Page 31 of Mask and the Magnolia

I always offer to do the same for her but Evie used one of those services several years ago that places an omega with an alpha strictly for when they go into heat and she’s never looked back. She says the medication to get us through makes her sick, which is true, and it works better for her schedule to be able to plan things that way, but I know that’s not all of it. Evie doesn’t date and has a schedule more regimented than most, so that service is the only way she can make time to get laid and I’m convinced it’s how she’s trying to find her way out of her own contract. She might not be shackled to a bastard like her brother, but her dad holds the power to choose when he thinks it’s time for her to settle down, and Eve is secretly hoping she’ll find her scent match before that happens. So, heat service it is for her.

And despite having my cycle on her calendar right along with her own, I know Evie would never have told Camden something like that. She hates her brother as much if not more than I do and I know she’d never do that to me.

Which makes it even more unsettling to think Camden has acquired the schedule of my heat cycle. That definitely cannot be good.

“Not quite.” I clear my throat and lift my purse higher on my shoulder. “I still have a while.”

Bracing myself for impact, I hold my breath as he leans in and kisses my cheek like always but when he grabs my biceps and holds tight as his mouth moves by my ear,

I start to panic.

“I’ve restricted Evelyn’s access to Cynalhexin,” he whispers, his nails biting into my bare arms as he goes upright. Camdenmaintains that phony smile while speaking quietly but I swear I see the devil in his eyes. “I should have done it sooner, immediately after Byron announced our engagement and while I can’t change my lapse in judgement, I’ve corrected it moving forward.” He tugs me closer, his grip so tight I can tell it’s going to bruise then leans down until his lips are almost touching mine. “The next time you go into heat, it’ll be in my bed, or you suffer.”

Then he’s kissing me.

Camden Blackhurst is kissing me for the first time ever, he’s doing it in public, and I can’t stop him. Not without getting myself into a lot of trouble.

His tongue pushes against my lips, trying almost in vain to part them where they’re pressed firmly together, and I manage to hold him off for a few moments. Right up until his fingers curl against my arms, his nails biting into my flesh hard enough to draw blood, and I gasp.

Camden pulls me flush against him, using my reaction to force his way into my mouth, nearly shoving his tongue down my throat while I stand there frozen.

Sloppy, wet, open mouth. Aggressive and angry.

He kisses me like he both has no idea what he’s doing, and as if he’s taking something that belongs to him. Something he’s owed. Something he will never give up no matter what it takes.

In the back of my mind, I know that’s exactly what this is, too.

Camden’s entitlement has reached a new level, one where I’m no longer safe with this man, and the idea of him taking what he thinks he has a right to regardless of how he gets it is terrifying.

My heart is hammering away in my chest, my stomach churning as his hands move to my face, cupping my cheeks hard as he tilts my head to get a better angle and just when I’mconvinced I’m going to throw up in his mouth from how awful he tastes, my phone goes off in my purse.

“I should get that,” I choke out as I break the worst kiss of my life. “It could be my dad.”

Camden nods, his eyes burning into mine before he watches me put space between us and start digging. “Wouldn’t want to keep Byron waiting.”

It’s not my father.

He doesn’t contact me unless he absolutely has to and since Dr. Lowe is essentially mandated to report back to him at the end of every work day, there’s no reason for him to call me.

It’s not like we chat just for the hell of it.

DR. LOWE: Meeting is running over. Inventory discrepancies. Dr. Ridgeway is concerned.

Shit.

That’s not exactly what I wanted to see, either, but it’s better thanDean Reynoldslighting up my screen.

“Everything okay, Magnolia?”

I nod absently and force myself to smile. “Just reminding me about a meeting. I’ll talk to you later.”

My nose and throat sting as I turn away, my eyes welling with tears I absolutely cannot shed.

I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before.

It might have only been a kiss, but no one has ever taken what I never offered, never, and not only is that exactly what just took place, it was initiated by one of the worst humans I’ve ever met.

It’s really fucking scary.