“Now!” Ronin roars, making them stumble as they race from the room.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
TALLY
Ihave to close my eyes.
Not because of my frustration in Ronin and Keegan making obvious threats to Black and the others. It’s simpler than that. I have to shut my eyes and focus on breathing through their scents. I need the darkness to concentrate on trying to stop from being utterly scent struck by Ronin and Keegan. Clearly, those two throwing their Alphaness around works for me.
Of course, because of our undeniable connection—I mean, scent matches share more than just good smells—they know I’m in a void, struggling to find my feet again. And they know they’re the reason for it. It’s not a hard jump to say they love how responsive I am, either, as their presence becomes somehow even more impossible to ignore. They’re gloating. But they’re both insightful or perhaps it’s possessive enough to ensure this is something only the three of us share and are aware of.
They close in, surrounding me on both sides, shielding me from the room, making it better and worse. My head floats like I’ve drunk expensive champagne.
“Fuck, Tally girl. I can taste you on my lips like a treat that needs devouring. You hunger for dominance, don’t you, darling wife?” Ronin’s lips are against my ear, his suggestive chuckles zipping down my spine, exactly like his fingers are. The whole time, he’s intentionally feeding more of his chocolate and pepper perfume over my senses.
I go to move away and push distance between us, but Keegan’s there, too, adding another layer to the wonderful cloud I’m lost in. They smell so good. They smell like mine.
Because I’m a closet glutton for them, I open my lips and inhale more of their mind-blowing combined scent. JFC, it’s toxically exquisite.
“Open your eyes, Tal,” Keegan demands. His voice is husky and low, full of the same overbearing spice of his presence. And I’m a sucker for it. I always have been. I forever will be.
My eyes pop open, and he’s all I can see. I smile like we’re reuniting after time apart. I need him like I need air to survive. Whining in torment at the craving need I have for him. I reach for his mouth, needing a taste of his warm cinnamon sweetness on my lips.
He stands taller, unbending, making it impossible for me to reach him.
And his stance hits like an arrow to my chest. I fall backwards, clutching where pain radiates. “You’re rejecting me?” I whisper, on the verge of tears.
Keegan snatches me and pulls me close, showering his scent over me like falling rain. He’s making it impossible for me not to notice and not to ignore what he says. “No chance. Baby, if we were anywhere else, I’d lick my way into your mouth and bend you over to knot your lush cunt,” he says softly, running a handover my forehead to brush off the hair sticking. “Let’s get you to the bathroom, so you can freshen up.”
The Alpha in front of me looks like Keegan, smells like him too. But Keegan isn’t usually one for Omega care; that’s usually Tynan. Or it might be, I’ve never needed him like I do at the moment.
I don’t have to wait long for him to explain what angle he’s coming from.
“We know lots about looking after an Omega, Tal. You’re having a moment, and God, I fucking love the way you respond to us, but the time and place isn’t right. You’d be mortified in the morning if we let you stay here like this. Rafferty says water on the inside of his wrists helps.”
We start walking, but I’m still missing something crucial. Probably not, but the scent fog is making it hard to focus on anything but the Alphas guiding me with gentle touches and sweet words.
Keegan stands behind me, guiding me forward with his hands on my hips. “You smell like peaches in the summer sun, sweet and full of juice. But see, that’s ours to smell. Fuck if we’re sharing your scent with anyone else. Pack only.”
I hum, starting to see where he’s coming from now.
The sting of his earlier rejection is replaced by the tidal waves of ownership and longing rolling off him and Ronin. All these designation-based reinforcements are a little overwhelming. My Omega picks up and runs with all their obvious signals. She’s strung up on the fact we’re meant to be together, opening up my receptors to them even more. I stumble again at the impact of my Alphas.
My sight gets blurry, and I cling to Ronin’s hand as he leads me away from everyone. Even my steps start to feel like I’m walking in quicksand, but strangely, instead of panicking atnot being in control and fully cognizant, I’m in a surprisingly peaceful place.
“We got you, Tally girl,” Ronin says when we come to a stop.
The distracting chattering is gone, the itching press of unknown people around me no longer another thing to deal with. Wherever we are, it’s just us, and there’s a deep-seated peace that accompanies that, settling more of my burning anxiety.
They take me into a modest-sized bathroom, keeping the lights off. Leading me to the sink, Ronin has the cold water running and Keegan folds the sleeve of my dress before they both take one of my hands each, turning them so I’m wrist side up and the water is falling over the pressure points.
The only sound is the running water and my deep, hurried breathing. Ronin and Keegan standing quietly behind me, to make sure I don’t fall, and when it’s apparent I’m not going to, they go to add distance between us. Ronin reaches over to kiss the top of my head first because I’m still obviously confused and whining. “We’re right out here.”
I see them leave. I feel them taking their designation and presence with them. Leaving me with their lingering scent and a gaping hole inside my soul. My knees shake, and I have to brace myself against the basin and focus on the water falling on my wrists. It gives me an anchor in the storm they’ve raged around me.
They watch with an intensity that both calms and scares me. We’ve had so many easy times together, full of physical attraction and shared desires. It’s been incredible and I’ve loved every second. This is different, though. The way they act strikes on a level I’m fighting to run from. This is what will ruin me.
I close them out and focus everything I have on shutting my Omega side down. I have to. The fallout of what we’re sharing is hitting, and it’s hurting already. I sink into the sensation of thewater on my wrists while I corral my designation. And honestly, it feels like an eternity passes before I start to emerge from being lost in them and all my hopes and dreams. Leaving one wrist under the cold water, I drag wet fingers over the back of my neck, further extinguishing the flames that had taken hold.
