Page 68 of Knot for Me
“Nonsense,” Jennifer says, standing on my other side and holding a black choker against my neck. “This dress was made for you.”
I smile at her and she gives me a warm look.
“Besides”—she hooks the necklace around my neck—“alphas deserve a little torture now and then, hmm?”
Laughing, I nod. I can’t resist the temptation of making Lucas’ jaw clench when he sees the dress I picked out. He may not care about me, but he is damn sure attracted to my body and this dress flaunts all the right parts without being overly scandalous.
“Good girl.” Jennifer pats my cheek. “I’ll ring it up. Change and bring the outfit to me. I’ll pack it up.”
Jennifer is waiting with a fancy navy blue box with delicate white tissue paper. She takes the dress, necklace, and shoes from me and carefully folds the outfit. She wraps the choker in its own wrapping paper and lays it on top. The shoes go in a different box and she stacks those two boxes on top of another. I frown and point at the extra one.
“Oh, that isn’t mine.”
She grins. “Anyone who spends over eight-hundred dollars gets a special gift, courtesy of me.”
My jaw unhinges. “Eight-hundred dollars?” I squeak, swinging my gaze to Amelie. “That’s too much.”
“Please, you deserve more.”
“That’ll be nine-hundred-sixty.” Jennifer looks at the computer screen and grabs the mouse, moving it around. “To the pack card?”
“You know it,” Amelie says, bumping me with her elbow. “I better get the princess back to her castle before she melts.”
“If I’m a princess, why would I melt? That’s usually witches.”
She shrugs. “Whatever. I’m going to take you home before you try to talk Jennifer out of charging the dress to the pack fund.” She grabs the boxes and makes kissing sounds at Jennifer. “Thanks, love.”
“Enjoy the gift.” Jennifer winks at me, and I grimace, hating that on top of the pack spending a fuck ton on a dress, I also got a freebie out of it.
My pride wants to rear its head, but Amelie shoves the boxes into my side and herds me out of the store.
“Don’t overthink it,” she warns while I open the hatch so she can put the boxes inside. “Let’s get you home, Cinder.”
“I hate you,” I mumble, rubbing my forehead and walking to the passenger door.
“No you don’t.” She unlocks the doors, and we hop in, ready to head back to the mansion.
I have to find a way to pay the pack back.
* * *
Amelie helps me carry the boxes to my room, and we set them next to the care package from my mom. She leaves when Jefferson sends her a suggestive text, telling me she has dick to master and she’ll see me later. I envy the easy way she and Jefferson work together. Mate bonds are supposed to be intense and all consuming, and the way she rushed out proves how powerful they can be. All the more reason to make sure I don’t end up in that trap. First they mate you, then they breed you.
Since I haven’t unpacked my bags, I decide to hang up my clothes along with the new dress in the closet. The air still reeks of what Lucas and I did, but that’s much better than Emily’s scent lingering in the air and reminding me of all they lost. I set the new shoes directly under the dress on a short rack, then head to open the mystery gift from Jennifer. This box is a deep green and there’s a thin silver ribbon holding it closed. Gently tugging the knot loose, I take the lid off and peel back the tissue paper, eyes widening when I take in the skimpy, strappy lingerie.
Swallowing my surprise, I hold up the black bralette that crisscrosses between the cups. This will look amazing under the dress, especially with that plunging neckline. There’s a matching thong with a small scrap of crisscrossing ribbons which will cover my front. The string part is a super soft black fabric which will probably be nicer than any thong I’ve had before. Usually buttfloss is super annoying, but I bet this one isn’t. I carry the box into the closet, placing it on one of the shelves for safekeeping, and then head to do my chores for the day.
No one has given me a schedule, so I made one up. Today is vacuum day, possibly the worst day of cleaning. This mansion has a lot of rooms to get through. I warned the guys at dinner last night so hopefully they listened and cleaned their bedrooms. I’m not picking up dirty socks. The first floor doesn’t take long. Aside from the elegant rugs in the living room and library, the office is the only other room with carpet and that’s locked. I lug the vacuum to the second floor, scowling at the next set of stairs. I haven’t been to the third floor yet, mostly because I haven’t had a reason.
Much to my surprise, the bedrooms are all clean. It doesn’t take long for me to finish. Right before I head to the third floor, my phone rings. Sighing, I set the vacuum down and run to my room, hitting the answer button on the fourth ring to keep it from going to voicemail.
“Hello?”
A faint crackle and then nothing.
I pull the phone back and glance at the screen. The call is from a number I don’t recognize.
“Hello?” I ask again, face pinching in annoyance when no one answers. I hang up and toss the phone on the bed, heading back to finish my work. When I reach for the doorknob, my ringtone sounds again. “What the fuck?” I mutter, going back to the bed and snatching the phone.
