Page 98 of Knotting Autumn

Smiling to myself, I pushed the door open to the security offices. It was a long stretch of hallway with offices branching off on either side, and I paused to peek into each room as I passed, looking for Sawyer. He’d promised that we would have lunch together.

In the fourth office, I spotted his unruly mess of blond curls and bespeckled face. He looked up, grinning when he saw me.

Beside him, James chewed on a pen and leaned back in his seat. He cocked his head, showing off the curling lines of tattoos.

“I swear to fuck, I already tried turning it off and back on!” James grumbled.

“I don’t know what to tell you, man. At least it was easier to fix than the server issue last week,” Sawyer said, propping one hand on his hip as the other went to the back of his neck.

James huffed. “Autumn, please tell your mate that I’m not an idiot.”

“Mia doesn’t think you’re an idiot,” I said, winking at him.

“Oh, shove off, you two!” James groaned, letting his head fall back. The gesture exposed his throat, a sign of trust and respect. I’d learned to read werewolf body language over the last few months.

Sawyer straightened. “I think you’re good now. I’m gonna go grab lunch. Let me know if you have any more problems.”

He circled the desk and grabbed my free hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss on my wrist.

On the way out the door, I twisted to see James again. “Hey, are we all good for game night tonight? Is Mia feeling up to it?”

He nodded. “Morning sickness seems to be over. We will be there!”

“Glad to hear it! See you later!”

A sense of amusement and satisfaction flowed between Sawyer and me as he led me down the hall and out of the building. Out in the sunlight, I took a deep breath, letting my shoulders rise and fall.

Sawyer squeezed my hand and released it, lifting his phone to peer at a message. “Thorne wants us to come to his office. Something about needing both of us.”

“Sure, no problem. I mean, we have to head that way for lunch anyway.”

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I stepped through the door that Sawyer held open for me.

The first time I walked through the pack house, people watched and whispered, but they had fled after Thorne replaced Hunter, who was now living across the country in an older relative’s pack.

Everyone left was loyal to Thorne and happy to prove it. Even those on the fence had been won over by his steady and fair leadership. Now they waved and smiled as we passed. No one stopped us as we arrived at the large office at the end of the hall with wide windows looking out over the trees.

The door was cracked, and Sawyer rapt on it twice with his knuckles before easing it open. Thorne stood, leaning against the front of his desk. My breath hitched seeing him in a tailored button-down, the sleeves rolled up to show his forearms. A small collection of maple leaves trailed down to his wrist, a tattoo representing my name. He was so damn handsome.

Cole lounged across the leather sofa against the far wall, his legs spread wide and his arm across the back cushion. A mesh shirt showed off his tattoos. He tilted his head, looking us over with interest sparkling in his cool, gray eyes.

The air felt charged, electric with intention.

“So, you guys needed us?” I said softly, having a very good idea of what he’d really meant.

Thorne smirked. “Yes. We have a problem.”

“What?” My voice jumped up, and Sawyer squeezed my hand.

“You, darling Autumn, had a girls’ night last night with Mia, and then tonight you scheduled a game night with our friends.”

Scowling, I crossed my arms. “Yeah, it’s called having a social life, dearest.”

Cole chuckled.

“Well, it meant that we didn’t have any time together.” His voice dropped. “To be intimate.”

My stomach clenched at his choice of words and the salacious way he said them. “Sorry about that, but you don’t mean to… I mean, it’s lunch time, Thorne.”