Page 83 of The Rogues

His hand goes over his mouth to stop his laugh, his eyes sparkling with so much joy that I can’t find it in myself to be as embarrassed as I want to be.

I walk into the suite—well, waddle would be a better term for how I’m moving—and stop as all heads turn to look at me.

“Josie’s here,” Lennon announces, still snickering behind me.

“Is that Josie in there?” Remi asks, trying to look into the hood.

Malaki moves to me, his lip moving weirdly as he fights a smile. He pulls my hood off, exposing me to the overhead light they have on.

“Yep, that’s our Bubbles.” He laughs, and then kisses my cheek. “This is fucking hysterical.”

I pretend to pout. “Don’t make fun of me, my omega is a monster.”

“Don’t talk about our omega like that,” Cyrus says playfully. He stands to the side, his arms crossed as he looks over me with a tickled smile on his face. “So, are you going to tell us what’s going on?”

“Help me take all of this off first and then I’ll explain.”

Everyone loses it as more and more items come off. At some point, Jamie and Malaki start helping me when the snug material gets stuck in some spots. The room is full of joyous laughter, and I can’t find myself to be irritated with it.

It’s music to my ears.

When everything comes off except my initial outfit, which is all wrinkled and probably soaked with a little bit of sweat, I sigh in relief.

“Fuck.” I sit down on their couch, a pile of my clothes now sitting in the center of the hotel room.

The guys all take seats around me, patient and content. Lennon pulls something out of his pocket, a holder of some sort. He takes out a little pill and takes it, the action so normal and casual that I blink a few times in surprise. The action is small, but somehow I feel blessed to have seen it, to be trusted enough to be privy to it.

Cyrus’s hand laces with mine. “So, what do we owe this pleasure?” he asks as he points at the mountain of clothing items.

“Okay, so, it was a camouflage defense, but also my omega was being weird, and was making me put everything on, and refused to let me take it off, and…” I stop and swallow. “This might be a weird thing to ask, so please understand you can say no, but can you guys… sleep with my clothes? Or scent mark them? I need… Gosh, it’s so embarrassing.” I hide my head in my hands.

Jamie cuts in. “No, it’s not. That’s completely normal for you to want our scents on your stuff.”

All the alphas nod. The more I look at all of them, the more I can see that the request might actually excite them a little bit. Malaki is practically bouncing his knees, his hands rubbing over his jeans like he might try to grab an item right now and hold onto it the rest of the night.

“We are honored that you asked,” Remi tells me wholeheartedly. “It makes our alphas feel important. Needed.”

I look over at Cyrus. He avoids my eyes as he looks down at the shirt in his hand that he already grabbed. His finger and thumb loosely pinch the fabric, feeling the material. When he finally looks up at me, his eyes are dark. “This is a fucking honor, Omega.”

Remi nudges his prime with his shoulder. “Tell her.”

“Tell me what?” I ask, slightly panicked.

His eyes flash to Remi. “You knew?”

“Of course I fucking knew. Tell her so she doesn’t feel crazy.”

Cyrus looks embarrassed, but then he stands up and retreats. I wonder for half a second if he’s running away, but then he returns, holding a plain black material. When I get a closer look, I see the skull printed on the front.

My shirt.

My eyes widen. “It was you?”

He nods. “Yes. I’ve taken a few things here and there; a guitar pick you discarded at our last venue, a hair tie you put aside after one of your sets a few weeks ago, the wig you wore on your date with Malaki… It felt like my alpha needed them. I felt so guilty for taking them, but having them in my possession satiated something in me. And this shirt… this one is my favorite.”

I swallow roughly. “Mine, too.”

“I’m so sorry.” He lowers his head in shame. “I wanted to tell you, but I was embarrassed about how much my alpha needed it, and then I took more, and I feel so guilty, but I also can’t stop?”