I bet those calluses would feel good in other places, too.
“Taste-testing seems risky.”
I swear, his smile could knock a statue off its base. “I’m brave.”
For a moment, we simply stand there. Much too close to be safe. The music beats in the background. The cherries on the stovetop simmer. The oven ticks and whirrs as it adjusts temperature, readying itself for my next pan of creations. I feel Pickles watching us both from Knox’s side, like he’s waiting for something to happen.
Knox’s face moves closer.
My head tilts upward, and I feel his breath upon my lips.
His hand draws my wrist closer to him, pulling me against his body.
“Knox,” I whisper softly.
“My Sunshine,” he murmurs as his head dips down.
BZZZZZZ!
The timer on my phone goes off and I gasp. “The cinnamon rolls.”
I tear away from Knox’s presence, but the heat of his grip around my wrist lingers. I slip the oven mitts onto my hands and quickly rush over to the second oven. I flip down the door before reaching in for the pan, and when I pull them out, I smile.
“Oh, they’re perfect,” I say as I nudge the oven door closed with my hip.
Knox rubs his hand along the back of his neck. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
I study him for a moment. “Thank you for coming to check on me.”
His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. I find I don’t like that. “Anytime, Sunshine. And remember: I’m only a text or a phone call away if you ever need help.”
I’m not able to get another word out before he disappears through the exit. The steaming pan of cinnamon rolls sits in my mitted hands, and I feel empty.
As I stand there in the warmth of the kitchen, surrounded by his scent of forest rain that seems to overpower everything else I’ve got going, I find myself wanting something I’m not sure I’m ready to want.
Despite the rough childhood Knox seems to have had, he’s turned into such a ball of genuine happiness. Always smiling. Always offering help, like kindness is his natural state.
I’d be lucky to have an Alpha like him.
My instincts already miss him, which is jarring and curious at the same time.
It makes a whimper bubble up my throat that I can’t help but to let loose.
Knox
Idon’t mean to bolt when I leave the kitchen.
I just know that if I don’t get away, I’ll pin her to the nearest surface and kiss her until the only breath she’s afforded is from my lungs.
Go back to your Omega. What are you doing?
I shove my instincts down until it damn near makes me nauseous. Being away from her is torture, but she’s not the kind of Omega that can be crowded. If I’m going to woo her, if I’m going to show her that I deserve to stand at her side, I have to step with her. I can’t force her. I can’t drag her along. I can’t make her do anything.
Fucking hell, how I wanted to kiss her.
I tuck into a corner in the hallway so that I can rearrange myself. The last thing I need to be doing is heading to Walker’s on-site restaurant for my lunch break with a raging hard-on. I shove my hand down into my overalls long enough to pull my aching cock against my body, giving it an angle that’s a little less conspicuous.
I look down at the bulge and groan.
