Page 92 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Lyric’s stomach turned, and it took her a moment to recognize why. It was jealousy. At the thought of Emerson playing pack with anyone but her.

Playing pack… is that what I’m doing?

Was Lyric just kidding herself? Laying there, stretched out on the floor between two alphas after a handful of blissful orgasms. What happened after the tour was over?

As that thought reared its ugly head, Lyric shut it out and refused to let herself go there.

“What happened to the groupies?” she asked to distract herself.

Emerson’s lips thinned into a single line, and his fingers tightened over her hips before relaxing. “That’s why I eventually left. I’d rather risk going feral than being responsible for another girl like that.”

Lyric’s stomach swirled. “Emerson, what happened?”

“It was nothing awful. They’d just… they’d carry her along for a few cities and then try to drop her off somewhere unknown. It was careless. Anything could have happened to those girls.”

“What do you mean could have?”

Emerson shook his head, the strokes on her hip losing their rhythm. “I couldn’t let the guys just abandon them. So I’d use my split from the profits of the show and get them a bus back home. Or I’d take them to the nearest omega center. I told the guys they were being assholes, warned them to stop, and they said they would… if I’d let them use my cut of the funds to put their scent cards in the omega center’s database for omegas to pick from.”

Lyric tensed, but Adra and Emerson soothed it out of her with their soft touches.

“I figured… why not? It’d save a girl from putting up with their bullshit, and maybe we’d find an omega to get them to settle the hell down. It worked for a while. We toured closer to home, picked up jobs, rented a warehouse and refurbished it. But then… the omega center called.”

Lyric rolled over, placing her head on his chest instead of Adra’s. Emerson laid a palm over her shoulder, and Adra’s covered her hip. They traced matching shapes on her skin. “I take it that it didn’t go to plan?”

Emerson scoffed. “No. An omega picked us. Came out to meet us with the omega center reps. The guys were… smitten. They adored her at first sight. Would’ve bent over backwards to make that omega happy. Even I got my hopes up a little.”

Lyric’s chest pinged with jealousy. Not for the band—no, they left a bad taste in her mouth. But at the thought of Emerson wanting to… spoil someone.

No. Not someone. An omega.

“What happened?”

“We weren’t good enough for her. Don’t get me wrong, she was probably better off, especially with the baggage those guys carried. But we’d put our blood and sweat and tears into that place, turning it into a home. And this stuck-up girl just came in and tore it all apart with a sneer and a few careless words. Totally wrecked our home without touching a single thing. It left me a little… bitter, where omegas are concerned,” he explained, licking his lips and glancing at her nervously.

“They tried to go back to their old ways, but I wasn’t letting them play that game anymore. I tried to warn one of the groupies beforehand, and one of the guys overheard me.”

Emerson rubbed a hand over his face, fingertips rubbing over his left eyebrow. It was one she’d noticed before, the one with a tiny scar through the edge of it.

“They got pissed, naturally. Tried to gang up on me, but they were all talk. Liked to play tough until it got real. I quit after that, mid-tour. Sent a warning to the local venues, a heads-up to a few of the ones left on the tour.” Emerson chuckled darkly. “They ended up quitting the tour early, canceling the last few shows because word got around and they were catching so much shit from the scene.”

“I wish I’d been there,” Adra rumbled. “I would’ve helped you teach them a lesson.”

Lyric hid her smile. She’d been right all along. There was a heart under Emerson’s prickly exterior. She just had to weave her way through all the thorns to the rose at the center.

“So that was why Andi wanted me to talk to you at the venue.”

Andi had known Emerson was protective. Knew he would be a good fit for her bus, her band, her tour.

Emerson smiled sheepishly at her comment. “I’m still sorry for calling you a spoiled omega.”

Lyric shrugged. “It’s me doing the spoiling, so I have nothing to be ashamed of.”

And for the first time, Lyric realized she was right. She could be as spoiled as she damned well wanted to be.

Emerson flicked a strand of hair over her back. “Even if it wasn’t… you’re an omega worth spoiling, Lyric.”

Lyric paused, raked her gaze up his chest, over the dusting of hair on his pecs to the strong lines of his throat and the angles of his jaw, the bow of his lips and his straight nose, before finally clashing with his eyes.