Page 13 of Pack’s Prize
“Shut up, Michael,” Elias groaned, “For god’s sake, just this once,shut up.”
It was rare to hear the larger man speak so to his pack leader, his alpha, and it got Michael’s attention. He fell silent, and I, for one, was thankful, because it meant I could hear Ava’s next words.
“I want to see what it’s like when you mean it.”
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Ava
The car ridefrom the restaurant to the pack’s place was torture–delicious, delicious torture–with Elias driving not half as fast as I would have liked him to, not with the way Theo’s dark eyes were staring me down, devouring me, and his hand, which he’d held to my face, now resting on one of my bare legs, his fingertips teasing the soft skin between them. Now down closer to my knee, then up to mid-thigh, but never where I wanted them.
Tell me what you want tonight.
I was unaccountably nervous–it had been a long time since I’d played the field, since I’d been with anyone but Roman’s packmates, in or out of heat, but I was sure I was ready. I had to be. This was the whole reason I was agreeing to the men’s scheme: to fuck Roman from my system.
Although, if pretending to be their omega typically involved dinners like the one we’d just had… Was I getting the better end of the bargain we’d made? I most certainly was. I could have purred, were I not so wound up, were I not so conscious of Theo’s strong fingers and the wetness building between my thighs.
His hand slipped higher–dangerously so–as the car pulled into a private underground parking garage, and my heart thumped so loud I thought the other passengers were sure to hear it. They didn’t have to hear my heart beat, though:
“Wait until we get inside, Theo, for fuck’s sake. You two are throwing off so many pheromones Eli’s going to poke a hole through his pants up here.”
“Thanks, Michael,” Elias grumbled, “That makes me sound really suave and cool in front of the omega.”
I giggled. It was true: as Theo helped me down from the SUV, the pressure of his hand now against my lower back, encouraging me along, I could see the outline of Elias’s cock against his dark suit pants, thick–I swallowed–andready.
If I’d had any lingering doubts after our display at dinner, the heavy scent of musk that had permeated the car and now was filling the elevator would have convinced me of their interest in my type. Why hadn’t these men already taken a mate? They had to have had omegas practically begging for their claim, what with the way they looked and their money andfuck, the way they smelled–but then again… maybe not.
It wasn’t unheard of for an alpha to settle down with a beta–andsettlingis what it was considered.
But another alpha? Two?
That wasn’twhat alphas did,period.
So maybe theydidn’thave omegas lined up to join them. Maybe itwaseasier–safer–to have each other and no one else, than it would be to have one and to, maybe, have to hide that part of themselves, or close it off entirely. I didn’t know, and it wasn’t my business, not really. As long as I played my part, that of a charmed omega, and they played theirs–
The bell sounded, announcing our arrival at their floor. P.Penthouse.
The doors slid open, and that pressure on my lower back returned, Theo’s hand guiding me from the elevator and into…
A place entirely different than what I had expected.
The first thing I noticed–thatanyonewould notice–was the explosion of color, of art, that graced the walls. Massive canvases with dramatic swashes of pinks, crimson, deep blues the exact shade of the velvet night sky visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. There were other paintings, too, framed, and small sketches whose subjects I couldn’t identify. Their intricate detail, obvious even from a distance, made me long to look closer. In the center of the room was a low-slung leather couch and two expensive-looking chairs, around a table piled high with oversized books and unbound papers.Portfolios.
The men seemed to take no notice of their surroundings. They were used to it, this penthouse, equal parts luxury–thatview–and a certain… shabbiness wasn’t the right word, but alived-in-ness that made it comfortable. Cozy, even, despite the twelve-foot ceilings and marble floor.
I stood, staring for a moment, until Theo’s hand slipped from my lower back, to my waist. He spun my body into him, and all I could see was his handsome face. His dark brown eyes fixed on my lips, the line chiseled deep between them as he seemed to consider for a moment.
He crashed his mouth onto mine. The breath left my lungs as he kissed me roughly, nothing like the gentle kiss Elias and I had shared at the table. I gasped, and my open mouth invited him to deepen the kiss, his lips sucking gently at my lower lip, the place where Elias had bitten me.The place where Elias had bitten me,I understood at once, and moaned, my legs growing weak. That alphas had incidental contact was a part of sharing an omega, but this was different. His tongue swirled purposefully over the spot, again and again: could he taste his lover there, even under the wine that stained my mouth red? I felt slick dampening my delicate, lacy panties, my nipples hardening–and his own length, hard against my stomach, insistent, wanting.
He pulled back, leaving me wild-eyed and breathless, and his own eyes reflected my need back at me.
“We don’t have a nest,” he said, his voice husky. “Never needed it.” His eyes flicked over my head, at where I knew Elias and Michael must have been standing.Watching.“But we have beds big enough for three.”Three alphas.A shiver of excitement swept across my skin, and Theo’s fingers smoothed over goosebumps as he traced the line of my arm. “Four should be manageable, don’t you think?”
He smirked, then kissed me again, walking me backwards down a hallway, his mouth never leaving mine.
* * *
We were in–Iwasn’t surewhoseroom. The bed was big, with dark, hunter green sheets, neatly made. Elias? I didn’t care: itwasbig enough for four. So far, though, no one had occupied it: Theo had taken a seat in a club chair in the corner, pulling me down into his lap so we both faced the bed, my ass in his lap and his hands wrapped around my hips, holding me close so that I could feel his thickness against my ass.