Page 37 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Noa kneels by my head, and I take him into my mouth, his groan vibrating through the room as I swirl my tongue around him.

"God, Mia," he breathes, one hand gentle in my hair, the other caressing my breast.

Josh and Keanu work in perfect tandem below, building me higher with every stroke.

"I need to be inside you," Josh gasps.

"Yes," I moan. "God, yes."

Josh slides in slowly while Keanu moves up my body. "Can I—" He positions himself over my chest.

I nod eagerly, pressing my breasts together for him. He slides between them with a broken groan.

"You're so beautiful," Josh breathes, finding a rhythm that has me seeing stars.

Noa’s grip tightens in my hair as I take him deeper, a moan vibrating in my throat when Josh slams that perfect angle inside me. Keanu’s breath turns ragged, his thrusts growing more desperate with every second.

"Mia," Josh groans, hips stuttering. "I'm going to—"

"Don't stop," I beg, pulling away from Noa just long enough to speak. "Please don't stop."

His thumb finds my clit, and I shatter, my orgasm triggering theirs. Josh ravages me with a few more slams before pulsing inside me with a groan people could probably hear in the whole bay. Keanu comes across my chest with a broken moan, and Noa follows immediately, finishing in my mouth.

We collapse in a sweaty, satisfied heap. Noa, I think, pulls blankets over us. Limbs tangle until I can't tell where I end and where they begin.

"Best pajama party ever," I mumble against warm skin, Josh's chest, I think, though with everyone pressed together, I'm not sure.

"Agreed," Keanu says from somewhere near my hip.

"We should do this more often." Noa says, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.

"Watch Mean Girls?" I ask drowsily.

"Sure," Josh says, and I feel his smile against my hair. "Let's go with that."

Thunder rumbles and the yacht rocks gently. Three heartbeats sync with mine as exhaustion pulls me under, feeling safe, warm… and exactly where I belong.

* * *

I shift carefully, trying not to wake the tangle of limbs around me.

Josh mumbles something in his sleep, arm tightening around my waist. Keanu's got one leg thrown over both of mine.

Noa's breathing is steady against my neck.

They're all out, apparently blessed with genes that let them sleep through constant motion.

It takes some maneuvering, Josh makes a small, protesting sound when I extract myself, but I manage to slip free. I grab a discarded shirt from the floor, pull it on, and carefully pick my way to the deck door.

The rain hasn't relented and I can hear the storm still raging as I open the hatch quietly. Cool air hits my face as I quickly move the covered part of the boat, breathing in the fresh air.

"Couldn't sleep?"

I jump slightly. Noa stands in the shadows, having pulled on sweatpants but nothing else. The deck lights catch the planes of his chest, making him look like something carved from bronze.

"I was incredibly comfortable," I say warmly, which makes his mouth curve. "But my body seems to think we're experiencing some kind of low-grade earthquake."

He huffs a quiet laugh, joining me. "I think you're doing well on boats though. Took Josh years to stop getting seasick."

"Really?"

"Used to practically turn green just looking at the water." He glances at me sideways. "Don't tell him I told you that."

"Your secret's safe."

The hatch opens again. Keanu stumbles out, hair sticking up in every direction, and joins us.

"Why are we awake?" He squints at his watch. "It's eleven. That's basically dawn for us old people."

"Mia can't sleep," Noa explains.

"The motion?" When I nod, Keanu's immediately sympathetic. "Aw, Sunshine. Yeah, that takes getting used to. My first week on a fishing boat, I didn't sleep at all."

"Fishing boat?"

"Summer job when I was sixteen. Thought I was gonna die." He wraps an arm around me, warmth seeping through the thin shirt. "But hey, look at me now. Practically amphibious."

"Living the dream," I say dryly.

"Speaking of dreams..." Josh appears at the entrance of the cockpit, blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. "Why are we having a party without me?"

"Mia can't sleep because of the boat's movement," Keanu reports.

"Oh Sunshine," Josh steps closer and presses a kiss to my forehead. "It's probably sensory confusion, your inner ear feels the motion but your eyes see everything normally." He pauses, then adds casually, "Plus, with your heat probably coming soon, your nervous system is already heightened."

The words hang in the air like a bomb just went off.

"What?" I stare at him. "My heat? What do you mean my heat is coming?"

