by Bonnar King
And he didn’t mind that I was practically a faceless stranger with the looks of someone who wasn’t rich. I didn’t like broadcasting the fact that I was.
Truth of the matter was that I was filthy fucking rich.
Light flirting turned to heavy flirting, and soon I was giving him a kiss and tasting him with my tongue. He kissed me back eagerly.
But I wasn’t feeling anything. Just simply going though the motions.
There was no chemistry between us besides the usual interest I had at the fact that he was hot. But being hot in Hollywood was nothing out of the ordinary. I couldn’t feel anything in our kiss, which meant one thing. No boner for me.
Reluctantly, I pulled back. Perhaps I was just overthinking it. I decided to just go with the flow and keep the flirting going, and maybe he’d say something that would make me horny for him. Hell, maybe with enough booze and flirting, I could take him up to my room, where I could pound his omega ass.
With that thought in mind, I excused myself from Kyle and went to the front desk, with the intention to have my room cleaned before we went up. Some strawberries and wine were probably needed, too.
“Of course, sir,” the receptionist said. “We’ll have it ready in ten minutes.”
“Thank you.”
“We also have a package for you from Paris. Would you like to take it now, or…?”
From Paris. Andrew.
I took it. Then I opened it in the lobby, amused to find one of the most expensive Rolex watches in the world inside it. Crystal, too. Andrew knew I was pissed, and he was groveling. Good. I’d let it stew for a while before sending a thank you text.
I couldn’t show this to Kyle, who would definitely get the wrong idea. Deciding he could wait for a little longer, I went to the side hallway, intending to do a quick run up to my room before heading back down.
But the quick run wasn’t as quick as I wanted it to be.
Just as I was about to reach the corner, someone bumped into me—an omega someone, judging from the yelp. My watch fell on the floor, shattering into pieces. Damn it. Then the same omega voice was already babbling about how sorry he was, which for some reason only pissed me off even more.
“Yeah. You can start by paying for that,” I found myself saying. I looked up.
I recognized him right away.
It was the omega from the bar—the one who’d been watching me with a scowl on his face. He wasn’t scowling now. But my words definitely had an effect as he narrowed his eyes instead, the sheepish look on his face wiped off immediately.
I looked him over, realizing he was tinier than I’d initially thought. His head stopped at my neck. He was also very plain, with those dull khaki slacks and black top, and that light brown hair, styled in a no-nonsense side parting. Despite that, I was surprised to find that this little omega had creamy skin that looked good in natural lighting.
And he had the most deep-set green eyes I’d ever seen.
“Fine. Tell me how much that is. I’ll pay for everything.”
Ah. A snooty mouth, too. All I could think about now was stuffing something inside it!
“Fine,” I said calmly. I spouted off the amount, making it unusually high.
He didn’t even blink. Instead, the omega lifted his chin up. “My checkbook is in my bag. In my room. You can come with me.”
It wasn’t a request.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you can just kiss the payment goodbye,” he said sweetly.
Definitely a snooty, smart-mouthed omega. The sort that needed to be put in his place. Did he now know how to talk to an alpha with respect?
I was beginning to dislike this omega’s attitude bit by bit the more I talked to him, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I calmly rode the nearest elevator with him, where he pressed the fifteenth floor.
“You know, if you really wanted me to come to your room, you could have just said so,” I goaded in a low tone. I didn’t like how he was dismissing me so easily. I expected him to blush or turn uncomfortable, which was my intention.
Instead, he turned to give me the most withering stare. “That wouldn’t happen in a million years. Alphas like you aren’t my type. At all.”
Yes. He was dismissing me.
“Alphas like me?”
“Players,” he confirmed.
I frowned.
“Bad boys,” he added.
My mouth quirked. “So, you think I’m a bad boy?”
He shot me a look. “I think you’re an arrogant, delusional playboy who thinks he can get in any omega’s pants with just a few sweet lies and a flash of your bulging muscles. Sorry, but I’m not falling for it.”
Jesus. This omega was a piece of work.
“Who told you I was trying to get in your pants?” I asked in response. I tilted my head, still watching him. He was keeping his gaze pointedly toward the elevator door, as if willing the elevator to move faster. I didn’t know whether to be amused or irritated. “Buddy, you are definitely not my type, too. You can stop imagining me naked now. I don’t do spoiled brats.”
His eyes widened in shock. He whirled his head to look at me—and probably yell—and I grinned, prepared with my own comeback. Holy hell, this omega was fun to rile up.
But just as his mouth opened to speak, the elevator stopped moving.
Then the lights went out.
3
Leo
The elevator rattled violently before pulling to a stop, making me almost lose my balance.
Then the world was plunged into darkness, and I lost my sanity instead.
It’s going to be okay, I repeated in my head, a mantra that I’d gotten used to by now. I squinted my eyes until I saw the glowing numbers of the elevator buttons, which indicated the floors which we were supposed to press. I looked for the red emergency button—my salvation to get out of this little place as soon as possible.
There was no red button.
