Ready or Knot (Knotted Paths #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,21
ton of money for thirty minutes of heat sex. Even more to knot them.
“Don’t worry.” Craig turned off the stove and pulled out his phone. “We just need a few things. An inflatable knot and lots of liquid meals.”
“An inflatable—” I blushed. “I don’t need any... any of that stuff.”
Craig didn’t even glance at me. “You know that squirmy, needy feeling you’re getting right now? How everything feels swollen and sensitive? That’s heat, and it’s going to drive you to crave cock and cum and knot like air.”
“Not in front of Bast, please,” Hunter hissed.
“I know what heat is. But I don’t want sex.” Well... maybe with Jordan.
Like a wolf with a bone, my mind latched onto the idea. I already knew what the big alpha looked like naked. What would he look like naked over me? I squirmed at the thought, and my butt cheeks squished. Oh shit... was that... slick? I’d never experienced that before.
“No one said anything about sex. I’m talking about a knot. It’s not the same as having an alpha satisfy your heat, but hey, it doesn’t require an alpha! So, bonus.”
“I have to take Bast to daycare.” Hunter glared at Craig and then gave me a sympathetic look. “I’ll check in when I get back?”
I nodded miserably. I’d come here so I wouldn’t be a burden to the Novaks, and instead I’d made myself a burden to a bunch of strangers. Great job, Wyatt.
“Okay, Chance will be here with the necessaries shortly.”
“You told Chance?” I was mortified.
“He’s our counselor. He’s supposed to help us out in our times of need. You definitely qualify.”
“Oh god.” I buried my face in my hands.
Blocking out my actual world only gave my internal world free rein. I imagined Jordan picking me up from this table, naked, of course, and carrying me to my bedroom. Of him laying me down in my bed and stroking his long, thick—
What was happening to me? I’d never thought positively about sex before. Why was my brain so fixated on it now?
“I don’t want to be in heat,” I whispered to the table.
“Sorry. We don’t get much choice. Perks of being an omega, huh?”
“Isn’t there something I can take to stop it? Some kind of medicine?”
“Short answer, no. Long answer, don’t even get me started on the lack of research into omega-focused health issues.” Craig pulled a chair out beside me. “I know this sucks. I know you feel miserable. But you’ll survive. We’ve all lived through worse.”
Maybe I had, but at the moment it was hard to think past the growing, needy pain in my body. “I just want Jordan.”
“The alpha from last night?” Craig’s voice held surprise. “The one who scared the crap out of you and chased you off campus?”
“He didn’t scare me. Well, he did at first because I was already frightened and not thinking straight. But he makes me feel safe. He said I’m his mate.”
Craig bounced his knee as fast as a humming bird’s wing. “Wyatt, they all say that.”
“It wasn’t just him saying it. I could feel it. Something. It was different.”
Craig’s silence shouted at me.
“I know what I sound like. Do you know how many times I’ve heard the same thing from the other omegas I was with? He loves me, it’s different this time, he’s going to take me away from here. I know it’s never true. I know it’s wishful thinking. But this... this safety? I’ve never felt safe with anyone. Not since I was a child, at least.”
“So... you think this heat was triggered by a true mate?”
A strange burbling laugh shook my body. “I don’t know. Is that a thing? I don’t know how any of this works. All I know is getting fucked and pain and power and being powerless. I don’t know about heats and sex that isn’t painful or scary. You know what’s scary? Thinking about having sex again. Thinking I might want sex.”
Craig’s lips were a white slash across his face. “Then we need to keep you as far away from this alpha as possible.”
My body clenched in pain. “But I need him, Craig. I think he’s the only one who can help me.”
The doorbell rang and Craig shoved his chair back. “We need to keep you safe.”
Chance’s voice was a murmur, and I lost track of their conversation as my entire body cramped. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, crying. It hurt so badly. More than a kick to the stomach. More than a busted