1
RAVEN
Sadie was right about Olympic Village parties. Every muscle in my body aches, my head feels like someone pummeled it with a sledgehammer, and there’s a throbbing pain at the back of my neck. I must have slept on it funny.
My cheek is pressed against someone’s chest, rising and falling with steady breaths. Apparently, Sadie was also right about how easy it would be to get laid. Although I can’t believe I listened to her when she told me that’s what I needed. What was I thinking last night?
I shift positions, intending to get up and sneak out before this guy wakes up, but the movement makes my head worse, so I stay where I am, eyes squeezed shut. The guy’s got his arm around me, and the muscles tense and flex as he pulls me tighter, but his breathing hasn’t changed, so I think he’s still asleep.
He smells divine. Sweet, like cherry and vanilla with a nutty undertone. What is that?Pistachio. That’s it. Like that white chocolate, cherry, and pistachio bark my momused to make at Christmas. He smells like a delicious treat and like…mine.
Wait, what? No. I take another deep whiff, and my whole body lights up. Okay, so maybe he’s a scent match. No big deal. It just means we’re more biologically compatible. It doesn’t mean we’ll get along or be good together. Hell, with all the different nationalities at the club last night, we might not even live in the same hemisphere.
I wonder if we’re in my room or his? I’m naked, but pulled up against him I can tell he’s wearing boxers. Maybe we didn’t have sex last night? My scent is so heavy in the room, you’d think I had a mini-heat in here. But… no, that’s not possible. I’m taking the strongest dose of heat suppressants they make. Wait, did I take last night’s dose? I can’t remember, but it shouldn’t matter. I had a medically sedated heat right before we left the States. It was part of the recruitment protocol for the few omegas competing in the Olympics. An insurance policy.
I couldn’t have had a heat spike. I must have just been really turned on. And really drunk.
I sniff, face pressed against the man’s chest. His scent makes every muscle in my body relaxed and tense at the same time. And whatever we did last night, I still feel like I could go another round. But I can’t. Coach Ana will be looking for me. Not to mention Foster. How mad is he gonna be that I snuck out? Wait. Could he be the one I’m cuddling with? There’s definitely been something building between us, so… maybe. I really wish I could remember.
I pry my eyes open so I can catch a look at who I’m in bed with, but immediately close them again. Shit, that hurts. Why is everything so bright? Did we fall asleep with all the lights on, or are my eyes just that sensitive right now?They feel painfully dry. In fact, my throat and mouth feel just as parched. The only part of me that doesn’t feel dehydrated is the sticky area between my legs. Whether we had sex or not, I’m definitely covered in slick.
What the hell happened last night?
I try to work through what I remember, but it makes my head spin. I got to the party late, since I had to wait for Foster to fall asleep. By the time I got there, the place was already crowded with drunk, dancing athletes, bodies communicating when language couldn’t. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Not that I’ve seen much, since I’m always focused on training.
The man shifts, nuzzling my hair. “Mmmm, omega.”
That deep baritone goes straight to my clit. No wonder I got in bed with the guy. I’ve always had a thing for voices. It also confirms this isn’t Foster. He has a nice, gravelly voice, but this one is different.
A surprising sense of peace melts through me, making my insides all gooey. I should be freaked out that I can’t remember what happened, who this man is, or how I ended up here, but all I feel is contentment. I snuggle a little closer and sigh.
He pulls me over him so he can get both arms around me. The position puts his hard cock right against my belly. Damn, he’s big. Yeah, there’s no way we had sex. That thing would never fit inside me.
He drags his nose along the side of my neck. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”
Woah, there.My eyes fly open, and I push against his chest so I can see the man who suddenly thinks he has a claim on me just because we spent one night together.
All the heat and contentment leaves in one breath. Myblood freezes, heart stopping, stomach lurching. I can’t move. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
“What’s wrong, snowflake?” He reaches for me, but I move backwards, awkwardly tumbling off the tiny bed, making my ankle throb with a familiar, dull pain.
“Y-you…you.” My hands shake as I grab the blanket and try to cover myself, scooting backwards with my butt still on the floor. “How…? Why…?” I can’t figure out what to ask first.
He gets out of bed, crouching so he’s eye level with me. He’s even prettier than he was in high school. I mean, his muscles have definitely filled out. A light stubble covers a jawline cut like glass. Thick, untamed brows sit atop deep brown eyes. Eyes that are staring at me with… affection.
Why ishelooking atmelike that? And why the hell would I ever go home withhim? My breath comes in fast gulps, unable to get in enough air.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Everything’s okay.”
And then I feel it. A wave of emotion that’s not my own. Worried concern first, then a push of peace that makes me sway. I blink. Reaching up to feel the sore spot on the back of my neck.
No.Nooooo.He didn’t.
He moves closer, but I whimper and back away. He holds his hands up in a gesture someone would make when calming a wild animal. And I see it. The red, puffy, raised mark of a fresh bite pressed into the delicate skin between his thumb and forefinger.
All the blood rushes down to my toes. My head feels like someone stuck it in a blender. And that tether between us, so bright and joyful and full of hope a second ago, suddenly drops into a wave of horror andalarm as I send my own emotions pummeling toward him.
“You don’t remember,” he whispers.
