Page 49 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Chapter forty-five

Mia

"Where exactly are we going?" I ask for the third time as I follow my alphas along a secluded stretch of the resort's beach. But Noa just throws that mysterious smile over his shoulder.

"Patience, omega ." The way he says omega sends another pulse of warmth through me, the ache that's been building all morning intensifying with each endearment.

Josh and Noa are each carrying enormous duffel bags, the kind that look like they could fit a small closet inside. The bags bulge, mysterious with their contents, and Josh adjusts his grip as we approach what looks like nothing more than a natural rock formation jutting out from the beach.

"Here," Noa says, running his hand along the rock face until... click. A section of rock swings inward, revealing a softly lit tunnel with a spiral staircase descending into the earth.

"You have got to be kidding me," I breathe.

"After you, Sunshine." Keanu gestures toward the entrance with a flourish, somehow managing to look graceful despite the massive bag slung over his shoulder.

The tunnel is cool and smells faintly of salt and wet stone. Our footsteps echo softly as we descend, the lights embedded in the walls casting a warm glow. My anticipation builds with each step down, down, down, until we reach a heavy sealed door.

Noa punches in a code and the door unseals with a soft hiss.

"Close your eyes," Josh says softly.

"Josh—"

"Trust us," he says, and I do. I close my eyes.

I hear the door open fully and feel Noa's hands on my shoulders, guiding me forward. The ambient sound becomes muffled, deeper somehow, and the air changes, filled with a subtle energy I can't quite place.

"Okay," Noa says. "Open."

I open my eyes and my knees nearly buckle.

We're standing in a vast, open-plan living space, but the walls.

.. God, the walls and ceiling are seamless glass, and beyond them stretches the most breathtaking underwater vista I've ever seen.

Sunlight filters down through crystal-clear water, illuminating a coral reef that seems to go on forever.

"It's... magical," I whisper, the words completely inadequate.

A school of yellow tangs, hundreds of them, streams past the glass in a brilliant flash of gold, and I actually gasp, my hand flying to my chest.

"One of our best-kept secrets," Keanu says, setting down his bag and rolling his shoulders. "The reef here is protected, completely untouched. We had this built with zero environmental impact. Solar powered, water recycled, the works."

But I'm barely listening because I'm already drawn to the glass like a magnet.

The living area is enormous: plush sofas in soft grays and blues arranged around a low coffee table, bookshelves, a kitchen area with gleaming appliances.

But everything is positioned to showcase the underwater view, and I really only have eyes for it.

"That's a parrotfish," Josh says, appearing beside me as a fish the size of my thigh swims past, its scales an impossible shade of turquoise. "And those are brain coral formations, some of them are over a hundred years old. Oh, and look—"

A ray glides past, its movements so graceful it looks like it's flying through the water rather than swimming.

"That's a spotted eagle ray," Josh continues as I stand there with my mouth hanging open like one of the fish outside.

"Josh knows all the names," Keanu teases. "He spent three months studying marine biology in-depth before we built this place."

"Of course he did," I murmur, but I'm smiling. The living seascape before me is mesmerizing, constantly shifting, endlessly beautiful.

"Come on," Noa says. "Let us show you the rest."

They lead me through the space, and each room is more incredible than the last. The bathroom has a glass wall overlooking a deeper part of the reef slope where the coral gives way to mysterious blue depths. In the distance, I can make out graceful, multi-colored shapes gliding through the water.

"You can shower while watching whales sometimes," Keanu says casually, like that's a normal thing.

"Whales?"

"Humpbacks pass by during migration season. They come surprisingly close sometimes. We're completely safe behind the glass, of course."

"Of course," I echo faintly, trying to imagine showering while a whale swims by.

But then they're leading me to the bedroom, and coherent thought abandons me entirely.

The bed is huge, like it could accommodate a dozen people. It's pristine and perfectly made with crisp, expensive white sheets that look like silk. The view here is gentler, overlooking a section of reef where a massive green sea turtle rests on a ledge, completely at peace.

I turn to look at them, and an image hits me suddenly: my three gorgeous alphas in this bed with me, their scents filling the air, their hands on my skin while the ocean surrounds us. A hot, sharp throb shoots through my core at the thought, so intense I have to grab the doorframe.

"Mia?" Josh's voice is concerned. "You okay?"

"Fine," I manage, but my voice comes out breathy. "Just... this place is making my omega very, very happy. Meaning I can feel my heat is knocking on the door."

Josh takes one of my hands while Keanu takes the other. Noa stands behind me, his hand making gentle circles on my shoulder blade.

"So this place is really, truly okay?" Keanu asks, his voice soft and full of concern. "For your heat I mean? We want you to be completely comfortable. If you'd prefer somewhere else, we have backup options. Just say the word."

I look around the magical sanctuary they've brought me to, then at the faces of my alphas, full of love and concern. My omega purrs with satisfaction.

"It's more than okay," I say, my voice thick with emotion and building need. "It's perfect."

"Good," Noa after a moment, voice rough.

"Because you'll find we brought everything you might need.

Let's go have a look." He points to the duffel bags in the living room, and my eyes drift to one of them which seems to have broken at the zip.

Feeling drawn to it like a magnet, I drift over and peek inside, my fingers immediately itching to touch everything.

It's filled with the softest materials imaginable: blankets, pillows and throws in from what I can see.

So many beautiful, soft things. My omega brain immediately starts calculating how to arrange them, layer them, create the perfect—

Oh God I can feel it. I need to nest.

"Alright gentlemen, I really like what I'm seeing," I say, trying for casual and probably failing miserably. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just, uh, take this bag to the bedroom so I can... change. Or whatever."

