by Kathryn Moon
“Your dopey happy expression isn’t quite as bad as his, but it’s close,” Rake said, but his smile was fond as he stared up at me.
I ignored him and grabbed up a jar of oil cleanser. “Brought you this. Want me to put it on you?”
“I will take absolutely any excuse to have you touching me,” Rake said, slouching down in his seat and throwing his head back.
I snorted and stood behind him, scooping some of the solid oil from the jar and warming it on my clean fingers before massaging it onto Rake’s face. He held a small groan of pleasure behind his lips, his eyes falling shut as I spread the oil over his skin, working out the last of the makeup left.
“I hope he’s paying you extra for the spa treatment.”
I looked up into the mirror to find David standing behind me, and I grinned as I continued to spoil Rake.
“You know I never skimp,” Rake mumbled, a dreamy smile painted over his lips.
“Hey, I’ll be done in a minute,” I said, turning my cheek to accept David’s kiss there.
David was about the same height as me, comparatively short to the models running around backstage, and I’d always thought he dressed more like a lawyer than a fashion buyer for some of the best boutiques in the city. He preferred for his look to be called ‘classic,’ but I noticed even he’d stepped it up for the week’s festivities, wearing a bold patterned jacket in a subtle shade of plum.
“This is for you,” David said, hanging a black garment bag from the mirror we’d been using. “And it’s a gift, not a loan, so I had it altered for you.”
“David, I said—”
“Don’t bicker with me, Lola. Just take the dress.”
“Fine. Thank you.”
“Ohhh, can I bully you into accepting presents too?” Rake asked, and I glared at David, stepping away and wiping my hands on a rag.
“No. Go wash up. I’m gonna put my own makeup on before changing.”
“Start by giving her your swag bag extras and then work your way up to outright purcha—Ow, Lola!” David jumped out of the way as I pinched hard on his arm for encouraging Rake. I glared at him and he glared back, but I was pretty sure I caught the sneaky bastard fighting a smile.
Rake slipped away, grinning at me over his shoulder, and I rolled my eyes.
“That’s cute. Rake usually lets people flirt with him not the other way around,” David mused.
“Don’t encourage him,” I answered, taking Rake’s seat.
Rake had been more careful around me this week. Vocally, he took every opportunity to come on to me, but physically he held back. Once again, it must’ve gone through their pack’s rumor-mill that I was twitchy about being scent-marked. This time I was a little grateful. With Rake restraining himself, I found that I could set our interactions on my own terms of comfort. If it was a post-nightmare morning, I stayed restrained. If it was the end of a long and successful week like this one, maybe I’d let go a little at the party. I knew Leo liked the idea of Rake and I hitting it off, and I did crave that glittery feeling the omega’s attention left me with.
“Why not?” David asked. “He’s an omega, not an alpha. Now, aren’t you going to even peek at the dress?”
My smile was tight-lipped. “Show me!”
“Wow.”
Leo didn’t actually say the word, but I watched his lips form it as his eyebrows rose up his forehead and he looked me over head to toe, twice.
I blushed for the fiftieth time since I’d put on the electric purple faux-wrap dress David had brought for me. It fit like a glove, the wrap creating a deep-v collar with the skirt parted over one thigh.
“Told you. Total wet dream,” Rake murmured behind me. He jogged down the front steps of the hotel our last show had been at, leaving a brief kiss against Leo’s cheek before murmuring something in his beta’s ear.
Leo’s smile spread, his eyes still on me, and then Rake left him to slide into the waiting limo. I caught a brief glimpse of long legs inside of the limo, and then Rake shut the door. We’d meet him at the party with the others, but Leo had arranged for us to ride separately. I wondered if it was a pain, if I was making Leo and the others jump through hoops to accommodate me, and then I forced down the doubts in my head for a minute and stepped down the stairs.
“It’s the dress,” I said to Leo as he continued to stare.
“Bullshit,” he answered, grinning. “You’re doing that dress favors. Let me take your bags.”
“You’re looking especially fashionable tonight,” I said, passing Leo my work bags gratefully and then looping my arm through his.
“I promised Cyrus and Rake I wouldn’t embarrass them tonight. They say my sense of style is ‘chronically dull,’” Leo said, grinning as if the idea of annoying his packmates entertained him.
He was wearing a brown leather tailored coat with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, deep blue shirt, and skinny black tie peeking out against his throat. His pants had a soft sheen to them and a faint stripe, making his legs look long above his boots.
“You’ll have to tell me if you get bored,” Leo said. “I sell these people beach houses, but I never know what to say to them at parties.”
“Baby and I used to get David to sneak us into events like this so we could mooch off the open bar,” I admitted.
Leo grinned and opened the door to the short town car waiting for us. “I had a catering staff refuse to serve me another pastry puff once. Party finger food is my weakness.”
