Page 34 of Love Me Knot, Part One (Knotty Omegas #1)

Daphne glances around, a small smile tipping that pouty mouth. “Are they nearby?”

“Levi and Sol live a few cities over, but they work in Seaport. My parents aren’t far. What about you?”

She pauses like she didn’t realize we’d ask about her too. “My parents don’t live here.”

Not a lie, but definitely not the full truth, either.

Nate frowns. “Where do they?—”

“I’m starving. Let’s eat before it gets cold.” Daphne sends me this begging, desperate look.

Please. I don’t want to talk about this.

How can I deny her?

“She’s right. Eating takeout cold is for midnight snacks and breakfast. Dig in.”

The grateful smile Daph shoots my way warms me. I feel her hot gaze traveling across my skin even when I’m not looking. This awareness inside me won’t let it be any other way.

Fuck it.

For the moment, I stop fighting. Give up the pretense that I don’t notice everything about this woman and just watch.

There’s something seriously erotic about Daphne eating. Seeing our fork disappear between her lips. Her throat swallowing the food we provided.

Then it happens.

The moment she tastes something she likes, Daph groans. This decadent, indecent sound that makes my dick jerk like I’m about to come right here at the table. It’s so hot it burrows under my skin and etches itself into my bones. A core memory for the ages.

“Do that again.” Nate shifts in his seat. Daphne’s eyes dart to his lap, then away.

“Leave her alone,” I tell him, but she lifts her fork and stares me down as she takes another bite, groaning the whole way.

Jesus fucking wept.

I have to clear my throat twice before I can speak. “Good?”

“Yeah,” Daphne breathes. Her pupils are expanding, scent getting thicker the longer we’re caught in whatever the fuck this is. I’m about to lean over and lick the sauce from the corner of her mouth like a heathen when my phone vibrates in my back pocket.

It steals some of the heat in her eyes, and I’ve never wanted to throw the thing more, even if I’m grateful for the interruption. These pieces of time with Daphne are a lie, telling me I can have something that definitely isn’t mine.

She carefully sets down the fork, reaching for her water instead.

“No, don’t stop. I want to hear your happy noises again,” Nate whines, leaning against her shoulder.

Shoving him off with a good-natured laugh, Daphne lets him and Dez take over the conversation while we eat. They ask questions and tell stories that leave the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable.

Dez is in the middle of discussing a project he’s painting when he sees Daphne cringe. Whatever she just tried, it’s a pass. Without a word, he scoops the offending food off her plate and gives her some of the chow mein she’s already demolished.

When Nate heads into the kitchen for a drink, he refills her glass.

When I go for salt, I realize we forgot an entire bag of rolls and grab them, pausing to stick one in the microwave. I don’t second guess myself or think too hard about how easy it feels to drop it on Daphne’s plate before I find my seat again. I’m just being nice.

Through it all, we just exist. This isn’t courting or alpha-omega politics. It’s just four people enjoying each other’s company and I don’t want it to end.

The delicate truce lasts until dessert. I’m halfway through a slice of the second-best red velvet cake I’ve ever had when my phone goes off again. Daphne’s eyes dart to me, then away. It’s not the first time it’s gone off and I doubt it’ll be the last.

Cursing, I put it on Do Not Disturb, but her shoulders don’t relax. Right in front of my eyes, I watch Daph disappear into herself like it’s her fault that I can’t eat a meal in peace. She doesn’t deserve to shoulder the blame for something she didn’t do.

I’m about to throw myself across the table, that discomfort plucking some invisible string inside me. Fix it. Soothe the omega. But this time, the phone that vibrates is hers.

“Boo. No devices at dinner,” Nate teases, completely oblivious to the woman beside him.

If I wasn’t watching, I’m not sure I’d have seen the way Daph tenses up or how she holds herself back from reaching for it.

Without knowing what’s going on, I throw her a lopsided smile, hoping it’ll offer comfort. “Maybe we should check them.”

Fingers drumming on the table, she stares at the device like it’s going to eat her alive. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Quick check and then we can turn them off altogether. A no-phones night. Does that sound okay?”

Hers vibrates again and as soon as she glances at it, her scent sharpens. A blade shoved down my throat.

“What the fuck?” Nate whispers, but I’m already out of my chair. Fuck my texts and fuck work. Whatever’s going on is bad.

I’m behind her, ready to pull her into my arms regardless of my reservations when I see them.

Mother

You went into heat and didn’t come home? Did you go to a rut bar or something? That’s disgusting when you have alphas at home willing to help you through your issues.

Honestly, Daphne. I raised you better than that.

I can’t even think about how fucked up it is to read her texts, because all I see is that one line.

You have alphas at home.

Daphne’s got a pack. She lied to us.

Wracking my brain, I try to think of an explanation, but how can there be one when her own mother’s calling her out? She told us about her exes, but what if she lied to get what she wanted? This whole thing reeks of bullshit.

Ice spreads through me, and I smell my scent getting just as sharp. This woman is just like Shelby. A liar.

No, she’s worse. At least Shelby didn’t cheat.

My brothers are watching us, and it makes me even angrier. They’ve already been through so much and now here she is, little miss perfect scent match here to fuck them up.

Nope. Not going to happen. I refuse to watch history repeat.

Bitter anger seeps through my bones, freezing out any chance of pain until it’s all I feel. “You’re packed up?”