Page 12 of Knot Your Basic B*tch

I’d read all the news articles on it and ran the numbers. I knew the likelihood that I would be able to just bump into my scent match without help from the Institute’s Valentine Division (which was honestly kind of stupidly expensive. I mean, you can’t put a price on love… but boy did the guys in charge at the Institute like to upsell it).

But I digress.

Chloe smelled divine.

Sweet. Rich. Syrupy. Creamy.

Her scent was sugar cookies in winter and a hug after a hard day. Her scent was everything light and heavenly. Like being all wrapped up in a thick cloud of comforting softness.

More than anything, her scent reminded me of the best flavors within everything. The essence of sweetness. The luxurious cream within the coffee. The frosting on the birthday cake. With smokey notes that were slightly floral and spicy sweet.

Hers was the scent that gave life to all other flavors. The one flavor that gave texture and life to so many others. Arguably, it was simply the best flavor.

Vanilla.

But it was the way that her scent managed to wrap its way around me… not like a vice but a warm embrace. If a scent could be a fucking sign post, hers was neon bright and vibrating. Pointing straight down at this beautiful slip of a girl. Letting me know that she was the source of all of my future happiness. All of my joys. The mother of my mother-fucking children.

Her scent was home.

My scent match.

She was currently staring at me like I was the shit that the dog dragged in. Smeared across her newly mopped floors, after a hard day of cleaning.

“You’re here to talk to me because you want to get into a pack with my brother?”

“Well, I was, but obviously—”

“I will send him the best fucking recommendation that you have ever seen. Don’t worry, you’ll get into his pack. You will bond with him, and we’ll never speak of this again.”

I had to pick my jaw up from where it had fallen somewhere down on the floor. Somehow, the two of us got our wires crossed. The only thing that was stopping my heart from tumbling out of my chest and breaking apart into little pieces, was the look of pure disappointment on her face.

Not that it was pointed at me. It was pointed at her food.

What? She didn’t want to leave her waffle to get away from me?

Whatever. My baby girl could be sad about leaving a perfectly good waffle behind. It gave me an opening.

I just needed a couple of minutes with her. Just enough to figure out why she was staring at me like I’d just punted a kitten like a football while personally taking a dump on all of her hopes and dreams.

The combination of her scent, and her lovely appeal, had me rock hard. I was sitting at the table so it wasn’t noticeable, but Chloe was staring at me like she wanted me to leave. If I got up she was going to notice it.

I was still staring at her and… was my mouth hanging open the entire time I’d been plotting and thinking? Goddamn it.

“Screw your brother.”

“Exactly, that is the idea,” Chloe muttered.

Damn her obnoxiously hot brother, fucking this up for me without even being here.

“No. Fuck fucking him. I don’t fucking want him.” He was nothing compared to Chloe. The moment that scent bond snapped into place, it was like Titus Stryker no longer existed.

“Really?” Her tone was drowning in skepticism. “All my spare time for the past week has been taken over by alphas desperate for my brother. The only reason we are even talking is because you’re trying to get into his pants. Don’t even bother trying to deny it.”

“I want you.”

She didn’t believe me. The disbelief was as clear on her face as if she had said the words out loud.

If she could take a peek into my mind, the force of my desire would probably scare her off faster than whatever concerns she’d had that I was here for her brother. I could barely even think straight. With the cafeteria full of rich foods, Chloe was here and smelling better than anything I’d seen on any menu. What I wanted to eat more than anything else, was Chloe, thighs spread, right here on this picnic table. Fuck it, in front of everyone, I didn’t give a fuck. Just so I could get a taste of that cream in her dripping pussy, and see if it was as sweet as the rest of her scent that was threatening to overpower me.