Page 13 of Knot Going Down (OlympicVerse #3)

KNOX

T he rest of our hodgepodge group might be pissed our flights were canceled, but personally I feel like I won the lottery.

The cruise ship’s a giant, glittering playground bobbing on the ocean—equal parts resort, mall, and chaos factory of the seven deadly sins.

There are waterslides on the top deck, ladies in bikinis sunning by the pool, and someone in a pineapple shirt announcing poolside bingo over the loudspeakers.

And that's just what I can see from the check-in desk!

This boat’s my smooth-sailing miracle. A floating monument to overindulgence, set against the glittering Atlantic ocean waves and soft breeze.

It’s beautiful. In an over-the-top, drunk-on-daiquiris kind of way.

Music drifts from open-air decks, laughter rising like bubbles from the bars, and everything smelling faintly of salt and sunscreen.

I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise, but this is better than I could have dreamed. A week of all expenses paid luxury? Yes, please! If I’m going down because my little Glenn plan doesn’t work, I want to live it up first.

Emily being here is the icing on the cake. Spending what could be my last days of freedom with my first love. Yeah, I’ll take that deal.

If only I didn’t have to spend the week with tightass Mr. DEA, too.

The rest of Emily’s friends seem cool enough, and Gunner and I are basically besties now. Probably because I kept sneaking him food in the hotel.

Lucas is the kind of sweet pretty boy I’d love to play dress up with, maybe we can steal Declan’s handcuffs and play cops and robbers. Nah, he’s too adorable to play either of those, but I wouldn’t mind having him on his knees in his rugby uniform.

I can already tell Ava’s a bit of a hot mess, clingy as lint, and as much of a control freak as the nun who taught my catechism class in junior high. But I kind of dig it. Sometimes the ones with attitudes are the most fun to break. Or let break me.

“Are we playing up a degradation kink or do the cuffs come off since we’re all a happy pack now?” I bat my eyes at Mr. DEA and jingle the metal on our wrists. He’s worried I’ll run, and I don’t blame him, but we look fucking ridiculous.

He knows it, too. Unless we’re going to act like our pack enjoys flagrant public bondage foreplay, the handcuffs need to come off.

My grin is entirely too smug as he pulls the keys from the pocket of his jeans and unlocks the cuff from my wrist. “If you run,” he explains while freeing his own wrist, “I’ll shoot you.”

“Darling, we can talk back shots later.” I can’t tell if he doesn’t get the innuendo or is just too annoyed to bless me with a response.

Tightass, sourpuss Declan. He probably won’t let us have any fun on this trip at all. The man hates me. Which is too bad, because his ass really is tight. I chuckle to myself and sneak a peek as we stand in line to check in. Yeah, it sure is nice to look at.

I kinda want to slap it and see what he does, but I restrain myself. The middle aged couple behind us probably wouldn’t be amused by me publicly spanking my pack mate .

Instead, I reach down to pet Gunner, scratching behind his ears.

Poochie isn’t wearing his work vest, but I’m sure he’d follow if I bolted.

I just hope I’ve snuck him enough beef jerky that he wouldn’t bite anything important trying to take me down.

The Drug Enforcement Administration really should research the number of treats required to turn their dogs from ferocious four-legged attackers into adorable drooling messes.

It’s a lot less than they’d expect. I scratch a little harder, and Gunner’s tail starts thumping against the floor in puppy pleasure.

“Name?” The lanky beta at the desk asks, barely looking up from his computer.

“Pack McLaren,” Declan answers, giving the man the same deficit of friendliness or respect.

The man’s typing intensifies as his brows wrinkle. “McLaren?”

“Aw, look at you, all eager to claim us,” I tease in a whisper.

Declan glares at me. He really has this aggressive smolder thing down pat.

Lucas steps up to the counter. “Try Santos.” He gives Declan a look like he can’t believe the man didn’t realize the room wouldn’t be under his name.

