Page 158 of Knot Baked Out For This
Me:You gave me a HICKEY? And didn't tell me?! I'm at the station! EVERYONE CAN SEE IT!
The response comes immediately, but it's not Luca.
Levi:I won't tell him. Want to see his surprise face.
Me:Why do you have his phone?
Levi:Switched by accident. Same model, same case. He's probably trying to figure out why my phone has seventeen pictures of ducks.
Me:That's a disaster waiting to happen.
Levi:I can totally pull off being Luca. Very brooding. Much serious.
Me:You're too happy. Like a golden retriever who found bacon. Luca's probably the bane of everyone's existence if he doesn't know your name.
Levi:Accurate. You at the station?
Me:Yes, with the girls. Ready for self-defense class. Thanks for setting up the private session for us.
Levi:Course. Want you confident protecting yourself if we're ever not around. Slim chance, but still.
Me:Makes me feel independent.
Levi:Good. That's the point. Also, the hickey's hot. Rowan's jealous he didn't think of it first.
Me:I'm going to murder all of you.
Levi:Kinky. GTG, Luca's trying to figure out why "his" phone has a reminder to "feed Gerald."
Me:Who's Gerald?
Levi:The duck I've been befriending behind the station.
Me:Of course you have.
"Earth to Hazel!" Reverie waves a hand in front of my face. "The men are coming!"
I look up to see Rowan entering the gym area, and my brain short-circuits for a second becausedear god.
He's in tactical pants and a fitted black t-shirt that shows every muscle I've been trying not to think about. His hair's slightly mussed like he's been running hands through it, and when his eyes find mine, the amber goes dark with something that makes my stomach flip.
Behind him are three more Alphas, and the girls collectively stop breathing.
Nash is there—the delivery driver who made Reverie malfunction.Still looking like he stepped out of a romance novel about bad boys who secretly volunteer at animal shelters. Leather jacket over a white t-shirt, tattoos visible on his forearms, that dangerous smile that probably causes accidents.
Next to him is an Alpha with long white hair pulled back in a bun, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and looking like a librarian who could kill you with a bookmark. He's lean where the others are bulky, graceful in a way that suggests martial arts rather than brute strength.
And the last one...
"That man bench presses buildings," Mila whispers. "There's no other explanation."
She's not wrong. He's massive—not just tall but broad, muscles that have muscles, looking like someone carved him from granite and then decided to make him bigger just to show off.
"Ladies," Rowan says, all professional Captain voice that absolutely doesn't make me think about this morning when he kissed me against the kitchen counter until I forgot my own name. "Ready for your self-defense class?"
"What's Nash doing here?" Reverie asks, trying for casual and failing spectacularly.
Nash's smile grows. "Odd timing. Was visiting my brother, heard about the class, thought I'd help." His eyes find hers. "Problem with that, princess?"
