Page 30 of Knot Going Down (OlympicVerse #3)

EMILY

A quiet knock on the bathroom doorframe pulls my attention away from the mirror.

“Can we talk?” Declan’s voice is soft but steady.

“Sure.” I glance up, eyeliner pencil mid-air. “Come in.”

Ava’s already dressed and downstairs, probably halfway through her second glass of wine by now.

We decided to keep it casual tonight and eat in, save the glitz for tomorrow’s Captain’s Dinner.

But I still want to look nice. I haven’t seen Declan since this morning.

And I’ve been trying to perfect this damn eyeliner for twenty minutes because I’m nervous.

Nervous about what I’ll say. Nervous about what he might say.

With each day that brings us closer to land, I feel as if our time is running out.

I want to make the most of it while we can.

We’ve been taking things slow, but if this can only last a few more days, I don’t want it to end with a few make-out sessions.

I want to know what he looks like when he comes, what it feels like when he’s stretching me open.

Now that I’ve uncorked my sexual side, it keeps fizzing over in curious little bubbles, growing more eager to make up for lost time with the man on the other side of the bathroom door.

I already talked to Ava, and she said she’d hang out downstairs or on the balcony for a bit if we wanted to use the bed. There was a brief second when she seemed a little sad about it, but then she encouraged the idea almost to the point of pushiness.

I haven’t told Declan my intentions yet, though.

He steps into the bathroom, his presence immediately filling the space.

He’s rolled up the sleeves of his linen shirt, still slightly damp from a shower, and his scent hits me—clean, woodsy, and a little warmed from the sun.

My chest tightens. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his shorts, shoulders tense.

I lower the eyeliner pencil and meet his gaze in the mirror.

“I’ve been thinking a lot today,” he says, not bothering with small talk. “About us. About what I want.”

I set the pencil down on the counter. “So have I.”

“I want to be with you, Em,” he says plainly. Just… the truth. “When we get back to the States, I want us to try. For real.”

My stomach flips. I study his face. He’s not joking. There’s no smug confidence or teasing grin, just quiet certainty. “Declan…”

He must see the hesitation in my face because he lifts a hand, not quite touching me, just holding space. “I know. I know you don’t date alphas. And I’m not asking you to compromise your boundaries. I’m simply laying it out. I want you in my life.”

I exhale, sitting down on the edge of the tub. “What if you meet your scent match?”

“You know how rare that is.” He crouches in front of me, forearms resting on his knees. “And if I did—which is a big if—they’d have to want to be with you, too. I’m not budging on that. You and me? We’d be a package deal.”

His gaze is steady. Grounding. It sounds so easy when he says it like that. Like it’s a decision, not a chemical compulsion waiting to knock us off our feet.

Fear skitters across my skin like a rip tide threatening to drag me under. “You’re saying all the right things,” I murmur. “But I’ve seen what scent matches do to people. How fast everything changes.”

“I’ve seen it too,” he says, voice low. “But I’m not them. I’m choosing you first.”

“I want to believe you.”

“Then let me show you,” he says, fully kneeling on the tile floor in front of me. “I don’t want some future possibility. I want you. You first.”

I exhale shakily, my heart both racing and aching.

He stills, resting a hand on my knee. “There’s something else you should know.” Declan pauses. My brows lift slightly, waiting for what he needs to say. He meets my gaze with an unwavering steadiness. “I hooked up with Lucas this afternoon.”

It’s like a splash of cold water. Not painful—just sharp. Surprising. “Oh.”

First, Ava and Knox. Now, this.

“I didn’t plan it. It just—” He runs a hand through his hair. “It happened. And I needed to tell you. Not because I regret it. But because I don’t want secrets between us.”

He’s being open, and that’s good. So was Ava. That counts for something, right? I feel all muddled and confused.

“I’m not upset,” I say slowly, even though I’m still wrapping my head around it. “I just… you said you wanted me. ”

“And I do.” He’s still kneeling, still steady.

“I meant every word. I want to be with you, Em. But I also want to see where things go with him.” He searches my face for a reaction.

“I actually thought you might be open to the idea of including Lucas. I’d like to pursue you both.

And if you’d like something with him, well, that’s up to you. ”

My thoughts flash unexpectedly to Ava. Her smile. The guarded way she keeps her distance. Has she ever had someone want her the way Declan wants Lucas and me? Has she ever had someone take care of her? What if she could be part of this, too? What if Knox could?

“Like a pack?” I ask, the words trembling out with fragile hope.

