Page 47 of Knot Your Romeo

“Will you—“

“I won’t breathe a word,” I promise. “To anyone.”

Relief floods her features. “Thank you.”

The movie plays on, forgotten, as we sit in comfortable silence. But Jolie’s presence beside me feels like a gift I don’t deserve.

“I should probably get you home,” I say eventually, though the thought of her leaving makes my chest ache.

“Should you?” She echoes my words from the diner, a small smile playing at her lips.

“Do you want to stay?”

“Is that an invitation?”

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”

She studies my face for a long moment. “I’d like to stay. If that’s okay. You make me feel safe.”

“It’s more than okay.” I take her hand and pull her off the sofa and lead her away.

My bedroom is simple. I have minimal furniture, but books are stacked on every available surface. Jolie examines the titles on my nightstand while I gather extra pillows from the closet.

“Austen, Brontë…” she reads. “You have excellent taste in literature.”

“Says the girl studying molecular biology.”

She grins, settling onto the bed in her pajamas. I join her, keeping a respectful distance despite every instinct urging me closer. The bed suddenly feels enormous and intimate at the same time.

“This is probably the most scandalous thing I’ve ever done,” she admits, pulling the covers up to her chin.

“Sleeping in your professor’s bed?”

“Yes.”

The quiet admission breaks something open in my chest. I turn onto my side, studying her profile in the dim light filtering through the curtains. I hate that I’m in a position of trust and I shouldn’t have invited her into my home. I certainly shouldn’t have allowed her to stay. But I’m struggling to separate all of that from my attraction to her. I have to fight the urge to pull her into my arms. I shouldn’t blur the lines anymore than I already have.

“Jolie?”

“Yes, Jude?”

The breathless way she says my name sends molten heat down my spine. She turns on the bed. Her thighs press against mine and for the first time in years, my cock throbs.

“Can I—“

Her eyes are bright despite the darkness. And the tension crackles in the air between us as we consider if this is right. “Can you what, Jude?”

The sass in her voice makes me smile, and like she knows how I’m struggling between my trust as her professor and my instinct to have her in my arms, she whispers, “Just do it.”

I don’t know if she moved first or me. But when our lips crash together, everything else falls away. I drag her closer to me, my cock hard between us. She doesn’t seem to mind, as I devour her mouth like I know this is our only time. We’re both Omegas, so that’s a good possibility.

Her hands find the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair as she pulls me closer. This is so fucking good. My cock is so hard as my lust climbs harder. I want her so fucking much. I’m out of control, needing more. But I know I can’t go any further.

Her teeth dig into my bottom lip. The sting doesn’t hurt, but it sends a zing through my body. I pull away from her.

Watching as her tongue slides over her lips and her finger reaches to my mouth.

“Sorry, I bit you.”