"Please," he whispered, and the word sounded so foreign coming from him. Know was a man who probably rarely used that word. "Tell me you feel this too. Tell me I'm not going insane."
"Knox…" his name tumbled from between my lips.
Desire roared behind his eyes as he stared down at me."Tell me."
I looked up at him, at this dangerous Alpha who could probably break me in half but was holding me like I was something precious. His control was hanging by a thread, and mine wasn't far behind.
"I can't," I whispered. "Let me go."
For a heartbeat, I thought he wouldn't. His grip tightened, his other hand coming up to cup my face. His thumb brushed my cheek, and the gentle touch nearly undid me.
Then he released me.
I ran out of the room and down the hallway.
The bathroom was mercifully empty. I locked myself in the far stall, my whole body shaking as heat lightning shot through my nervous system. My suppressants were failing, the patch completely useless now, and being that close to Knox had triggered something primal.
"Not now," I gasped, pressing my forehead against the cool metal of the stall door. "Please, not now."
I wasn’t due to go into heat for at least another ten days, but my body didn't care. It wanted an alpha, wanted his knot, wanted his claiming bite.
Stupidly and dangerously, I had to admit that my body wanted Knox to claim the hell out of me.
The need was so strong it made me whimper.
I fumbled in the front pocket of my pants for the emergency suppressant pills I always carried, dry-swallowing two of them. They'd make me sick later, but it was better than going into heat at work.
From where I was in the stall, I heard the door to the bathroom slowly creak open. There was no need to look, I knew that it was Knox coming into the women’s restroom.
I held my breath, as if that would keep the smell of him from stirring inside of my nose even over the industrial bathroom cleaners.
"Harper." Knox’s voice sounded thick with need and restraint at the same time. "I know you're in here."
"Go away."
"Can't." Footsteps moved closer. "Your scent is everywhere. In the hallway, in here. Every Alpha in the building is going to smell it soon."
"I took pills. It'll fade."
"That doesn’t matter and we both know it." He was right outside my stall now. "You're going into heat."
"I'm not."
"Don't lie to me." His hand hit the stall door, not hard, but enough to make me jump. I swallowed hard, staring at the door as if he could see through metal.
"I can smell it on you.” He whispered softly. “The beginning of it. Sweet like vanilla but with something darker. Something that's calling to every fucking instinct I have."
"Knox, please. Just go."
"Let me help."
The offer hung in the air between us. I knew what he meant. An Alpha could help an Omega through heat, could make it easier, safer. Could claim me…
"No," I said firmly. "I don't need your help."
"You need someone's." His voice dropped lower rattling my resolve. "And every cell in my body is screaming that it should be me."
"Why?" The question slipped out before I could stop it. "Why me?"
