Page 24 of Roommate Wanted (Knotty #1)
Lyall
Her eyes were on me. I could feel them. I gently probed the link to find curiosity. She was on the couch, ‘working’. The progress was slow, but since the night I took her arse, she’d mellowed out. Four days later, she never tried to sleep in her bedroom again.
You should have wooed her, not shown her how crazy we were. Conall grumbled.
I preferred it when you were silent and sulking. I said.
He was angry about how I handled the aftermath and that I took her to the other apartment.
He began to growl, and Nia jumped.
“Is that him?”
she asked, and I felt her curiosity pique.
Hmm. This could work in my favour.
“Aye,”
I said.
“He’s no thrilled ye’ve been ignorin’ us.”
She bit her lip. Not out of guilt. Intrigue.
“Does he…feel what you feel?”
I stepped forward slowly.
“He feels everything. Doubles it. Sometimes he wants tae tear down the walls just tae get to yae.”
Her thighs shifted. I felt the flutter of arousal flicker through the bond.
“I think he likes yae takin’ interest,”
I said softly.
“Maybe he’ll show yae how much.”
“Can I see him?”
Conall stirred against me. He wanted to touch her and for her to touch him. He was ready to do tricks for her.
“What about your allergies?”
“Whatever you've diseased me with might lessen them,”
she muttered, eyes flicking back to her screen, but her fingers had stilled on the keyboard.
I grinned, slow and predatory.
“Ye weren't screaming about disease last night. If memory serves me right, yae were begging fur ma knot.”
Her eyes narrowed, but her legs rubbed together again, betraying her need. Conall growled low in my chest, pleased. Encouraged.
“Can I see him?”
she asked again, softer this time.
I moved closer, kneeling in front of her.
“He’s a part o’ me, darlin’. Always watchin’. Always wantin’.”
I tilted my head.
“But if yae mean a shift—ye’d have to touch me. Let him in. Properly.”
Her breath hitched. I reached for her hand and guided it to my chest, right over my heartbeat.
“Close yer eyes. Say hello.”
Her eyes closed.
Conall surged forward in the bond—warm, wild, wanting. And he purred for her.
Nia beamed, and for the first time, I felt happiness through our bond.
Conall rumbled louder, vibrating through my ribs like a second heartbeat. Her eyes opened slowly, dazed, soft as if she’d forgotten she hated me.
“Yae feel him?”
I whispered.
She nodded, lips parted.
“It’s like warmth. Pressure. He’s big.”
“Aye. An’ he likes it when yer soft wae him.”
Her hand slid down from my chest to my stomach, hesitant but curious. Conall practically preened under her attention.
“He’s—gentler than you.”
I leaned in close, brushing my lips against her jaw.
“That’s because he wants yae to love him. I just want tae ruin yae, so ye’ll never leave us.”
She shivered and pulled her hand away.
“I think you're the animal out of the pair,”
she whispered.
“And don't yae forget it,”
I said, standing up, ignoring Conall’s whine as the contact broke.
**
The gas on the stove was off, and the pressure on the pot was released. I was chopping the spring onions and herbs that would complete my dish when Nia wandered into the kitchen. My body switched to high alert. I was tempted to keep her tied to my bed over the weekend.
Hunger.
It wasn't mine. It was Nia’s.
“Food is almost ready.”
“Ugh. It is so creepy when you do that,”
she grumbled before crossing her arms and leaning her back on the counter.
“Yae don't seem to mind when ah use our connection tae fuck yae the way you need it.”
She rolled her eyes, but I felt the spark of lust.
“Yeah, well, that’s different,”
she muttered.
“That’s—private.”
I raised an eyebrow as I slid the garnish items into the pot and stirred.
“There’s nothin’ private between us anymore, Nia. Yae lost that luxury when yae let me knot yae.”
Her cheeks flushed.
“I was in heat, Lyall. Biologically compromised.”
“Aye,”
I said, not even trying to hide my grin.
“And yae still came on my cock while yae were beggin’ me to breed yae.”
She pushed off the counter with a glare.
“You’re insufferable.”
I set the spoon down and turned to her, stepping in just close enough to make her tilt her chin.
“And yer insatiable, darlin’. But lucky for yae, I’m cookin’—because if yae keep lookin’ at me like that, yer dessert’s gonae be my cock down yer throat.”
She let out a strangled noise and turned on her heel, muttering something about needing to “check her emails.”
My eyes lingered on her arse before it disappeared.
I stirred the pot absently, my mind already racing. I had to get her to Scotland. If she were pregnant, she’d be vulnerable. And if she wasn’t…she’d still be vulnerable. I doubted that she had the ability to shift irrespective of whether she completed the bond or not.
A fangless human against a wolf was no match.