Page 47 of The Knotheads Next Door
"Not what?" I prompt gently.
She looks at me, vulnerability flickering in her eyes. "Not a ticking time bomb. Not a problem to be solved. Not someone that's causing chaos just by existing."
The raw honesty in her voice catches me off guard. For all her sarcasm and deflection, this is the most open she's been about how our situation is affecting her.
"Rowan," I say, my voice lower, more intimate than I intended, "you're not a problem. You're just going through something difficult. Something none of us was prepared for."
"Including me," she says with a humorless laugh. "Especially me."
Before I can respond, Bradley appears at her elbow, two fresh glasses of champagne in hand. "There you are," he says, his smile not quite reaching his eyes as he looks at me.
"I thought I'd lost you to the chief of staff's legendary conversational skills."
The dig is subtle but clear. I feel my expression harden.
"Actually," Rowan says, surprising me, "Wells was just about to show me the silent auction items. I hear there's a weekend at a luxury cabin up for grabs."
"There is," Bradley confirms. "My family donated it. I'd be happy to give you a private tour... of the auction items."
The innuendo is about as subtle as a brick to the face. I see Rowan's smile tighten, though she maintains her polite expression.
"That's very kind," she says, "but I promised Wells the first look. Rain check?"
Bradley's eyes narrow slightly, but his smile remains fixed. "Of course. I'll hold you to that."
As he walks away, Rowan lets out a small sigh of relief. "Is he always that..."
"Persistent?" I suggest. "Yes. The Petersons are used to getting what they want. He's just lost out on inheriting the resort from his parents, so he's been more full on lately."
"Well, he's barking up the wrong tree," she mutters. "I have enough alpha complications in my life without adding Handsy McResortHeir to the mix."
The casual lumping of me with "alpha complications" should sting, but instead, I find myself unreasonably pleased by her rejection of Bradley. Which is exactly the opposite of what I should be feeling if this evening is truly about giving her space from alpha attention.
"Come on," I say, offering her my arm. "Let's actually look at those auction items. Some of them are worth seeing."
She slips her hand into the crook of my arm, the contact sending a jolt of awareness through me even through the layers of my suit.
"Lead the way," she says. "And maybe after that, you can tell me more about this mysterious cabin where all the town's dark secrets are hidden."
"That would be the abandoned mine shaft, actually," I deadpan. "The cabin is strictly for illicit affairs and the occasional ritual sacrifice."
She laughs, the sound light and genuine, and something in me shifts—a certainty taking root that I've been trying to deny for weeks now.
I'm falling for Rowan Whitley. Not just her scent, not just the omega she might become, but her—this complex, funny, vulnerable woman who's trying so hard to maintain control as her world changes around her.
And that realization makes this evening—meant to be a simple distraction—suddenly much more dangerous than I anticipated.
Chapter 14
Rowan
Iwake up with my hand between my legs. My pussy throbs as wetness coats the insides of my thighs. I wiggle my fingers and feel a shock of pleasure jolt through me. The… post orgasm kind of pleasure.
This is... new. And mortifying.
I yank my hand away like it's been burned, staring up at the ceiling fan making its lazy circles above my bed. My skin feels too tight, too hot, like I'm running a fever. Except I know exactly what this is, and it has nothing to do with being sick.
It has everything to do with last night. With Wells in that perfectly tailored suit, his eyes darkening behind his glasses when he first saw me in the emerald dress. With the warm pressure of his hand at the small of my back as he guided me through the ballroom. With the flash of something possessive in his expression when that resort heir got too close.
