Page 27 of Knot That Delicate

Dylan shook his head, standing up. “You’re allowed to go anywhere you want.”

“I didn’t know all this was here,” I said as I wandered around the room slowly, taking shallow breaths, trying not to get too lost in his scent. I’d had crushes before, small infatuations with otheralphas, but I’d never had a visceral reaction like this.Is this what being a normal omega is like?

“This place is so well kitted out,” I said, wandering up to a weight bench. I picked up one of the medium-sized weights, bit it quickly fell to the floor. “Oh crap, sorry!” I hissed.

Dylan rushed forward, picking up the weight and placing it back, his very naked chest inches from my face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—chest—oh, hi, yeah, no, sorry,” I stammered, running a hand through my hair, desperately trying to regain my composure. If Dylan noticed my erratic state, he didn’t comment.

He picked up the smallest weight and handed it to me. “This is one pound. This is what you need to start with.”

I looked at the weight, offended. “That’s tiny! I can do better than that,” I assured him.

He raised an eyebrow. “A few reps with this, and your arms will be sore as anything. You’ve been through the wringer. You’re underfed, you’re malnourished—you need to build strength slowly.”

I pouted. “Iamstrong,” I whined, though it came out more like a petulant grumble.

Dylan nodded, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Youarevery strong—mentally. Physically, on the other hand…I’m pretty sure I could knock you over with a feather.”

“It would have to be a pretty strong feather,” I muttered.

“Do you want me to show you?” he asked.

I nodded. Even though he was the crankiest of all the alphas, he was offering to help me. And I really did need to build some strength. If I was honest with myself, I was a mess physically, and it wouldn’t hurt to get stronger. Plus, he didn’t seem all that grumpy with me.

“Okay,” he said, grabbing the other one-pound weight. “Come join me at the weight bench.” He led me over, and I sat down. “Hold both of these,” he said.

The weights felt tiny in my hands, and I gave him a disbelieving look. “This isn’t going to do anything.”

“Just wait and see,” he replied. “Now, I’m going to show you how to do a rep, and you’re going to copy me.”

He walked over and grabbed one of the heavier weights. “We’re going to start with bicep curls and then move on to some other movements.”

While I didn’t believe it was going to do anything, I would to listen to the alpha who had more muscle than brain cells. He wasgigantic.How that man had so much muscle was beyond me. But he clearly understood how to gain muscle, so surely I should listen to him. That was my logic, anyway.

Only a few minutes in, and my arms were starting to burn. I had to bite my lip to keep from saying anything as I continued following his movements. How was I already in so much pain? Just how weak and pathetic had I become?

“Do you need a break?” Dylan asked.

I shook my head emphatically. “No way.”

He nodded and continued talking me through the movements. I lasted another two minutes before I gave in. “Oh God, this is torture.” I sighed, putting the weights down. “How can they hurt so much?” I cried, glaring at the weights in anger.

Dylan chuckled. “You’ve gotta start small. You’re starting from scratch. If you want, I’d be happy to talk you through what to do every day a little bit at a time to gain your strength, okay?”

I nodded. “I’d appreciate that. I know you don’t really like having me here, but you’re being nice to me. I do really appreciate it.”

“It’s the least I can do. You didn’t deserve to be in this situation.” Though his tone was gentle, his jaw tightened and hiseyes hardened. “Now, you’re going to need a lot more protein in your diet, like protein shakes and chicken?—”

“I had one of your protein shakes,” I cut in. “Carter made it for me. I think it was the caramel-flavoured one.” I beamed.

Dylan shook his head with a chuckle. “Of course, he gave you that. Did you like it?”

I nodded enthusiastically.

“Okay, then keep drinking lots of them, and I’ll talk you through a daily routine to help you gain some real strength. Have you been able to do any cardio in the last few years?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Does getting out of bed count as cardio?” I asked with a smile.

Dylan closed his eyes and groaned. “Oh, this is going to be fun.” With a resigned sigh, he added, “How about we start slow? Twenty minutes walking on the treadmill. Then, when it’s not raining, you can do walks around the property. How does that sound?”

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