“We are a new pack. Eu reservei —” He pauses with a slight furrow to his brow as he thinks.

“ Como você diz… booked? Reservei …I have reserved it under my name. Me desculpe. ”

“Oh, here it is.” The man looks up for the first time, eyebrows lifting in surprise as he takes in the five of us.

“This says you're in the Luxury Pack Suite.” His tone has a note of condescension. Guess we don’t exactly look like a luxury pack suite kind of group.

Ava’s the only one of us who looks the part.

She’s wearing heels, a dress, dark sunglasses, and enough red lipstick to serve as a mask.

I wonder how it would look smeared across my dick.

Okay, I should try to keep those thoughts holstered.

She looks like she would stab me in the chest with her stiletto if she knew what was playing out in my mind.

“We didn’t steal the room, if that’s what you’re wondering,” I say, used to the subtle snubs and accusations that come along with not appearing like the upper half. “This guy's a DEA agent. He even has a badge he can show you if you want.”

“That won’t be necessary.” The beta looks back at his computer.

“I booked the luxury suite as a bonding gift,” Lucas says, like he thinks the guy still needs more reason to believe we’re the right pack. There’s something truthful in the bashful way he looks down at his shoes as he says it. Interesting.

“Ah, of course. I’ll just get you all checked in, Pack Santos.”

“Can you change the name on the room to Pack McLaren?” Declan says, evidently making the executive decision that he’s the pack alpha of our motley crew. When the man frowns, Declan adds, “So we’re not called by the wrong name the whole trip.”

“Of course.” He gives us a forced smile before typing a few more things on the computer, then handing over a stack of keycards.

“Here are your room keys. You’ll be on the Lido deck, three levels down.

All guests are required to attend a mandatory safety training session.

There will be one at three o’clock and another at five. ”

Turning his attention back to the man behind the desk, Declan gives him a curt, “Thank you,” then tugs me by the arm and leads us out of the way of the next travelers. “Here.” He hands keys to Emily, Ava, and Lucas, then pockets the remaining two.

“Hey, don’t I get a key?” I ask.

“No.” He turns away and walks toward the elevator, but Gunner lingers beside me, his ears perked like he’s not quite ready to leave. I ignore the looks from the rest of the group and jog after him, his dog bounding at my side as I come around in front to block Declan’s path.

“What the fuck? How am I supposed to get in and out of the room without a key?”

“You’re not.” Declan pushes the button for the elevator. A couple, making goo-goo-eyes at each other like they’re on their honeymoon, stop their intimate moment, disrupted by our raised voices. I give them a little finger wave and a broad smile.

Declan leans in close enough that no one else can hear. “You’re still in custody. Don’t forget it.”

“I thought we made a deal.” I grit my teeth. Declan’s pine forest scent is too soothing for the frustration coursing through me.

He grabs my arm hard enough to bruise and pulls me to the stairwell. Gunner starts to follow, but Declan says, “Stay.”

Emily catches my eye, silently asking whether they should come with us or not. I shrug. They keep by the elevator while Declan shoves me through the door to the stairs. Guess we’ll catch up with them later.

“Our deal is dependent on you helping me catch your piece of shit mafia boss,” he says once we’re alone. “You haven’t done that yet. So stop fucking complaining, wipe that fucking smile off your face, and figure out how you’re going to trap Glenn.”

“He’s not mafia.” I pause, considering. “Well, I don’t think so. He’s a pretty fucked up dude. But don’t mafia bosses have to have, like, a whole family vibe thing? Glenn’s kind of a loner, apart from his daughter, and?—”

“Do you ever stop talking?” Declan pinches the bridge of his nose. “It doesn’t matter what you call him, Glenn deserves to be behind bars. Help me do that, and I’ll get you immunity. But you don’t have that yet, so for now, consider yourself in jail.”

“What does that mean? I’ve got to stay in the room the whole fucking time?” I crowd his space, anger pumping through my veins. I should have known my one chance at going on a cruise would be ruined by this fucker.

