Page 53 of Knotting Autumn

After drying off and pulling on clean clothes, I found Cole in the kitchen. He set milk and cheese beside a familiar carton of eggs.

“What are we cooking?” I asked.

“Whatever you want,” he said, cocking his head as he faced me.

“Looks like scrambled eggs to me. Let me cook for you guys. I want to be helpful.”

Holding his hands up, Cole stepped back. “I won’t complain.”

Sliding open the nearby drawers, I found a pan and a spatula. Cole provided butter from the fridge, and I got to work cooking scrambled eggs while Cole tossed frozen sausages into the microwave. As if we needed more sausages around here.

Reaching into the bag of cheese, I sprinkled some over the eggs and then went back for a pinch more to pop into my mouth.

“I saw that,” Cole said, leaning over me. “Looks good. Guess you’re not a bad cook. Not that Thorne will let you, if it’s up to him.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I said, twisting to scowl at him. The move brought my neck closer to his face.

The moment he breathed in my scent, his pupils blew out and his lids drooped. “Fuck, you smell good.”

Unsure what to do, I froze. Cole ducked his head, running his nose over the crook of my neck and then up the side. Part of my brain was screaming at the contact, because this wasCole, not Thorne and not Sawyer. The rest of me was melting under the gentleness of his touch.

“You smell like him,” Cole murmured, and the words shook me out of my haze.

Straightening and facing forward, I focused on the eggs and tried to ignore him. A hand trailed lightly down my spine, and then he was gone, digging through the fridge to find juice.

Exhaling, I tried to shake off the encounter. I was rescued by Thorne. He trudged across the living room and sank onto one of the barstools, resting his chin in his hand.

“You look like hell. Hope you didn’t stay up all night messing around,” Cole said.

Thorne grunted, clearly not a morning person.

“Unfortunately not,” I said, flashing a flirty grin at my fated mate.

His gaze sharpened, and he sat up taller. “I can make up for that.”

“It’s breakfast time,” I replied, brandishing a spatula at him.

Grabbing plates off the shelf, I shoveled eggs into three portions. Cole added sausage and moved them to the far counter, sliding one in front of Thorne.

“Your little mate can cook,” Cole crooned, leaning his elbow on the counter and picking up a fork.

Walking around the counter, I slid into a seat beside Thorne and grabbed a fork, stabbing a bite of egg and popping it into my mouth.

It felt comfortingly domestic eating with the two of them, like I’d known them forever instead of just a few days. Having Thorne dick me down probably added to that familiarity.

“Alright, now that my mate is fed, I want some time with her,” Thorne announced.

“What?” I yelped as he scooped me up and carried me back toward the bedroom. My pulse sped up, and a flush crawled up my neck. “What are you doing?”

Grinning, Thorne deposited me on the bed. “We need time together.”

“We slept next to each other. I feel fine.”

“Not for the bond. I want to get to know you,” Thorne said, placing one knee on the bed. His eyes roamed over me. “Did you think I was bringing you back here to fuck you?”

Laughing awkwardly, I scooted back until I could lean against the headboard. “Yeah, that’s what it seemed like.”

“I’m happy to do that first, if you want to,” he said, crawling across the wide bed to reach me.