My stomach twists, images of Jared and Tabby showing up hand in hand to my bonding ceremony, of being second best, filtering in. Is that what he wants? For me to play the part and then not be the final omega standing? To be left at the last second again? I can’t do that. The food sours in my belly, and I swallow down bile.
“Send me home today,” I say, locking my eyes with his. I hate the words the second they leave my lips, but I can’t stop them. I’m falling for these three, and I’ve been down that road before.
“What?” He shakes his head as if he didn’t hear me correctly, but I just press my lips together and watch him. “No. That’s not the deal.”
“You made another deal—you have Chad now,” I say. “Until the end, apparently.”
“Chad?” he asks, like he’s never heard his name before in his life. “That isn’t the same.”
I laugh and lean away from him as he invades my space further. “It isn’t?”
He swears under his breath, boxing me in, his hands gripping the railing on each side of me. If it weren’t for the slight breeze, my perfume would be enveloping us in a cloud of sexual cookies—if cookies can be sexual. As it is, when he inhales and his nostrils flare, I know he scents me. His eyes drop shut, and a pained look crosses his face.
“This whole ‘shield’ thing, it’s not just for the other omegas, Lilah,” he murmurs, his voice dropping lower, almost conspiratorial. “It’s for the world. The peoplewatching—they need to believe it, too. That’s the only way any of this works.”
My heart stutters at his words, and I try to read between the lines. Does he mean it’s all an act for everyone, even us? Or is there more?
“But…” I hesitate, searching his eyes for something, anything. “But what about you? Is that all this is? A show for them?”
His gaze softens for a fraction of a second before his usual mask slips back into place. “It’s about keeping you close,” he finally says, his voice barely above a whisper, so quiet that I almost wonder if I imagined it.
My breath catches in my throat. Keeping me close? But before I can ask what he really means, his head dips down, and he nuzzles into the curve of my neck, releasing a soft purr that sends a shiver down my spine, settling between my legs.
“It’s not the same, Lilah. I don’t want Chad,” he murmurs against my throat, repeating his words, his lips brushing my skin.
Fuckme. My stomach drops, and my pussy cries. My pheromones are pumping out of me on hyperdrive. And I attempt to tamp it all down.
“I don't understand,” I whisper, as my eyelashes brush my cheeks.
He inhales again, sending a shiver down my spine as his nose brushes my skin. “Neither do I. But even without your fucking drive-me-insane perfume clouding my thoughts, I crave you.”
My toes tingle, and my stomach bottoms out at his rough confession. The words sound torn from him unwilling. I feel alive for the first time since having my heart shattered. My fingers curl into his soft shirt, and I meet his gaze as he straightens.
“You're not going home tonight, Lilah.” he says, his voice firm yet laced with something deeper.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, a mix of fear and hope twisting inside me. Does he mean it? My mind spins, caught between wanting to believe him and fearing this is just another part of the act. But the way he holds me, the intensity in his eyes—I can’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, there’s more to this than he’s letting on.
CHAPTER 19
Rafe
I hatemyself for my selfish words. But I hate myself even more as my lips crash down on hers. Devouring every bit of her I can.
Not for the cameras. Or some sort of lie. Pure need cascades inside of me. I could live on her perfume. And if matches were more than a fairytale told to young alphas and omegas, she would be mine.
I don’t need an omega. Hell, I don’t even want one. But I am quickly becoming addicted to this one. And I will use whatever I need to use to keep her here. Pretty words don’t work. I’m sure the alpha who hurt her used pretty words. Maybe kisses will.
She kisses me back, as if she’s starved for physical touch. Her fingers prove it as they flatten against my chest, not pushing me away, just touching me. Goosebumps erupt and travel down my spine as her hands curl around my biceps, finding skin. The contact makes me lightheaded, and when her nails dig into my muscles, it takes a minute to register that she’s gently resisting—not enough for the cameras tonotice, but enough to break through the haze clouding my thoughts.
Pulling back, I stare down at her slightly swollen lips before bringing my gaze to hers. Pure need shines in the depths of her light blue eyes. And it takes everything in me to ignore it. To hold myself back from propping her up on the railing and doing away with her leggings. Claiming her out here with the raging river as the backdrop.
“Take this as a warning, little omega, come to me without your lotion or your pills and this will happen again. Only next time, I won’t stop,” I promise as I step back, giving her the space she needs to slip past me. She presses her lips together, but doesn’t say a word as she moves around me.
Controlling my breathing, I stare out over the rushing river beyond the railing. I wrap my fingers around the wood and tuck my head into my chest. This isn’t part of the plan. I will never give another omega the power to hurt me again. Including one as tempting as Lilah. I lost myself for a second in her arms, allowing thoughts that don’t belong to slip through. Securing the wall I’ve built around my heart, I push away from the view and turn back to the film crew with a smile on my face.
Lilah flirts with Elliott, her demeanor carefree and playful, and he laps it up with a grin. But as her perfume envelops the space between them, it hits Elliott like a ton of bricks. It’s unmistakable now—definitely not the scent of freshly baked cookies he thought he’d detected in the SUV. The air is thick with her fragrance, and I can’t help but think that even the alphas on the film crew must be able to smell it.
Just the thought of someone noticing, of one slip-up leading to Lilah being caught and sent home, sends a growl rumbling in my chest. I close the space between us, feeling the weight of the potential disaster. If just one person says a word, if the wrong scent is detected or the wrong comment ismade, it’s all over. Lilah could be lost to the show, her presence and our chance at something real wiped away in an instant.
