Page 89 of Knot Your Sunshine
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. Ididcompulsively 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?"
