Page 90 of Hot Knot Summer
P.S. Emma, I’ve left coffee in the thermal carafe, the special blend I’ve been saving. One sip and you’ll understand why I guard it so jealously. You’re the only one I’d share it with. Take your time this morning. Can’t wait to see you. —Levi
P.P.S. You’re safe here, always. This is your space now, too. We won’t be long, and when we return, we can talk... or not talk. Whatever you need. You’re not alone anymore. —Atlas
I trace my finger over their handwriting, a smile tugging at my lips despite the anxiety churning in my stomach. Three different men, three different ways of showing care. Is this somehow my life? I want to say I got lucky, but I’m terrified that my life of rejection will just repeat itself when I let myself fall for anyone.
The thought of fresh pancakes makes my stomach growl fiercely. Despite all the carnival food I devoured yesterday, my body is ravenous, likely a side effect of last night’s amazing sex. I find the promised breakfast keeping warm in the oven, a stack of fluffy pancakes that must have been made just before they left.
A quick search of the pantry reveals a bottle of maple syrup, the real stuff, not the artificial kind. I carry my bounty to the dining table, curling up in one of the chairs with my legs tucked beneath me.
I don’t bother with a plate or fork. Instead, I tear off pieces of pancake with my fingers, pouring it with the syrup. It’s childish and messy, but there’s something freeing about it. No one here to judge me, no need to be proper or controlled.
As I eat, my mind circles back to last night. The way River touched me, fucked me. The things he whispered in my ear as he drove into me. The intensity of the pleasure he wrung from my body was unlike anything I’d experienced before.
Sex with Chad had been... fine. Adequate. Sometimes even good. But with River? It was like floating, like the difference between a candle and asupernova. Each touch electric, each kiss an exploration, each thrust pushing me to heights I didn’t know existed.
Was it because of my approaching heat? The compatibility of our scents? Or something about the way he looked at me like I was precious, the care he took to ensure my pleasure before his own?
Whatever the reason, I can’t deny that something has shifted inside me. A wall crumbling, a door opening.
I’ve known these men for less than a week. I’m still raw from Chad’s rejection. And now I’ve complicated everything by giving in to this... whatever this is.
My phone rings on the table beside me, startling me from my spiral of thoughts. Jess. I answer immediately, grateful for the distraction.
“Bitch, you’ve been holding out on me!” she announces playfully.
I laugh, licking syrup from my thumb. “Hello to you too, Jess.”
“Don’thellome. I was promised regular updates on your firefighter situation, and it’s been radio silence. Have you climbed any of them like trees yet? I need details, Emma. DETAILS.”
“Sorry,” I say, unable to keep the smile from my voice. “Things have been a bit... chaotic.”
“Chaotic good or chaotic evil? Because if any of them have turned out to be secret serial killers, blink twice, and I’ll call for backup.”
“Definitely good chaos,” I assure her. “They’re... they’re really great,actually.”
“Oh my God,” Jess gasps dramatically. “You slept with one of them!”
I nearly choke on my pancake. “How could you possibly know that?”
“I’ve known you since freshman year of college. I can hear sex in your voice. Spill. Everything. Now.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks despite being alone in the cabin. “It was last night. With River.”
“And?” she demands when I don’t continue.
“And it was... incredible,” I admit, twirling a strand of hair around my finger nervously. “Jess, I’ve never experienced anything like it. He was so... attentive and passionate and just... I don’t even have words. I mean, he fucks like a damn monster, and I loved it too much.”
“Holy shit, I’m jealous.” she breathes. “And you’re smitten.”
“I’m not!” I protest automatically. “It was just sex.”
“In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never heard you describe sex as incredible or compare it to being ravaged by a monster. Usually it’s fine or pretty good or he tried, bless his heart.”
She’s right, and we both know it. I sigh, abandoning the pretense. “What am I doing, Jess? I barely know these guys.”
“You’re having fun, that’s what. After the Chad disaster, you deserve some happiness. Even if it’s just really great sex with a hot firefighter.”
“It’s not just River, though,” I confess, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “There’s something about all three of them. They’re so different, butthey fit together somehow. And being around them feels... right.”
