Page 58 of Knot What She Seems
She waves a dismissive hand. “We can workshop the name, okay? But do you want me to throw my wine at you?”
“That would be a very bad idea,” a smooth male voice answers from behind me, making the prickles on my neck become sharp spikes of pressure.
Nervous alarm burns through my veins as I turn to see Nic standing behind me, those massive biceps of his crossed as he stares down my roommate. His arms are so big that he’s not even wearing a jacket and his shirt looks like it’s having a hard time containing him. Alpha pheromones emanate from him in waves so massive that they nearly bowl me over, and my head curls down to the floor automatically.
Fuck.
I’m so screwed.
“Would you excuse us please?” I recognize Brock’s smooth tone from our meeting the other day even though my eyes are firmly fixed on the laces of Nic’s dress shoes.
Harper gives my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, but then the click of her heels sounds as she walks away. An omega can never disobey an alpha, especially ones as potent as these three.
“Brylee, you look beautiful tonight,” Jamie speaks from my side, and I can feel the three of them surrounding me—not closing in, but just getting close enough for my anxiety to spark.
My shoulders creep up higher, and my hands come together to encircle my wine glass. Forcing myself to breathe slowly, I try not to aggravate my burgeoning panic.
“Thanks,” is a whisper, and it makes me both ashamed of myself and pissed. It’s humiliating that the very idea of having alphas set on a relationship with me—political or not—makes me this scared. And it’s infuriating that I can impersonate Teddie and play at being a snarky alpha all I want, but when I’m in my own skin, direct defiance seems nearly impossible.
A male hand reaches out and latches onto mine, and I have no choice but to release my glass with that hand and let him take it. Brock bends over it and kisses the back of my knuckles, bowing a little, just like he did before.
His eyes glance up and meet mine, and I see sincerity and curiosity shining in their depths as he asks, “Why would our mate want someone to throw wine at her?” He catches a whiff of my toxic combination of perfumes then, and I can see his expression twist.
Tension twines through every muscle in my body.
My mouth parts, and excuses dance along the tip of my tongue.
But then the earth shifts. Gravity slips. I’m suddenly floating as a growl echoes all the way up to the arched ceiling and two massive arms wrap around me. “Your mate? I don’t think so. She’sours.”
19
BRYLEE
I glanceup at Kylian’s expression, his thick lips drawn taught over a clenched jaw. Nerves start boiling in my belly, and I’m not sure exactly how I feel right now. I’m literally in the arms of the one instructor at Eros who’s always been in my face, aggressively degrading “Teddie.” Out of all of Alpha Team X, he’s been the worst.
But now, he appears almost like a completely different person, and not just because he’s wearing a tux that looks amazing with his dark complexion. He’s clutching me to his chest as if I’m the most precious thing in the world. Gently but possessively, his fingers splay across my spine and the back of my thighs as he turns me into him, away from the Stirling alphas, fingers sweeping back and forth over my silky dress as if to soothe me.
His jacket slides as he adjusts me, and it sends a wave of fresh male alpha scent crashing over me, practically paralyzing me.
A part of me wants to shove my nose into the crook of his neck and just inhale endlessly, like a freak. But the other, more rational side of my mind is very aware that this tattooed man is capable of being a full-fledged asshole. I’ve been on the receiving end of his cruelty and mockery pretty much every day.
Fighting against the fluttering in my stomach, I wriggle against him. “Put me down.” The command comes out as a whimper more than the harsh dismissal I imagined inside my head. But maybe that’s a good thing because Kylian actually listens.
He lowers me to the dance floor but keeps his hands wrapped firmly around my waist. His brow furrows as he stares down into my face.
Clearly, he expected me to melt into a cuddle puddle at his claiming.
I’m not that kind of omega, buddy.
“What the hell, man?” Brock’s tone carries, and the gossip around us ceases as people’s heads turn, an entire circle of vulture-like onlookers forming instantly.
“She’s our scent match,” Kylian declares with utter confidence.
What the hell? Did dousing myself in perfume so strong that I can taste it have zero effect? Apparently.
“Really? Because she doesn’t look too happy to see you.” Jamie’s voice floats over my head from somewhere far closer than I would have expected, his sourdough scent filling my nose.
Did he step closer? Is the Stirling group about to throw down against Kylian over me?
