Page 30 of Knot That Delicate

“Fine,” I muttered, reluctantly pulling my feet from his lap. He stood when I did, and as we walked into the cabin, we were next to each other, our shoulders brushing.

“Are you doing okay, Juniper?” Carter’s voice made my steps falter.

We were in the kitchen now, so I turned to face him. “Of course, I’m okay. You guys are treating me so nicely.”

He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. “We’re trying, but we’re far from perfect.”

I shrugged. “This is better treatment than I’ve had in a long time, and you guys really aren’t that bad.”

“Not that bad, huh?” Carter said with a laugh, his face only inches from mine. His scent was invading my space, but I didn’t find it offensive. In fact, I leaned forward ever so slightly to takea deeper inhale. His scent was like a type of crack that made my entire body relax.

“Juniper…” he murmured, looking away, then looking back at me. I was still leaning forward, utterly transfixed by his scent. I didn’t know who moved first, but it was like something pushed both of us at the same time, and before I could even understand what was happening, our lips touched.

Carter’s hands flew to the back of my neck, holding me in place, his lips warm, demanding, and so impossibly soft. My mind went blank, unable to process what was happening. His entire body was pressed into mine, and it felt sogood.

It took a second for me to reciprocate, but after that second, I kissed him back with as much enthusiasm as he was kissing me. But just as I started, he pulled away, taking a step back and looking at me in horror.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, looking panicked. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He muttered it again before turning on his heel and disappearing, running into the back of the cabin, leaving me standing there, shell-shocked.

I gently lifted my fingers to my lips. I’d just had my first real kiss…and the alpha in question had run away.

Way to make a girl feel wanted.

Irolled over with a groan. I couldn’t fall asleep; there was something tugging deep inside me, and I didn’t understand what it was. I’d had a good day with the guys, I was exhausted, and I should have fallen asleep quickly. I had initially fallen to sleep when my head first hit the pillow, only to wake up an hour later. At least, I thought it was an hour later; the entire cabin was dark, and I couldn’t hear anyone else moving around.

At first, I simply stared at the ceiling, trying to will myself myself back to sleep. Something inside me felt oddly hollow, like I was missing something, but I couldn’t decipher what I was missing. Was I hungry? I didn’t think so. I closed my eyes and thought,If I could have anything right now, what would it be?The mental image came into my mind instantly: a hug. Just to benestled up with my family back home. That mental image made my heart ache with longing.

I sat up with a groan, running my hand through my hair. Why was this need taking over me now? I’d been able to suppress it successfully for so many years—throughout my entire time with Alec, I’d been almost numb. I’d be able to suppress all of my instincts, not craving soft things or human contact. No, I’d just been…solid, silent stone. It’s what I’d had to do to survive.

Now, though, something was changing. I was appreciating the texture of blankets, far more than I had before, and the desperation for human contact was making my chest burn. It was almost painful, the need. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away. There was no use crying about it. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with three alphas. If I needed human contact, I was going to have to go to one of them, or I was just going to have to deal with it myself and get over it.

For the next hour, I sat up, I fidgeted, I cocooned myself in the blankets, then starfished across the bed. I did everything I could, I tried every position, but nothing was comfortable. Finally, with a frustrated grumble, I rolled out of bed. I had to find something to do or I was going to lose my mind. After a quick trip to the bathroom , I wandered through the cabin, making a beeline for the kitchen. Maybe a snack would help. I certainly wasn’t going to say no to more freshly baked bread and butter.

Once in the kitchen, I looked around, trying to locate the bread we had left on the counter, which was now suspiciously clean and empty. I started opening cupboards, trying to figure out where the hell Asher had put it. Eventually, I discovered that it was on the very top shelf in one of the cupboards—far out of my reach. I bit my lip as I looked up at the promising bread. Icould smell it from where I stood. I wasn’t going to hang around and wait for someone else to get it.

Hiking my leg up, I put one knee on the kitchen counter and hoisted myself up, wobbling ever slightly, grabbing onto the shelves for balance as I knelt with both knees on the counter. Even in this position, I could just barely graze the bread with my fingertips.These alphas are giants,I thought,and a pain in my butt if they keep leaving things at heights where I can’t reach.

“What the hell are you doing?” a voice asked behind me, making me jump out of my skin.

“Holy crap!” I shrieked as I stumbled, starting to fall backwards, my entire body about to fall off the counter.This is it. This is how I die—I’m going to fall to my death trying to get bread off a top shelf.Somehow, it felt like an appropriate ending for me, if I was honest. Only, my spiral of doom was abruptly stopped when a strong pair of hands caught me from behind, keeping me on the counter.

The familiar, thick scent was easy to identify. “Dylan?” I squeaked.

“Yes?” he said. “My question still stands.”

His question? He had asked a question? My mind could only think about his exceedingly large and strong hands on my waist from behind. He was so close to me, his breath was tickling my neck. Before I could respond, he hoisted me down, so I was standing on solid ground, my back still pressed against him.

“Juniper,” he murmured.

I huffed. “You guys are giants. That’s the problem, okay?” I said with a haughty tone.

Dylan chuckled. “Care to explain that a bit better, sunshine?”

“I was hungry and I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know why I couldn’t sleep. But I thought I’d get some bread, and I came to get said bread, but Asher put it in a place where only giants canreach it.” I gestured to the top shelf with a small stomp of my foot.

I leaned back into his embrace; he didn’t seem to be in a particular rush to let me go, either.

“I’ll get you some bread,” he said.

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