Page 44 of Knot what I want for Christmas
Chapter Fourteen
Hollie
I sit in the seat of Clay Jackson’s truck, dazed and confused, blinking like mad, my skin tingling, because did that just really happen? Did Clay Jackson just kiss me? Kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before. Kissed me in a way that has me severely tempted to crawl straight across the gap between us and straddle his lap.
I’m speechless, which means we’re both sitting in his truck in silence, listening to the truck behind us cut its engine and the cab doors open and shut. Footsteps crunch across the snow and it’s then that Clay finally decides to speak.
“Hollie, I–”
But he doesn’t get any further because the truck door swings open and Annie’s tugging on my arm.
“What the hell are you two doing just sitting in the truck?”
We both glance at each other and I’m sure I have “guilty” written right across my forehead in marker pen. Then we glance back at Clay’s sister.
“Waiting for you,” Clay says.
“Oh–kay,” Annie answers. “Well, I’m here now, so are you going to keep on just sitting in the truck? Or are we going inside?”
“I’ve got to get back to the cabin,” Clay mutters.
“Will we see you later?” I say as light and breezily as I can, because I have a hell of a lot of emotions running riot through my body right now.
“I don’t know,” he says.
And I don’t know how to take that response.Hekissedme. Does he already regret it? Was it a mistake?
My belt’s already unbuckled on account of the fact that Clay Jackson unbuckled it for me so that he could kiss me properly, so I slide out of my seat and jump down onto the snow. It’s really blizzarding out here now. I can barely see the house, which is only a few feet away from us. Annie slams the truck door shut and we walk with Travis to the house as Clay drives his truck away.
“Is it me?” Annie says. “Or is that brother of mine acting even more weird than usual?”
“I think weirdness must run in the family,” I say, which makes Travis chuckle.
“Hey,” Annie says to him, “if you want that Christmas present, just remember whose side you’re on.”
“Your side, sweetheart,” he says, in a way that clearly has Annie charmed.
When we reach the door, I can’t help glancing over my shoulder, watching as Clay’s truck rumbles along the track. The pack’s cabin is probably the only place on the ranch I haven’t seen yet. Annie told me it sits a mile from the main house on the other side of the creek. I’m not even sure where that is, but now I can’t help imagining it. Does it have a nest for an Omega?
I have my own nest back in Rockview, one I’ve built on the side of my bedroom for my heats – heats I’ve always spent aloneunless I’ve had a beta boyfriend at the time who’s been willing to help me out. Although, most find the whole thing gross. That’s what they say, anyway. I’ve always wondered if their aversion to it has actually been because they feel inadequate. They’re not Alphas after all. They have no knot. They’re never going to fall into a rut. They’re never going to be able to fuck me for three days straight.
I shake my head. I really do not need to be thinking of nests, heats and ruts right now. If I let those thoughts creep into my head, I’ll start slicking and that will be game over. Although, you can hardly blame a girl. That one kiss, a kiss which probably barely lasted a minute, was enough to have my whole body melting. Another minute and I would most definitely have been slicking and things in that truck would have got a hell of a lot more steamy.
Once we’re in the house, Annie says to me, “I’m gonna show Travis the tree and then we’re gonna swap Christmas presents.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
Annie gives me an unimpressed scowl. “My parents are in the room next door. Anyway, do you want to join us?” Before I can turn that suggestion into something lewd, she adds, “for present exchange.”
I lift my shopping bag. “No, I think I’m going to make a start on that crochet project.”
“You sure?” she said. “You’re gonna be okay?”
“Annie,” I say. “I’m perfectly fine.”
I think my best friend forgets I spent the last few months alone in Rockview. Okay, she’s been checking up on me as often as she can, sending me text messages and video calling me. But I spent a lot of time on my own, thinking, grieving, trying to get my life together. Most of my time I’ve spent working because, like I told Mrs. J, animals are the one thing that truly lift my spirits right now.
“As long as you’re sure,” Annie says.
