Page 77 of Tying the Knot
“Yes, yes. Go now. Do your job. Take down the baddies.” I wave him away.
He shakes his head. “You are impossible.”
“What can I say? I like to keep you on your toes.”
“Please be okay while we’re gone,” he begs me.
“I will be perfect. I’ve got a comfy bed that smells like Christmas, plans to defile it and my book. What more do I need?”
Them. I need them.
“Food?” Nik asks, coming in with a tray laden with snacks and drinks.
My eyes light up. I adore the snacks in this house. I’m probably going to end up the size of it, but who cares when I have four men who will slap my thigh and ride the next wave in? I can joke because I know it’s true. There isn’t anything I can do to turn them off me, and the feeling is very definitely mutual. After being told day and night that thin is beautiful by my mother firstly and then Adam, I’m actually looking forward to gaining a bit of weight. It’s extra hard for an omega, who is naturally curvy, to be skeletal. It was an uphill battle but one I thought I wanted. It turns out, I really don’t. And when I’m pregnant, I will be huge; I’ll make sure of it. I know that is Elijah’s timescale for when I can see Adam, even though he hasn’t said specifically. I want to be enormous, bursting and waddling up to him before I spit in his face and tell him what a fucking loser he is.
“Have I told you lately you are a prince among men?”
“Yes, but I will never tire of it, so feel free to mention it again,” he says with a smile, placing it on the bedside table.
“A prince. A king, even,” I purr, noticing the full Terry’s chocolate orange in amongst all the other stuff.
“I’m gutted I can’t feed all of this to you,” Kaleb complains, entering the room with Dylan close behind him.
“Me too. I’ll save you some. When do you think you’ll be back?” I ask casually.
“Right, that’s it, I’m staying,” Dylan says, catching my tone that I obviously didn’t do enough to disguise.
“Agreed,” Elijah says. “Halstead will just have to accept it.”
I waver, but then I do the right thing.
“No,” I shake my head defiantly. “Go to work. You can’t stay here when they’re all playing hero. Go.”
I really need them to hurry up and leave before I beg them all to stay.
I meet his gaze and urge him to get a move on.
He sighs. “Are you sure? Say the word, and I’m here.”
“Go.”
They nod and reluctantly file out after giving me a quick kiss each.
I wait a beat and then leap out of bed, turning the key in the lock before I go to the window and glare out of it, taking in everything out there with extreme suspicion.
“The SUV with the official-looking badge is our guy,” Elijah calls through the door. “Okay? Do you see him?”
I snort with laughter as Nik waves to me, jabbing in the SUV's direction.
“Yeah, I see him.” I smile, loving that they knew exactly what I would do. They know me. It’s perfect.
After I watch them pile into the car and drive off, Dylan hanging out of the back window waving dolefully, I turn and climb back into Elijah’s bed. I flop back and inhale deeply. The sheets have his scent lingering from his departure from the cotton-y goodness. I feel an unexpected surge of excitement course through me as I look around his room. The walls are dark green, with white trim from the ceiling to the floor. He has a bookshelf lined with books and trinkets, and to my surprise, a photo of me that he took without my knowledge. At least it's an attractive one that doesn’t show a double chin or squinty eyes.
The room is so filled with his presence I find myself feeling lost in it without him. I feel engulfed by his energy, yet it is somehow comforting as well, like he is here with me even though he is driving away from me. My heart swells, and their images flood my mind when I close my eyes.
I run my hands down my body, already exploring as I prepare to masturbate. I told him I would, and I won’t be a liar. I know he will expect it now. My eyes fly open when I realise he took my dirty knickers with him to work.
“Noooo!” I cry out and practically fly off the bed back to the window, but they are long gone. I dither about whether to ring him but then clench my fists. I won’t ring. He needs to focus, not be worried about me or listening to me yell at him for taking my underwear out into the field with him.
