CHAPTER 9
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Yep. I was right. Therewas no fucking way I was ever going to get used to Pack Simmons.
“You have got to be absolutely kidding me.” The thought tore its way out of my throat as I stood in the foyer of what had to be the biggest apartment I’d ever seen. I’d kept it cool as we stepped inside of a lobby that looked like something that was taken straight out ofThe Great Gatsby. I’d been chill as we stepped into agoldelevator, hell I’d even kept it kosher as we’d continued our ascent to the freakin’ penthouse.
But this is where I drew the damn line.
Stepping off of the elevator, we entered what looked like a miniature of the downstairs lobby. The room was small but contained a little table next to the tall front door that was made up of dark wood with gold accents. Aria placed her thumb flat on the pad above the doorknob and it emitted a sharp chip and the door unlocked with an audiblethunk! Aria opened the door and stepped inside carrying the mixer box with her as she went. Theo, laden with bags, stepped in after her and they disappeared down the long hallway inside.
“Wait till you see the inside, Tiberius,” Matteo whispered in my ear and left me standing in front of the entrance of the elevator. I knew I looked silly, standing with my mouth agape like some sort of surprised fish, but I couldn’t help it.
After a few minutes, the elevator dinged angrily, telling me that I’d been standing there much longer than I needed to.
Come on Tibby, I gave myself an inner pep talk,pick up your feet and go inside. I forced myself to walk across the foyer and into the apartment and was immediately floored again. The entrance to the apartment was a long hallway with several closed doors along either side of it. Underneath my feet was a long Persian runner rug in deep blue and green shades that extended all the way down the hallway.
At the end of the hallway, I was greeted with a formal sitting room that was styled in a similar style as downstairs: 1920s art deco. Lots of velvet and gold accents.
Matteo poked his head around the corner and grinned, “Want a tour?”
“You bet your ass I want a tour, but do we have time? I’m pretty sure it’d take seven years to do a full tour of this place.”
Matteo came fully around the corner and held out his hand, and I slid my fingers through his. Over the past few hours, it had only been too easy to accept the alpha’s touches. With Matteo, it came the easiest of all. Instinctively I knew that he was safe, probably because he had been my heat partner twice. My inner omega was already attached. She was also a giant hussy who was hoping to get lucky again, despite the fact that sleeping with someone while I was in witness protection was probably an incredibly bad idea. But hey, the omega inside of me wanted what it wanted.
“So, you are probably wondering how we came to live in a penthouse in the center of San Francisco?” Matteo asked as he pulled me through the living room. A set of glass doors led to an outside terrace, but we bypassed them in favor of a doorway that led into a dining room.
“Yeah, I am. This place looks like you pulled it right out of the 1920s.” The dining room features a long glossy table that seated eight, and we stepped through yet another archway—I was starting to think that whoever had designed this place really liked arches—and into an open concept living room. This room contained a more modern design and was clearly where they spent most of their time. A large, comfortable sectional took up most of the room and was situated in front of a huge gas fireplace that had a larger-than-life flat-screen TV mounted on the wall above it.
Aria stood behind the massive island in the kitchen, reading a booklet of directions for the mixer which she had already pulled from the box. The kitchen was massive considering that all three of the alphas that lived here were apparently cooking-phobic. It had all of the bells and whistles that most professional chefs would kill for. I already knew that they were going to have to pull me out of this room kicking and screaming every day.
“Earth to Tibby? Are you still with us?” Matteo waved his hand in front of my eyes.
I wasn’t with them, I was too busy praising the kitchen Gods above for letting me experience nirvana like this. But I probably did need to respond, “Yup, still here. Just busy having an eyegasm over this kitchen.”
Matteo snorted, “Want to have a real orgasm? That can be easily arranged.”
“Teo, heel,” Aria said, not looking up from the instructions.
