Page 110 of Knot What She Seems
And god help me, a sliver of the ice surrounding my heart melts at his words. Just a sliver, but it’ll be enough for these men to wiggle their way through if they ever notice.
I can’t have that.
I quickly look away from Ridge’s penetrating stare and focus straight ahead, allowing Kylian to lead me down the hall, toward my next class. At some point, Ridge and Luka break apart from us and head toward their own classes, and I hate that I notice they’re gone. I hate even more that I miss them.
By the time we enter the classroom, every seat except for one is already full.
Kylian steps away from me and swaggers toward the front of the room, a cocky grin firmly in place. He smirks at me and arches a brow.
“Theodore, you’re tardy. That’ll be strike one,” he says with feigned firmness.
I open my mouth and then close it as indignation fills me.
Asshole.
With a growl, I stomp toward my seat beside Sam, who’s staring at me with wide eyes.
“Everything okay?”he mouths.
I don’t bother responding, mainly because I don’t have an answer.
Is everything okay? I…I don’t know.
I don’t know anything anymore.
39
BRYLEE
Harper,like the good friend she is, bullied me into coming out to kickboxing class. I’m sweating, out of breath, half-deaf due to the music blasting through the room—but I haven’t felt this good in days.
The sadness and numbness have retreated, and all I can do is sing along to the music with all the betas surrounding us in class as the chorus of one of the best AC/DC songs of all time hits. “Cause I’m T.N.T.” We punch along with each letter, and a smile bursts across my face at the utter cheesiness of it.
The door at the front of the class opens, and a few people turn their heads, but I’ve skipped the last few classes and am focused on picking up the choreography. That’s why I’m shocked when I suddenly see Ridge standing in front of me in all his glory, a blond Adonis wearing all black biker gear.
My eyes widen, and if I wasn’t already out of breath, the sight of him would certainly make my lungs seize.
Damn. I didn’t know I needed a cross between Charlie Hunnam fromSons of Anarchyand Luke Eisner, the absolute hottie fromTall Girl…but there’s one standing right in front of me now, the complete bad boy package with a leather jacket and a knowing smirk.
“Brylee, I’m gonna need you to come with me.” His hand is in mine before I can stop gaping at him, and he’s grabbed my bag and slung it over his shoulder while I struggle to think of a protest.
Harper mouths, “Holy shit!” and several of the betas in class wolf whistle as he escorts me to the door, which turns me scarlet. Ridge’s smirk merely grows as he drops the hand-holding and instead puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me out along the omega sidewalk to a gleaming black Harley pulled up to the curb.
“I’m sorry, what did you need?” I ask, when I’m finally able to glance away from the bike.
“You,” he responds simply and directly.
Oh fuck.
The scent drifting off of him threatens to buckle my knees, and I think he might be able to tell because that hand at my back suddenly wraps around my waist.
“I need to show you something,” he states in a gruff, no nonsense tone.
I study the way the afternoon light cuts across his profile, highlighting the harsh line of his jaw, and I swallow hard.
“It’s not your dick, is it?” I squeak, a bout of awkwardness erupting from my mouth.
“Not today, Princess.” He barks out a laugh and lets go of me, moving to the bike and tossing my gym things into one of the saddle bags. Then he grabs a black helmet out and walks toward me. With more gentleness than I would have expected, he fastens it underneath my chin, letting his fingers linger for a moment before dragging them deliberately down the column of my throat.
