“Just this, Cyn. Just give me this.”
Such was the spell of Marcus. Rhys did come to cut in, but Marcus deliberately misunderstood his purpose.
“Come to slow dance with me, my love?” he said, moving into the big man’s arms, tucking his head in against Rhys’ shoulder. “It has been a bloody long time since we’ve done this.”
But all of Rhys’ bluster fizzled the moment that golden head came to rest against his body. A hand went up, cradling him, where before, it had been clenched in anger, something that only softened as Marcus wrapped his arms around his mate. They swayed now, only barely moving to the music, but I wasn’t left to gawp after them for long. Bren arrived, pulling me into a similar embrace, looking down at me almost shyly before brushing a finger against the bite mark on my neck. He smiled when I shivered, all his discomfort at being at such a fancy arse ball gone, then swept me out onto the dancefloor.
I was quite frankly shocked at how competent Bren was at ballroom dancing, something that made him smirk.
“Marcus made us take a bunch of classes to stop us from embarrassing Orion at events. Dancing with fine-looking women could be a distraction or a means to gather intel at times.”
“Yeah, that’s gonna stop now,” I all but growled.
His smile was bright and intense in response. “Jealous, omega?”
“Your only omega,” I said. “I get you’ve got this whole polyamory thing going, but—”
“You don’t need to worry.” Bren stared down at me intensely, his smile faltering. “There’s only you for us. It’s gonna be hard work, particularly when you come into heat. That’s four rigid dicks that’ll be aching to be inside you.” The smirk was back, and twice as mischievous. “We need to start upping your cardio and strength training, get you ready for it.”
He watched me pull my hand away, wiping my brow with the back of it with close attention.
“Could it be soon?” he asked, much more seriously.
“Maybe?” I looked up at him, dropping the social mask for just a moment, letting him see the low simmering need for him and our mates there. “Everything before was a mess. I’ve only experienced a heat alone.”
“Because you’re ours,” he said, eminently satisfied with that. “Always meant to be with us. Always will.”
I smiled up at him and nodded. “Always.”
“So I think it’s my turn to take our mate for a spin,” Orion said, appearing at Bren’s shoulder. “Marcus is looking for a new dance partner, and you’re up.” But he paused when he looked me over more closely. “You look a little flushed, Cyn.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied, slipping from Brendan’s arms to his, our bodies slotting together in that same innate way. “It’s just the lights and the frock.”
“I only have to make it around the room with Marcus once, right?” Brendan grumbled, eyes narrowing. “I still haven’t forgiven him for this bullshit.”
“None of us have, but we’re not airing our dirty laundry here, where my father and his cronies can seek to exploit it. We provide a united front, so go and get our mournful-looking mate from the sidelines and sweep him around the room, looking like a picture of alpha mated bliss.”
“United front, got it.”
As I watched Bren weave his way through the dancers, a wolf among brightly coloured sheep, I was then led around the floor by a very adept Orion. Many years of dance training would have been in his upbringing. He challenged me by performing a series of intricate steps, expecting me to keep up, and I did, just.
“And what were you talking about with our mate to get you all flushed, omega?” he purred, right as I fought to keep track of our feet, which was why I blurted out my answer so bluntly.
“My heat,” I replied, Orion’s steps faltering and mine with them. He quickly moved us out of the way of other dancers, but not relinquishing his hold on my waist for a second, so even through the layers of fabric of my dress, I could feel him hardening.
“Is it coming soon? Are you feeling the effects now?” His eyes were intent, a harsh vigilance rising there. “Cyn, if you are, I’ll get us home right away. This is the worst place for an omega in heat to be.”
“I’m fine, just feeling a little hot from all that dancing. Maybe we could find somewhere to sit and cool down for a bit? And anyway, we can’t leave. Have you seen Ariadne at all? Isn’t she supposed to present herself if she’s declared as an omega? She’s way too bloody young, but I don’t think they make an allowance for that in the laws, just that she can’t be touched sexually until she’s eighteen.”
“I haven’t, which worries me. Our people are on an alert to find her, but…”
He glanced around the room, as if she would appear, then steered me over towards one of the spindly little tables and chairs, pulling one out so I could sit down.
“Just stay here and I’ll get you a drink,” he said a little sternly. My eyes rolled upwards, my eyebrow arching. “Look, I know we’re in public and there’s a million witnesses here, but I still don’t trust this. Promise me, Cyn, that you won’t move from this chair.”
“I’m not moving, just sweating in a really, really ladylike fashion, OK?”
Orion smiled, and I couldn’t stop staring as a result. At some point, we’d get used to each other’s responses, but today wasn’t that day. I reached up, pulling him down for a kiss, because it would reassure his dad when his cronies were heard talking about the public displays of affection between us, and because Orion. He pulled away reluctantly.