Mags frowns. “You’re not going to rehearse the script?”
“Nah. I’ll wing it.”
I don’t give her a chance to bite back. I love Mags dearly, but she’s a handful. I need a break from the scheming. Time to immerse myself in carefully scripted fiction of a different sort.
Chapter 20
Mags
To my surprise, the Langley family doesn’t want to interview Nik before the job starts. I guess they’ve been so busy vetting breeders that the small matter of a guard doesn’t concern them.
Their omission is our gain.
Since pack bonds can easily be sensed, there’s no point in trying to bill us as an unbonded pack anymore. It simplifies some things but complicates others. For instance, we all get assigned to the same room in the servants’ wing of the mansion, but because I’m playing beta, there’s no nest. Four full-sized beds for us, presumably to prevent distracting sexual encounters while we’re working out our contracts.
It’s a little disappointing to be without my nest for so long, but I keep reminding myself that I’m presenting as a beta; I don’t need a nest.
I can sleep in a bed by myself. I’m a big girl. Been doing it my whole life.
So why am I crawling into Nik’s bed at midnight on the first night?
Nik grumbles in his sleep, but his arms wrap around me almost instinctively. Contentment flows through the mate bond, and my body immediately relaxes.
So far, the suppressants have been doing their job better since I went through that brief heat courtesy of Dave Donnelly. There might be something to this once-a-year thing, but I’ll never admit it to Nik or the twins. I’d never hear the end of it, for one thing, and then they’d insist I take a week or two off every year just for some sex-frenzied heat that I can honestly do without.
I can totally do without the sex.
Completely.
One hundred percent.
Except my hand is creeping towards Nik’s cock like it’s on some urgent, life-or-death mission.
Sleeping Nik doesn’t seem to mind. He rolls onto his back, and his cock already juts upright in his pajama pants. All it takes from me is a little maneuvering of the fabric to release it, and a little light stroking to wake Nik up.
“You’re gonna wake the twins,” he whispers, with a cocky grin.
“The more the merrier,” I say as I wriggle out of my pants and ease myself onto Nik’s lap. “Maybe waking them up wouldn’t be so bad.”
Nik clamps a hand over my mouth and pulls on my hips, lifting me off him. I whimper into his hand, upset at his rejection.
“I feel your frustration, Mags, I really do—literally—but we can’t do this. We’re on the job. That means behaving. Besides, if we go any further, the twins really will wake up, and it’s not fair to them for us to be having sex while they’re in the same room.” He lowers his hand and stares intently into my eyes. “Understand?”
I scowl at him and let the bond transmit my irritation. “We’ll have to figure out the sexual logistics at some point. And, for the record, I’m not some prime cut of beef. There’s plenty of me to go around, and I don’t see why taking turns is a bad thing or unfair.”
“Would you like it if you woke up, and I was fucking one of those omegas I’m hired to protect?”
“That’s different!” Kip stirs a little, and I lower my voice. “You’re not bonded to them. You’re bonded tome, and I thought it meant you loved me.”
Ouch! Nik’s heartache ricochets through the bond, and it’s strong enough that despite our whispering, the twins both shoot straight up in bed, clutching their chests. Tears stream down their faces as they look at us in the light of the streetlamp outside.
“What the fuck, Mags?” they say in unison.
I shrink back and climb off Nik, straightening my PJs. “I didn’t mean it like that …”
Nik adjusts his own clothing and pulls the covers over himself. “You’ve got to start thinking before opening your mouth, Mags. I know you’re not used to relationships in general, but your words are hurtful sometimes.”
“Sure.” I grab a hoodie and tug it over my head. “I work my ass off to make sure we’re all taken care of, but God forbid I say the wrong thing.”
