Mags seems a bit … off. She’s irritated, which is to be expected, but she’s also sweating a bit, just like the last several nights. I’d ask about it, but Kaden opens his mouth first.
“Okay, so nest repair is on the agenda. What else?”
“Oh, the usual. Her Highness requires full-body massages while she’s in the pre-heat stages, plus catering to her nest, plus the spa treatment on the daily. However,” Mags grins, “they’ve got safes all over the place here. Multiple safes. Some for jewelry, some for important documents, some for cold, hard cash … It’s like we hit the jackpot. It’ll take time to figure out which ones we need and crack ‘em, but by the time we leave, we should be set for a while.”
Kaden perks up. “Enough to get a place with four bedrooms?”
“Enough for four bedrooms with walk-in closetsandfour full baths.”
My twin licks his lips, but I’d be fine with another three-bedroom place. I just … would rather have a different roommate. Thirty years of sharing a room with Kaden is quite enough for me, thank you, but I wouldn’t mind rooming with Mags.
“Kip!”
I jerk to attention. “Yeah?”
“Are you on masseuse duty or guard duty? Not that it matters too much, as I doubt these rich jerks could tell you two apart, but for simplicity’s sake, pick one.”
Remembering David’s creepy behavior, I jump at the chance to play guard. That way, if he tries anything with Mags, I’ll have a valid excuse to punch him in his snotty alpha face. Fantasies of breaking David’s nose run through my mind as Mags leads us to our suite of rooms, which adjoins Threnody’s nesting room through another entrance.
Through that door, I hear giggles and whispers. Nik’s at it already.
He’d better not start too early. We need to case this mansion before he can knock up our mark.
Chapter 7
Mags
I spend the first few days of our new assignment dodging David Donnelly and sidestepping his lame advances.
Unlike Nik, Dave seems to think that he has the right to mate with whomever he wants. Nik at least approached me quietly, away from the others, when he realized my designation. Dave doesn’t even know I’m an omega, and he’s in full horn-dog mode.
Maybe he doesn’t think he can get me pregnant. If he’s seeking betas, he might just be holding all the good juice for his omega match.
She can have it, whoever she may be.
I can’t even tell what his alpha scent is. He’s constantly smoking nasty cigarettes and cigars, so all I smell from him is that disgusting thick smoke scent that makes me want to gag. How can someone whose future relationship is based on scent matching smoke those things? It’s gross. I’ll take Nik’s scent over Dave’s any day. Hell, I’ll even take Kip or Kaden’s scent.
Beta scents are more subtle than alphas, but I’ve always been able to sniff out which twin is which. Kip smells like fresh, upturned earth, and Kaden, interestingly enough, smells like …a margarita. Seriously, he smells like sea salt and lime. It’s the coolest scent.
Those scents are my comforts in the harder times between cons. If I weren’t pretending to be a beta, I’d gather all three of them up in my nest and just have a cuddle pile of delicious aromas.
Sadly, I can’t do that. Revealing my true designation has all kinds of responsibilities tied to it, not the least of which are breeding and birthing. Most omegas dig that kind of thing, I guess, but not me. What kind of mother would I be? I’ve built a comfortable life on scamming and stealing. No kid should be raised in those conditions. Besides, if Nik even wanted to raise his kids, he wouldn’t sell himself to the highest bidder as breeding stock. As far as I can tell, he enjoys the freedom of loving and leaving.
One thing I’m grateful for is the fact that I can control my perfuming—provided the heat suppressants are doing their job. Unless I miss a dose or it wears off early, even Nik can’t smell my bubblegum and cotton candy scent.
Threnody smells like a fucking lavender and rosemary field twenty-four seven. It’s like she had a literal chemical perfume custom-made so she reeks of her omega scent all the time.
Gross.
Speaking of scents, a whiff of tobacco clues me in to Dave’s proximity, and I duck into Threnody’s nesting room to hide. She’s on a walk with Nik right now, so it’s the perfect time to pretend I’m working.
We’ve improved her nest significantly in the few days we’ve been here. Now there are plush mattresses, fluffy down pillows, snacks, drinks, curtains, and soft mood lighting. Threnody seems thrilled with the changes, and she even sweet-talked her dad into giving us a bonus to our already hefty fee.
I’m not complaining.
When I get inside, I find Kaden setting up the massage table for the second time today. “What gives? I thought Nik had her for the rest of the day.”
Kaden rolls his eyes. “She wants to be ‘loose’ for tonight.”
