Page 35 of The Omega Verse
“Come on.” I smile as I shove him under the spray. “We can keep each other warm while we wash.”
“Bloody primitive,” Silva huffs, while I soap up a sea sponge with Tom’s budget body wash. It’s not long before Percy the magpie makes an appearance, landing on the lip of the privacy wall and staring down at us with his beady red eyes. Think demon bird, and that’s Percy. “What’s his freaking deal?”
“He’s Percy the Perv. Ignore him.”
But Banjo chooses that moment to push his way between us, his solid bulk knocking our knees as he laps at the water pooling around our toes. Pretty soon, he’s chasing the rivulets cascading down our legs and Silva cups a hand over his junk. “Jesus wept,” he mutters, although he bends down to scratch Banjo between the ears. “Haven’t you ever heard of a thing called boundaries?”
I scoff at the hypocrisy, dunking my head a few times before giving it up as a lost cause. Nudging Banjo aside, I grab one of the towels off the hook and wrap it around myself. Silva shivers and gives me a sad look through his wet hair. “Poor rockstar,” I croon. “The ablutions not up to your diva standards?”
He grabs me before I can dance backward, pulling me against his still soapy body. I wriggle a bit, but damn, all that lean drummer muscle is strong. “I think all those fat knots have gone to your head,” he purrs, parting my towel so he can bite at my nipple. I squeal, but when he licks up my neck to Tom’s bite mark, I melt. God. Why does having his mouth there send an electric pulse through my body? “No regrets?”
I smile into his eyes. “Should I?”
He nods towards the shaving mirror hooked on the wall, and I turn and study the bite. It’s big and pink, and I shiver as I remember the slash of Tom’s teeth, and the growl he made while the other guys watched on with glittering eyes.
“He has a big fucking mouth,” Silva rumbles in my ear as he wraps his arms around me from behind. He’s cold and wet, but his breath is warm as he sucks the other side of my neck. I can’t look away from the play of his teeth on my untouched skin. “Hottest thing I ever saw, him claiming this pretty throat.”
“Don’t tease her,” Kobi says quietly from the door, and I turn to find him dressed in jeans and a fresh shirt. He’s even got his boots on, and I frown.
But Silva just shrugs him off. “I wouldn’t tease about this.” In fact, his green eyes are more serious than I’ve ever seen them. “I know what I need when I see it, Cass.”
Need, not want. The word choice isn’t lost on me, because when you grow up with nothing, you quickly learn the difference between the two.
I turn in Silva’s arms, not even trying to hide the hope in my eyes. “I think I need you, too, Silva. I mean, more than just the heat.”
He nods slowly, arms tightening on my back. “Then we should do something about that, don’t you think?”
“Okay, folks,” Kobi says slowly, a hint of warning in his voice. “How about we talk about this some more once you’re not skin-to-skin.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun,” Silva drawls, but there’s an edge to his smirk, his fingers digging into my waist. I can smell his pheromones sharpen until the cherry scent is thick in my throat, and I’m reminded he’s only been an alpha as long as I’ve been an omega. Which probably means neither of us is equipped to deal with these heightened emotions right now. So, I’m equal parts relieved and disappointed when he smirks down at me and says, “A little skinny dipping, on the other hand…”
I laugh and duck away from him, heading to the door. “You think the shower is cold, try the Southern Ocean without a wetsuit.”
They follow me inside, Banjo heading straight to his dog bed on the deck. As I pick through Tom’s bureau for the jeans and long-sleeved tees I keep there, it finally clicks how quiet the shack is. I’ve been living in such a heat bubble, I didn’t stop to think about our other houseguests. “Where’s Jett and River?”
“They’re at the new place,” Kobi tells me as Silva sorts through a pile of neatly folded clothes on the couch. I try to concentrate as he pours himself into skinny black jeans, shooting me a dirty look when he catches me staring at his thighs. “River was here until your heat broke, but Jett’s been hanging out there the last couple of days.”
“New place?” I ask, turning in a slow circle. I’m looking for my phone, purse, and keys. All possessions that refuse to magically appear, since that barbie bitch stole them, and I’ve yet to get replacements. I don’t have credit cards to cancel, but it stings to think she tossed my things in a dumpster somewhere. I’m still scowling as I step out onto the small front verandah. “Um, where’s the bus gone?”
“Switched out for something less conspicuous,” Kobi says with a nod to a shiny new Range Rover. It’s so white it glows, and I fumble for my sunglasses before I remember they’re in my stolen backpack. “Okay if we swing past the new place?”
I nod, but I’m feeling all kinds of restless as I hold my hand out for the keys. “My town, my tour,” I tell Kobi.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says as he climbs in the passenger seat and Silva sprawls in the back. “Been here three months and I still can’t get used to the wrong-side-of-the-road thing.”
“Thank medieval knights,” I tell him as the big car purrs to life. I’ve never driven anything so fancy, and I grin as I reach the road and pick up speed. “They liked to keep their opponents on the same side as their sword arm.”
“Informative and hot as fuck,” Silva says from the back seat and I adjust the rearview mirror so I can see him. He gives me a flirty wink. “Exactly how I like my tour guides.”
I snort at him. “You can thank Tom for that factoid. He’s always grumbling about stupid tourists who pull into the wrong lane, so I looked it up to educate him.”
“He’s a big teddy bear,” Silva says, leaning forward to brush his finger over my bite mark. By this stage I’m thinking he’s almost as fascinated by it as I am. “Fucking big teeth, though.”
“All the better to bite me with.” I wag my brows at him and he groans, slumping back into his seat. “Ask him nicely and he might give you one, too.”
He just gives me a thoughtful look, so I turn to Kobi. “You know where this new place is?”
“Yeah,” he says, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. “River texted the address. I can put it in my GPS if you want.”