Page 35 of Knot Going Down (OlympicVerse #3)

AVA

I ’m perched at the edge of the diving platform, heels dangling from my fingers, when Emily finds me. I knew she was coming before I saw her. The soft rustle of her dress in the night breeze and the faint tap of her heels against the metal ladder gave her away.

“Hey,” she says softly, climbing up to join me. “You okay?”

“Not even close.”

My feet swing absently, silk brushing against my bare calves.

We must look ridiculous—two women in formal gowns, sitting on a diving platform like kids at summer camp.

I wish the boat had a proper diving board so I could watch Em soar, but probably some insurance liability keeps it regulated to this more solid platform.

But still, we’re above the water and further from reality up here.

The pool below is nearly deserted, everyone else already filing into the dining room in their glitter and ties.

The concrete platform is warm beneath me, dried by the sun, but still, this isn’t where we’re supposed to be, and I’m certain its wrecking the delicate silk of my gown.

A snagged memento of this ruined evening.

“This is my favorite place to think,” Emily says. Her shoulder brushes mine.

I glance at her. “I know.”

Maybe that’s why I ended up here. I wanted to go back to the room, curl into a blanket and let the familiar smells settle me. Some buried, instinctive part of me sought out the comforting scent of my pack— no, not pack. They’re not mine. Not really. I don’t get to claim that.

So I ran here instead. Somewhere high and open and quiet. Somewhere that reminded me of her .

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Emily asks gently.

“Maybe.” I switch my heels to the other hand. “I don’t know.”

My skin feels too tight, like I’m wearing the wrong body. My pulse is humming under the surface, frantic and hot. I can’t sit still. I rise to my feet, the platform blessedly sturdy beneath me as I pace to the far end, away from the pool. I don’t know where I’m going—just that I need to move.

Emily follows. Her hand lands lightly on my shoulder. “Maybe we should go back to the room.”

“No,” I say quickly. “I don’t want you to miss dinner.

And I can’t go in there right now. Not with all that—” I wave my hand vaguely, as if that can summarize the disaster of my existence right now, the impending heat and ravenous want I’m trying so hard not to drown in.

“I’m just so fucking horny, Em. And I don’t think I can hide it much longer.

Not with two alphas breathing down my neck. And they smell like?—”

I stop. My hand covers my face, and I groan into it. “Emily, they’re my…” My voice cracks. “Fuck.”

I shake my head, pacing the length of the board again.

I can’t let this happen. I won’t. I won’t ruin what she has with Declan.

I won’t be the omega who steps into a bond that doesn’t belong to her.

Declan hasn’t touched me. Hasn’t looked at me like that.

Not without the influence of scent. But if he does catch it—if he smells me—what then?

He’s my scent match. And that’s not nothing.

But it’s not a choice, either.

“And then there’s you, ” I say, the words ripped from me before I can stop them. I turn, sudden and sharp.

Her eyes widen. “Me?”

She shifts back a step. Away from me. And my insides rage at the distance.

“You with your big innocent eyes and that sweet little laugh that shows up in my fucking dreams,” I spit out. “And that body. Geez, Em. I want to—” I bite off the rest before I say something I can’t walk back from.

She blinks. “You want to what?”

She looks like she belongs in a painting. Golden in the last light of day, midnight dress clinging to her like temptation incarnate, backdropped by the stars.

“I want to kiss you.” My voice drops, low and rough. “I want to kiss you so bad I feel like I’m going to explode.”

“Because you’re…” She swallows. “Horny?”

There’s no judgment in it. Just curiosity. Maybe a hint of caution.

“No,” I say. “Because you’re you. And I like you, Em. I think I’ve liked you a lot longer than I realized.”

She stares at me, stunned. Mouth slightly open, she doesn’t look freaked out. If anything, she looks breathless.

“You want to kiss me ?” The awe in her voice nearly undoes me.

“Have you ever kissed a girl, Em?”

She freezes, deer-still. Her head tips slowly side to side.

I take a step closer. Not crowding her. Just enough.

“Do you want to?”

I won’t push her. But I have to ask. Because the way she’s looking at me—it’s not a no.

“Y-yes.” Her voice wobbles on the single syllable.

I lean in, slow and deliberate. Letting her see me coming. I tilt my head and press my mouth to hers—not a kiss. Just a question. A whisper against her lips.

I do it again, firmer this time, my hand coming up to cradle her jaw.

She’s rigid beneath me, holding her breath like she’s afraid to move.

“Relax,” I murmur.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she whispers back.

“That’s okay.” I smile against her lips. “I do.”