Knot a Good Idea (Bittersweet Omegas #4)

Chapter 24

24

HUNTER

“We should steal her panties.”

“We’re not stealing her panties.” Liam frowns as he plays the pinball machine in the game room. “Why would we do that?”

“Because. I’m going to lose my fucking mind. You can smell it too, can’t you?”

“Yes, but I’m an adult, and I’m not going to steal someone’s underwear because I don’t have any self control.”

I scoff, lounging on the leather couch, watching Liam try to beat my high score. The vintage machine is one of my prized possessions which I won in an auction years ago.

Liam’s been trying to beat my score for ages and he still can’t do it.

“Her Heat is almost here,” I say quietly. “The whole house smells like fucking cookies. ”

Our cocktail party is tonight, and April is as prepared for it as best she can be. We quizzed her and info dumped on her all week. She knows what to expect and who to expect, but she hasn’t been at one hundred percent since Liam brought her back here a few days ago.

And we all know exactly why. Her Heat is starting soon.

She sleeps in late and goes to bed early, and while she tries to hide it, she’s fatigued during the day.

She’s still great company, though. She’s taught Liam and me how to bake those amazing cookies, and she’s up for a game every night after we get back from the office.

I haven’t tasted her in weeks, and it drives me fucking crazy that Donovan made her come in the hallway the other day.

I’m jealous as hell, while Liam is patient.

“She hasn’t asked us to help her through her Heat,” Liam says simply. “If she doesn’t want us there, we won’t be. She can have the house to herself for privacy.”

The electronic chime of him losing the game makes me grin, and he hangs his head and sighs.

“Maybe next time,” I tell him, and he glares at me while I smirk.

Donovan enters the room and gives me a dirty look as well. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you,” he snaps. “But talking about stealing her underwear is absolutely abhorrent.”

“You’re abhorrent,” I reply easily. “And you know I’m right. She’s close.”

“And?” Donovan crosses his arms and stands over the couch, raising an eyebrow.

He’s such a dick .

“So, are we going to talk about it with her or not? The giant nest that’s in her room? You know it’s full of our stuff, right?”

“I may have left a sweatshirt out,” Liam murmurs, biting his lip. “I’m glad to know she’s utilizing it.”

I’m going to bang my head against the wall.

Donovan is too stubborn to talk to her about this, and Liam is too shy.

Looks like I’ll have to be the one to have the conversation.

“It’s not like I’m going to ask her, ‘ hey babe, how’s your Heat doing?’ But holy shit, I would love to know if she’s going to include us in her plans. Unlike you guys.” I tilt my head at Donovan. “If she’s not, I’m going to take an ice bath until it’s over.”

My pack leader rolls his eyes and huffs. “Let her talk to us when she’s ready. She’s been through a lot. There’s no need to pressure her.”

I look at him incredulously. “You think I don’t know that, asshole? That doesn’t mean we treat her with kid gloves. We act like adults . We communicate. You know, communication ?”

Donovan growls and runs a hand through his hair. “ No. We wait until she asks us. That’s final.”

I chew my lip, wondering if now is the time to challenge him.

He’s inherently wrong on this, I just know it.

He may be smart with our business, but he’s not fucking smart about everything, especially when it comes to our pack.

“Wait,” Liam says. “What are you talking about?”

I look at him. “Huh?”

“You said she’s been through a lot. What do you mean?”

I sit up and glance at Donovan, who looks at me. I don’t know how much he knows, and if April hasn’t told Liam, that’s not my story to share.

But he gives me a subtle nod, one Liam doesn’t see.

“The same bullshit everyone goes through,” I mutter. “Which is why I’m saying it's stupid to discuss this when we could just go and talk to her.”

I fell down the rabbit hole this week. I searched her name and found articles about what happened to her.

I shouldn’t have fucking done it. It ate me up inside, and all I wanted to do was join her in her nest and keep her as close to me as possible.

I knew she was kidnapped, but I didn’t know for how long, or that she was part of a drug ring.

