Page 32 of Knot a Bad Idea

I let out a low growl. “If you keep acting like that, maybe I will,” I snarl.

When I’m around her, I forget that this is all a façade.

She’s not my girlfriend, and she’s certainly not my Omega.

But here, when she looks at me, her face flushed and lips parted, I want her to be.

“You can’t act like this,” she murmurs, her eyes softening. “You can’t disappear for days, then come back and try to tell me what to do. You can’t act like youcare.”

There’s a shadow over her features that I’ve never seen before, a longing and sadness that mirrors mine.

And I don’t fucking like it.

I pluck the glass from her hand, and she glares at me. “Act like I care?” I repeat quietly.

“It’s obvious I mean nothing to you,” she says, anger fueling her scent. Cinnamon mixes with vanilla, and I want to lick the sweat off her skin and see if she tastes as delicious as she smells.

I’m sure she does.

“You have no idea how incorrect you are,” I say, slamming the glass down on the table. “And you don’t want to push me on this,Omega.”

“Or what,Alpha?” she snaps back sarcastically, her intensity fueling my own anger. She stands and faces me, craning her neck up to look at me. “What will you do?”

I know she’s picking a fight.

But accusing me of not caring when my mind has been so consumed with her is enough to make my temper flare.

I stuff it down. None of this should matter anymore—she’s not my mate.

Yet the thought makes my chest ache.

“That’s what I thought,” she says bitterly. “You’ll do nothing.”

Her light brown eyes shine with sincerity and hurt. “Where did you go, Donovan?” she asks. “Ever since my Heat, something has changed.”

My eyes narrow. “Nothing has changed. I know exactly what this is. I’ve known what this is the whole time.”

A contract. Nothing more.

A flash of hurt flickers on her face, and I want to rage at myself and her.

“You’re a goddamn liar,” she whispers. I can smell the alcohol on her breath, and I know this conversation has to end before I say something I regret.

And my Alpha instincts can’t handle any more of the lying through my teeth about my feelings for her.

So, I take a step back. “You should sleep. You’ve had too much to drink.”

She chuckles. “You’re impossible,” she mutters. “You really are, Donovan.”

She’s pushing and pushing, and I’m close to abandoning my decision altogether.

Maybe wecouldbe a pack.

You’ll fail her, eventually.

“And you’re inebriated,” I snap.

She snorts. “Forgive me for having a couple glasses of wine.”