I looked again. Twice. I could only see the numbers, and the panic began to rise up again as I realized that I was trapped here until the blackout was done. Beside me, I could hear the alpha utter a soft curse as he, too, finally realized that there was no emergency button.
He asked me a question. I didn’t respond. I stayed in my corner and he stayed in his, and the silence that followed was almost deafening. I assumed he thought I was being a spoiled brat again by not acknowledging his presence. I didn’t care.
I needed to calm myself down.
It’s going to be okay, I inwardly said over and over to myself, wrapping my arms around my torso. Even through the darkness, I could see the silhouette of the huge alpha as he sat on the floor with ease, as if he was about to have a relaxing meditation session.
How could anybody be so calm in a situation like this? All I could see were the walls surrounding us—four corners that felt like they were closing in on me, bit by bit. I closed my eyes.
Everything turned black.
I fought to keep my breath, but it felt like some monster was sucking out whatever air was left in my lungs, making me dazed and lightheaded. My heart rate sped up, and my blood was rushing to parts of my body that only made me panic even more. I squeezed my hands into fists, willing myself to calm down.
But I wasn’t calming down.
The world became smaller and smaller. My mantra was being crushed to death by the voices inside me telling me there was no escape, and I was going to die, and — “Hey, buddy! What the hell is your name?”
My eyes snapped open. The rude voice that interrupted my thoughts got me confused for a second before I realized it wasn’t my imagination. It was the tattooed alpha.
“Leo,” I said automatically.
“My name’s Lucas,” he said. “And you’re hyperventilating.”
I shook my head in denial, and the world steadily continued turning smaller. Then I found myself being guided to the floor by Lucas, where I was suddenly sitting down and clutching onto the hands that were holding me. I t
ried to pull away, but his grip was firm.
“Let me go,” I hissed.
“You really are a spoiled brat, aren’t you?” Lucas muttered.
I glared at him in the darkness. “I’m opinionated and I don’t let anyone step all over me. That doesn’t make me a spoiled brat.”
A soft, quiet chuckle came out of his mouth, and it had a shiver running down my spine. I pictured him in my head so it would turn off the shiver—tattoos, muscled body, that surprisingly sharp mouth… big, big body. Blue-gray eyes that pierced with a single gaze.
Not helping.
“Let me go,” I repeated.
“Tell me about yourself, Leo,” he said smoothly, ignoring my request—no, my order. “What things do you find annoying?”
“Alphas who think they can just seduce me and get away with it,” I snapped.
A shadow of a smile formed on his mouth. “I wasn’t trying to seduce you. What else annoys you?”
“I dislike closed spaces and the dark,” I blurted out.
“I figured that,” Lucas responded lightly. “What do you like, then?”
“Chocolates. Strawberries. Fantasy books. Authors who aren’t full of themselves.”
I realized what he was doing. I hated him for it, for knowing what my weakness was when I wasn’t ready for anyone to know about it yet. But by God, what he was doing was working, and I’d be an idiot not to take advantage.
I asked some questions back.
“What about you, Mr. Hotshot? What do you despise?”
“Snooty people,” he confirmed. “They give me a headache.”
“Didn’t look like it with that hot blonde omega in the bar,” I couldn’t help saying.
A soft curse came out of his mouth. “Damn it. I forgot about him. Damn blackout.”
The word reminded me of where I was. But before I could panic again, I spoke out.
“What do you like, then, Mr. Lucas?”
“Lucas,” he corrected. “Don’t get snooty on me now.” There was a pause. “I love fucking omegas. I’m not even going to deny that.”
How rude. How blunt. How honest and refreshing.
“So, is he your boyfriend?”
“I don’t do relationships.”
I scoffed. Go figure. “What else?”
“Motorcycles. Flying. Money.”
“So you like the adrenaline rush.”
“I do. Don’t you?”
I shook my head. “I like things steady and slow.”
“Boring. You should live your life a little.”
This alpha was infuriating. Cocky. Absolutely too sure of himself.
He may also be just a little right.
We were stuck there for almost an hour, just talking about whatever topic we could think about. I talked mostly, while Lucas asked me questions and seemed very interested in what I had to say. I had never been more honest and candid with my responses, and surprisingly, I found it more refreshing than anything. I had a captive audience— An alpha that was genuinely listening to me, without mansplaining or trying to give his two cents about everything.
I also realized that whatever panic I had been feeling at the beginning was now kept in check, safely locked up. For now.
Since I still had the opened bottle of wine in my hand, we decided to have a go at it. It was unorthodox and so unlike me, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and celebrate with my new friend—sort of. I wouldn’t exactly call us friends out loud, not when it was obvious we were total opposites and wouldn’t really be friends under normal circumstances. However, fate had struck us together in this elevator.
“Last kiss?” I asked, curiously.
“The omega at the bar. Kyle. You?”
“This morning. With my ex.”
“Ex?”
I wrinkled my nose. “I found him dry-humping a slutty redhead omega in a club just a block away.”
