Page 14 of Knot My Boss

“I don’t think so,” pausing to collect myself, I explain some of the details of today’s monumental occurrences. “I was helping my mom wrap some last-minute gifts.”

“Okay,” she volleys, drawing out the word, making her confusion evident.

“I found an adoption certificate. My parents aren’t my birth parents,” I confess, fighting back tears that start to fall, again.

“Holy shit!” Darby exclaims, stating the obvious. “I thought I was having a tough week.” I don’t think I was supposed to hear that last part. Needing a distraction, I press Darby for details.

“What happened to you?”

Darby launches into the tale of a guy named Arek. She explains about the random deliveries of gifts, accompanied by creepy notes. The story catches me off guard, and I can’t help but start laughing.

“What is so amusing? He freaked me the fuck out,” she argues.

“Weren’t you just saying that you could use a man who knew his way around your hoo-ha?” I question.

“Hoo-ha? What are you five?” Darby snarks

“You know what I mean,” I rebut, having grown up in the middle of Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, my language doesn’t get crazy out of habit.

“Whatever,” she grumbles.

“Is that invitation to come join you in Padston still open?” I ask, dropping my voice to a whisper.

“Absofuckinlutely!” Darby cheers. “How soon do you think you will get here?”

“Early tomorrow morning, I hope,” I tell her, glazing over at the bags I have packed so far.

“Sounds great,” Darby replies. “I will text you the address, just load it into your GPS. Be careful, we are getting some snow right now. Nothing too heavy, but you never know.”

“I know how to drive in the snow. Pennsylvania, remember?”

“Fuck you,” Darby says with a laugh, no venom in her words.

She ends the call, and I open my bedroom window, dropping bags out onto the lawn. I don’t want my family to know what I’m doing, so I need to be discreet. Hiding in my room all afternoon makes this a little easier to hide, since my family isn’t expecting me to come out and join them.

Humiliation, confusion, anger, shame, frustration - you name it, and you will find my photo next to it in the dictionary. I just hope that Darby can understand that she is my last hope. If she can’t forgive my actions, I have no idea what to do next.

Chapter 10 - Arek

Watching Darby’s retreating form as she storms out of Simmer Down, my jaw hangs lax. Declan, the asshole that he is, reaches over, using one finger under my chin, pushes my jaw closed.

Gradually, the dining room returns to normal, with the low hum of conversation punctuated by the clanging of empty plates being cleared away or the clinking of metal silverware against the dish of a fresh meal.

Kyle glares at me briefly before turning to fuss over his mate. I feel bad for upsetting Dayton, but being this close to Darby caused all good sense to flee.

“Kyle, dinner is on us,” Declan states, showing that at least one of us still has their wits about them.

“That’s not…” he starts to rebuke.

“Yes, it is,” I volley as Declan moves away from the table.

“You and me,” Kyle says, narrowing his eyes at me. “Need to talk. Stop at the garage tomorrow. Nonnegotiable.”

He grinds out the last part right before moving to help Dayton rise from her chair. Kali is on Dayton’s left while Kyle is on herright. Both have an arm wrapped around Dayton’s back, helping to support some of her weight. Taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly, I get a glimpse of what Darby will look like when she is pregnant with our cubs. All of the blood rushes to my cock and I make quick work of escaping to my office before anyone notices.

I should have expected that Declan would be hot on my heels, not giving me a moment’s peace.

“Are you proud of yourself?” he chastises, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door, removing all hopes of my escape.

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