Page 45 of In Knots

Chapter 13

Iwait for him on the pavement, the rain continuing to fall, my body soaked in water, raindrops streaming down my face and into my eyes. I hear his bike before I see it, growling like an animal, and he comes slicing through the sodden street, skidding to a halt in front of me.

He snaps off his helmet.

“What are you doing out here in the rain, princess?” he shouts above the downpour.

“Waiting for you,” I say, skipping across the space and wrapping my arms around his neck, kissing his lips. Perhaps it’s foolish, any of our neighbours could see me kissing this alpha out here in front of my house, but they’re all hidden away behind their huge security gates anyway.

Ryan slides his arm around my waist, pulling me in close to the bike, the engine warm.

“I hoped you’d call,” he murmurs against my mouth.

“You knew I would.”

“I didn’t. I never know what to expect from you, princess. You come from a different world, with different rules. I don’t know what you’re thinking half the time.”

“That’s because I’m too busy feeling.”

He chuckles. “Let’s get you inside.”

He wheels his bike through the gates and up the drive, and I find him a place to conceal it behind the bushes that line the house. It’s not fool proof. If you knew where to look, you’d spy the bike immediately, but hopefully no one will be looking.

I watch as he takes in the front of the house, not saying a word, my hand tight in his, and then we step inside. His gaze swings along the hallway, up to the high ceiling and the sweeping staircase. They linger on the glittering chandelier, the golden bannisters, the painting so large it covers the whole of the left-hand wall. He remains silent and I tug him along, up the staircase and to my room, leaving wet footprints on the carpet behind us.

“How many rooms does this place have?” he mutters to himself under his breath, gaze peering down the hallway.

“This is my room.” I rest my hand on the doorknob and glance up at him.

“And are we going in?” he asks, bending down so our eyes are level.

“I’d like that.”

“Fuck, Alexa, I’d like that too.” His gaze roams lower, to where my wet shirt has stuck to my chest and my lacy bra is visible beneath, my nipples stiff little peaks. “And I think we’d better get you out of these wet clothes.”

I lean my weight on the handle and push. The door creaks open and my room, lying in darkness, comes into view. I stroll to the far side and switch on a lamp, and warm light spills across the soft furnishings and pastel colours. The scent of the room is all mine. But now his begins to creep in, masculine and deep, contrasting.

He’s the first alpha to cross into my room. Even my father hasn’t been inside since I presented as an omega.

This is my sanctuary. My nest. Where I burrow down and endure the agonies of my heats whenever they strike.

To let him inside makes me shiver. Like we’ve crossed some invisible line, broken a rule.

I think he’ll stride straight over to me and start peeling away my sopping clothes. He doesn’t. He wanders around the room, examining the books on the shelf, the photographs on the wall, the clothes hanging in my open wardrobe. He avoids my bed, but soon I realise that, slowly, he’s drawing closer and closer. He stops in front of my desk, so close our arms almost touch. He picks up a paperback and turns it over in his hands, reading the spine. Then he looks up at me, his green eyes so striking my breath catches in his throat.

“I’ve never done this before,” I blurt out, shaking hard now, from the cold, from my apprehension, from desire. I don’t know.

He nods and places the book down gently.

“Alexa,” he says, “I can’t promise you the first time is going to be amazing, but I’m going to try my damn hardest to make sure you feel good. You’ve been buzzing around in my head for weeks now. All I can think about day and night is fucking you. And once isn’t going to be enough. I want you to understand how good this feels. How there’s nothing else like it. I can tell you because I’ve tried them all. Fast bikes, drugs, alcohol: none of it comes close. I want you to experience that ecstasy, I want you to be begging me for more.”

I’m so lost in his eyes and his words that I hardly know what to say. “What do I need to do?” I murmur as he takes my cold hands in his.

“Whatever feels right. Whatever feels good.” He tugs me towards him. “What felt good last night, little Omega?”

“Everything,” I confess.

“I’m going to need you to be more specific.”

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