The words are ridiculous, but nesting feels so intimate that just thinking of saying it out loud makes my face turn crimson. But their faces shift from amused to something darker, hungrier, like they know exactly what 'or whatever' means.

"Oh and also," I add, heat flooding my cheeks, "could you... would you mind giving me what you're wearing? Your shirts, I mean?"

The last traces of amusement vanish from their faces. Three sets of eyes darken to black.

Without a word, Josh reaches back and pulls his t-shirt over his head in one smooth motion. Keanu follows suit, and then Noa, and suddenly I'm faced with three shirtless alphas, all that gorgeous skin on display, muscles defined from whatever mysterious workouts they seem to do when I'm not around.

The ache in my core turns up another notch.

I gather their shirts with shaking hands, and I can't help but bury my nose in each one like some kind of scent sommelier.

Their scents envelop me, coffee and cardamom, yuzu and ocean salt, vetiver and ambergris…

it's divine and I have to bite back a whimper.

But my nesting instincts somehow override my impromptu aromatherapy session, and I drape my fragrant bounty around my neck so my hands are free to drag the bag to the bedroom.

And so I try… but the bag doesn't move an inch.

A distressed, embarrassingly high-pitched omega whine escapes my throat before I can stop it.

All three alphas rush toward me at once.

"God, Sunshine, we're so sorry," Keanu says, looking mortified. "We were just... you with our shirts... we got distracted by the scene."

"Let me." Noa grabs the bag with one hand like it weighs nothing and heads toward the bedroom. "It's completely normal you couldn't move it you know, it's... densely packed."

As he carries the bag away, Keanu sidles up next to me, his bare chest radiating heat. "Take all the time you need, Sunshine. We'll be right here."

Josh nods, clearly fighting to keep his voice steady. "And we've got enough supplies for a week by the way. Food, water, everything you could need. Right in the other bag."

A week. I will potentially stay here a week, alone with my alphas in a cozy underwater nest while I go through my heat.

My omega is already half-gone at the thought.

* * *

Noa's still in the bedroom when I enter, having just set down the massive duffel bag. The underwater light paints his bare chest in shades of blue and gold, and the sight of him there, in what will be our space, makes something possessive and hungry rear up inside me.

My omega brain starts taking the wheel, and my thoughts begin to spiral into an endless loop of nest, nest, nest and alpha, alpha, alpha .

I cross the room and pull his head down to mine, kissing him with all the building need coursing through my veins. He makes a surprised sound that turns into a growl, his hands sliding under my shirt to cup my breasts.

I gasp into his mouth as his thumbs brush over my nipples, and a sharp throb of pleasure shoots straight to my core. For a moment, a part of me seriously considers abandoning the nesting altogether and just dragging him onto the bed.

But my other instinct takes over, speaking to me louder. No. The nest comes first.

"As much as I'd love to explore where this is going," I pant against his lips, "I have work to do."

His eyes are dark, pupils blown wide. "Mia—"

"Out." I give him a gentle push toward the door, though 'gentle' is relative when I'm starting to lose any rational thought. "I need to... prepare."

Understanding dawns in his expression, followed by something tender and reverent. "Take all the time you need," he says, pressing one more kiss to my forehead before leaving, closing the door softly behind him.

Finally alone, I turn my full attention to the treasure trove they've brought me.

I empty the entire duffel bag onto the floor, and my breath catches. There's much more in there than I initially thought. Silk pillowcases, cashmere throws, bamboo sheets... And interspersed throughout are more of their personal items: worn t-shirts, broken-in hoodies, sweaters…

I inhale them deeply, along with their shirt scarf and I nearly pass out.

Fuuck, that smells like home…

They are mine. Alphas, mine .

My omega instincts take over completely, and I move on autopilot. The bed is massive, positioned perfectly to showcase the ocean view through the glass wall. I start with a base layer of the soft bamboo sheets, then I begin to build.

Josh's shirt goes to the left side of the bed, anchored under a pillow. Keanu's gets woven into the blankets on the right. Noa's becomes part of the headboard arrangement. I add layers, the cashmere throw here, a silk pillowcase there, creating walls that will cocoon without blocking the view.

I work in a fever dream of instinct, crawling across the bed to adjust and readjust. One of Josh's hoodies gets tucked into a corner. A sweater of Noa's becomes a crucial support pillow. Keanu's worn sleep pants get draped over the side within easy reach.

The ocean watches my work. A school of blue-striped snappers swims past, and I pause to make extra sure the nest's walls don't obstruct the view. The glass wall is part of the magic. I want to see the reef while I'm... while we're...

Heat floods my cheeks, pushing my omega to work even harder.

Twenty minutes later, I step back to admire my handiwork. The nest is perfect, a fortress of soft comfort that smells like my pack, with strategic gaps that maintain the underwater view. It's a balance of intimacy and wonder.

I sink into the center of it, and it's like being held by all three of them at once. Their scents surround me, seep into my skin, make my omega purr with satisfaction.

This is mine. Bedroom, alphas.

My stomach growls, rudely interrupting my moment of triumph.

Food. Hungry. Alphas.

I scramble through what's left on the floor, grabbing the first oversized t-shirt I find. It hits mid-thigh. Nothing else. Can't think about clothes. In a little bit, clothes won't matter anyway. Need to eat. Need to go to alphas. Now.

I pad to the door and open it.

Three heads turn toward me in unison from where they're sprawled in the living room. Their eyes go dark when they see me in nothing but the t-shirt, hair mussed from nest-building, probably looking thoroughly debauched already.

"Hungry," I announce, the word coming out rough, breathy. Their stares burn into me, making coherent thought scatter. "Need food. Now. Before I can't."

I give them my best innocent smile, which based on Keanu's groan, isn't innocent at all.