Page 11 of Knot a Chance in Hell

Never in my life had I ever had to deal with such a mess. Sure, Kienna was pretty good at getting us in trouble at times, but she was also amazing at getting us out of it. My home life had been pretty boring, and the most antagonism I’d ever had to deal with was with a girl who appointed herself my rival in ballet years ago. The way I dealt with her was to ignore her and work harder so I was always chosen as the prima ballerina.

That’s what I needed to do now. I had to ignore Silas’ cruelty and work harder to make myself welcome here. I wasn’t sure how to make peace with Kodiak, but my mother always said a well-fed Alpha was a happy Alpha. A good meal was something I could provide.

With that plan in mind, I stood and left the room with my chin up. Atka greeted me in the hall, but I was ready for him this time. I braced myself and gave him some loving before walking into the living room.

Ezekiel rose up from the couch and smiled at me with a light in his eyes. His white thermal shirt clung to his muscled chest and his gray sweatpants left nothing to the imagination. I could see every delicious inch of him. “Hi. Did you get a hold of your family?”

Did he get more good-looking since I was out here? I squeezed my thighs together as an echoing ache declared that he definitely did.

“Yeah, everything’s good.” Everything was hot. I made myself keep walking to the kitchen rather than right to him as my body yanked me to go. “It’s a bit late for me to make lunch for everyone, but I thought I’d make dinner for us all tonight.”

“That’s very sweet of you.” His smile widened as he came over to the kitchen. “We picked up some moose steaks. I can cook them outside on the grill.” In the snow? No doubt he saw my surprise and chuckled. “We have the grill under a shelter where we store the firewood off to the side where we park our trucks. There’s a shed there too, with snow machines and four wheelers. We have a sauna tucked in near there as well.”

I hadn’t seen any of those buildings, but then again, I’d been too stunned by the beautiful cabin when I’d pulled up with Shae yesterday. “I’ve never had moose before. I have no idea how to properly season it, but I’m sure I could look it up.”

“You’re in for a treat then. I can take care of the meat.” Ezekiel leaned on the island counter watching me, eyes glued to me as if he was on the hunt. My pussy twinged, eager for his touch. Oh fuck, I would love to take care of his meat.

Focus on food.I needed them to be impressed. “You’ll have to teach me how to season moose, and I’ll look up somerecipes for different ways to prepare it for later on. So what else do you have in here? Potatoes? Vegetables? I also want to make a salad, dessert, and homemade rolls.”

“Whoa, you don’t have to go through all that trouble for us. Relax. Let me cater to you.” The way his smile turned mischievous with those words had me wetter yet. “You’re our guest.”

I shook my head. “Not your guest. I live here now too. I’ll do my share, and since I enjoy cooking, it’s something I’m happy to do. Plus, if you guys are out in the woods working all day, I need to keep myself occupied. Does much happen in town? Concerts, shows, theater?”

Ezekiel laughed. “In Petersburg? Nothing happens here. We have a few bars, but that’s it. The town gets busy in the summer with tourists, and the hardcore fishermen come year round if the weather is right, but no one is here really to see Petersburg. It’s the wild they come for.”

“Nothing?” I knew the town was small, but that tiny? If I couldn’t have my tropical beaches, I’d hoped for music and dance. “Nothing at all?”

“Well, I guess there’s shows put on by the schools. We only have maybe three hundred and fifty, at most, four hundred kids in town though.” He shrugged. “Now and then the Tlingit, the indigenous folks, have stuff going on, and the Norwegian Heritage Society has a festival once a year.”

I clutched my hands together in front of me as my heart pounded and my throat tightened. The island was isolated, I’d known that, butthisisolated from the arts? I couldn’t do it. Even if I was compatible with Ezekiel, I couldn’t stay in a place this void of the things I loved most. I needed clubs, a studio, a theater! Fish, trees, and mountains were not for me.

“Hey now,” Ezekiel soothed, coming around the island and pulling me to him. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

My body immediately melted against his. Lean and solid, I could literally feel his tight abs through his shirt pressed to me. Calm and peace filled me at the same time as every nerve came alive with a burning need to jump him and ride him on the kitchen counter. He smelled so good, like cedar and sex. And speaking of wood, oh God, I could feel his hardness long and throbbing in his sweatpants.

Ezekiel made a noise and it vibrated to my very core. It wasn’t really a growl, but a purr?

If this was what being in heat was like… No. I wasn’t even really in heat... Was I? We’d only met like an hour ago. One hour. There was no way I could be this turned upside-down by just a hug after an hour.

“Nicolette,” he whispered my name, a rough edge to it. He rubbed my back and arms, and I found myself snuggling further against him.

What was I doing? I forced myself to step back. Not jerking out of his embrace—I didn’t want to make him think I didn’t like it—but stepping back slowly and offering him a smile which I hoped looked reassuring and not besotted. “I’m fine. I’m sure there will be plenty of things for me to do here. Right now though,” I motioned to the cupboards and fridge. “How about you show me where everything is? Tell me if any of you have allergies, how you do things here, what the schedule is usually like. I want to know it all.”

His hands lingered on me as if he didn’t want to let go, but over the next few hours, we settled into something that felt like we’d known each other for years. Ezekiel was easy to talk to, eager to learn when I taught him to make apple pie, and hilarious. If I was going to be stuck up in Alaska away from all the things and people I loved, at least there was someone who could make me laugh. And who was incredibly sexy, especially when he licked his fingers after putting the apples into the pan.

I wanted to take each finger, suck on it and flick my tongue over the tips, watching as his big cock grew harder. My pussy clenched, dripping a little slick, as I thought it. Thankfully Ezekiel had turned to wash the bowls we’d used and didn’t see the wanton flush in my cheeks that I certainly felt.

It was at that moment when the front door opened and Kodiak stomped the snow off his boots before walking in. I bit my lower lip as I stared at the hulking mountain of an Alpha. The cold had reddened his skin and bits of frost shone in his beard. He was so muscular he looked ready to burst out of his coat.

Kodiak’s dark gaze remained on me as he kicked off his boots and removed his coat. Was he still angry? Would he tell me to leave?

Ezekiel glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Hey, man. I was just about to go out and warm up the grill for the steaks. I have a little seasoning for it, but next time, I think we should marinate in a good stout first. Nicolette took care of the rest of the meal for us. She taught me how to make your favorite, apple pie.”

So it was Kodiak’s favorite? Hopefully this would score me bonus points, because I didn’t see him smiling yet.

He took his time brushing off the snow and setting his boots on the mat. Only then did he walk in and clear his throat. “Sounds good. How about you go get that grill going then, Eze? I need to have a few words with Nicolette.”

Oh oh. Kodiak wanted to talk to me, and he sounded like a boss getting ready to fire one of his employees. All authority and stern expression.

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