Page 37 of Knot Broken

“Usually I’d agree but mm…”

I took a mouthful, then let out a hum of pleasure, only to hear the sound of the muffins dropping back into their wrappers. With a blink, I saw that Tex was staring. The way he could shift from a nice guy to something feral was frankly hot. Maybe it was those moon silver eyes, or perhaps it was his complete focus, taking every inch of me in, right before his hand shot out. I froze as a thumb brushed across my chin and then he stuck it in his mouth, licking away the syrup.

“Huh,” he rumbled. “Maybe it’s not too sweet after all.”

Part of me wanted to tear my sweatshirt up and over my head and pour syrup over my whole body. Perhaps because all of a sudden, I was painfully aware of the way the soft material brushed against my skin. Ask for what you wanted, that was the mission, right? But at some point, that just devolves into pointless selfishness. Dragging my attention back to the hotcakes, I focussed on slicing them up and then eating them. By the sounds coming from Tex, he was doing the same, but after a moment, our wrappers were balled up, the box and the utensils packed away, leaving an awkward silence.

“So—”

“Did—?”

His broad grin had me slumping back against the couch.

“I was going to say thank you for picking me up last night,” I said finally. “And the Macca’s. When I am feeling better, I totally owe you a home-cooked dinner or something. Need your car detailed? Your garden beds weeded or something?”

He leaned back as well, resting his head on the arm propped up against the couch, and wasn’t that a sight? Instead of a plaid shirt, he had on an old cotton t-shirt that I just knew would be soft to the touch.

Which got me thinking.

Tex and his pack had so generously offered to help me out with my intimacy problem. Maybe I needed to do the same? Make him the focus, I thought, as my eyes traced the broad shape of his shoulders. Give him all the pleasure. I could slip to my knees and⁠—

“So what did you have planned for today?” he said, completely oblivious to my thought process.

“Ahh…” Say it, I thought. Offer to suck his dick or something, but apparently I still had work to do when it came to expressing myself. “Couch rotting.” My hands wrapped around the remote, not his dick, and brandished it. “There’s this new hockey romance TV show on and I’ve been meaning to watch it.”

“This the one where the guys kiss the other guy or one where they kiss the girl?” he asked with a smile.

“Kiss the girl,” I replied, turning on the TV. “I saw the one where the guys kiss the other guy ages ago, obviously.”

“Alright then.”

Sitting and watching a silly romantic comedy would’ve had most guys of my acquaintance making a run for the door, but instead an arm went around my shoulders. How the hell was I being tucked into this man’s side right now?

“So are the hockey players alphas?” he asked as he plucked the remote from my grip and started scrolling through the listings. “I bet they are. Anyone big enough and tough enough to play ice hockey would have to be an alpha.”

“Nope, just a bunch of beta friends.” Snatching it back, I used the search bar to look up the title, then clicked on the thumbnail. The screen filled with the show logo, but then I held up the remote. “You don’t have to sit here and rot with me.”

“If I go home, Grey will have me out in the garden sorting out the grass, so trust me, hockey players kissing a girl sounds a lot better than that,” he replied.

“So when I hit play,” I said, “there’s no talking, no tapping out, no phones until we get to the end. Couch rotting is serious business.” He pulled out a phone and made a show of turning it off, then set it on the coffee table. “Well, OK then.”

With a click, the screen transformed, the sounds of the theme song playing through the speakers, but I barely registered it. I was about to watch a pack of betas and their girl fall in love on the screen, but right now, I was all too aware of the heavy arm pinning me against Tex’s side. I wanted to press my head into his chest, breathe him in as I watched my show, maybe even feel him play with my hair a little.

I wanted the girlfriend treatment, and for just one morning, I could pretend that’s what this was.

Chapter 18

Tex

All was right with the world. No work, I had a full stomach, and my mate was by my side as we watched some sappy show.

And a whole lotta dicks on the TV screen.

“Whoa!” I sat up straighter. “Why am I seeing so many cocks right now?”

That had Nadia chuckling.

“It’s a change room. Guys get naked in change rooms, right?”