Page 43 of Knot what I want for Christmas
“Yeah,” I say. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“Nash isn’t from round here though, is he?” Hollie says.
“No. But he had a job on another of the ranches in the area. Wasn’t really working out, so I offered him a job on our ranch.”
“And how did you decide to become a pack? How did you know you wanted to be together for the rest of your lives?”
“I guess we just bonded.”
“You did?”
“You may have noticed,” I shuffle on my seat, “that sometimes I can be a little ill-tempered. Tucker, he’s not like that – he’s always in a good mood. And I’m not always as sensitive as I could be. And Nash. Well he is. It brings a sort of balance to the pack.”
“Not sunshiny and not sensitive,” Hollie says. And I swear I hear that smile in her voice again. “Are you saying, Clay Jackson, that you’re a grump?”
“Tucker says I’m a Grinch.”
Hollie laughs. “And do you agree?”
“Probably,” I say sulkily, “it’s just the way I am.”
“Hmm,” Hollie says, and this time I can’t help flicking my gaze once again toward her. She’s sitting back in the seat of mytruck, looking mighty comfortable, and I wouldn’t mind it if she spent the rest of my days riding alongside me like this.
“There are certain things,” I tell her, “that make me less grumpy, less grouchy, though.”You, for starters,I think in my head.
“Like what?”
“The ranch, the cattle, the horses, my family, my pack.”
“Yeah. I can see how that would be. I feel a whole weight lifting off my shoulders just being in this place. It’s been a little lonely back in Rockview lately.”
We turn off the main road onto the track. It’s stupid, but I don’t want this ride to end. I want to have this moment with her, just the two of us, and I want it to stretch on for as long as it can.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” I tell her. More words blurting out of my mouth without my consent.
“No, I guess no one should,” she says. “In some ways, I think you Alphas are lucky, having packs and everything.”
“An Omega can have a pack,” I say. And there’s a little bit of a growl in my voice which I try to disguise with a cough.
I don’t know if she notices but she says next, “I never thought that’s what I wanted.”
There’s a pause. A tension in the air, words unsaid.
“Do you think?” I ask. “Do you think you might be changing your mind?”
I pull up outside the house, cut the engine, turn in the seat to look at her. Her cheeks are bright red. She’s staring out the window.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
“Hollie,” I say. And her eyes snatch my way. As soon as our gazes collide, it’s like fireworks explode in my blood. I want this woman. I want her so badly. Not just in this moment, but probably forever more.
So I do the only thing I can do. I unbuckle my belt. I unbuckle her belt. I lean across the space between us and I kiss Hollie Bright.
I don’t know if I half expect her to pull away, to push me away, to jump out of my truck and run as fast as she can away from me. But she does none of those things. Instead, she kisses me right back, her soft lips moving against mine. She tastes of sweet wild berry pie and her mouth is soft and warm.
It’s been a while since I kissed a girl. It’s been even longer since I’ve wanted to kiss a girl this badly, but I don’t think a kiss has ever been quite like this one, has had all these sensations somersaulting in my stomach, has had my skin skating with electricity, has had my scent spiraling in the air.
I reach across the space, sliding my hand into her hair and pressing her mouth more firmly against mine, parting her lips with my tongue and sinking inside her warm mouth. She makes a little moaning sound that has me stiffening in my pants. And I’m about to do what I’ve wanted to do this whole entire ride home – pull her right into my lap – but then I hear the sound of tires crunching on snow and I snap away from her.
