“I-I. Um. I shouldn’t be here. I’ll go.”
“Stop,” he said, the demand almost a bark. I froze with my back to him, rubbing my sweaty palms on my thighs. “Come here.”
The glands on my wrists ached as his deep timbre lathed over me.
I sucked in a shaky breath, looking anywhere but at him as I made my way to his desk. Intimately aware of our audience, I tugged at the hem of his shirt, wishing it were longer. Nails dug into my palm as I itched the spot, wishing I suffered the sundress.
Soon, I stood in his shadow.
Rough fingertips brushed along the backs of my thighs, and I squeaked as my heart jumped into my throat. His well-kempt scruff scratched along my face, his cheek rubbing against mine.
A scent mark. My eyes widened, an omega whine clawing at my ribs.
His lips twitched before he pulled away.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, his eyes roaming over my body.
“Yes,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Did you need something?”
“Um.” I rolled my lip between my teeth, dropping my voice into a whisper. “I wanted to apologize. For what happened before my heat. I didn’t know. It was early, and I shouldn’t have crawled on top of you and done things like that. It was inapp?—”
One of his fingers pressed to my mouth, cutting off my ramblings. I resisted the urge to flick my tongue out and taste him. A strand of auburn hair fell free from his neat bun, falling deliciously between his eyes.
“Hush. You have nothing to apologize for. You did what your omega intended.”
My stomach flipped as butterflies swirled around, making me feel like a teenager with a crush. I peered at the two men watching us with amused expressions. Two fingers slid under my chin as he angled my face back to him.
“Don’t mind them,” he added. “Aidan is my brother, and Torin has been assigned as your personal guard.”
A spark fizzled behind my eyes as my brain short-circuited.
“Mywhat?”
“Come,” he said, lacing his fingers with mine and ignoring my question. “We’ll get you breakfast. You need to eat.” He faced Aidan and Torin. “I want those files on my desk by the end of the day.”
All the gentleness seeped from his voice, replaced with something cold and authoritative. The men dipped their chins. I swore I saw Aidan wrap an arm around Torin’s waist as we left the office. Kaelen’s thumb rubbed across my knuckles as he led me through the house.
Two hands bracketed my hips, lifting and placing me on the counter beside the stove. His chest heaved with slow breaths as his palms splayed over my bare thighs, his fingers skimming beneath the hem, doing terrible things to my panties.
“What do you want?”
Your knot inside me,I thought to myself.
Damn my omega brain, she was still in heat mode.
“You’re jumping ahead, sweetheart,” he said, nipping at my ear.
Oh,no. I said the quiet part out loud.
My cheeks burned as I hid my face in my hands.
Stupid omega.
I tried to slip off the counter. I couldn’t be around him.
Everything about him made me act irrationally. Unfortunately, his hands held me still, his earnest eyes pinning me in place from beneath his neatly styled hair.
