Knot a Good Idea (Bittersweet Omegas #4)

Chapter 13

13

DONOVAN

I’m going to kill Liam.

I thought I would have to worry about Hunter pushing the boundaries of the contract with his excessive flirting.

But it’s Liam, the one who has been giving her puppy-dog eyes since I brought her here.

Liam, the one who’s looking at April like he’s in love with her and ready to get down on one knee to propose.

“Donovan, we were—” he tries, but I cut him off.

“They’re wondering where you are,” I say coldly to April, who looks at me with wide eyes. “We should go back. There are people you should meet.”

The sweet scent of her arousal fills the air, and I want to bang my head against a wall.

Ugly jealousy pulses through my veins.

She chose to kiss Liam, not me.

I haven’t really given her any reason to, though. Ever since I found out who she was, I’ve kept my guard up.

She didn’t tell us about what happened to her for a reason. I’m not going to push her on the subject when I can barely confront my own demons.

I can’t fall for her.

But Liam and Hunter don’t know about her past.

I can already tell they want her as part of our pack, permanently, and I don’t know what the fuck to do.

April has the decency to look chastised as she walks toward me with her blown pupils and flushed skin. “Donovan?—”

“Not now,” I hiss as I place my hand at the small of her back. “We’re heading back inside.”

Her delicate scent is all over Liam, who stands at my opposite side. “I can?—”

“Shut up,” I snap, cursing myself for sounding like an asshole.

I usually reserve that for my interactions with Hunter, but I’m so sick with jealousy that my carefully crafted control starts to shatter.

This was a mistake.

I shouldn’t have picked April on a hunch, then vetted her last minute like an idiot.

I know better.

But I wanted it to be her so badly that I procrastinated with the background check until it was too late to pick someone else.

We make it back to the banquet hall, where more people gush about April while I talk my way through mindless conversations.

The most important part of tonight was funding the museum and their art classes, along with providing scholarships.

Now that it’s done, I would like to go.

I’m at the bar, nursing a whiskey, when Hunter joins me.

“Hey,” he says. “I actually have to hand it to you.”

He looks just as joyful as Liam does, and it makes me feel like shit. “Oh yeah? Why?”

“She’s great. I mean, I’m pretty sure Liam is half in love with her already.”

I scoff. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“What are you pissed off about? This is the most fun we’ve ever had at these bullshit galas.”

I chance a glance at April, who is leaning her head on Liam’s shoulder as he talks with the museum director. “She’s pretending to be with us, Hunter,” I mutter.

“I know that, asshole. But we can be friends with her, too. Or do you not know what that word means?”

I scowl at him and toss back my whiskey.

“Besides,” Hunter smirks. “It’s not like we can’t date her after this. She calls the shots, as per the contract. If she wants to be our girl, she can be.”

For a moment, I debate telling him about April and her past.

How even though he and Liam think she’d be a great fit for us, I know I couldn’t provide what she needs since I’m stuck in my own bullshit.

But I can’t. That’s her secret to tell if she ever wants to.

So, I have to be the bad guy and keep her at a distance with Hunter and Liam none the wiser.

Fuck .

“You like her, too,” Hunter adds. “You wouldn’t have picked her if you didn’t.”

“It wouldn’t work,” I hiss. “End of discussion.”

He narrows his eyes. “Just because you’re too closed off to see how she’s perfect for us doesn’t mean I am. She’s all but our mate, and you’re too fucking blind to see that.”

He heads back to the group, leaving me at the bar to drink alone.

April doesn’t look or speak to me the rest of the night.

It’s fine; that’s what I want, anyway. Distance between us.

But when she tilts her head back and laughs at something Hunter says on the limo ride back, jealousy rears its ugly head.

Especially when we arrive back at the house and she intertwines her fingers with Liam’s as they head into the living room. Hunter trails behind him, his eyes wild with obsession and lust.

I head upstairs, not bothering to say goodnight.

My bedroom is the furthest down the hall from the others, giving me the privacy I need. It’s almost a replica of the downstairs office; only this one has only one monitor at the mahogany desk. A fireplace sits at the opposite corner of my bed, and a reading nook next to the bookshelf overlooks the sprawling landscape of Stone County.

I wonder if April would like it in here.

I shake the thought away.

I turn on the shower, allowing hot steam to fill the bathroom before I step in.

My cock has been painfully hard since the event, demanding my attention.

Catching April with Liam not only infuriated me, but it also made my inner Alpha ready to step in and take over.

