Page 73 of Knot Going Down

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Not calm.Charged. The tension doesn’t fade. It mutates. Morphs into something sharp and unspoken anddangerous. The air between us shifts from a loaded threat to a promise I don’t even know how to name.

“Back off,” I breathe, but there’s no warning to my words. Not anything close to ano.

His hand on my chest tightens into a fist, grabbing my dress shirt. “Shut the fuck up, Declan.”

Then he’s kissing me.

Or I’m kissing him. Does it matter?

It’s hard and fast andmean, like we’re still fighting, and this is just another way to win. But his mouth moves like he’s starved, like he’s wanted this and hated wanting it.

I grab his hips and yank him closer.

We stumble together as the ship surges on a wave, mouths crashing, teeth scraping. It’s rough. It’s hungry. It’s chaos.

And it’sreal.

When we break apart, we’re both breathing like we’ve sprinted through fire.

Knox says nothing. Just stares at me, chest rising and falling like he’s still trying to catch up to whatever the hell just happened.

I step back, run a hand down my face, then straighten my jacket like that’ll fix anything. “This didn’t happen.”

A low chuckle cuts through the silence.

Fuck.

I forgot Lucas was still here.

He lifts an eyebrow, amusement flickering over his handsome features. “Oh, it happened.”

Something hard settles in my gut. Lucas didn’t blink when Knox told him to help get the pills. Didn’t question it. Didn't ask why.

He knows something.

I turn toward him, slow and deliberate, each step like a warning bell.

“Lucas.” His name drops like a stone.

He swallows and moves backward, away from me.

“Why wereyoutrying to get the pills?” A million possibilities drift through my mind, deductive reasoning on overdrive. “You needed them for someone, didn’t you? Who?”

Is Lucas an omega? Emily!?

“Me,” a voice says. I spin to find Ava and Emily standing side by side on the deck. They’re dripping wet, from their flattened hair to their formal dresses.

Emily hugs herself, but Ava steps forward with the look of a shark ready to strike. Furious. Fierce. Defensive. Absolutely stunning.

She holds her chin high as she takes another step forward. “He was getting the pills for me.”

37

AVA

We were on our way back to the room when shouting pulled us up short. On the other side of the pool deck, our fake pack’s chaos erupted, and with it, every last shred of hope I had skittered overboard.

I want to cry. Scream. Collapse. But I lift my chin.