come here.”

Swallowing thickly, I leave my suitcase where it is. My footsteps echo across the floor as I make my way into the living room. I pause just inside the entrance, taking in the way the furniture is pushed back, the coffee table that usually sits between the two couches gone entirely.

He’s sitting on the sofa on the left, a laptop on his legs. The chemical smell I associate with descenter clings to my nostrils and I know he wanted to take me by surprise, to have me on my back foot.

I force a smile to my mouth and link my fingers together to hide that my hands are shaking. “Hi, daddy. You’re back early.”

He hums his answer, types something on his keyboard and then closes the computer, setting it on the cushion next to him, pinning me with a hard look. “Where have you been?”

“With Florence.”

His head tilts as he stares at me, trying to make me spill my secrets. I’m telling the truth, though. I was just with Florence.

He points to a spot in front of him. “Stand here.”

I move to comply, even though it’s not a bark.I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide.

---