Pangs of guilt, they were awesome for cooling your blood. I took a deep breath and charged on.
“Brendan brought me back to the club to hang out for a while. He had a work emergency and was going to get me a cab home, but I decided to stick around. He’s nice.” His fingers sliding deep inside me. “He treats me well.” His tongue insistently flicking my clit. “He seems to respect me rather than being all ugh, alpha.” Me screaming as I came all over his face.
“Yes, he did seem nice, comes from a solid family as well. I did a little digging—”
“Muuum…”
“And they are solidly middle class. Comfortable rather than wealthy, but you could certainly do worse than to become part of a family like that. Some of these…others concern me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mum. Now George told you we’re going to the Delozian gallery tonight? Somehow, we got an invite to James Chadwick’s exhibition!”
“The illustrator who does all those fey drawings. You always did love his work. And afterwards?”
“A cocktail party at the Lasseters’.”
“Well, good luck, darling, and I hope you find what you’re looking for. You’ve been…different this season, but it’s been a relief to see. You are capable of so much. A great deal more than all this talk about designation reduces you to. You’re not just an omega, sweetheart, no matter how wondrous that is. You’re also my daughter.”
For a second, there was only silence as I considered her words, my eyes roaming around the room, taking in the TV, the bed, and the stricken-looking Rhys on it. It wasn’t hard to wonder what she’d make of this.
“Thanks, Mum. I’ll be home soon.”
“You can’t go,” Rhys said, standing up, and whoa, mama, I could hear my ovaries popping, one, two. No shirt meant acres of well muscled flesh on display, the pale skin only disrupted by the tattoos here and there, a familiar-looking raven over his heart.
“Oh, but I must.” My smile was brittle, false, but I found it softening as I looked him over. “You were really sweet. Going home, lying in bed after…it would have been hard, but staying here won’t help either, will it?”
I hated it at that moment, the way I could suddenly understand all those bloody songs omegas had written. Looking for love in all the wrong places. It was a common enough trope, where misguided omegas let their hormones do the talking, rather than their brains, seeing signs of love and affection in alphas where there were only primal impulses. But not me. I smiled again, for real now, walking closer, putting my hand on that truly splendid chest, and taking one last breath in of him.
“I appreciate what you did, the aftercare and the…before care in the car. If I’ve fucked up things with your mates, I’m really, really sorry. I can only assume things will settle down and go back to normal soon? And I guess you’ve got each other to work through a rut with.” On impulse, I bounced up, aiming to place a kiss on his cheek, but he moved, didn’t he?
I felt the tingle of his mouth on mine well after I’d pulled away, but I was out the door, down the corridor, following the exit signs, only realising the state I was in when I got there. I looked down at my badly buttoned shirt and felt the flap of my skirt around my legs, reminding me that I was no longer wearing knickers.
“Running, omega?”
I turned to see Marcus had appeared by the door, his pants still on but his shirt had been removed, the claw marks of his lovers displayed proudly across his chest. He shook his head slowly, then looked up as one of his staff passed by.
“Nothing gets an alpha’s attention like an omega on the run.” He tossed a set of keys at the staff member. “Drive the lady home, Kevin.”
“You got it, boss.”
“I’ll be seeing you again, Cyn,” Marcus said with a tight smile before disappearing back into the depths of his club.
I tried to have a nap once I got home, Mum looking relieved to see me just before she disappeared back into her office. Instead, I rolled around on the bed, unable to get any of it out of my mind. Ants crawled under my skin, banishing any thought of sleep, peace, or anything but him. Finally, I ground my teeth, sliding open my ‘play’ drawer and fishing out the toys that got me through lonely nights, but this time, it was different. When I got up on all fours, presenting to the invisible alpha whose plastic dick I held in my hand, I heard him—a deep, rumbling voice. I bit back a whimper when I felt the slide of his hand on the back of my neck.
“Good girl,” he told me, hand slapping down on my arse, holding me still as he—no, I worked the bulbous head of his cock against me. I was dripping again, so he slid in with ridiculous ease, all the way up to the knot. “You’re doing so well, omega, feel so good. But you’re going to take me, all of me, aren’t you? Just like a good little omega should.” I felt the burn as the knot pressed against me, forcing me to part, to surrender, to let him in, sobbing once the bulge had worked its way past my pelvic bone. I was knotted.
So why did this just make the fire in me flare harder rather than smother it dead? Why did I long for something softer and harder, throbbing with life and ready to pulse inside me? I came again, but this time, tears filled my eyes.
Stupid fucking omega bullshit.
I pulled the dildo free, removed the vibe from my clit, cleaned them up and tossed them back in the drawer, and waited for night to fall.
Chapter 15
One thing I loved about Madam Colette, she could create a dress that would make you feel strong, even if you didn’t before putting it on. Made from a boned black velvet, it hugged my body tight, due to the strapless sweetheart neckline. And to complement that? A wide collar of pearls to be clasped around my neck, making me look claimed, repelling anyone who’d try to take a bite. The makeup artist had conceded, giving me a killer winged eyeliner to go with the updo and makeup in shades of gold and bronze. I was the perfect alpha bait—desirable but untouchable.
“Well, well, Madam triumphs again,” George said, holding out a hand and twirling me around. “Miranda, you must have a stout stick lying around, living so close to the forest. I think I’m going to need one, escorting your daughter looking like this.”
Mum snorted, but her smile, when she looked me over, was genuine.