Page 25 of Knot All is Crystal
Bare your throat.
Don’t stifle your whine, but don’t enhance it either. Too much of a whine can irritate their instincts, but a low level can show how upset you are that you displeased them.
He hums, temporarily satisfied with my prostrating, and waves his hand towards the door. “Go get dressed. You’ve got an empty suite tonight, so I need you to be available to hold court.” He casts his attention on the quiet, hulking Beta lingering in the room. “Puck, ensure she doesn’t go whore herself out.”
I slowly rise to my feet and start to back towards the door. Puck slips out in front of me, and as I pull the door shut behind me, Kieran’s voice, calm and clear, reaches me.
“While you are under my employ, you belong to me, Queenie. You’ll do well to remember that.”
* * *
The leather shortsand bustier top are surprisingly conservative for what I usually need to wear on a night I hold court.
And by hold court, I mean selling drugs on the main floor of Prism.
Kieran loves his royal euphemisms.
I pin a few pieces of my colorful hair behind my ears. While I keep it loose at the back to hide the bite mark on my nape, I’m surprised to see it has already faded some this morning.
Is it possible the fizz had done that? Or maybe it was being around my scent match.
I throb between my thighs at the memory of Maverick.
My Alpha.
Of fucking course, I’d meet my scent match in this hellhole. I’m not sure what it says about him that he was there seeking a pleasure worker, but I was down there, seeking a John, so I’m not going to judge him for it.
And he smelled so good.
How am I supposed to forget about him?
Now that I know he exists, every piece of my body is aching for him. But if Kieran finds out about him, that is one more person he can use to keep me in line.
If he lets my Alpha live.
Kieran has made it very clear that I belong to him, and a bonded Alpha would mess with that image.
Puck pushes off the wall outside the changing room as I exit.
“Still on babysitting duty, huh?”
His eyes roll in their sockets as he scoffs at me. “Of course I am after the stunt you pulled.” He rubs his dark eyes with the heels of his hands. He looks exhausted. When he finally looks at me, his expression is surprisingly gentle. “What the fuck were you thinking, Queenie?”
Gentle expression, harsh words. Damn. The dichotomy of Puck Bellamy.
“Like I told Kieran. I was horny.” I pretend not to notice that Puck almost stumbles with my words. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal because, like it or not, you’re the Queen of the Conglomerate. What do you think Kieran’s enemies would do if they knew all they had to do to get to you was to find you in the pleasure dens?”
“Aw, if you keep that up, I could almost believe you care about me, big guy.”
“You have no idea how much I care, Queenie,” he says so quietly that I almost miss it. The Beta ducks his head as we pass a few employees before wrapping his massive hand around my upper arm. “Did you have no other options for a quick lay, Crystal?”
“When would I have the chance to date, Puck? I work two jobs. When I’m not here, I’m at the Clinic. When I’m not there, I’m sleeping or checking to make sure Kieran didn’t go back on his word and harm my family.” I rip my arm away from his grip, my lip curling. “So no, I don’t have someone I can call to fuck the fire out of me, despite what you may think about me.”
I push past him towards the employee stairs to take me to the VIP floors. “And besides,” I call over my shoulder, “I seem to remember offering you that position. Don’t be upset that someone played with the toy you put down.”
Fingers band tightly around my wrist, and I hop to avoid falling down the stairs. He spins me, pushing my chest against the wall and crowding my back. This close, it’s impossible to deny that Puck smells good. It’s not like other Betas or the strength of an Alpha’s pheromones, but it’s appealing.