O, the same drug that I’ve seen idiots use at their lavish house parties.

I also watched a video of her best friend Skylar, pleading to the press to find her.

And on top of that, I felt like a giant piece of shit.

I was so wrapped up in my own life, in the business of Axton , that I barely paid attention to the news at that time.

I didn’t know who she was when she stepped through our front door.

Did Donovan? Or was he just as blindsided as I was when he found out?

“I’m warning you, Hunter. Don’t fucking do it. Let her come to us.” Donovan growls. “She makes her own choices with no pressure from us.”

I shake my head and groan. “You’re an asshole, Donovan. Be human, for once.”

“He does have a point, Hunter. We should respect April’s choice,” Liam adds unhelpfully. “Putting pressure on her isn’t necessary.”

“Also, the catering company is coming soon, and they’re installing scent blocking air purifiers,” Donovan adds. “So, you can stop complaining and act like an adult.”

“Act like an adult just like when you told us the day of painting with the kids changed so you could have her to yourself? Or when you made her come in the hallway and were so fucking loud both of us heard it from outside?”

“Hunter,” Liam warns, but I continue.

“You should never have had a contract in the first place, you idiot,” I snarl. “You should have asked her out on a real date, and we could be where we are right now without any of the bullshit or tiptoeing around what’s really happening.”

“I’m not having this discussion right now,” Donovan snaps. “Not when she can hear us.”

“Then start being transparent!” I yell, jumping off the couch and squaring up to him. “You made it clear that we shouldn’t blur the lines, and you did it the other night! You’re a fucking hypocrite, like you always are!”

My Alpha pheromones are raging in me, and I’m taking it all out on Donovan.

Donovan, who doesn’t want me talking to my girl .

Who continuously denies his feelings for her and has a stick up so ass so large he won’t even discuss her Heat.

“You blurred the lines weeks ago when you came home smelling like her,” he growls. His chest almost touches mine, and my right hand clenches into a fist.

I’m about to hit this idiot.

“The contract gives room for whatever she’s comfortable with,” Liam adds softly, trying to be helpful. “No one has done anything wrong.”

“Except this asshole, who won’t admit that she’s perfect for us. That got us stuck in this stupid agreement and has me staying up every night trying to figure out ways to terminate it so she can be ours .”

Donovan keeps his expression neutral. “There’s no way around it. Once the required dates she has with us expire, then we can discuss.”

“Fuck that. Discuss it now.”

He shakes his head.

“So, what happens if she decides we’re not serious about her? She finds another pack because we didn’t make a move?”

My words don’t deter him. He simply shrugs. “It’s just business,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion.

I have two choices right now.

I can punch him, which will ultimately lead into a brawl, both of us with black eyes and bloodied lips before the party.

Or I can walk the fuck away before I lose it and give April a bad impression of me.

I shoulder check Donovan and exit the room, but not before hearing Liam call him an asshole.

Good.

Maybe Donovan will listen to Liam. Liam rarely challenges Donovan, much less swears at him unless he truly deserves it.

It’s just business.

None of this is fucking business.

But Donovan was too chickenshit to actually ask her out, so he made a contract pretending there were no feelings involved.

Maybe to Donovan, this is purely transactional.

Which is a bold-faced lie on his end, but it’s not my job to play his fucking therapist.

Just business ?

What a prick.

I head into the kitchen and my mood changes instantly when I see April sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, her chestnut hair pulled into a messy ponytail. She smells delicious, like brown sugar and cinnamon, and I can’t help but give her a crooked grin.

“Hey, gorgeous. You sleep well?”

She sips her orange juice and nods. “Too well. I can’t remember the last time I slept this much. I’m usually more productive.”

I lean against the counter. “If I could nap all day, I would,” I tell her. “Like a fucking cat.”

“Oh, yeah?” She raises an eyebrow, amused.

“I’ve already got the purring thing down; I’m halfway there. Besides, if I was a cat, then I could just curl up next to you and never leave your side.”

