Page 21 of Knot A Chance

“Ugh,” I groaned. “You’re too fucking hot, Bennett. It’s ruining my ability to do my job.”

He laughed heartily as I spun on my heel and walked away before temptation could lead me astray again.

By the time I was closing up the bar, I’d started to feel a growing tingling in the bite mark on my neck. I’d briefly noticed a burn the other night when Ryder had shown up, but it hadn’t lasted long. Tonight the sensation felt more like an itch, and it had been getting worse over the last hour. Does it mean that Ryder is nearby?

Between the drugs that Ryder had in his body at any given time and the distance between us—both emotional and physical—the bond we shared had been dull for years. I could barely remember what it felt like when he was close by. Even when we’d been together, our bond had never been strong and was always diluted by drugs. I couldn’t figure out why I’d feel anything at all now, even if he was in the general vicinity.

I locked the front door and turned around to see Bennett standing a foot away from me. “What’s going on with your bonding mark?” he asked, tipping his chin toward where I was scratching my neck.

I took a deep breath. “It itches.”

Bennett ran both hands through his long hair as he moved to stand in front of the large glass window, looking up and down the street. “Let me take you home tonight.”

“It’s probably nothing.”

“And if it’s something, I want to make sure you get home safe.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Let me just close out the register and then you can walk me to my car like normal.”

Bennett’s hands flexed at his sides as he came to stand in front of me. “I’m following you home.”

“Are we sure you’re not the alpha I should be scared of?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

Bennett tipped his head to the side. “Now is not the time for you to be a smart ass. I won’t take you home if that’s not what you want. But please don’t make me worry about you all night either.”

“I’ll text you when I get home.”

Bennett’s jaw ticked. “Fine.”

“Will that suit your protective alpha instincts?”

“No.”

“But you’re agreeing anyway?”

“With a great deal of reluctance. You’re not mine, and even if you were, you’d still deserve the freedom to make your own choices,” he said with a sigh. “Even if they are the wrong ones. Once you fall in love with me, it would be great if you could just let me be the overprotective alpha I feel inclined to be with you.”

I laughed, my head falling backward as I stepped closer and pressed my hands against his chest. “Deal. In the meantime, will you scent mark me tonight?”

Bennett groaned and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. “That is a very forward invitation when I haven’t even had the pleasure of kissing you yet. Explain yourself.”

His nose was already at the scent gland on the left side of my neck, waiting for my response. “If I smell like you, and Ryder is out there, then he’ll know I belong to a different alpha now. It might be enough to get him to walk away.”

Bennett pressed his hips against me, his hard dick pushing against my groin and sending more blood rushing to my already-growing cock. “Are you saying you belong to me?”

“I’m saying it’s safer for me if he thinks I belong to you,” I said softly, burying my face in Bennett’s neck. “Besides, it’s only a matter of time, right?”

“Fuck,” he growled, gripping my hips tightly and pressing against me as he rubbed his nose against each of the scent glands on my neck, his piney scent surrounding us. My dick hardened and pressed against his hard length while I moaned at the sensation of being marked and owned by him.

Okay, I clearly did not think through how intimate this would be.

The desire to mark him back was overwhelming. “Can I?” I whispered, pressing against his scent gland with my nose.

“Fuck yes,” he groaned, grabbing my left wrist and bringing it to his nose, marking me while I rubbed against his neck. He gripped my hips again and walked me backward until my back hit the wall. He grinded himself against me hungrily as I finished marking him and pulled back, breathing heavily.

“That should probably do it,” I said.

He sniffed me one last time. “I’m going to jerk off so fucking hard thinking about you tonight, handsome.”