Page 16 of Knot in Their Wildest Dreams: Part 1

“It’s nothing I haven't dealt with before.” She said calmly, as if the whole ordeal was a minor annoyance. “But I can see how being the biggest news story might be exciting for someone who isn’t used to attention, or at least positive attention, for once.” She said the insult casually, and I pushed down the frustration within me. I wasn’t going to let her rile me up. The heat was making me sweat, so I flexed my muscles, reveling in the way it made me feel instantly better. I caught Celeste glancing at my chest despite herself.

“My pack and I are handling everything well, not that it’s your concern. And I want to thank you for finally setting the record straight.” I replied as more steam filled the room, heating the air between us. She crossed her arms over her stomach and looked at her nails. “Ever since your statement, we’ve been invited back to every omega ball for the next year. Hell, because of you, we might finally find our match.” I said. Her eyes shot over to me with surprise, with a flash of distress, so quick that it was gone before I could fully register it. Then she looked away.

I could see the wheels turning in her mind, probably calculating the best way to regain control of the conversation.

"I’d say you’re welcome," she drawled, "but we both know that wouldn’t be the truth.” She adjusted her body, stretching out in the heated room. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but from what exactly, I couldn’t quite place. Yes, we had her where we wanted her, but I’d never seen her look anything other than in control. Which meant our plan was working.

"The truth isn’t your style, anyway," I replied, leaning forward slightly. The movement brought me closer, close enough to notice how the steam made tiny beads of water all over her skin. "We both know that. But play your part with us the next few months, and you can go back home and we can be rid of each other for good."

She tilted her head, her full lips curving into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.I wanted to taste those lips.

Wait. I shook my head, fighting the thought. That was my alpha talking, not me.

"Rid of each other, right." She scoffed, almost as an afterthought. “You want to be rid of me so badly, but you’re forcing me to be here.” Her words dripped with bitterness. “You might regret it if you keep me here too long.”

"That sounds like a threat," I said, my tone deepening. I wasn’t sure if it was the heat or her, but my pulse was picking up speed. "Careful, Celeste."

Her smile grew bigger. "Calm down, big boy. I just want to know if you’ll be following me around like a puppy every second of the day.” She tilted her head, and a bead of sweat slid down her temple, trailing to her collarbone. She looked at me, then bit her lip. It did something to me. That face, that look - it was almost a look of frustration and desire. But I knew she hated us. I swallowed hard, my usual composure slipping just slightly. Hormones were starting to cloud my thinking. That, plus the heat, made me misread what we were doing.

“You’ll be happy to know we actually have to work every day, so you won’t see much of us.” I said, and before she got any ideas, I quickly added, “And one of us will always be working from home, just in case of emergencies.” I could see her face drop slightly, and knew at that moment that she was hoping to get access to the house when we weren’t around. She had no idea there was nothing to find inside our house, nor did we have anything to hide.

“Good," she said quickly, her voice a little too firm.

“We did promise to take care of you, and despite the reality of our ‘relationship’, I intend to follow through with that.” I admitted. Celeste squirmed at my words, her legs snapping together tightly. Her gaze dropped, just for a second, to my lips before going back up. It was subtle, but I caught it. And judging by the faint flicker of alarm in her expression, she knew I had. What was she playing at? Whatever effect her actions were meant to have on me, it was, unfortunately, working. I needed to get out before she used any of her omega manipulations on me.

Something touched me. I looked down, and somehow we had ended up right next to each other, so close our knees were grazing.

Celeste sat up abruptly, her cheeks flushed. “I - uh - this heat. It’s… oppressive,” she stammered, looking anywhere but at me. She stood quickly. “I need water. Or air. Or something.” Suddenly she opened the door, billows of steam rising up and clouding my vision of her as she grabbed her robe and left.

Once she was gone, I sat back, my head spinning. I’d been around omegas before. I’d been around plenty of beautiful women, and many more that were light years more charming than Celeste. I knew how awful of a person she had to be in order to run Harringday Industries. So why did I feel like my world was off kilter being so close to her? Even when we verbally sparred, I somehow felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Shit. I needed to text Elijah. That woman had me so distracted that I nearly forgot my mission. I quickly jumped up and left the steam room, sending off a message to make sure he wasn’t found in her area. Luckily our house was large enough that he’d have plenty of time to retreat before she got back to her room.

That was close. I wiped the sweat off of me, making a mental note to investigate what it was that caused me to be so intrigued by her. Either way, she was playing some type of game, and it was far from over.

Chapter 11

Celeste

“How have you been holding up?” My uncle’s question was sympathetic, although I could tell he was more focused on the company's reputation than my actual welfare. I gripped the phone and closed my eyes, willing myself to make my voice sound calm and in control.

“As well as can be expected, considering I’m in the home of the men who tried to kidnap me.” I managed to say. As far as my uncle knew, I’d had too much champagne the night of the Darlington Ball. I never told him someone actually did take me, and that this mystery person never told me who they were, or how they knew of the plot.

“And you work? Are you able to manage it?” He asked, making me grip the phone even harder.

“It’s not affecting my work. You know nothing will get in the way of that.” I said firmly. It was the truth - I cared about my family’s company more than anyone. Come hell, high water, or scent matches, I’d never let any harm come to the company. But my uncle didn’t need to know about the scent match part. No one could know. It was a weakness that could be exploited by my mortal enemies - who also happened to be my fated mates.

“That’s good to hear. And if it does start to get in the way, I will be able to tell. So will the board.” He added, as if I didn’t know.

“If it ever becomes too much, I’d let you know. But have faith in me, I can handle this.” I assured my uncle. “Also, they plan to work in the office, but will have one pack member home at all times. That will make things a bit more difficult.” I said, glad that I’d gleaned some information from Liam when he’d been in the steam room with me.

“Interesting. I’m sure we can manufacture a way to get them all out. And on your dates, the house is empty, correct? I can hire someone to check it out discreetly.” My uncle offered. I sighed.

“They have cameras outside, although they can probably be disabled. I just don’t know what you’d find. Likely the leaked information wasn’t sent over email.” I admitted. “Give me more time to find out where they keep their data. It might be at their headquarters, but I doubt it. A surprise audit by the designation authorities would turn up any documents showing illegal activity, and correct me if I’m wrong, but blackmail is definitely under that category.” The members of Pack Lockwood were too smart to leave a trail like that. I’d have to search their house more to see if there was anything to be found at all.

“Keep me updated. We need to make progress on this.” My uncle urged. “Anyway, how’s the Britanna account coming along?” My uncle changed the topic toward work, and I was glad for it. I needed my mind off of alphas and scent matches. It was hell being around them. The other day I’d nearly fainted from being so close to Liam in the steam room. Just sitting in an enclosed room with him, with his delicious scent magnified by his sweat - it had almost sent me spiraling.

It was similar to the feeling of an oncoming heat, dealing with the temperature and his alluring body near mine. I’d had to act like I wasn’t fighting my inner desire to touch him with every breath I took of his scent. To pretend his presence wasn’t causing an ache deep inside me, a mad compulsion to see much more than just his chest. I had to practically sit on my hands to keep them from wandering over to his body, tug at those shorts and view him in all his glory.

---