“It’s bad that I want to plant my face right there,” Beau said, his finger drawing a line down my cleavage. “Or something else…”
“It’s crass and doesn’t do justice to the effort that Sage has put into her outfit,” Tobias chided, then held out his arm like an old-fashioned gentleman for me to take, but before I could, Beau muscled in.
“I said you guys could come tonight because you were being dicks about it, but Sage is my date.”
“Our date,” Tobias corrected. “You’re making a public statement, Beau, so for once, we’ll do that together, united as a pack.”
“Fine.” When he turned back to me, he was all smiles. “Please tell me you didn’t put any underwear on under this dress.”
I just smiled mysteriously. I had because fuck, fanny flashing photographers at my first public event with these men was not cool, but a girl needs to preserve some of her mystique.
“God, I’m gonna be doomed to walk around a stupid fucking party with a massive boner all night,” Max said with a groan.
“We’ll be right there with you, brother,” Lucien said, slinging his arm around Max’s shoulders and ruffling his hair until he was forced to pull away. “Every single one of us.”
Except random erections weren’t the only challenge we were going to face tonight.
35
Barangaroo was smart, sexy, and had a stunning view of Sydney Harbour. The guys all chuckled as I craned my neck from where I was wedged between Lucien and Beau, trying to catch sight of everything as we passed by. Still, there was no mistaking Pigface for one of the other restaurants—the big pink neon sign, done in an old-fashioned sloping script, was one thing, the crowds were the other. People were lined up outside the place, everyone looking tall, elegant, and lovely.
“Are we sure—?” I began to say.
“Yes,” was Beau’s immediate response.
“But I—”
“That sentence better end with ‘look beautiful and have every right to be at some overpriced restaurant’,” Lucien rumbled, staring down at me. “We don’t do this sort of this every day.”
“Thank god…” Max hissed, and his look of discomfort was incredibly reassuring to me. The fact I’d have someone by my side feeling just as awkward was a boon.
“But when we do, we want you with us,” Lucien continued. “You’re our mate—we’ll always want you by our side. Always.”
I tried to hold that vibrating sense of certainty to my chest when the car came to a stop and we all piled out, Beau taking my hand in his, Max taking the other.
“And who do we have here?” asked a guy with a camera in hand, taking a lightning quick set of shots as we walked over to the line.
“This is Sage,” Beau said, holding up both our hands.
Suddenly, all I could see was the shine on the camera lens, the man’s eyes totally obscured by it. It kept clicking and clicking, right as my heart began to pound, and I shifted restlessly. I didn’t take photos of myself, didn’t let people take photos of me, for the same reason I avoided the mirror—I just didn’t want to see it. Weirdly, I felt like I couldn’t be me until I couldn’t see me.
“It’s all right, omega. I’ve got you.”
Max’s voice was a low rumble, and the sound of it, the feel of his arm tightening around my shoulders, did something to me. Was this part of being an omega? I got so much damn pleasure from being held, being shielded, something that didn’t go unnoticed. A beautiful-looking woman turned on her perilously high heels and stalked over, though she was careful not to get in the photographer’s field of vision.
“Beau, darling!”
“Felicia.” Beau’s voice was a little tight, but he moved to press a chaste kiss to her cheek when she offered it. I knew it was just a polite gesture, but a small growl built in my chest, one I only partially smothered.
“Feeling territorial, omega?” Tobias’ voice was a discreet purr, pitched for my ears only. He reached down and traced the line of my jaw with his fingers, then brushed them across my lips, leaving me only dimly aware of the whirr of the camera shutter in the background.
“Snatch him back. Keep him close,” Lucien advised with a rakish grin. “Sink your fangs into him.”
My tongue moved on automatic, sliding over the aching points of my canines, teeth that just seemed to be getting more and more prominent. Only Beau broke off his conversation with this Felicia as if he sensed that, his eyes silver as they searched my face.
“Everything OK, omega?”
“Omega?” Felicia’s manicured fingers went to her waist as she thrust out her hip. “Have the notorious Lockwood pack finally found their match?”