I press my hand to my mouth, but I can’t stop the laugh from bubbling free.Yay for knots!And no, I’m not talking about the trucker’s hitch Rosie taught me to tie down loads on our old farm truck.
With a grin, I sweep back the covers, tattered rose petals scattering as I crawl to the edge of my nest. Ellis said I could call it that, even though I’m unmated, and the sheets smell more like expensive laundry powder than the mingled scents of my pack. Or they did before we spent three days making love in them, my slick and their pheromones mingled together in a heady mist.
Not to mention theorgasms.
It’s my new favorite word, like an exotic filling in a delicious sandwich.I’ll have the nine-inch sub on alpha rye, with extra pickles and orgasms, please.
I smirk as my thighs quiver, memories of my last release trickling through me like warm honey. I had orgasms before my heat, of course, but only when I was on my own, and usually while I was trying really hard not to think about Logan, my next-door neighbor. We’ve been close since the day he moved in five years ago, and I’d hoped he’d be part of my first heat. But right when he finally stopped looking at me like a little kid, he turned around and told me he’d enlisted in the Marines.
As I pad towards the bathroom, I struggle to swallow down a bitter taste. Regret, maybe, and a sliver of anger that’s hard to shake. There aren’t words to describe how awful it felt to drive him to the bus station and watch him leave for boot camp. Six months of training, and then he’ll be sent to his permanent duty station for at least the next couple of years. I mean, I get that he wants to make the world a safer place, but why does he have to do it so far away from me?
I shake my head at my sudden low mood and click on the bathroom light. Blinking at the sudden glow, a soft gasp leaves my lips as I study my reflection in the mirror. Isthiswhat the alphas have been looking at for the last three days? Swollen lips, dazed eyes, and blonde curls that sprout from my head like week-old curly fries? Not to mention all the tender nips and bruises on my flushed skin.
I lean forward, tentatively rubbing a thumb over my scent gland. The guys have been completely obsessed with licking and stroking it, and I’m pretty sure I can pick out their individual teeth marks in the red, raised flesh. We agreed beforehand that there wouldn’t be anyrealbiting, but that didn’t stop me from begging them to claim me. Ellis definitely looked interested, while Otley groaned as if I was a siren luring them into treacherous depths.
A wide grin tugs at my tender lips, and I eye the extravagant tub in the corner as I quickly wash up. How will I ever forget the exact moment I gripped Ellis’ shoulders, his mouth teasing my nipples while Otley slid into me from behind? Both of them kept telling me what agood omegaI was – how perfect I was, in every way - while scented water lapped around our bodies and I whimpered and begged them to bite me…
I grip the vanity, clenching my sore thighs as I replay the scene in my head. Can an alpha be both a perfect gentleman and a sinful lover? All I know is that their dirty talk set my cheekson fire, while their tender touches made my heart sing. And the way they kept checking in with me, even when I was deep in my haze? No omega could have asked for more, even though rational thought had hitched out of town sometime around my fifth, mind-scrambling orgasm.
With daylight creeping into the room, it feels like my heat is finally coming to an end, and I feel a sharp stab of disappointment. It was the best heat I could’ve asked for, but I can’t help wondering what it would be like to wake every day in a room like this. Not the fancy bed and luxury bath products, but with Ellis and Otley, their scents so entwined with mine, it’s impossible to wash them off my skin. I know it’s way too early to start thinking long term, but I can’t resist humming a little as I pull on a silk bathrobe and pad out of the bathroom.
The first thing I notice is an oily odor, instead of the coffee and pastries the guys promised to get for breakfast. I look around for them, my steps faltering as I realize the unpleasant odor is coming from the alpha across the room. This is one of the hotel’s best rooms, so it’s a large space, with a leather sectional facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. The PR guy - Crest - is sitting in the middle of the sofa, his arm stretched across the back as he stares out at the view. When he turns his head, his gaze sweeping me from head to toe, I suddenly feel as awkward and out of place as I did during our first meeting at the airport three days ago.
Crest is a short, heavy-set forty-year-old, but has the bearing of a much younger, taller man in his expensive suit. According to the letter I received when I won the June Bloom contest, he’s the head of a very successful talent agency, which probably explains the confidence oozing off him in buckets. He has the kind of toothy smile that reminds me of a shark, and even though my cocktail dress was far from the most revealing at the party, Ididn’t like the way he kept touching me, a knowing leer in his dark eyes.
“Mr. Crest.” I frown as I tighten the belt on my silk bathrobe. Right about now I’d give anything for one of Logan’s thick flannel shirts, and I shift uncomfortably on my bare feet. “What are you doing here?”
“In the hotel suite my company paid for?” He chuckles as he shakes his head. “Weekend’s over, honey, but I suppose you’ve lost track of time, being in heat and all.”
I blink at his slimy tone and take an abrupt step back. “I’m sorry. Otley said he’d take care of the extra night’s accommodation…”
Crest loses his smile, his mouth pressed in a tight line. “He did, but every good thing has to come to an end.” He takes an envelope from his jacket pocket and tosses it on the coffee table next to my purse. “The car’s downstairs, waiting to take you to the airport. I’ve got you a seat on the company jet, given your delicate condition.”
Delicate condition? Ugh. He means my heat. But I’m too distracted to do more than wrinkle my nose as I look past him at the door. “Thanks, but Ellis and Otley said they’d be back with breakfast…”
He lets out a long-suffering sigh, but something nasty gleams in his eyes when they settle back on me. “Do you have any idea, Ms. Percy, how many cute young things come to LA looking for a free ride?”
“No,” I say slowly, crossing my arms across my chest. My heart is suddenly beating so fast, I can feel it knocking against my ribs. “But why would I? I won my ticket here, remember?”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, dragging his gaze over my wild hair and flushed face before settling on my swollen scent gland. “But you quickly moved on to the bigger prize, didn’t you?”
Is that jealousy I hear in his voice? Hurt pride, maybe?Oh, God.Did he think I was going to fall into his bed out of gratitude for winning a contest?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, yeah?” he grunts as he jerks his chin back at the coffee table. “Then how do you explain the heat accelerants I found in your purse?”
“What?” I gape at the black clutch I borrowed from my friend, Kaysie. It’s so small, it barely holds my lipstick and cellphone, but I can see a foil packet peeking out of the top. “I don’t know where they came from, but they’re not mine!”
“Someone just put them there, is that right? These things are a hundred dollars a pop, but sure. That makes sense.”
I scowl at the derision in his voice. “It’s the truth. This was my first heat.Ever. Why would I bring accelerants on this trip…?” I narrow my eyes at him, even as my heart gives a sick thump. “You think I was trying totrapthe guys?”
“Well, I’m not the only one.”
I blink, trying to read the look on his face. I left the party in a hurry – for obvious reasons – but the guys assured me that it wasn’t an issue. Not that I could have hung around while I was going into heat, but Otley assured me that the hotel was discreet, and no one needed to know about my situation. I’d texted Rosie to let her know I was extending my trip, but I didn’t even contact Kaysie. Everything just happened too quickly, and we were literally caught up in the heat of the moment…
But then Crest’s insinuation hits me, and I think I might throw up all over the expensive carpet. “You mean Ellis and Otley think that?”
