Page 93 of Knot What She Seems
His hand grasps the joystick. And then…then he starts to move the claw.
Two inches.
That’s all he does. Two freaking inches before he walks back to the side and checks, bending, inspecting, even squinting.
He’s the exact opposite of everything I see in class when I’m playing Ted, more lighthearted than when we ran into one another on the street. This side of Luka is adorably amusing. All the danger and swagger when he’s a combat professor has suddenly been replaced by this razor-edge concentration over something utterly absurd.
“Luka…am I detecting a little bit of OCD?” I tease.
He straightens and stomps over to me in a way I shouldn’t find attractive but makes my breath catch in my throat like a sail in the wind.
“I’ll show you OCD,” he growls, grabbing me by the hips and spinning me so that I’m in front of him. My back ends up pressed against the glass, my ass just in front of the control panel of the claw machine, and my nerves suddenly fizzing with energy.
I think flirting with two members of my scent match group in a single day might just be a bad idea. Unfortunately, having that thought and acting on it are two entirely different things. My knees have absolutely melted from his dominant display.
His fingers dig into my hips for just a second as his eyes pour heat down my body. My breasts grow heavy under his stare as his spicy, masculine scent makes me grow greedy for more.
His mouth ticks up arrogantly on one corner as he leans closer.
Closer.
I inhale and part my lips.
He leans right past me, peering over my shoulder and holding me trapped, captive, as he grabs the joystick. His hands bump against my ass as he navigates the claw just where he wants it.
Perhaps I should push back against his chest. Maybe I should try to tease and distract him. But I’m caught up in the cloud of his scent and the feel of his arms around me. And there’s this completely baffling purring sensation deep within my chest—one I’ve never felt before.
Images arise in my head suddenly. Things I somehow desperately need like…a handmade quilted blanket and four feather-stuffed king-size pillows and…
“You want to push the button?” Luka’s warm brown gaze interrupts my wandering thoughts. I have to repeat his sentence inside my head before I actually understand it.
But when I do, I nod. “As long as you’re willing to share the glory.”
His lips tick up. “Just this once. But if you tell the others, I’ll deny it to our dying days.”
He spins me around then, and he gives me a second to catch my balance. With one hand firmly on my hip, he steps closer, pressing himself against my spine and making my entire body illuminate. His other hand comes down on top of mine and guides it toward the button.
Very, very solemnly—as if we’re in the middle of some occult ritual or something, he whispers in my ear. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be scared.”
“I’m not,” I retort with a scoff.
“It’s okay if you’re sca?—”
“I swear, Luka, I’m going to press this button without you.”
He chuckles, and I can feel the motion against my spine as he guides our hands to hover over the button. “Three. Two?—”
I try to cheat and press it before one, but he interlocks our fingers and keeps my hand still. “Naughty omega.”
Oh fuck.
Fuck.
That one phrase kicks my instincts into overdrive. My panties grow damp, and suddenly I want to nuzzle at his neck and beg him to do unspeakable things to me. I don’t, because that would be disastrous for both of us. But I want to.
