Page 46 of Knot Mine

He rubs the back of his neck, and I sigh at his anxious gesture. “I was waiting for you.”

Zale leans in and inhales, features morphing into something that makes me think he might be able to smell my pheromones. My heart rate picks up, has he realized my secret? I mean, wehadn’t had anal sex, but he’d still had his fingers inside me. Did he realize I was slick for him?

“What’s that face for?” I ask, my chest tightening as I try to shift away.

“You don’t smell right,” he replies, inhaling again. When he’s this close, I can pick up mixed undertones clinging to him like smoke after a bonfire.

“Say what you mean,” I swallow.Please don’t say it. Don’t call me out as an omega,I silently beg. Unsure that my emotions can take the extra stress right now.

His brow creases, ocean blue eyes narrowed as he takes another deep breath, his hand reaching out to land on my waist. “You don’t smell like me anymore.”

There’s an odd hint of disappointment in his words, which makes zero sense as he tries to press his nose against the curve of my neck but I step back.

I’m not his.

What happened should never have happened.

He doesn’t even like me. I’m ‘not worth the effort’ I remind myself, clinging onto those words when he looks at me with that possessive glint in his eyes.

Yesterday’s soft, vulnerable Zale wasn’t real. That version of him couldn’t be. My stomach churns because I know that if he really wanted me, if he was genuine…then he would be impossible to resist.

“And why would that be, Zale?” I laugh, the sound hollow to my ears. “Maybe because you’re dating my sister.”

My words seem to hit him like a slap to the face and he straightens. Good. We both needed to remember exactly what the situation was here before we made it any worse. His mouth is drawn into a tight line, and just as he goes to say something, voices interrupt the intense staring competition we’re competing in.

“Zale! Where are you?” Millie calls out as the front door swings open with a bang. We both step towards the landing balcony, and look down at the small group that’s just arrived.

Millie spots us immediately and bounds up the stairs, launching herself into his arms with a loud squeal. He catches her, big strong arms coming around her waist and I try not to feel bitter about it.

He fucking catches her.

“I missed you,” she purrs, burying her face into his neck, inhaling his scent like a good little omega partner. His partner.

Goddess, why was I jealous?

He wasn’t mine. Now if only my traitorous brain could get on board with that fact, then it would all be smooth sailing.

“Yeah.” He swallows, trying to catch my gaze but I avoid looking at him as I focus on my twin. “How was Crest Haven?”

Millie chuckles, “Oh it was amazing, until this jackass got in trouble.”

She nods her head towards Evans and the others, who’ve come upstairs to start claiming bedrooms. They’re loud and looking a little tired, but they still seem to be having a great time. Evans is sporting a colorful assortment of bruises, but he’s grinning.

“Let’s hope he’s learned his lesson,” Sadie teases, nudging him with her shoulder. Her lip curls when she spots me, but she says nothing else as they dip into one of the bedrooms down the end of the hall.

“Shiloh,” Millie turns her emerald gaze to me, lips pursed as she clings to Zale like a limpet. I want to rip her away from him, my fingers twitching with the thought. She looks tired too, but good in her jeans and a low-cut top, her breasts squashed against his chest as she clings to Zale.Mine.“I know you’re not really a people person, but I hope you were nice to Zale. Were you rude?”

I was more than nice to him. I’d licked cum off his abs. You couldn’t get more agreeable than that.

Tucking my petty thoughts away, I take a deep breath. “I barely spoke to him, so…rudeness averted.”

His eyes are on me again, burning into my flesh but I focus on my sister, giving her a pathetic half-shrug. She didn’t need to know that I’d given him more kisses than words. That I’d used my mouth, not to insult him, but to swallow his desperate moans. That was our secret to bury.

“If you’re all here, I’m gonna go call Bell.”

She looks at me properly, giving me the once over as I stand there. I’m glad I tossed all my clothes in the washer already, removing the lingering scent of last night.

“Are you going to join us later? We were thinking of cooking something on the firepit now that the storm’s passed.”

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