Page 17 of Worthy or Knot (Serendipity Omegaverse #3)

Seventeen

MARCUS

C harlotte stands and holds out her hand, a look in her eyes that I’m not to say a word at the moment.

My gaze flicks over to Megan and Cole in the corner.

All I can see is Cole’s back, but the small noises they’re making relays what’s going on between them right now.

A burst of jealousy blasts through me, but I tamp it down before it risks overpowering the bond suppressor Cole’s still taking.

I’d made it abundantly clear this whirlwind weekend trip was for the three of them to get to know each other and decide if this could work before uprooting Cole and moving him literally across the country to the other coast. The little voice that nags that I’m the one that should be shoving him into the safety railing of this yacht just needs to shut the hell up right now.

In reality, this is like an intimate version of the gala.

Fancy foods, fancy venue, quiet moments for interested couples to sneak off.

I much prefer this version, not the least of which being the likelihood of Cole getting hurt is practically zero.

Megan’s raspberry scent floats toward us, and that flash of jealousy grows a touch stronger.

With a swallow, I take Charlotte’s offered hand, lacing our fingers together.

She helps me to my feet and then guides me quietly through the yacht, her lemonade held carefully in her other hand.

The picked over snacks are still on the table, two of the place settings entirely untouched.

A woman had checked maybe ten minutes ago but had quickly disappeared back into the depths of the yacht with a smile.

Charlotte doesn’t pay any attention to the large covered lounge space we walk through, her focus entirely on the sliding glass doors on the other side of the spacious room. She doesn’t say a word at all until we’re cuddled on a sofa that overlooks the front of the yacht.

“They deserve some privacy,” she whispers, cuddling deeper into my side.

She smells like a man’s cologne—a wooded spice—and a bit of the ocean, too. I press a kiss to the crown of her head and then under her ear. It’s stronger here, like he kissed her and left it behind. Which is probably exactly what happened since they’ve spent most of the day together.

“How is it going?” I ask her.

Her smile is soft. “Really, really good. I think we owe it to whatever stick the Council pulled out of its collective ass. He seems perfect for us. I mean, we’ll see what Megan has to say, too, but…

” She giggles as she trails off. “When was the last time you saw her actually kissing someone? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. ”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” I agree. But Megan has never been one for casual hook-ups. It’s part of why she wanted to go through the Council’s matching system.

“So when are you going to spend time with him?” she asks. I stiffen. “And don’t try to keep on with that whole ‘you’re giving us space’ crap. You have, we’ve had a good time. Now you need to spend time with him, too.”

“I will.” I kiss her temple and run my hand down her arm when she frowns her disbelief. “Really, Lottie. But probably not here. I’ll see if he wants to come back to the rental, all right?”

Because the reality is if we end up reconnecting, there’s no way in hell I’m not going to have him under me and on top of me and coming down my throat. And I’d rather not do that on someone I may one day have to look in the eye’s yacht. Better to do it in a rental whose owner I’ll never know.

Charlotte sighs but burrows deeper into my side, pulling her feet under her.

We settle into the quiet, and I watch as the yacht cuts through the water.

After a while, it slows and then stops, letting the water push it around just a bit.

And then, just to the right of the boat, a whale breaches, dropping back into the water on its side.

Charlotte is up from the sofa and running to the railing as she gasps.

“Oh my gosh! That was so cool!” She looks over her shoulder, her grin lighting her entire face.

The sliding door opens, and then Megan and Cole are joining her, looking out over the railing, phones in both their hands. Charlotte grabs Cole’s arm as another whale surfaces, blowing air and water out across the waves. For a moment, I feel a happiness that isn’t my own, warming my veins.

And then it’s gone.

I’m on my feet before I realize it, crossing the deck of the yacht until I’m with them, too.

The need to feel that again, feel every single thing that’s running through my Omega’s soul, has me so fucking twisted up.

I’ve felt little bursts all day, like what he’s feeling now is stronger than normal.

I’ve never felt him so clearly since he started the suppressing medications. I need them, need him .

He looks up as I approach, and the happy smile is replaced with an awkward uncertainty.

My gut twists, but I breathe through it.

Charlotte looks up and over her shoulder, too.

She adjusts her position, deftly wedging me between her and Cole before I can even manage to take a breath.

My arm brushes his as I try to find my balance.

Cole’s breathing catches as he freezes beside me.

And then a blast of arousal fills my chest, so strong it steals my vision for a moment. Nutmeg surrounds me in automatic response, my body’s hardwired need to satisfy my Omega’s desire. There’s the smallest groan from Cole, and I just about lose it.

Holy goddamn hell .

It takes every ounce of self-preservation fueled self-control to keep my hands to myself.

Even if I could manage to keep it mostly civil between us, the way Megan had, the reality is that I don’t really want the girls to hear the conversation.

It’s really fucking selfish, I know, since Charlotte and I heard most of Megan’s conversation with him.

But there’s just so much to work through.

The bond, the night three years ago, the suppressor, his obvious hesitation around me.

I want that to be private, to stay just between us.

Another couple whales breach, stealing everyone’s attention. Cole offers Charlotte his phone when she looks toward the back of the yacht and where she’d left hers next to her lemonade on the back deck.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

His hand brushes my back as she takes the phone, and my stomach clenches. I take a half-step closer to him until I can feel the wall of heat that is his body. His breathing shallows, but his scent doesn’t surround us.

Of course not. He’s probably wearing blockers. He’s been out all day with Charlotte. Going out in public without blockers is tantamount to walking around practically naked.

My hand trembles where I rest it on the guard rail.

“What’s your favorite flower, Megan?” Cole asks. His voice doesn’t even fucking waver.

I swallow the jealousy that’s trying to surface as a growl.

Megan looks over, an eyebrow raised. “Azaleas.”

Cole nods, and then nobody says anything until one of the whales shows its tail after it surfaces.

“That was really pretty,” Megan says. “And I think I managed to get a decent photo of it.”

“That typically means they’re going to be gone for a while,” the woman from before says, approaching us from the sliding glass doors. “It means they’re diving.”

The four of us turn nearly in-sync.

She smiles. “I have dinner prepared for you if you’re ready,” she offers. “I reset the table in the back.”

“Thank you, Kayla,” Cole says, remembering the name Frank had thrown out with ease. “We’ll be there in just a minute.”

She disappears with another smile. The girls quickly increase their pace, giving us a few feet of space.

As we make our way across the boat, I ask, “Do you want to come to the rental with us after this?”

Cole tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“I’d like that,” he says in studied casualness.

“Great,” I murmur.

By the time we make it to the reset table, the girls have taken one side. As I sit, Cole’s arm brushes my own, and my dick jumps. God, this cruise needs to finish so I can finally—hopefully—feel him under me again.