I slid into the back seat giggling, and when I looked back I caught Leo watching the gap of my skirt rising up my thigh.
“We could skip the party too,” I said, grinning at him.
Leo’s cheeks darkened as he ducked and followed me into the backseat, setting my bags down on the floor. “I’m not saying I won’t try and convince you to sneak out early with me. But no, let’s do this. You deserve to celebrate your success this week too. Rake said you’ve got a good buzz going with the community.”
My eyebrows bounced. “I do?”
Leo mimicked my expression. “You did your first ever hired makeup artist work for Rakim Oren during fashion week. Yeah, Lola, you impressed people. Fuck, you’re gorgeous when you blush. Come here, I’ve missed you this week.”
I fell into Leo’s waiting arms, shivering against the cool leather of his jacket while taking greedy kisses from his mouth.
“Mphm.” He leaned back briefly and stared at my mouth with a quirked smile. “You taste like lipstick.”
“You’re wearing some now,” I said, pecking my lips against the purple smears of lipstick I’d left on Leo’s mouth.
“Cold?” he asked, passing warm hands over the goosebumps on my arms.
“A little. I didn’t think David was gonna pick something this…exposing for me, and all I had with me was a hoodie.”
Leo reached around me and pulled a massive blue scarf up from the seat, wrapping it around my shoulders with a soft smile on his face. It smelled like alpha, specifically Caleb and his warm soothing smell, and I decided not to protest. Maybe it was Caleb and Leo’s connection, or maybe Caleb just had an especially relaxing pheromone, but he didn’t put me on edge the way other alphas did. And the scarf was as soft as a cloud.
“Now we look like a set,” Leo said. “I’ve got your lipstick on, and you’ve got my scarf. Now come here and make sure the color is even.”
Leo and I stood close together at the bar, watching a pair of tipsy models do an improvised pole dance on the spinning carousel. Two pairs of teetering high heels were abandoned at the edge of the ride, and there were a couple security personnel with careful eyes on the girls to make sure neither was injured.
“They’re having a nice time,” Leo reasoned with a shrug.
“This is why jumpsuits became trendy,” I said with a nod as one of the models did an enthusiastic high kick. I caught Leo’s side-eye and shook my head. “Don’t even suggest it. I have a strict no flashing the public policy.”
He grinned
and leaned in, kissing the corner of my jaw.
The party was located at a high end, rooftop club downtown. The music was heavy, and the dance floor was crowded with more models posing as their personal assistants stood aside taking photos for social media. The bar was open, and there were snack trays drifting around the room, and photo-booths, and—inexplicably—a conga line running the length of the room led by someone in a full-body rhinoceros costume. There was a zebra somewhere too, so maybe it was a zoo theme for the evening.
“Another drink?” Leo asked, nuzzling against my ear.
I leaned my hips back against his, warmth pooling in my center as Leo’s hands squeezed my hips. I set my glass down on the counter and eyed it briefly. That was my second of the night, and if Leo ordered me another I’d be at my third, my usual self-prescribed limit. But would it be so bad to be buzzed? Leo wasn’t going to let anything happen to me, and even if he was looking in the other direction…
My eyes slid across the room to where most of Leo’s pack were clustered together in a private booth. My gaze landed on Wes, the big alpha in charge of protecting Rake, and he twitched, staring down at his own glass of alcohol, one that hadn’t seemed to diminish at all in the hour we’d all been at the party. With Rake tucked between Cyrus and Caleb, the three of them together a beautiful blend of fashion styles, Wes’ attention seemed to be drifting more towards me. It didn’t feel predatory, more like he was so used to being protective and now I was the object of his focus.
“I’m gonna wait a bit,” I decided, turning to face Leo. “We can sit with them, you know.”
He didn’t even ask who I meant, his stare immediately flicking over my shoulder to where his pack was. “We could go dance too. I don’t want you to feel stressed tonight.”
“Thank you,” I said, leaning in to kiss his chin. “But I think it’s weird that we’re avoiding them. If I get uncomfortable, I’ll let you know. Why don’t we ask them to dance with us?”
Leo’s smile was slow and sultry. “Gorgeous, you’re going to do a terrible job of discouraging Rake if you let him see you dance. You dance like sin.” I blushed and shook my head, but Leo’s fingers squeezed my hips again, drawing my attention back to him. “But if you want to let go with us both a bit, the others will make sure no one gets so much as a glimpse.”
My lips pursed as Leo and I stared at one another. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?
“No one can resist Rake for long,” Leo murmured, his gentle stare stripping me down to the secrets I tried to keep even from myself.
“I like him,” I admitted, and Leo nodded. “But I’m not here with you, just to—”
Leo’s head dipped, mouth slanting over mine, and for a minute I let go of any thought of alphas or omegas or designations at all. It was just Leo and I, his clean scent washing away my anxieties as it filled my lungs.
