Page 28 of Knotting Autumn

His chest expanded with a slow, deep breath that he held for a few seconds before letting the air hiss through his teeth in a wince.

“I need to be totally honest with you.”

I stayed silent, letting him work through his turmoil. The room was silent, and I imagined Thorne and Cole pressing their ears to the door, wondering how our discussion was going.

“I’ve had feelings for you for a long, long time. And I never told you because I didn’t want to risk our friendship. Not just because maybe you didn’t want me, but because if you did, I’d have to tell you I was a werewolf. Cause of the whole knotting thing. You know?”

I was so far past shocked, all I could do was giggle. Another tear squeezed from my eyes.

“Are you telling me, this whole time, that you liked me as more than a friend but you didn’t want me to figure out you were a werewolf?”

Sawyer mumbled something unintelligible.

The reality of our situation came into focus, and another ridiculous laugh bubbled up in my throat. “I’ve been fucking in love with you since high school, and if you were just honest with me, we could have been happy together, and I would know about werewolves, and, and—” I paused, and my breathing sped up enough I felt lightheaded. “There’s no way that this is real.”

“Autumn,” he said softly but firmly.

“Absolutely bonkers. No way,” I babbled.

“Autumn.”

With a sniffling hiccup, I looked at him, his brows furrowed and eyes hard.

“It’s real. And we love each other.”

Swallowing, I sucked in a shuddering breath and nodded.

With hesitant motions, like he was soothing a wild animal, Sawyer slid his fingers into my hair and tilted my face up. His other arm stayed wrapped around me, keeping me steady. I was boneless in his hold.

His thumb brushed over my throat and up to my jaw before settling in the hollow of my cheek. He studied me with such intensity, my stomach flipped and heat gathered low in my stomach. I fought the urge to squirm.

His gaze moved from my eyes to my lips and back up.

“Please, please tell me I’m not too late. Forget that guy.”

My lips formed “okay”, even when my voice couldn’t catch.

Sawyer nodded, confirming.

Everything happened in slow motion. His face dipped, mine angled to meet his, and our lips brushed together. He was soft and gentle, and it felt like home. While kissing Thorne had been heat and need, kissing Sawyer was unfiltered affection, comfort,and a profound sense of belonging. It felt like my heart was tumbling end over end.

Gasping, I broke away.

“Wow, I can’t believe we just did that,” I mumbled, clinging to him so I didn’t float away.

Sawyer grinned. “I can’t believe we waited this long to do that.”

It didn’t seem like the right moment to bring up the whole grinding on his lap situation, but maybe Sawyer was thinking of it, because he licked his lips, his hands going to my hips.

“Look, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. And I’m so, so happy we’re doing this.” I motioned between us. “But I did just go on a date with another guy, and there’s that whole bond thing I gotta reject. I don’t really understand the logistics of that. So for now, can we take things slow?”

“What have we been doing for the last decade?” Sawyer murmured, kissing the shell of my ear. “But I’ll wait however long you need.”

“I appreciate it. I think right now, we need to figure out what to do. I’m not sure that big guy will let me go without a fuss. And I’d really like to go home.”

“We’ll just walk out there and not let them stop us,” Sawyer said, as if it was that simple.

“He tied my wrists with rope the first time,” I said.