Page 41 of Knot That Delicate

He nodded. “Given everything you’ve told us about where you come from, I think it’s best if you have a weapon. NowI know you’re smart enough not to shoot the people who are feeding you, I think it’s a good idea.”

I tilted my head, processing. “Wait, when you saygive me a gun...”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I’m going to tell you where they’re kept in the house, how to keep one under your pillow or under the bed in case of emergencies, but not until you learn how to shoot, reload, and do all that safely.”

I gaped at him for a moment. He was the one who said he wouldn’t give me a weapon, and now he was offering me a gun? “Sure, let’s do this,” I said quickly, rushing forward to where he was standing.

He held up a small silver handgun. “This is one of the smaller weapons we have, so I’m assuming it’s going to be best for you. It still has a nasty recoil,” he said, loading a clip. “First, I’m going to teach you how to shoot it and to actually hit the target. Then we’ll cover loading, unloading, and cleaning.”

“Wait, I have tocleanthem?”

He nodded. “If you’re going to use a gun, you need to respect it.”

“I respect that it could shoot Alec right in his dumb face,” I muttered.

A rare chuckle escaped Dylan’s chest. “I could also appreciate that. Okay, let's get started with this one. Hold it and don’t aim it anywhere near me. This is the safety,” he said, pointing to the little latch. “When it’s pointed this way, you’re not going to be able to shoot. When it’s off and pointed the opposite way, the gun is armed and loaded and you can kill someone.”

I nodded, quickly repeating the motions, trying to remember what he said.Ok, safety on: it’s live, safety off: I’m safe,I said to myself as I turned the safety on and off. I was pointing the gun towards the ground, and I didn’t dare lift it. It was a shockinglycold weapon. I didn’t know why I had expected it to be body temperature, but the cold metal was quite startling.

“Okay, go and stand in front of the target,” he instructed.

I did as I was told, gripping the gun gingerly, like I was scared it was going to go off at any moment.

Dylan noticed my reluctance. “You’ve got to hold it tighter. You need to control the weapon. If you’re too gentle, you could drop it, and it could go off. You need to be firm with it”—I nodded, increasing my grip—“but not so firm that your knuckles are white. There’s a balance.

I laughed dryly. “I was never good with balance. I mean, I’m an omega; we want lots of everything, there’s no such thing as moderation to an omega. Have you seen us with chocolate?”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “Yes, I have seen you near chocolate—and I’ve also seen you near my chocolate protein shakes. If there’s anything remotely chocolate flavoured, you’re going to devour it. But this is different. If you want, I can leave this to me and the guys, and you don’t have to learn if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, no, I want to learn,” I said quickly. “It’s just very new and different.”

“Have you ever handled a weapon?” Dylan asked.

I shook my head. “Unless you count a homemade shiv, then no.”

He cocked his head. “I’m going to have to ask about that later. But, for now, let’s get you in front of the target.” He placed his hands on my hips, turning my body so I was facing one. “You need to look at the target straight on. None of that sideways bullshit. Don’t copy what you see gangsters doing in movies,” he said. “You need to hold it with two hands—one supporting and one on the trigger, like this.” As he spoke, he wrapped his hands around mine and moved my hands into the correct position, lifting the gun so it was eye-level and I could see down the line of sight. “You see this part here? This is where you look forthe target. Now, don’t hold your arms too rigid, otherwise the blowback can hurt. There’s a balance.” He laughed. “I’m going to say that a lot. You’ve got to be firm, but not too firm when it comes to shooting a gun.”

“How am I meant to remember all this in the middle of a fight? It’s all good and well, being able to shoot a target, but in a real-life situation, how will I remember?” My words were rushed, almost garbling together. I was hoping that Dylan thought I was worried about the gun and not the fact that he was touching my hips and pressed against my back. His breath tickled my ear as he spoke. I was only human, and having an exceedingly hot alpha teach me how to shoot, who clearly cared about me and let me do things like shoot a gun, and didn’t just want me to be a princess—that was potent stuff.

He smelled likesex personified,and all I could think about was taking a bite out of him.

“That’s why we practice,” Dylan said, cutting into my thoughts. “We need to practice so much, it becomes second nature. If you shoot the target enough times, you’ll instinctively know the right hold and the way to hold a gun to make sure it won't blow back on you.”

Does that mean we’re going to be spending a lot of one-on-one time at the shooting range?I thought while looking ahead and biting my lip.I don’t know if my libido can handle that. As much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I was getting horny. Like every minute I spent with these guys seemed to ramp up my need, and I was beginning to be a filthy, perverted omega, and I needed to sit down and behave.

“Ok, I’m going to back off a bit,” Dylan said, “but I’m right here behind you.” He placed a firm hand on my lower back. “When I say ‘shoot,’ I want you to shoot straight ahead and try to aim towards the target.”

I nodded, looking straight ahead, trying to line up the sight of the gun with the target. “If I hit this, it is going to be a miracle.”

Dylan laughed. “If you hit the target, I will make Asher bake you a cake.”

That caught my attention. I turned to grin at him while pointing the gun straight ahead. Craning my neck to look at him, I said, “Oh, the things I would do for a cake. Dylan, don’t you tease me.”

He shook his head. “It's not teasing if I’ll follow through.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. You could tease a lot and still follow through, in my opinion, especially in more sexual ways.Goddamn it, stop thinking about these things, Juniper!He was being nice and teaching me how to defend myself, and all I could think about was this man teasing me in bed for several hours. If any of the guys were going to be the kind of sadistic bastard in bed to make me wait, it would be Dylan. Asher and Carter were so sweet, I couldn’t see them making me wait to come, whereas Dylan, on the other hand… yup, he’s the kind of bastard who would own handcuffs and would use them to torture me in the most delicious way possible.

“Are you still with me? You look like you are daydreaming.”

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