Page 48 of Knot Broken

Only to realise I didn’t have any clean clothes.

Had Ethan picked up my bag from Helena? I pulled on the plush robe that had been left hanging on the back of the door and checked my messages. Helena had a lot to say while I slept. Mostly completely inappropriate suggestions about whether or not multiple orgasms could help me shift, but yep, she’d handed the bag over to the alpha. I opened the door, scrolling through my messages, and as I was reading one from my manager, I nearly went flying as I tripped over a very large, furry obstacle.

“Whoa!” Stumbling out into the hallway, I collided with the wall as I spun around to confront a massive black wolf. Blue eyes stared into mine, his pupils the only thing that moved. “Ahh… nice doggie?” A pink tongue and a massive set of fangs was revealed as he began to pant, right before his nose lifted in the air. One long huff of a breath, then another. “Are you…? Are you scenting me? Because you really don’t need to. You just scared the shit out of me!”

The wolf went perfectly still and then made a noise deep in his chest that was a partial growl, partial grumble.

“But that is totally fine,” I stammered, taking in the size of the creature. Just how big was revealed as he stretched, then got to his feet and padded over. “Absolutely fine and… you’re sniffing me.”

I was 100% more of a cat person, so a cold nose being thrust into my hand was not something I really knew how to respond to. A long lick? Yeah, I winced, fighting the urge to rub my palm against the robe until it was clean. The wolf opened his jaws and very, very carefully gripped my hand and then used that to pull me forward.

And when a big wolf tries to take you somewhere, you go.

“Something you want, fella?” I asked in the kind of high-pitched tone people seemed to use with their dogs. “Some kibble or something?” That thought had me pausing and the wolf looked back to see what the issue was. “Goddess, if I manage to shift, am I going to eat dog food? Or…” I shuddered. “Rabbit?”

My stomach roiled. I wasn’t feeling anywhere near as seedy as yesterday, but I drew the line at eating things while they still had a face.

“Oh.” The wolf let go and sat down abruptly in front of a familiar suitcase. “My stuff. Um… thanks.”

Those blue eyes stared at me as my hand moved towards it, but he didn’t move, not until my fingers sank into his fur. Wow, he felt like the plushest, most luxurious fur throw, and his ears… They were like velvet and his eyes closed just a little as I gave the bases a scratch.

Of course, that was the moment when the wolf shifted back into a man.

To my horror, my fingers raked through Grey’s hair, finding it almost as soft. His eyes were just as heavily lidded as the wolf’s were. That was the moment when I snatched my hand back immediately, right?

Not quite.

We both seemed to need a second to process what the hell had just happened so as to change tack, but a small sound of pleasure from Grey finally had my brain kicking into gear, stopping myself from patting him.

“Shit!” He blinked, looked around and snatched a tea towel from the kitchen bench, trying to hold it over his groin.

I wondered what he looked like naked while I was in the shower. Who knew I’d get my answer so quickly? Long, lean, hard muscles everywhere, along with a vein that trailed down his abs, that for some reason I felt the need to lick. Grey was a picture of masculine perfection.

And also was very, very hard.

Looking was wrong. The man was obviously uncomfortable, and yet I couldn’t seem to avert my eyes. Whatever lurked beneath that scrap of fabric looked very impressive.

“Um… I think you’re gonna need something a little bigger than that,” I said.

“Ethan dropped off your bag,” he said in a rush. “Mine…”

With a shake of his head, he bolted for his room, obviously looking for his clothes. The slam of his door coincided with the one at the entrance opening and then Tex walked in, toting a tray of food that smelled amazing.

“Morning.” He came over and placed the tray on the kitchen counter with a flourish. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I said, then my lips twitched. “No more hangover, but I’m not sure if that’s because of the adrenaline pumping through my veins at tripping over a massive wolf or because I gave him a pat, right as Grey came back to skin.”

Tex’s eyes went wide as he grinned.

“What?”

“Like is that OK?” I shook my head. “Everything I know about alphas is from romance novels, so I’m assuming that’s not real. If I pat you guys in wolf form, is that really disrespectful?”

“Whenever you want to touch either one of us.” He moved closer, that piney scent filling my nose. “However you want, in either form, would be very welcome.” Damn, his voice had grown deeper, raspier. Tex’s hands came to land on my shoulders and even through the thick fabric, I could feel their heat. “It’s still early days. We’re still learning each other, but we will. For example, how’s this feel?”

He rubbed the line of my shoulders and I felt a whole body shiver in response.

“Nice.” I closed my eyes and then shook my head, letting out a long breath before looking up at him. “Is a useless way to describe anything. It feels good.” And it did. Being around him, feeling him hold my hand or be the big spoon yesterday was comforting in ways I found hard to describe, but I did then. “I don’t know why, but whenever you touch me, something settles.”