Page 15 of Knot Letting Go (Knotty Streak Omegaverse #4)

The entire playroom looked like it was a castle under the sea. We had mermaid toast for breakfast, crab and tuna starfish sandwiches for lunch, and colorful ‘treasure’ pasta for dinner. Enid even made clamshell cookies that were adorable.

Lillianna kept my mind off everything else in the world with her mermaid fantasies.

With my shower head moment and her imagination, I wasn’t bothered by any naughty thoughts of Quill or Konstantin all day.

I had begun to think I wasn’t going into heat, and that my reaction was only due to the fact I was compatible with the brothers.

That had to be it. Had to be.

“What do you think mermaids dream about?” I set down the brush I’d been using on Lillianna’s thick black hair and began to loosely braid it before she settled down for bed. “Do you think they all dream what it would be like to live on land and walk like humans do?”

Lillianna shook her head before remembering to sit still. “No way. If I was a mermaid and I could swim anywhere and see all the pretty things under water, I’d never want to leave. I’d never want to be the Little Mermaid and give up my tail for legs. That’s just silly.”

“Did you know that there is more water on Earth than land, so there’s much more room under the sea than not?” I finished her braid and fastened the end with a pink band.

“Really?” Lillianna shifted around her bed and slipped her legs under her blankets. I nodded as I helped her settle in. “Being a mermaid is totally the best then.”

“Would you give up cookies and ice cream to be a mermaid?” I had to be the one to ask the difficult questions. It would only deepen the fantasy, and I was glad for the distraction.

Lillianna pursed her lips and then nodded.

“Yeah. If I could be a mermaid, I would even give up chocolate.” That’s big, and I put on the appropriate shocked expression.

She laid back and laid her small hand on her drawing of her tail.

The paper crinkled as she ran her fingers slowly over it.

“I think that Mama, Nonna, Zia Roma, and Zia Sofia are mermaids, and they got lost in the big, big ocean, and that’s why they never came back. ”

My chest clenched and my throat tightened.

Oh, poor sweet girl. I didn’t know what happened to her mother and the other women in her family, but she’d been a toddler when she lost them.

I was nineteen when I lost my mom, and while we both had fathers that loved us, I felt a kinship with Lillianna in this aspect.

It wasn’t my place to talk about her loss with her, especially with my lack of knowledge about it, but I would give her all the comfort I could give.

I bent toward her and gave her a hug. “That’s a wonderful thought.

Imagine the adventures they’d have. You know.

” I sat up and tapped my chin. “We could study the oceans and learn more about the creatures that live there to find out where the mermaids live and if any of the sea creatures have seen them.”

Lillianna cocked her head and stared up at me with her big dark eyes. “You can learn about that?”

“If you grow up and become a marine biologist, you will learn all about the oceans and everything in them. That includes mermaids. Of course, mermaids don’t reveal themselves to just anyone. You’d have to be very special and a great friend to the sea.”

“I will.” She clasped her hands together on her chest. “I will be the best friend the sea has ever had.”

“Who is going to be the best friend the sea ever had?” Konstantin’s voice startled me, and I abruptly stood. My heart hammered in my chest.

I wasn’t ready to see him yet. His letter flashed through my mind. I hadn’t made certain if I was reacting to our compatibility or…

What happened to his eye? It was swollen; a little deep purple and yellowish in the light from the bedroom lamp. Was that a hint of a bruise on his jaw too?

I immediately want to rush over and nurse him. I couldn’t stand to see him injured. I had to make everything better.

His oakmoss and vanilla scent slammed into me and rekindled the fire between my legs. Hot and wanting, I needed this Alpha to wrap his arms around me again. I had to step away from where he stood and pressed my hands together behind my back to keep them from reaching toward him.

“Me, Daddy.” Lillianna sat, a brilliant light shining from her whole being. “I’m going to be a marine biologist when I grow up. I’m going to learn about the oceans and everything in them.”

Konstantin smiled, soft and tender. “I would be very proud if you grew up to be a marine biologist.” He walked over to the opposite side of the bed and glanced at me.

There was a question in his gaze, one that flared hot for a few seconds as he studied me.

He drew his attention back to his daughter and his gaze turned back to adoring.

“You would have to do very well at school and work hard.”