“No.” He shoves closer, pushing me back against the wall. “It means you don’t leave my side.”

“It’s a fucking boat surrounded by water? What do you think’s gonna happen? It’s not like there’s anywhere I can run!” He’s already got my phone, all my personal belongings, what does he think I’m gonna do? Take off swimming across the damn Atlantic?

“You aren’t going anywhere,” he growls, hand fisting my shirt, minty fresh breath right in my face.

I suddenly realize how close we’re standing, how fast we’re both breathing. I smile, feeling like I’ve got the upper hand at last. “I get it. You want me. That’s it, isn’t it?”

He shoves back so suddenly my head slams into the wall. Shit, that hurts.

“It’s procedure.” He rubs his mouth like he’s wiping something away. “You stay with me until we get Glenn.”

I nod and start to walk down the stairs. “Right, keep telling yourself that.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Declan stomps after me. “Did you listen to a word I said?”

“Yep. Better keep up,” I say over my shoulder. “We’re supposed to stay together.”

“ You’re supposed to stay with me . Not the other way around.”

Grumpy fucker needs to get laid. I smile at that thought. It gives me the tiniest hope that he and Emily aren’t as close as they seem.

Stopping four steps down, I look back up at him. “So where do you want to go right now, tightass?”

“The room,” he admits, pinching his lips together. It’s clear he knows that’s exactly where I was headed, and by admitting it’s where he’d go anyway, it’s clear he’s just being an ass for wanting to be the one to lead the way.

Fuck, I love messing with him. “Personally, I want to go wherever Emily is, but since I know she’s probably in the room by now, I’ll let your answer slide.”

Declan moves down until there’s only one step between us and grabs my shoulder with a death grip. “Stay away from Emily.”

I move back up a step to put us on a level playing field. “Try to make me.”

“Emily’s mine,” Declan growls.

“Emily’s a grown woman who doesn’t belong to anyone.” I shove Declan’s chest, but he’s a brick wall and doesn’t move.

“Yeah, and she’s chosen me.” The tightass actually smiles. Shocking.

My hands are still on his chest, but he’s not backing away. Neither am I, asshole . I lean closer, so close our noses are almost touching, so close I can taste his pine forest scent. “I don’t care if she chooses you, as long as she chooses me, too.”

The words are out faster than my brain can catch up with them. What am I saying? I’m not supposed to go after Emily. She’s too good for me. She deserves better than me. But now that she’s back in my life, can I really let her go again? I should. But I’ve always been a selfish bastard.

“I don’t share.” The words are a rumble down in his chest.

Guess Mr. DEA is a selfish bastard, too. “Oh, someone never graduated kindergarten.”

He snarls, showing his sharp incisors. A shiver has goosebumps breaking out over my skin. My heart is racing so fast I swear he can probably hear it. I lick my lips.

“What’s going on in here?” Emily’s sweet voice interrupts my stare down with Declan.

He jumps back so quickly I almost slump against the wall, not realizing how much of my weight I’d been balancing on his chest.

“I thought you were going to the room,” Declan says, turning to face Emily.

“We decided to wait for you.” Her gaze flicks between us. “You weren’t hurting him, were you?”

I’m not sure which of us she’s worried about, but Declan says, “No,” at the same time I say, “Yes.”

That glare of his could cut through steel.

Emily looks at me questioningly.

“He’s hurting my feelings.” The playful smirk on my face is returned by a stunning smile from her that makes my insides melt.

Swinging my arm over the massive man’s shoulders, I give him a tight squeeze. “But it’s okay. I’m very forgiving. And patient. And good at sharing. I learned all my kindergarten lessons very well.”

Declan heaves himself away from me and grabs Emily around the waist, jostling her out of the stairwell with the clear expectation for me to follow. Of course I do, because I wasn’t lying. I want to be where Emily is. Even if I can’t have her the way I want.