Lucas chuckled. I shot him a look.
“It’s not funny.”
“It is. You don’t even sound hurt. That tells me you’re not the serious, committed, relationship-type omega that you claim to be.”
“Stop being judgmental,” I shot back. “He works with me, and my dad’s my boss. We were planning to make it official in a few days. Or weeks, maybe.”
Lucas chuckled again. He never really held back when he was amused, and obviously my situation amused him. “If you’ve never been official, what were you? Friends with benefits?”
“Something like that.”
My declaration was followed by silence. “What?” I paused.
Lucas scoffed. “I don’t believe it.”
“Not sex,” I clarified. “I’m not that easy. We just have a good time.”
“I still don’t believe it. You? You kiss? Fool around? You’re too prim and proper for that.”
“I know how to have fun,” I argued. “And I’m a great kisser.”
He chuckled again. I was starting to lose my patience with him, and my legs were killing me with upcoming cramps from sitting for too long. So I knelt up.
“Are you trying to prove a point now?” he asked.
Kneeling made me wobbly, and I was starting to lose my balance again. To steady myself, I put my arms out and placed my hands on the nearest steady object—which happened to be Lucas’ big shoulders.
They were hard and corded with muscles. They were so warm. My knees shook again at the jolt that surged in my stomach.
His hands came up to steady me, settling on my waist. Big hands.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You’re awfully clumsy.”
His palms were like a brand, and a tingle started up my spine. I tried to pull away, but his hold was firm.
“Let. Me. Go.”
“No,” he said simply. Suddenly his head was just inches away from mine, and an alarm started inside my body.
But there was also anticipation.
“What are you doing?” I squeaked in defense.
“Curious,” he murmured.
“About?”
His thumb rubbed my cheek. The touch burned. “How much of a good kisser you are, exactly?”
I should have shut my mouth earlier. I should have pushed him off after that blatant invitation and scrambled away. But I found my hands gripping his shoulders tighter, and I found my pulse quickening when his hot breath came near.
“You are insufferable,” I snapped, to turn him off.
But Lucas wasn’t easily turned off.
“Yeah,” he said. “So are you.”
And then his mouth was pressing against mine.
4
Lucas
There were sparks.
There were goddamn sparks, and it was surrounding us like wildfire.
Whatever I wasn’t feeling with Kyle, I was definitely feeling it here with this mysterious new omega. Leo was frozen for the first few seconds, but that didn’t deter me as I waited it out, never pushing myself on him. He looked like the type of omega who would back off at the first sign of aggression from an alpha.
He felt… interesting.
It only took five seconds—yes, I counted in my head. Then he was clutching my shoulder tighter and opening his mouth, a test more than anything. I kept moving my lips over his, sliding my tongue in and tentatively seeking his out. Everything about this kiss was experimental, even the way he dodged my tongue and the way I pulled him closer. A soft sigh came out of his mouth, raspy and breathy. He was surprisingly warm in my arms, and my fingers itched to slide from his waist and touch more skin.
The sparks simmered.
The boner I didn’t get from Kyle was definitely here now, hardening further. It was a wonder Leo didn’t notice it pressing against him. But then again, I was doing my absolute best to hide it.
I wanted to be pressed against him. I wanted to kiss him for hours. I wanted to make him open up—more than he did when we talked, more than he was doing so now.
I wanted him to moan out my name as I pounded his sweet omega ass.
I had a lot of wants. I was determined to make each one of them happen. I leaned forward, intending to do the first of many.
But Leo had other ideas.
Abruptly, he pulled away. He glared at me, but it wasn’t very convincing with the way his chest heaved and the little bulge in his slacks that was growing enticingly, which had me inwardly groaning.
“That was very sneaky and unfair,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because I wasn’t prepared to kiss you.”
God, this omega was funny. “Then prepare yourself—”
But he was launching himself at me before I could finish my sentence. And he was kissing me again—only this time, there was none of the reserve and caution from earlier. His tongue came out and stroked mine, and his hands moved from my shoulders to my hair, tangling in them as he deepened the kiss.
The sparks became a blaze of fire I could feel deep inside me.
Whatever blood I had left rushed down to my cock. Now I was fully hard and very turned on and not thinking straight as he molded his small, omega body against mine, and I felt his round ass. His ass felt larger than I expected under those slacks, and I could feel his dick poking through, stiff and just as warm as mine probably was right now. His tongue teased mine, and it was steadily getting harder to think about the reasons why this was just an experiment and I shouldn’t really even be kissing this prim, opinionated, little ball of stress — “I think I proved my point,” he said breathily, breaking off the kiss. “Now, if we could just—”
With a growl, I yanked him back toward me until he stumbled on my lap. Then we were kissing again, all inhibitions gone as I guided him to a straddling position and he didn’t protest at all. Our hands were all over the place, and soon he had my shirt off and was running his fingers all over my chest, driving me crazy. In response, I kissed him harder, pulling his top off and running my mouth down his slender chest, where his skin tasted as good as it looked.