“You’d get bored with that soon, I promise you,” she sighs.

“Of you? Never, babe.”

“Sure.” She rolls her eyes but keeps a soft smile on her lips.

But I can tell she doesn’t believe me, and it sucks.

I don’t know how to show her how deep my feelings go without scaring her off.

The last thing I want to do is come off too strongly and push her away.

“You ready to meet a bunch of snotty people tonight?” I ask instead, leaning my forearms on the counter.

She wrinkles her nose. “Are they all that bad? I thought you liked these people.”

I scoff. “Tonight is one of those nights where we have to play nice. Donovan wants some eighteen-year-old that built an app to use our tech. But the kid’s parents own a majority of his company, so we have to look like we have our shit together.”

April looks around the kitchen, then back at me. “I think it’s more than obvious you guys have done well for yourselves. There’s a helicopter outside.”

I snort. “Yeah, I agree, too. But it's business politics. Donovan just tells me to keep my mouth shut, and for the most part, I do. Liam is the friendliest out of all of us and does the networking, while Donovan negotiates deals, and is constantly in touch with our lawyers.”

“Wait. So, what do you do during these?” April asks.

I shrug. “Honestly? Have a drink and stay out of the way. I usually run my mouth too much.”

April laughs. “Maybe I’ll hide in a corner with you,” she says.

“I would love nothing more,” I murmur.

To have April to myself all night while Liam and Donovan put up with everything else? Score.

Suck it, Donovan.

But I can still tell that something is…off…about April.

And it’s not her scent, which is so delicious that I fight every instinct to carry her over my shoulders and into my bedroom.

It’s something else.

She worries her bottom lip and searches my face.

“I heard you, earlier,” she admits, and my stomach drops.

Fuck.

I don’t have anything to say. I just gape at her, searching my brain for something that wouldn’t make me sound like an asshole for discussing her Heat.

“I didn’t hear everything,” she continues. “Though, I would appreciate you coming and talking to me directly if you have something to say about me . I’ve opened up to you, and I’d like to continue to trust you.”

I nod. I crave her time. I crave her trust.

I crave everything she wants to offer me.

“But, to save an awkward conversation…” she trails off, looks at her glass of juice, then sighs. “The answer is yes.”

I stare at her, not comprehending.

How much did she hear of our discussion?

Her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of scarlet as her sweet sugary scent fills the room.

“Yes?” I repeat dumbly, staring at her like an idiot.

She finally looks back up at me, swallowing. Her light brown eyes are wide as she speaks tentatively. “When it happens…I want you to be there. I’m expecting it by the beginning of next week.”

It clicks into place suddenly.

Her Heat.

Her fucking Heat .

She just told me she wants—she said?—

“All three of you,” she adds softly. “It’s an invitation.”

My brain short circuits.

She’s giving us permission.

Mine .

“I trust you, Hunter,” she continues. “And it’s hard for me to trust.”

I nod.

I’ll be the best damn Heat partner she’s ever had. I’ll be so fucking good that she’ll never want anyone else but our pack again.

My cock aches in my pants, and my inner Alpha howls with need.

“Thank you, baby,” I tell her, doing my best to keep my voice even.

She exhales deeply, and I realize she was holding her breath.

Did she truly think I would say no?

Did she think any of us would say no?

Her face is still a lovely shade of pink, even though she has no reason to be embarrassed.

I’m fucking honored.

“Well,” she clears her throat and hops off the stool, “I’ll be upstairs getting ready.”

She practically runs out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of her sweet aroma behind.

It would be comical if I wasn’t about to die from a hard-as-diamonds boner.

She wants me to fuck her.

She wants me to knot her, to take care of her and keep her safe while I make love to her…

And the only thing cock-blocking me is this stupid fucking party.

I turn around to see Liam standing in the opposite entryway to the kitchen, his mouth open in silent shock.

“I…um…caterers will be here in an hour,” he stammers, his face just as pink as April’s.

I burst out laughing.