“Well, I’d intended to explore things and see—” James began to say.
“Yes,” Len said, cutting through it all.
“Yes,” James echoed finally, eyeing the other alpha in a not entirely friendly way.
“And you want me.” This was said just a fraction less baldly, like it took more of an effort to say those words.
“Yes,” James replied much more definitely, seeming to sense that was the key, especially as Len did so in the exact same way.
“And that’s why I accepted your invitation and why I brought Len with me. I don’t need either of you.” Was that a lie? I heard a slight quaver, but he charged on. “But she does. An alpha from a family her father would wet his pants to ally with, an alpha who seems to understand our weird dynamic and can help negotiate that, and then there’s me.”
I looked up at him, saw that familiar feral smile, a part of me exulting at seeing it again, right after I’d sworn I wouldn’t.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” I knew the passage from the Bible, but never expected to hear it in a context like this. Tristan’s voice, there was a note of something endless in it that soothed my ragged omega senses, had me melting into his side. “When it comes to Kit, I will be a part of everything, no matter what self-sacrificing bullshit she has going in her head. So you two, you need to show me you’re worthy of giving her what she needs.”
“And what of what you need, Tristan?” James asked. His eyes scoured my love, searching him for clues.
“I’m still working that out, but I know I can’t find it, not without her.” A kiss was deposited on the top of my head, just a gentle thing, briefly there and gone again. “Prove yourself to Kit first, seduce her, woo her, court her. Whatever bullshit alphas do for omegas, you need to do in spades, no skimping. I want her head fucking spinning with the kind of courtship I was never able to give her, but you will. If you want me, that’s how you’ll get me.”
“Tristan…”
I couldn’t get the words out to remind him of his own damn happiness, that this obsessive relationship probably would’ve been damned by my therapist if I’d bothered to tell her about it, because in my heart, I didn’t want to.
“I didn’t want things to change, love, would’ve done almost anything to stop it, but I know now that was never going to work. So when I went home alone to wonder what the fuck happened last night, I thought it through. They’re inevitable.” Tristan’s eyes went to the alphas, so mine did too. We stared back into their heated, frustrated, angry gazes, a combined force. “So the only way through this I can see is if we exert some sort of control over the process.”
I heard the seagulls squawking, the whisper of the breeze in my ears as I watched the two of them process Tristan’s words, but suddenly, I didn’t care about their responses. Not when I had his hand in mine, sweeping his thumb across my knuckles. It was James who surprised me, barking out a laugh that dissolved into chuckles.
“I knew this was going to be a tough ask. Two omegas…” His eyes grew heated at that as he stared at all the points where our bodies connected. “I think having another alpha on deck reassures me somewhat.” He held out a hand to Len. “They’ll lead us on a merry chase, you know that.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Len replied. “Because the surrender…”
“Dear god, yes.” James raked his hand through his hair, forcing it into ruffled waves. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do to see that. The surrender of an omega has always been one of life’s beauties, but you two…”
A low growl escaped Tristan’s lips as James stared at the two of us, his glasses the only thing that stopped him from undressing us with his eyes.
“I believe that will be truly transcendent.”
Was that a promise or a threat? My traitorous omega heart couldn’t tell, rattling wildly in my chest. He just smiled, a slow secret thing, before becoming all business.
“Now, the two of you must be starving.”
“They’ll need a lot of carbs and protein after the night they had,” Len said, picking up a menu and consulting it.
“Oh? Do tell. She was with you when my family descended on the Greyson manse?”
“Took them to Abaddon.”
“Dear god, there?” James looked the two of us over closely.
“And they’ll be going back. We didn’t finish what we started there,” Len said, eyeing the two of us, and only I felt Tristan’s shiver.
“Is that wise? Taking two omegas into a sex club?”
“You’ll need to come with us and see for yourself,” Len said. “Personally, I found it…illuminating.”
“Well, who can say no to illumination?”
“Tristan,” I whispered as James waved a waiter over, then stared at the two of us, Len doing the same. “I think we’re in trouble.”