Page 96 of Knot Unwanted: Part Two

But it’s not just the heat.

It’s the way Finn watched me as he left the nest for refreshments, his gaze heavy with unspoken want. The way Ren’s hands shook when he handed me the water. The way Jax’s scentchangedwhen I asked for more.

Mine, something primal whispers.All of them, mine.

Now, I lie in the nest, adrift in the aftermath, listening to the sounds of the cabin. Someone is sleeping beside me. Finn on oneside, his sage-and-rain a balm against my skin. Ren on the other. His sandalwood and musk cling to the blankets where he’d been resting earlier, though when I reach across the empty space, my fingers find warm skin instead of fabric.

Ren’s breath hitches. He hadn’t been as asleep as I thought.

I trace the line of his jaw, feeling the tension coiled beneath his skin. His eyes open slowly, dark with something between hunger and hesitation. For a heartbeat, he lets me touch him—leans into it even—before catching my wrist with careful fingers.

“Hailey.” My name sounds like a warning on his lips.

His fingers close around my wrist. Not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough that I feel the slight tremor running through him. His thumb presses against my racing pulse, holding me there, suspended between his restraint and the need humming through my veins. The distance he maintains even now makes my chest ache. He’s right here…but part of him still feels miles away.

Why?

The constant yearning within me does not understand.

And then there’s?—

Alpha.

Jax’s cedar-and-spice cuts through the haze, richer, deeper than before. My thighs press together instinctively, slick already gathering.

The bedroom door creaks open.

I don’t have to look up to know it’s him.

The air shifts, thickening with the weight of his presence. Behind him, Stone walks in.

“Awake?” Jax’s voice is low, rough from sleep or something else.

I turn my head, meeting his gaze.

Jax stands in the doorway, shirtless, sweatpants slung low on his hips. His dark hair is tousled, his jaw shadowed with stubble.And his eyes—fuck, his eyes—are already locked onto me with that look.

The one that saysmine.

“Mm.” I stretch, letting the sheet slip lower. “Barely.”

A muscle flexes in his jaw.

He steps inside, with Stone following behind and closing the door behind them. “Are you ready to eat?”

“Later.” My fingers curl into the blankets. “Right now, I need…” My cheeks warm. I can’t believe I still want more.

Jax’s nostrils flare.

I see the moment his control snaps. Or, probably there was no control there in the first place at all.

One second, he’s across the room. The next, he’s in the nest, his hands gripping my thighs, dragging me toward him.

“Fuck,” he growls, his breath hot against my neck. “You smelltoo good.”

His mouth crashes onto mine, claiming, demanding. I moan into the kiss, arching into him, nails scraping down his back.

Each one of these alphas has been so different in the way they love me.

---