Page 38 of Knot As It Seems

“What the fuck would you do that for? She clearly was trying to get away from you,” Clement snaps at them, in a tone that’s evident he’s trying to avoid being too disruptive to those around us.

The stranger alpha’s eyes widen at Clement’s claiming, his hands on my hips keeping me tethered, but I suspect it’s just as much to keep him from doing something stupid than it is to keep me there.

“Sorry, man, we made a mistake. Although, there’s something familiar about her scent, when she’s not so sour from our little misunderstanding.”

Clement silently calls some security guards over and whispers something in their ears, and they immediately escort the two assholes out of the event. Judging by the set of Clement’s shoulders and the look on his face when he spoke to the guards, I have a feeling those alphas will find themselves in a much different condition when they’re allowed to return home. Hopefully they’ll make it that far.

Jos spins around once the threat is gone, checking me from head to toe. He immediately homes in on the spot on my arm that they touched, pressing kisses all over it to erase their touch.

When his eyes flick up to me, I shrink back into Clement, because I feel like I’m in trouble now.

“Why are you alone, Omega? Where the hell is Moon? He was supposed to watch over you until we could get toyou.”

Jos looks around the room, but I don’t feel bad that he doesn’t see Moon right away. “I snuck away because he was spewing shit I got sick of listening to. I know he had something to do with all of you suddenly finding yourselves busy, and he was a miserable date. Didn’t grope me a single time, and I felt like I was in a hostage situation the entire time I was with him.”

I dare one of them to contradict me, my spine steeling as I hold my shoulders back, my posture perfect.

Clement sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Damn it. I knew it seemed fishy that an entire box of scarves was suddenly not where it was supposed to be. I’m so sorry, Fable. I wanted this event to be fun for you, wanted you to enjoy dressing up and being shown off. Do you want to head out? Go get a burger and a milkshake?”

I reel back, looking around the room, just to make sure I’m where I think I am. “Clement, this is literally your event. You can’t leave. Everybody in this room is here to celebrateyou.”

He waves me off. “Eh. You’re more important.”

He starts leading me out, but it takes me a minute to dig my heels in and stop him. “No! I mean, no. I would like to stay. Just maybe keep Moon away from me because I swear to the gods I’m going to start stashing those little cocktail forks into my dress so I can stab him with them when no one’s looking.”

Jos barks out a laugh, wrapping an arm around my waist. “I love when you get stabby. I was roped into a medical situation— two of the models fainted and I was the only doctor anyone knew to consult. Now I’m guessing theywere paid off by Moon, and I feel like an asshole for not being by your side the second you stepped out of that room. By the gods, you look gorgeous, Fable.” He lets out a whistle. “You really outdid yourself here, Clement. Kind of like you know what you’re doing or something.”

Clement’s eyeing me up and down with hunger plain on his face, making me send a prayer to the gods of scent dampening panties that mine actually work because just his attention on me has me getting slick.

“Yeah, I do alright,” he finally responds with a shake of his head. “Come on; stick by me. The girls backstage are dying to meet my infamous omega.”

Completely closed in by the two of them, walking through the room this time is much better. I can’t exactly see where I’m going, but the bubble butt Jos is packing keeps bumping into my lower stomach when I step too close, and Clement’s hands keep grazing my ass like a proper date, so the tradeoff is worth it.

Clement is barely through the curtains, pulling me alongside him, when I’m swarmed by beautiful women in skimpy undergarments, and it’s so shockingly unexpected that I forget for a few seconds that I’m not into women. What a waste.

I really don’t know where to look.

“Oh my gods, you’re perfect for him! Damn Clement, what a lucky guy you are, getting an omega like her to agree to be attached to you! Hi, I’m Lacy. We’ve been pestering him all week, wanting to meet you.”

I reach out a hand. “Fable.”

The girls instantly surround me in a completely platonic,yet completely mostly naked way, shooing the guys back a few feet so they can fawn over me. I’m handed more drinks and snacks, the good stuff they’ve got stashed back here, and it doesn’t take long to feel completely at ease.

I lose track of their names, but they’re all so genuinely nice and not at all what I was expecting, and I feel bad for the unkind thoughts I had earlier. It’s obvious they only have a working relationship with my alpha, who only has eyes for me, even in this room of stunning models.

Jos too, so I consider ways to reward them later.

It’s a complete change of pace to just hang out with other women, something I’ve never been granted the freedom to do, and eventually I find myself talking more and giving them real smiles.

Eventually, we start getting organizers pulling the girls out to get dressed for the first walk, so Clement leads me and Jos into a makeshift office he’s using for the event.

With the door closed behind us and all the sound suddenly gone, I slump into the chair that Jos finds himself in, cradling me.

“They’d probably love it if you hung out with me at work sometimes, you know? I try to work with the same group of models every time I do a show because it builds a good rapport with them and it makes me feel like I know exactly what to dress them in.”

I fiddle with the beading on my dress, running my thumb over the texture to soothe myself before I respond to Clement. “You haven’t…dated any of them, have you? Obviously you guys have a past, I’d just like to know before agreeing to anything.”

Clement kneels in front of me, grabbing my hands. “My relationship with the models is purely professional, I promise. I’ve never in my life been tempted to date anyone that’s involved with my job because it gets too messy. I like to think I built a pretty good work environment for them so they feel safe and respected, and it makes my shows a little different than other ones. We pay them a good salary to remain on my retainer. They’re kind of like my sisters.”