“But she can say the fucked up shit she’s saying? We are just going to let that fly?” Rafe gestures at Hailey, as if we all need a reminder of what she just said.
“Rafe, it’s fine. It’s part of the show,” I say.
“It isn’t fine,” Miles says, joining Rafe in the protest. “Just because we have to put up with Hailey and her toxic personalitydoesn’t mean you or any of the other omegas need to deal with her.”
I cross my arms, hugging myself. “You two know what show you are on right?Omega in Paradise. There are always terrible omegas, or at least they are painted that way in edits. Hailey’s just making it easier for them. In the end, it doesn’t mean anything. The mean girls never make it to the end.”
Granted, America’s sweetheart won’t be making it to the very end either, but I’m aware of that already.
As Thomas instructs everyone to their places and has me read the list from the top, I fall into the filming. My ears ring, and I feel like I’m not a part of this at all as Chad reads off the names on his list. I would rather be with them. But we can’t always get what we want.
Blue.I’m in a blue dress. Why did production decide to put me in the same shade of dress I wore the first time around? Probably to make the connection in the mind of the viewers that know.
I smooth my hands over the tight dress and take a deep, soothing breath. It’s just one night.Stay away from the drinks, and you’ll be fine. Still, as the limo pulls up in front of the posh club, I suck in a breath as the paparazzi start flashing away at the vehicle before they even know who’s inside.
Production has us each arriving separately to make a grand entrance or something. Chad said they did something similar for his date earlier. But they went to Broadway. I would have rather went to Broadway and a nice early dinner afterward. Instead, I’m here.
The guy sitting across from me is the same one from the first night. He must be my unofficial handler, and I can tell hestill isn’t over the fact they had to coax me from the limo that first night.
The driver circles the vehicle and pulls open the door. The flashing of lights brighter as I climb out. Then the voices, all shouting things at the same time. Questions I don’t catch. Declarations of love for me. It’s overwhelming. My legs feel like jello as they carry me past the crowd. I don’t know if the others arrived before me or not, they didn’t give us the order.
By the time I make it to the door, the bouncer has it held open for me. And the dark interior is a welcoming sight. A beta offers to take my jacket, and I shrug out of it. Then I’m led through the main floor and to the VIP steps in the back. It feels like déjà vu stepping into the VIP room. The dance cages at eye level. I’m the first one into the space.
Drawn like a moth to a flame, I can’t help crossing the floor and finding my gaze locked on the nearest cage. Rafe dances. His bare chest dusted with glitter that matches the gold in his eyes. The seductive way he moves to the music transfixes me in much the same way it had the first time I laid eyes on him.
Only now, I know how he kisses. What his full lips feel like on mine. The fire he ignites inside my blood with the barest of touches. And how he feels pressed against me. Lust unfurls in my belly as I watch him.
He holds my gaze as he dips low, engaging every single muscle in his torso in the process. A feather tattoo I don’t remember flexes with his movements, and I want to trace it with my tongue.
Holy shit. Someone get me a glass of ice water because I’m going to melt.
Another cage is hoisted high, and in the split second, my attention drifts; I catch Elliott dancing inside it. His light blond hair catches the lights, and his dark eyes only look darker.
He has the same golden dust on his chest. His shoulders are broader than his pack mates, and his biceps flex as he grips the bar above his head. Our eyes clash and hold. My breath catches in my chest. He smiles a slow, sensual smile, and flames lick at my insides.
I think I’m going to combust.
My fingers wrap around the cool metal bar of the railing as I lean against it, as close to the window as possible.
I search the other cages for Miles, but he’s absent.
While I’m in the midst of drooling over the two alphas who have captured the attention of other club goers, Ben and Blair arrive, followed shortly after by Hailey. They join me at the windows. The possessive urge to tell them to keep their eyes off ofmy alphasis so strong that I push away from the railing and cross to the mini-bar.
The idea of not drinking anything is a distant memory. I needsomethingto dull this feeling. This jealousy.
Downing a shot of Fireball, the spicy cinnamon kick pleasant at the back of my throat, I refill the shot glass and take another. Before I can down a third shot, Miles enters the room, followed by a beta with a cart of finger foods.
That might be a better idea. Liquor on an empty stomach is the perfect recipe to actually repeat what happened last time I was here. I don’t want to repeat that.
Setting the shot down, I move over to the cart and snag up a chocolate-covered strawberry. Where do they find these huge strawberries? Are they grown especially for dipping them in chocolate? The smooth dark chocolate and the fresh sweetness of the berry explode on my tongue joining the cinnamon of the alcohol. It issogood.
“You’re purring,” Miles says, his voice a low gravel that makes my stomach dip, even with the other omegas in the room with us. He steps close, completely ignoring everything in the room. The cameras, the beta, the omegas, his pack inthe cages just outside the windows—all of it fades into the background as he lifts his hand and runs his thumb over my lower lip. “...You’ve got…a little chocolate.”
His fingers at my jaw tilt my head up as he brushes the chocolate away, and my lips automatically part. If I didn’t take the pill, my perfume would knock him on his ass right this second, and I’d follow him down—because holy shit, if he keeps looking at me like that, I’m going to forget the world exists. He lifts his thumb to his mouth and sucks the sugar from the digit, making my whole body feel funny all the way down to my toes. A full reminder of him sucking other things off his fingers.
“Candy bars?” Blair says, her voice dripping with derision. “Why would the club bring us candy bars, chocolate-covered strawberries, and Twizzlers?”
Miles faces her. “You don’t like chocolate?”
