“You’re afraid,” Genesis said. “I’m afraid. Orlando and Gabriel are afraid. But only one of us is letting that hold us back. Why?”
“Maybe because only one of us has the good sense to recognize a lost cause when it’s staring them in the face,” Luke replied coolly. Inside, though, he was far from cool. He was hot with shame and anger and arousal and, yes, fear. So much goddamn fear it was paralyzing.
“Bullshit again,” Genesis countered, just as coolly. “You blame yourself for Evelyn’s death.”
Luke flinched. He was so tired of people saying that as if it meant anything. Of course, he blamed himself for Evie’s death. It was his fault.
“Orlando told me that you were supposed to pick her up on the day she was killed, but you were late,” Genesis went on, her voice gentle but determined. “How many times did you pick her up on time, Luke? Dozens? Hundreds? And how many times were you late picking her up? Probably just as many. You couldn’t have known that this one time would be different.”
Luke was clenching the rope so tightly that his knuckles were white and his hands shook, but he kept his voice steady. “The most important thing in any alpha’s life is taking care of his omega. It was my job to keep her safe, to always put her first, and I was fucking around in a meeting that I can’t even remember the purpose of. That’s on me, no matter how you try to dress it up.”
“More bullshit,” Genesis said, and Luke wanted to scream. “Did you know that omega women are six times more likely to be killed than beta women? In some states, that number is as high as twenty times more likely. Last year, omegas faced the highest rates of victimization of any designation: 27.2 violent crimes per 1,000 omegas. I could go on. I’ve learned a hell of a lot of disturbing statistics lately.”
Luke grimaced. He hadn’t known any of that, but it didn’t matter. He’d still failed unforgivably.
“Would Evelyn want you wallowing in guilt and self-pity for the rest of your life?” Genesis asked.
Luke couldn’t keep a lid on his anger any longer. He shot to his feet, glowering down at the sassy omega who he couldn’t seem to get out of his thoughts. She didn’t shrink away. Instead, she glared back at him defiantly.
“We’ll never fucking know what Evie would want because I let her die!” he shouted. “Goddammit, Genesis, what part of thatdon’t you understand? I can’t keep you safe and I can’t stand to lose you!”
Luke’s chest heaved as he tried to wrangle his emotions. Genesis regarded him calmly. To his surprise, her lips twisted into a smirk.
“You sound exactly like my dads,” she said. “The dads who you threatened, by the way. I believe you said they’d be answering to you if they upset me again. Now, here you are, upsetting me in the exact same way. How ironic.”
“That’s entirely different,” Luke shot back, with no real bite behind the words. He remembered how furious he’d been, listening to their bullshit excuses for neglecting their daughter for so long, and undervaluing the fierce independence and resiliency she’d been forced to develop in their absence. He’d wanted to wring their necks.
Genesis cocked her head, regarding him shrewdly. “Is it though? My fathers blamed themselves for my mother’s death. They were afraid they couldn’t protect me, so they sent me away. We missed out on nearly twenty-five years of shared grief and joy or even a basic relationship because they were too selfish and stupid to think beyond their alpha guilt. They pushed me away to protect themselves. Are you going to do the same thing, Luke? Are you willing to sacrifice not just your happiness, but mine and Orlando’s and Gabriel’s as well? Are you going to make us all miserable so that you can continue to punish yourself for something thatwas not your fault?”
Luke deflated. He felt hollowed out. Everything was too much, and he didn’t know what to do with it all.
“What do you want from me, Genesis?” he asked quietly. He felt utterly helpless, and he hated it, but more than that he felt completely unmoored. “Just tell me what you want me to do, because I’m fucking lost here. I don’t know what the fuck to do with any of this.”
Tentatively, she reached out a hand to touch his face. Luke wanted to shrink from her touch, to push her away as he’d done before. Instead, he leaned into it. Her hand was soft against the roughness of his beard.
“I want you to try, Luke,” she said softly. “I just want you to give this a chance. Giveusa chance.”
Luke shuddered. He wanted to say yes, to stop fighting this thing between them and just give in. But he couldn’t.
“I can’t, Buttercup,” he said after a long moment. “I want to, but I just can’t.”
Genesis sighed, pulling her hand back. Luke thought he’d finally done it. She’d given it her best effort and now she was going to cut her losses and walk away. His heart ached but he kept his mouth shut. He had to let her go.
Genesis stepped back, but instead of leaving, she took off her cowboy hat and set it aside. Luke hadn’t looked at her properly, but now he saw how damn delectable she looked. She’d dressed in the hat and boots he’d gotten her, with a long linen western-style dress in a shade of burnt orange that complemented her beautiful skin. It gathered in at the waist and had a ruffled skirt with lace embellishments. As Luke watched, she began to unbutton it.
“What are you doing?” he asked hoarsely, unable to tear his eyes away, even though he knew he should.
Genesis shrugged. “Sometimes, taking a leap is hard. Especially if you have to jump first. I had Avery and Greyson pushing me to try, then Orlando and Gabriel being vulnerable first to make me feel safe opening up. Thanks to all of them, I can try to do the same for you.”
Luke watched her dress fall to the barn floor. She hadn’t bothered to wear a bra, and her small breasts pebbled with gooseflesh in the open air. In cowboy boots and a pair of thoseboy short panties that looked so good on her ample ass, she was absolutely incredible. Luke’s cock hardened immediately.
“It wasn’t easy for me to decide to trust you all, but I do,” Genesis said. “Allof you. Let me show you. Tie me up, Luke.”
Luke gaped at her, trying to process her words. He’d done everything he could to try and scare this omega off, and she was asking him to tie her up. His cock was painfully rigid, urging him to comply—it had been so fucking long—but he shook his head. She didn’t know what she was asking. She couldn’t.
“I did some additional research, outside of what I was doing for my story,” Genesis told him, her husky voice like a caress. “Apparently, rope play involves a lot of trust, especially for the bottom. I have to trust you to keep me safe, to take care of me. And I do. And if I do, maybe you can try trusting yourself.”
Holding his gaze, Genesis sank slowly to her knees in front of him, using her dress to cushion her knees. She looked so beautiful, and Luke could already imagine how perfect she’d look with a lark’s head single column tie around her torso. He’d start above those perky little tits, then…
