Page 81 of Knot That Serious

“All the best ones are.” Raj said. “Thank you.”

Eli sputtered. He was thanking her? She couldn’t find a response, mouth parting and closing.

This alpha wanted to court her, even if it was fake. And Raj smelled so nice and his hands were warm and his voice was deep and velvety.

And… fine. Maybe there was a secret little thrill beneath the surface. Maybe Eli wanted to be courted, to be put first for once. Someone’s priority. And wanted that someone to be Raj—tall and muscled and with hair longer and more lush than she’d ever seen. She just wanted to run her fingers through it. Maybe if she kept this up, she’d get the chance.

“We’re doing this,” Eli said suddenly, struck by the realization.

“Yeah?” His grin was sliding onto his lips again as Eli kept nodding. “Yeah!” He laughed, a loud bark of a sound that was filled with so much excitement and joy it made Eli smile, too.

“I’m glad it was me you ran into,” Raj said, brushing a knuckle against her cheek. “See you tomorrow?”

There was a thump on the other side of the door to her apartment, and Eli ignored it.

“See you tomorrow,” she agreed.

Raj nodded once, which was so proper she wanted to giggle, and she tugged at his sleeve before he could turn away. She pulled him down and stretched up so she could peck him on the cheek, his short beard prickly beneath her lips.

He lifted a hand to hold the spot as she turned the doorknob. “Goodnight,” she said, and waited, dazed, until he turned and walked away before she pushed open the door.

Beckett and Jack were standing by the back of the couch, arms crossed.

“Who—what—” Jack began, and Eli closed the door on Raj’s retreating form.

Eli blinked at him before crossing to the kitchen and snagging a bottle of water from the fridge.

“That was Raj. He’s courting me,” she answered, and passed by them before shutting herself in her room, ignoring their gaping mouths.

They exploded into hushed whispers, and Eli rolled her eyes before pressing the cap to her slowly growing smile, staring down at the floor.

Raj was courting her.

Eli kind of wanted to squeal about it, but pressed the cold bottle to her too-hot cheeks instead.

And Jack was upset about it, if their intense murmurs were any indication.

Maybe this wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.

The next morning, Eli woke up still unable to erase the soft smile from her lips.

She got ready for the day and practically skipped out into the quiet of the apartment, guided by the night light at the end of the hall.

It was always pitch-dark at the hour of three a.m., and she slid a hand over the tops of the bar chairs, scooting past the round table by the entrance and flicking on the overhead light as she walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” a raspy voice said.

Eli squeaked and jumped about a foot in the air as she spun toward the bar and found Jack in one of the chairs she’d just walked past.

She pressed a hand to her chest to catch her breath and glared up at Jack. “Asshole! Nothing like an adrenaline rush to start the morning.”

“Who needs caffeine anyway?” Jack asked with a shrug.

“Me,” Eli answered, and spun toward the cabinets to find her travel mug.

“Who’s Raj?” Jack asked, not very casually at all.

Eli’s lips twitched. “An alpha I met yesterday.”

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