Whyhad they been so interesting?
Because no matter how much I fight it, I’m an omega at the end of the day, and tough alphas are my weakness.
She snarled softly at herself. No. She was so much more than an omega. She’d worked hard to become more.
There was no way she was going to let herself be distracted by some trio of assholes who had caused her nothing but trouble.
Still, their scents…
She slid her hand down her body, gliding over her skin because of the pouring water. She thought about fighting that need, but she knew better.
Living as long as she had on her own had taught her that ignoring needs didn’t fix anything. She couldn’t ignore a heat and she couldn’t ignore the reaction she had to alphas. All she could do was refuse to give in to it, and that was easier when she wasn’t wound up and horny.
So she let her fingers dip between her thighs, telling herself it hadnothingto do with the three men.
But as they filled her head while she brought herself to climax, she knew that was a damn lie.
* * **
Daniel took a beer from Tiffany, laughing at a joke her mate Marshall had made.
Even on days when frustration ate at him, when he could find no good in his job, he needed only to take a look at Tiffany to rememberwhyhe did what he did.
He lost a whole hell of a lot of the cases he took. Often, he showed up at the end, and all he could do was find those who’d left bodies. When he had those images in his head, when they kept him up at night, it took seeing the ones he’d helped save to remind himself there was a point…some of the time.
Tiffany was young—barely more than a kid herself—and Daniel shuddered to think of what the slavery ring he was after would have done if they’d managed to catch and keep her.
Instead of that fate, she was happy. She had three mates who adored her, and last he’d heard, they were looking at opening up a coffee shop. She had a future, a family.
It didn’t take away the sting of his failures, the hurt at the lives he couldn’t save, but it helped him tell himself it was all worth it.
“Kyle seems testier than usual,” Tiffany pointed out, nodding at where Kyle stood on the back porch with Kieran, another of Tiffany’s mates.
“Well, you saw his face.”
“Isn’t getting bruised up part of your job?”
“Sure, but I think when it’s a five-foot-tall omega who does it, his pride gets a bit wounded.”
Tiffany laughed hard enough that she spat some of the water out and had to use her hand to cover her mouth. After that, there was some choking, but whenshe finally regained her breath, she smirked. “Please tell me she had blue hair.”
Daniel snorted, thinking about the omega thief Tiffany referred to. “If Kara had been involved, she’d have gone for his balls, I’m sure.” The viciousness ofthatomega was well known, especially now that she and her mates were helping in the slavery ring investigation. It had been their efforts that had gotten them their first inside contact, as trustworthy as any slaver could be when he’d turned only to reduce his eventual sentence. “This omega was different. Shoulder-length curly blonde hair, green eyes.”
Tiffany’s back went straight, and Kane groaned.
“Do you know her?”
“You just saw her last night? You’re sure?” Panic bled through Tiffany’s voice.
Daniel nodded. “Close enough for her to break Kyle’s nose and put down another friend of ours. I got a shot to the ribs, but I’m pretty sure that made me the lucky one.”
“That sounds like Alison all right,” Kane muttered.
Alison.Daniel tried to pair the name with the face, to see if that could have been the girl.
Then again, she was an enigma to him. She had the face of some sweet, mythical creature, like a sea nymph. Of course, she hadn’t looked so innocent when she’d attacked.
Even sexier, though…
