Page 68 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Desi chuckled. “He didn’t say anything rude or senseless?”

So fucking—good… The ghost of Emerson’s voice.

“Nope,” she squeaked.

“Mmkay… then why’d you freak out?”

Lyric shrugged, parting her lips to speak and then closing them when nothing came out. She forced the words past her lips anyway. “I have issues and I know it. Alphas kind of… circulate around my issues. But it doesn’t matter, I won’t let it happen again.”

“You won’t, huh?” Desi murmured, a hint of humor in her voice.

Lyric narrowed her eyes, turning her head against the comforter to stare at Desi’s profile. “What’s that mean?”

Her short hair fell over half of her face as she rolled her head to face Lyric. “You’re stressed, pent-up, and you’re on tour for the first time. I’m just saying no one would blame you if you wanted to let some of the… tension loose.”

I’d blame me.

It wasn’t just a matter of compromising her own principles to let loose, it was a matter of professionalism. The music industry could be lax at times, but it was difficult enough to navigate as a woman, an omega. She didn’t need to make it harder on herself because she started sleeping with the first alpha she was on tour with.

But all of that seemed like an awful lot to voice just then, so she hummed thoughtfully at Desi’s comment.

Desi let them marinate in comfortable silence for a moment before she sat up. “Okay, my duty is done. I can tell the others you’re okay and give Amber a call.”

Lyric craned her neck up. “They sent you to check on me?”

“It was Emerson’s suggestion.”

Why that surprised her, she didn’t know, but the tightness in her chest eased a bit. “So everyone knows then?” she asked as she sat up and walked Desi to the door.

The beta paused and leaned in, inhaling deeply before leaning back, an amused curl shaping her lips. “You still smell like him a little. And he sure as hell smelled like you when he came back to the green room.”

Lyric rubbed at her eyes, wishing she could start the whole night over again. A frustrated grumble hummed in her throat, and at Desi’s answering chuckle, she dropped her hands to glare at her.

“What?” she queried, raising her hands innocently. “It’s a little bit funny.”

“No it’s not,” she argued.

“It kinda is. Just be happy I don’t owe Nohen a hundred bucks. He wouldn’t even agree to a bet with me.”

“Remind me to thank him,” she responded dryly.

“Yeah, yeah. Next time, we’ll split it if you let me win.”

Lyric arched a brow. “What are the odds?”

“That you’ll sleep with Emerson again before the week’s out.”

Desi escaped out the open door before Lyric could smack her.

The next afternoon, when she finally crawled from her nest to seek out coffee from the kitchenette, it only took a few moments for her to wish she’d never left the comfort of her bed.

Lyric did her best to ignore the deep, rumbly voice filled with irritation. Instead, she squinted at the carafe of coffee and tilted it to pour the dark liquid into a travel mug.

“What if someone had seen you?” Henry continued, exasperation lacing his voice.

Someone almost did, she wanted to retort. And it was really fucking hot.

But she held her tongue and placed the carafe back onto the warmer, locking it into place before reaching for the sugar.