Page 4 of Knot Going Down (OlympicVerse #3)

LUCAS

“ L ucas!” Emily’s sweet voice captures my attention as I make my way off the pitch. The game didn’t go as well as it should have. Rugby is an aggressive sport, and my team didn’t take the risks we needed to take. We won, but only by three points earned from a penalty kick. Too close for comfort.

I tug the tie from my hair, letting the sweaty strands fall free for a moment.

It slips to just above my shoulders, a familiar weight I’ve grown to love—despite my mom’s protests I’d look more handsome with a crisp short cut.

I run a hand through it, savoring the softness, then twist it back into a looser, sloppy bun.

When I glance up, I note my teammates have already left.

Gone without a word. And our omega is nowhere to be seen.

I guess that’s good. I don’t want them to get the wrong idea as I chat with the sweetheart waving for my attention.

“Hello, beautiful Emily,” I say as I stroll up to the low wall that divides the field from the cheering crowd.

Most people are already exiting the stadium.

There are games and races and events constantly going on, so none of the spectators loiter around after one wraps up.

On to the next thing. “Did you enjoy the game?”

“Fuck, that’s the hottest accent I’ve ever heard,” the woman with Emily says in a whisper that is not at all quiet. “It’s like sex for my ears.” She says these words with unblinking eye contact and a quirk of her pretty lips.

I chuckle and lean against the half-wall. “If I am like sex for your ears, the two of you are like sex for the eyes.”

They blush a matching shade of pink, creating a stunning picture. One short, the other tall. One in flip-flops, the other in heels. So different even in their postures and expressions, but that blush is the same. Entirely captivating.

I shouldn’t be intrigued by women outside of my pack when I’m wanting to bond, but something about Emily captured my attention from the beginning.

And this woman with her is equally enticing.

It’s difficult not to imagine the two of them together.

I’d love to watch them kiss as I slowly undress them.

No, bad Lucas.

The only sexual relationship I currently have with my pack mates is during Alessandra’s heats.

They’ve made it clear they don’t mind me looking elsewhere to meet my needs, but I don’t want to ruin my chances of bonding with them.

So I’ve been celibate since joining their pack a year ago, apart from the three heats I helped with.

I know they only asked me to join because of the new Olympic Committee rule that states teams need to be pack mates.

But a pack is all I’ve ever wanted. All I need to do is prove to them I’m committed.

I’m certain if I can show them that, their omega will welcome me in for real.

Once the Olympics are over, that’s when I’m going to propose we take things to the next level. So it’s important I don’t break my personal vow before the surprise I’ve planned.

It hasn’t been easy though. I’ve always been a very physical person. And sweet Emily has been a particular temptation. Even if she’s nothing but a little daydream. A tiny crush. Some innocent flirting.

“Okay, Smooth Talker, dial it back.” The blonde woman with Emily rolls her eyes but the upturn of her lips encourages my flirtation.

“I am only saying what everyone is thinking. You two walk over to me like a romance novel with conflicting genres, and I am supposed to… hide my interest?”

“Conflicting genres?” Emily purses her lips as her brow furrows.

“You are ethereal poetry with a tragic backstory. Your friend here is radiating sharp knives and enemies-to-lovers energy. I am merely longing to be the squishy middle.”

“The beta butter filling in this genre sandwich?” The fellow beta shifts her weight on her heels, cocking one hip to the side.

“Yes, that. Beta butter is delicious and under-appreciated.” Am I really using beta butter as a euphemism?

The thought of either of them tasting my beta butter sends a pulse of blood under my jock strap.

“It is part of the rules of the beta handbook. Page four. Right between the sections on overthink your place in the dynamics of a potential pack and quietly suppress your own emotional spiral so the omegas can have theirs first.”

“There’s a rulebook?” Emily’s soft smile is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. “Mine must have gotten lost in the mail.”

I nod. “Chapter seven is a classic about crying in the shower after accidentally catching feelings for an unbonded alpha.”

Emily’s smile slips.

“And who wrote this rulebook?” Emily’s friend asks. “I never got my copy, either.”

I beam proudly over my imaginary publication. “Self-published by an emotionally eager bisexual with great taste in the stock market.” I gesture to myself and take a little bow. “Very exclusive. Chapter Five: Do Not Flirt with Pretty Blondes Who Could Bust Your Balls Just by Thinking About It. ”

She doesn’t laugh but her lips tilt up, giving me a feeling of victory not unlike winning a game.

I continue. “Chapter Six: Ignore Instincts and Flirt Anyway. End Up Single and Crying into My Protein Shake. ”

“Is there a chapter on blondes that don’t bust your balls?” Emily asks.

“But of course.” I answer “Chapter Nine: Do Not Fall for the Quiet Ones with Big Eyes and Potential for Emotional Damage. Subsection A: You Will Fall Anyway. Cry in Private. ”

“You need help.” Emily’s friend rolls her eyes.

“Chapter Ten!” I add with flair, loving our game of improvisation. “ Betas in Therapy. Now with Bonus Worksheets! ”

Emily grins, and I’m glad her smile has returned. “How many chapters are there exactly?”

I let my gaze rake over the beauties before me, shifting my attention from easy flirtation to something more heated. “Depends on how long I survive between the two of you.”

“So…” The blonde, whose name I still need, checks the time on her smartwatch. “Twelve minutes?”

“Bold of you to assume I will last that long.” I reply with a wink earning me a delightful offering of their soft laughs.

A buzzing from Emily’s back pocket pulls her smile away from me as she reaches for her cell. She plucks it out, squinting at the screen. I can’t help seeing the caller ID: Your Favorite Pain In The Ass.

Joy tugs at her lips again as she shifts the phone from one hand to the other. “It’s my brother. I should get this.”

She steps away, and the other woman’s gaze follows her. Her look is one I feel in my bones. Longing. It softens her features, making her even more beautiful.

“I believe I still haven’t gotten your name, benzinho .” ‘Honey’ slips off my tongue without thought, somehow fitting for the woman who’s all smooth curves.

“Ava.” She doesn’t hold out her hand.

“Are you an athlete, Ava?”

“Swimming,” she answers, short and to the point.

I smile. “Was this your first rugby game?”

“No. I used to watch it with my mom. She was big on rugby even though it’s not very popular in the States.”

“It is the same in Brazil. But my father was Argentinian, and it was popular where he grew up.” I don’t tell her how I got into the sport to honor the man who died when I was young or how disappointed my mother was when I didn’t go into politics like my brother.

Those aren’t things you share the first time you meet someone, and I’m more interested in learning about the beautiful woman in front of me than burdening her with my past.

But before I can ask Ava anything more about herself, Emily comes back. “Um, I’ve got to go. My brother… ” She looks at Ava, then me. “There’s just something I need to deal with.” She tucks her phone back in her pocket. “It was a great game, Lucas. I’m glad we came.”

I laugh. “It was not. But I am glad you came as well.” I take Emily’s hand and kiss her knuckles, then repeat the gesture for Ava. “Both of you. A pleasure.”

“If I don’t see you again. Um, well. I’m glad I met you.” Emily smiles with a note of awkwardness that makes me want to pull her into a comforting hug.

“Have a great life,” Ava says.

Emily coughs and elbows her. “You can’t say that.”

I chuckle. “It is fine, docinho . I hope you both have a wonderful life.”

My words are sincere. They deserve everything they’ve ever dreamed of.

We all do.

There’s a dream waiting for me, too. It starts with going back to my team… the people I want to call my true pack someday.