She would look so beautiful stretched out along our cocks, her pink cunt lips spread?—

I wrap my fist around myself and squeeze roughly, groaning into the sensation.

Her arousal was sweeter than anything I had ever scented. I wanted to toss her into the back of the limo, spread her thighs, and lap it up.

But I can’t. I won’t.

That doesn’t stop the images from floating through my mind.

April on her knees, alternating between all three of our cocks in her mouth, her spit coating all of us.

Popping my knot inside her and locking her in place with me while Liam comes down her throat.

Hunter stretching open her ass while I thrust into her tight cunt.

All depraved thoughts that will never come true.

It doesn’t stop my balls from tightening and my cum from spurting all over the shower walls, though.

And when I’m done, I’m far from satiated.

It only made things worse.

I stay in my room for the rest of the evening, unable to sleep.

Instead, I do more research on April.

I thoroughly read articles that the private investigator provided me.

Inside, I rage.

Missing Woman Found in Abandoned Parking Lot

The sound of her laughter echoes from somewhere in the backyard as I dig deeper into her story.

At every word, nausea churns in my gut.

No wonder she didn’t tell us who she was.

Who the fuck would want to relive that experience?

It makes me furious at a person that’s already behind bars.

There’s no justice to be had. He’s already been sentenced, but life in prison isn’t enough for what April went through.

April, the clever, witty woman downstairs that smells like heaven and makes me start to want things again.

April, who looks at me like she truly sees me and isn’t blinded by the wealth or luxury.

The Omega who makes Liam smile and Hunter laugh.

She would be perfect for them, but I couldn’t be enough for her.

The knowledge weighs heavy in my soul as a knock sounds at my door.

“Donovan?”

April’s scent floods the room before I even open the door, all sweet warm vanilla and brown sugar.

She’s changed out of her dress into an oversized shirt and pajama pants, and the makeup is off her face.

She’s beautiful, even when her eyes are narrowed at me and her lips are pulled into a thin line.

“Hey,” she says. “About earlier?—”

“Forget it. You’re allowed to do what you want,” I say. “There’s nothing in the contract that says you can’t kiss Liam.”

“You’re angry with me,” she says.

“Not angry. Disappointed.”

She raises an eyebrow. “ Excuse me?”

“You said this was strictly business, right? To help your café? You put all of that at risk by putting on that display of affection at the gala,” I say coldly. “The wrong person sees you, or makes an assumption, and it puts everything at jeopardy. The people there are vultures.”

She crosses her arms and takes a step back into the hallway. “You never communicated that,” she says quietly.

“I did, but maybe you were too busy playing board games to remember.”

I sound like a prick, but I can’t help it.

I’m not lying about these people. Gossip runs wild in their little cliques, and appearance is everything at these events.

“I kissed Liam . He’s part of your pack. What bad impression could that possibly leave?”

I clench my jaw, realizing I don’t have an answer that doesn’t make me sound like a jealous asshole.

Maybe it’s because you are a jealous asshole.

I know the most about her. She confided in me, yet she chose Liam…

“You don’t know our world. Life for us isn’t baking cookies all day or making lattes.”

Now you’re a jealous asshole and a piece of shit.

Her eyes widen a fraction, then cloud over. I watch as she shuts down in front of me, a cold mask of indifference spreading across her face.

“You’re right,” she says lowly. “I’m not like you. And it’s something I couldn’t be prouder of. I don’t walk around with a stick up my ass, despite having everything I could want. I’m not a pretentious, entitled prick .”

Nothing she said was incorrect. “Anything else?” I lean on the doorframe and cross my arms, matching her stance.

“Skylar’s picking me up tomorrow. Don’t worry about how I’m getting back.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’ll fly you back.”

I know she can’t stand me right now, but I was secretly hoping to have alone time with her in the air, even if she’s pissed at me the entire time.

“Flying back home on a helicopter is ridiculous. She doesn’t mind the drive. She’ll be here around eleven tomorrow.”

“I don’t agree.”

“And I don’t care,” she snaps. “You don’t tell me what to do. Why would you bother anyway, when all I do all day is bake cookies and make lattes? We’re not really dating, remember?”

The spicy scent of her anger fills the air, and it’s all because of me.

I know I should apologize, but I can’t find the right words to say because my ego is in the way.

So, I nod curtly. “Correct. I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

A flash of hurt crosses her features, but she covers it up quickly. “Right. Well, goodnight.” She turns and heads down the hall.

I groan and run a hand through my hair, a migraine beginning to form.

Fuck .