Page 55 of Knot Your Sugar Rush (Starling Grove #2)
Chapter fifty-five
Cam
B reakfast and their scents take it out of me, and I retreat back to my nest, which smells soothingly of Dane. I flush, thinking of his lips and knot last night, and settle back in.
I drift until a knock at my door. My voice comes out small, ragged. “Yeah?”
The door eases open, and they fill the space—three broad silhouettes against the dim light from the hall.
Theo in front, eyes sharp and assessing.
Dane behind him, shoulders loose but gaze fixed on me like he’s measuring my every breath.
Jamie leans on Theo’s side, his leg braced, but his focus is no less direct.
“I’m fine,” I try, but the words melt into a quiet exhale when I shift and the ache pulses low in my belly.
The heat’s still there—muted from last night, but still curling, still coaxing.
My skin feels flushed, like I’ve been standing too close to a fire, and every inhale drags their scent deeper into me.
Theo steps in first, crouching a little so he’s eye level. “You look pale.” His voice is low, the kind you’d use to calm skittish animals—or omegas who don’t want to admit they’re still struggling.
I shrug one shoulder. “I’m… warm. Just tired.” It’s mostly true.
Dane doesn’t buy it. He’s already scanning the room, like he’s checking for hidden dangers in the corners, and when his eyes come back to me they soften just a fraction. “You’ve been through a lot. You don’t have to put on a brave face for us.”
Their scents are heavier here—Theo’s clean spice, Dane’s deeper earth, Jamie’s warmer musk—and together they settle over me like a weighted blanket.
My pulse steadies even as the heat stirs again.
I hate that my body reads all this as safety and want at the same time.
I’m not ready for… more. But my omega instincts are greedy.
Jamie leans on the doorframe, watching quietly. “Do you need anything right now? Water, food, a cool cloth?”
I shake my head. “No. I think I just need… quiet. And maybe the window open.”
Theo moves immediately, unlatching the window so the sea air drifts in. It’s cool and salt-sharp, and I breathe it in until my shoulders loosen. Dane lingers closer to the door, but he’s angled himself so if I look up, I see him watching the hall, guarding. Always guarding.
We don’t talk for a while. The quiet stretches, not awkward but weighted with that unspoken thing between us—the way they all hover just enough to make me feel protected without caging me.
I realize that I like it. That I like them .
And that thought alone makes the heat purr a little deeper in my chest.
Finally, Theo breaks it. “We’re low on a few things. Dane and I’ll head to the boat and see what we can bring back.”
I blink, sitting up a little. “You’re leaving now?”
He nods. “It’s daylight. Safer than at night. Jamie’ll stay here with you.”
My gaze shifts to Jamie, who grins faintly despite the way he’s leaning on the frame. “Don’t worry, I’m great company. And I’ll keep watch while you rest.”
Dane finally looks at me again. “Door stays locked until we’re back. Don’t open it for anyone but us.”
Something in his voice—low and certain—sends a shiver down my spine, stirs my heat.
I nod. “Okay.”
Theo straightens, brushing a hand lightly against my shoulder as he passes, a warm, grounding touch. Dane lingers one second longer than necessary before following him out. The door clicks shut, and I’m left with Jamie and the sound of their boots moving away.
The air feels different already—quieter, but not lonely. The heat hums low in my belly, not clawing, not frantic. Manageable. I sit back against the headboard, listening to the sound of Jamie easing into the chair near the bed.
“Guess it’s just us for a bit,” he says, and the way he says it makes me almost smile.
“Yeah,” I answer, sinking into the moment. The sea breeze lifts the hair off my damp temples, the floor creaks under Jamie’s shifting weight, and for the first time in days, I think I might be okay.