Keanu and Noa exchange confused looks.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Josh?" Noa asks slowly.

Josh blinks, suddenly realizing what he's said.

"Oh. I—sorry, I shouldn't have said that, especially when it's not an exact science, but.

.." He pushes his glasses up nervously. "Remember earlier when you couldn't help adjusting the cozy space we'd made?

You weren't full-on nesting, but I thought that looked a lot like pre-heat nesting behavior. "

My face heats. I did compulsively rearrange pillows and all...

And your scent," Josh continues. "The way it suddenly intensified… I know you didn't take scent blockers today, but that surge was incredibly strong and came out of nowhere. And it's already less intense now…"

"So you're saying that was a heat spike? But my next heat isn't due for three months," I protest, something uneasy starting to stir in my stomach.

"Well..." Josh looks genuinely sorry for making me worry. "Sometimes when omegas meet their scent matches, it can trigger their heat cycle much earlier. And what happened earlier really did resemble heat spike symptoms, the increased arousal, the strong pheromone release, the loss of control..."

I stare at him. He's right, it did feel like the foretaste of an actual heat. But with the timing, I never thought... shit.

My fingers find the hem of the shirt, twisting it nervously. "So you're saying my heat is actually coming? Soon?"

"Probably in about forty-eight hours." I must look worried because he quickly adds, "Assuming that really was a spike, of course. There's no way to know for sure."

I look down at my hands, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "And if—if that was the case... would—would you all be willing to help me? Through my heat, I mean?"

"Sunshine." Keanu's voice is soft, reverent. "There's nothing in the world we'd want more."

"Of course we would, beautiful," Noa adds, his hand finding mine.

Josh clears his throat. "That is, if you really want us to of course..."

My omega practically purrs at their words. "I do want you to help me through it. All of you. The only thing is..." I glance around the boat. "I don't want to have my heat here. Not that I don't appreciate the yacht, but—"

"Of course." Noa squeezes my hand. "You deserve somewhere perfect for your heat. Somewhere you feel completely safe and comfortable."

"I already know of a place you'd love," Keanu promises.

Josh nods eagerly. "And remember, we have about two days ahead of us."

I feel some of the tension ease from my shoulders. "Good. That's good."

Then I look at the sky and sigh. The storm still rages, lightning illuminating the bay in sporadic flashes. "If we can get off this boat, that is. It feels the storm hasn't even moved at all…"

They all turn to study the sky.

"It's all good, Sunshine," Keanu starts. "It looks like it's stalled, but—"

"Stalled?" My stomach drops.

"Sometimes storms just... park." Josh's attention remains focused on the sky. "They lose their steering currents and sit in one spot."

"For how long?"

"Not long enough to be an issue." Noa's palm settles on my shoulder. "Could break up by midnight as expected… morning at the latest."

"Morning?" The word comes out strangled. "That works for the heat schedule, but—what about the test results? The end-of-day numbers. I need to know if the dip continued or—"

"Hey." Keanu turns me to face him, hands gentle on my shoulders. "Knowing now versus in a few hours won't change the actual numbers."

"But what if it's getting worse? What if we need to pivot the strategy or something? What if competitors are already—"

"What if everything's fine?" Noa's voice cuts through my spiral, calm and grounding. "Weather patterns are unpredictable but we know from experience the storm will break soon enough."

"I don't do well with not knowing." The admission comes out smaller than intended.

"We know." Keanu presses a kiss to my temple. "But right now, we literally can't change anything. It will be fine."

I lean into him, trying to let his steadiness seep into me, but my mind keeps racing through scenarios, each worse than the last.

"You know what might help?" Noa says suddenly. "Getting off the boat for a bit."

I pull back to stare at him. "In the rain?"

"There's a sheltered spot on the beach. Natural rock overhang I noticed earlier. We could build a fire, sit on solid ground for a while."

"A fire?" Josh's whole demeanor shifts, excited. "I haven't built a beach fire in years."

"And we’ve got marshmallows," Keanu adds, bouncing on his toes.

"What, really?"

"Emergency kit essential," all three say in perfect unison, then grin at each other.

Despite the situation, I can't help but smile as I picture the scene. Us, roasting marshmallows, in the middle of a tropical storm.

I can't believe they're willing to do all that for me…

"You know what? That sounds perfect."

Keanu whoops. "Beach fire party!"