Page 73 of Knot for Me
“Wow. Okay. So this is serious.” She finally takes a big bite, aggressively chewing the dough while she processes the situation.
“We have reason to believe the threats are legitimate. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Lucas flicks his gaze to me and Marco. “Wewon’t let anything happen to you.”
“Do you think”—she pauses, looking at her pizza before deciding to ask the question—“it’s the same person that murdered Emily?”
Marco makes a frustrated noise. “I fucking hope so. I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”
Reagan swallows at his vicious tone. “Why do they want to hurt me? We aren’t together.”
“That may be so, but to outsiders… well, an omega living with a bunch of alphas looks like an omega living with a bunch of alphas.”
“That was confusing, but I think I know what you’re getting at. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t initiated a mate bond because outsiders can’t tell. Basically it looks like I’m fucking all of you because I live here.” She groans. “Maybe I should move in with Amelie.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” I say, dropping my pizza onto my plate and leaning toward her. “You stay with us.”
She narrows her eyes. “I thought it was my choice.”
Fuck. She has me there.
“If you stay in our pack, I’d prefer you stay with us. I will beg if I have to.” I lift an eyebrow. “Better?”
Her lips tip. “On your knees and everything?”
“You think I’m afraid of bruises?” I walk around the counter, preparing to drop down and beg. I’m not ashamed. Which is another red flag, but red seems to be my favorite color today.
“No, no.” She holds up her hand to stop me. “As much as I’d love to have you kneel before me like I’m a queen, I don’t want you to beg.” She glances at the guys. “I’ll stay, but we need to make it clear I’m not your omega.”
Lucas growls.
Reagan snarls in response. “I’m not. Your. Omega.”
“There’s literally pizza in front of both of you, why are you trying to start a fight?” Marco practically whines. “Eat your food or get out so Cory and I can eat in peace.”
“So dramatic,” Reagan mumbles, pulling her gaze away from Lucas. “Fine, but only because this pizza is amazing.”
“I was never a thespian like Amelie, but I would consider myself a lesbian.” Marco waggles his eyebrows at her.
“The fuck did you just say?” I ask with a confused laugh.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Reagan gives a little snort and launches into a ridiculous story where Marco didn’t know what a thespian was.
I side-eye Lucas, who is still simmering in frustration at Reagan’s adamant declaration. I shake my head slightly, drawing that ire filled gaze my way. He mouths,we need to talk. Taking a bite, I chew and dip my head in acknowledgement. We do need to talk, but I at least want to have one more reading date with Reagan before he tries to fix things by doing something ridiculous like banning us from her. He can’t.
Marco is teaching her self-defense and while we may live in a mansion, this house is too damn small for me to avoid her. We’ll have to continue figuring out how to live with this beautifully tempting omega and respect her wishes. I don’t want her to leave.
* * *
An hour after dinner, Reagan and I rendezvous in the library. She grabs my book and hers, handing me mine as we walk over to the couch together. I smile when she picks up the soft blanket I put in here earlier and immediately curls up underneath it.
I sit on the other end, turning slightly so I’m facing her while I read. She gives me a sinful smile then drops her gaze to the alien smut. I watch her for a moment. The delicate curve of her nose tucked into the pages and her eyes skating over the words, devouring them.
“You’re staring,” she says, flicking her gaze to mine. “You’re going to embarrass me.”
“Oh? Why?” I put my arm on the back of the couch, not even bothering to pretend like I’m reading.
“Because Cicely is about to find out what this alien’s tail can do.”
I hum. “That’s an interesting scene.”