“I will.” Lillianna bobbed her head and leaned in to hug him, scooting up on his lap to snuggle. “I will learn everything about the fish and the dolphins and the sharks and the crabs and the lobsters and the seaweed…”

She kept going, and thankfully my legs had enough strength to take me around the bed, giving it a wide berth, and to the door. I managed a little wave. “Have a good night, Lillianna.”

“Oh! Aubrielle, can we go get some fabric for our tails tomorrow?” Lillianna peered hopefully at me from over her father’s shoulder.

“Remember tomorrow is Sunday, sweetie. Tomorrow you’re mine.” Konstantin tickled her sides and she let out a squeal of laughter.

“I will research the best store to find what we need. Then on Monday we can go pick out fabrics. It’s going to be a rainy day, so we won’t be able to go outside anyway.” I took another step back to be on the edge of the hallway.

“Okay! G’night, Aubrielle.” Lillianna then launched into her rambling version of the story of Atlantis that I told her earlier in the day.

Konstantin turned his head to look at me again. It was like I could feel his strong arms holding me, his scorching kisses along my neck, and his Alpha cock—

I fled into the hallway and raced to my room. My pulse thundered in my ears and slick drenched my panties. Cold water and the magic spray of the shower head weren’t going to help me now.

The pool. Lillianna and I had played with a remote control boat—searching for mermaids, of course—earlier in the day, and the water had been cool to the touch.

I’d dunk myself and let the acrid smell of chlorine wash Konstantin’s delicious scent from my nose.

My lower abdomen twisted, making the pain between my legs spike.

It was just compatibility. Going into the pool would prove it.

Throwing off my clothes, I changed into my bikini and snatched a towel from the bathroom rack. I raced barefoot along the hall and zipped down the stairs. The faster I got there, the quicker I’d be relieved of this ache.

Most of the lights were off in the house as the staff had gone home for the night.

The bright light from the pool room was the only beacon, and I dashed toward it like a moth to flame.

I pushed open the door, dropped my towel, and did something I’d never done before in my life: I took a flying leap into the deep end with my arms flailing and my legs still pumping as if I were running in the air.

The shock of the cold water made me gasp while still under, and I gulped a mouthful down. My hair clung to my face as I kicked and surfaced, coughing and searching blindly for the side.

My fingers slapped against the concrete edge of the pool, and it took two more tries before I got a firm hold.

I hoisted myself up to lean on it, hacking up the rest of the water.

Any scent I had in my nose before had definitely been overpowered by the chlorine.

My nostrils burned with it. The unpleasant feeling and the coolness of the water did help calm the painful yearning between my legs, though.

Someone started to slowly clap.

Oh no. Please God, let no one have seen that ridiculousness.

“Bravo. Bellissimo.” It was Quill. I didn’t even need to turn around.

My face heated as I buried it against my arms. I must have looked like a crazy woman sprinting into the room and flying into the pool. It was unladylike, unsafe, and crap, I was wearing hardly anything alone with a compatible Alpha.

I twisted around, pushing my wet hair out of my face, to see exactly where Quill was.

I was greeted by the shimmering form of a Greek god perched on the edge of the pool across from me.

He wore black board shorts, but they clung to his muscled legs and hung a few inches below his navel so I could see the start of dark hair that trailed downward to… Oh my. The giant bulge he was packing.

And the red split which adorned his swollen lower lip. His raw knuckles and half dozen bruises told me he had been fighting.

Konstantin had that black eye.

My mind whirled a million miles a second. Were they fighting about me? Who won? They were brothers. I couldn’t come between family. I should have left last night.

He grinned, not taking any notice of his sore lip, and dropped his hands to either side of him. “I have never seen beauty run so fast into my life. I won’t tell if you were racing Lilli, but since she’s probably in bed, you were either being chased by demons or really excited to see me.”

I swallowed, trying to think of something to say, anything, but it only made me cough more. That was me: lovely and demure.

“I worried I was going to have to dive under and save you.” Quill slipped into the water and effortlessly swam to my side.

He propped an arm up on the edge and raked his gaze over me.

Up close, I could see his injuries more clearly and immediately wanted to take care of him.

I couldn’t stand the thought he might be in pain, but his dark eyes only shone with hunger.

“But I still think I should give you some mouth to mouth.”