Page 50 of Wolf It Down, Knot Me Up

I tear off a corner, and it’s still warm, so I smear it with butter. “I’m exhausted. You got that right.”

They both just stare at me eating the bread, and it’s hard not to be impressed when godlike Alphas give me so much attention.

I reach for the glass water bottle in the middle of the table, but Roman gets there first, plucks it out from under my hand, fills an empty glass, and sets it in front of me. I don’t mind being fussed over, not even slightly.

Wolf just has that small grin hooked at the corner of his mouth.

“What?” I ask him.

“Nothing.” He takes another drink, his gaze never leaving mine. “Turns out I could watch you eat all night.”

I pause with the bread still in my hand. “That’s a weird hobby.”

“I’ve had worse.”

Roman lets out a quiet laugh, lifting his beer, then says, “He’s not kidding.”

Wolf doesn’t deny it. He just keeps watching me with that same lazy, unreadable expression that somehow makes my pulse misbehave.

I take another bite simply because I refuse to let him think he’s won.

The door bangs open, and Grayson comes in backward with half the kitchen in his arms, Ethan behind him with the rest. They lay out all the filled plates, and it’s a feast: glossy planks of ribs, a whole herb-crusted roast, blackened vegetables, buttered potatoes, more honey bread. Ethan heads back out.

“Oh, you both have outdone yourselves.” I’m salivating at the spread.

Grayson drops into the chair on my left, leans in without breaking stride, and presses his mouth to my cheek. “Miss me?” Under the table, his hand settles on my thigh, and I’m suddenly breathing quicker.

“Of course,” I tease back. “So.” I clear my throat, reaching for my water. “I was thinking, with everything that’s happened…”

“Let me guess where this is going,” Wolf cuts in, leaning back. “Now that you’ve claimed us in front of a parole officer and your grandmother…”

I narrow my gaze at him. “Interesting way of putting it.”

“Well, you made us yours today,” Roman adds.

“So what happens now is the question,” Wolf states. “Do you plan to actually use us, or just keep us penned up on the property looking pretty for you?”

Grayson’s watching me just as intently, clearly thinking the same thing.

“I want to get to know you all,” I say, then laugh as heat floods my face. “That’s all.”

“She wants us to earn it,” Roman butts in, and there’s a wolfish edge to his voice. “Court her to really win her over is what I’m hearing.” His hand finds my knee under the table on the other side, and now I’ve got one on each thigh. I’m going to burst into flames at this rate.

Grayson’s thumb moves once against my leg, finding the skin under my dress. “We can make this work. I’m a patient and gentle man, unlike Roman.”

Roman stares at him deadpan.

“What?” Grayson retorts. “You bit her seconds after meeting her.”

“That was situational.”

“You sure about that?” Wolf stares directly at Grayson, then swings his attention over to me. “He’s gentle right up until he isn’t. You’ll find out about him soon enough.”

Grayson doesn’t deny it but smirks, seeming proud of that trait.

“Noted,” I say, then take another drink of my water.

Grayson reaches behind him to the little fridge and hands me a bottle of pop and grabs himself a beer.