Declan blinks like he’s hesitant to bring me into the deep end of the pool where he wants to swim. “Possibly, but I want to know your thoughts on the idea of a pack.”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I don’t know. With you , maybe. With Lucas… Maybe.”

He exhales slowly. “That’s where I’m at, too.”

We stare at each other, the air between us heavier than ever. His hand finds mine, and he laces our fingers together, resting on my thigh.

“I think I’d like to see where this goes,” I say finally. “But, I’m scared. I?—”

He moves before I finish the sentence, gathering me into his arms. I’m wrapped in the warmth of him, in the comforting press of muscle and scent and the solid rhythm of his heartbeat.

“I won’t let anyone pull me away from you,” he murmurs against my hair.

I really want to believe him. I do.

But as I start to relax into his strength, there’s a loud knock knock knock on the door.

“Are you two decent or should I come back in ten minutes?” Lucas’s voice floats in, light and teasing.

I pull away from Declan with a startled laugh.

Lucas . My thoughts are a whirlpool, but this feels like an opportunity.

Declan stares at me like he knows what I’m contemplating, and wants me to take the lead.

For a moment, I consider what it would be like to invite Lucas in, to try out exactly what Declan’s proposing.

The three of us together. I was already planning on having sex with Declan tonight.

“Are you ready to watch the movie?” Lucas asks through the door.

“We should go,” I say.

Declan sighs, standing slowly. “To be continued?”

I nod, pressing a hand to my chest to steady my breathing. “Definitely.”

He lifts me to my feet, then opens the door. Lucas gives us a playful smirk. “I hope I did not interrupt anything good.”

“Not yet.” Declan kisses Lucas on the cheek, and a shot of electricity flows through me at seeing them together, even in such an innocent moment.

Declan strolls casually downstairs, but Lucas lingers, eyes cast down, toes scuffing the tile floor. “Did he tell you?”

“Um, yeah.”

He looks up. “And?”

I purse my lips as I think. It’s too difficult to meet his gaze head-on, so I do it in the mirror. “I’d like to see where this goes.”

“Good.” Lucas’s answering smile is soft and warm as he steps closer, brushing a kiss to the side of my face, just near my ear. “Shall we keep him good and distracted during the movie?”

“How?”

“Follow my lead,” he holds out his hand, “I did write the Beta Handbook, after all.”

When we get downstairs, Knox and Ava are already bickering on the couch. Ava waves a remote like a weapon while Knox tries to goad Gunner to jump up beside him.

“We’re watching Black and Blue Widow, ” Ava declares. “You said I got to pick.”

“That was before I realized you were trying to give Emily a heart attack. That movie has a murder in the first four minutes,” Knox argues.

“A bad guy gets murdered!” Ava huffs. “No one cares if a bad guy croaks.”

“We’re watching The Bartered Soul .” Declan strides over and plucks the remote from her hands.

A soft gasp of faux betrayal escapes Ava. “Seriously? The romantic pirate one with all the secrets and longing glances?”

“Exactly,” Declan says, already cueing it up.

Surprisingly, no one protests. Either he picked the one movie we can all agree on or we’re getting used to letting him take the lead. Like a real pack alpha. But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.

Gunner hops up between Knox and Ava, plopping his head on Knox’s lap before flopping over on his side dramatically for tummy rubs. Declan settles next to me on the tiny loveseat, and Lucas claims the floor at our feet, stealing the bowl of popcorn off the coffee table like it’s his birthright.

As the opening credits roll, Declan wraps his arm around my waist to pull me closer. I snuggle against him, resting my head on his shoulder and a hand on his thigh. Gunner lets out a quiet huff and lifts his head to peer at me, as if approving our physical contact. I can’t help smiling at him.

“He’s a romantic at heart,” Declan murmurs, brushing my knuckles with his thumb.

“So is his owner, apparently.”

“I like happy endings,” he says, voice low, meant only for me, but Lucas gives a murmur of approval.

Halfway through the movie, Knox is asleep, snoring softly with his mouth open. Ava’s curled under a throw blanket, murmuring along with her favorite lines.

Lucas’s fingers trail lightly over the back of Declan’s calf, inching slowly upwards.

Declan’s breath catches, and I watch the subtle twitch of his muscles under Lucas’s teasing. Emboldened, I follow Lucas’s lead, my hand slipping higher up Declan’s thigh, brushing the hem of his shorts.

The tension between us is electric, but it’s soft, intimate, like a secret only the three of us know.