“Never doubted that,” Leo said, his forehead against mine. “Just know that I’m not going to discourage you from getting closer to anyone in my pack. Especially not Rake. He and I share more than an alpha. We’re, you know, lovers too.”
I nodded and kissed him again, holding on to the moment of us. Just us. I didn’t know if I had it in me to relax with Rake, to open myself up and let down some of the densely constructed walls I’d been sheltering in. But I knew that my longevity with Leo would likely wither if I resisted any connections I had with his pack.
“You have me, Lola. Either way,” Leo said.
“Okay. Good. Then I don’t want to be a wedge between you and your pack,” I said, stepping back and pulling one of his hands into mine. I tugged him in the direction of the booth, and Leo followed, smile stretching over his purple-stained lips. He’d wiped my lipstick away once already, but this time I thought I’d let him leave it.
“There’s my conquering hero,” Cyrus said as we reached the table.
I smiled and leaned back against Leo’s chest as I realized that maybe I’d been a little bit preemptive about dipping my toes in with the pack. The table was strong with alpha and omega pheromones and Wes was a massive revelation. I hadn’t caught much from him before, but the sweet sex and sea mist fantasy that was curling around me was such a surprise, it left me weak in the knees.
And Rake said betas weren’t hounding this alpha?
You don’t chase alphas anymore, remember?
I did remember, vividly. But I was definitely…appreciating Wes’ scent at the moment, although I couldn’t bring myself to look at him at the same time, as if he might be able to read my reaction on my face.
“Where’s Matt?” Leo asked.
“With Carolyn,” Rake said, nose wrinkling briefly, he glanced at me. “That’s Matt’s girlfriend. She’s lovely, but she says Matt’s enough testosterone for her in one sitting.”
Meaning she took Matt without his pack. Rake’s slight pout stiffened my resolve to try and not monopolize Leo away from his pack so much. Even now, Caleb was looking at the pair of us like someone had placed a buffet of confectionary treats in front of him after he’d just found out he was diabetic.
“I was going to drag Leo out to dance with me, but I could use some backup,” I said.
I didn’t miss the sudden surprise over their faces, although Rake recovered fastest, pushing softly against a stunned Caleb’s shoulder.
“Count us in,” Rake said, all about shoving his alpha out of the booth. Cyrus followed with a grin, but Caleb paused as he stood off the bench.
Leo’s alpha was a full head taller than me and he bowed slightly in front of me, blonde hair falling into his pale eyes.
“You’re sure?” Caleb asked, as quietly as he could in a hall full of pounding music and fashion industry moguls shouting at one another to be heard over the melee. I realized then that Matthieu wasn’t the only one with an accent. Caleb was British on top of being stupidly handsome.
I nodded, swallowing as the space between us seemed to grow hazy. Caleb’s effect on me was almost like a sedative drug, and I fought not to swoon into him.
“Odette’s around somewhere,” Caleb said, standing up straight and staring over the heads of the crowd. “We’ll keep her out of your hair.”
It was Leo who stiffened, not me, at the mention of the female alpha, and I twisted in his arms to catch his stiff expression.
“She used to be…I was part of her collection,” Leo said in my ear.
His dark eyes locked with mine and I recalled all the moments he’d read me so easily, empathized with my anxiety regarding alphas, known exactly the right thing to do or say as I fell to pieces. He’d been through his own version of trauma with an alpha. And now…
I glanced at Caleb, at Cyrus and Rake shimmying their way to the dance floor, Wes waiting at our backs with a hawk’s gaze on the crowd. He had an alpha. He had a pack.
Maybe…
I shook the thoughts out of my head, leaving a brief kiss on Leo’s jaw and then sliding under his arm against his side as we followed the others to the dance floor. Nearly there, Caleb’s eye caught on a couple at the bar, waving them in our direction.
It was Matthieu with a woman I assumed had to be Carolyn. She was lovely. Stunning and tall and curvaceous, with billowing red hair, and the kind of graceful beauty that came on with maturity. She smiled indulgently at Matthieu and sighed as he stepped away from the bar, allowing him to pull her in our direction. Matthieu looked so totally different I might not have recognized him on my own. He was in a simple white t-shirt and torn up jeans, the opposite of the dress-to-impress looks we were surrounded by, and his hair was a little wilder than what I’d seen at the office. He looked less like a CEO and more like a former model or designer. No, he looked like a musician, I realized, like he had been before starting his own music magazine decades ago.
“We won’t keep you long, Carolyn,” Rake called to the knockout redhead.
She smirked at Rake and narrowed her eyes. “If you want to wear these heels on the dance floor, we can trade and then I’ll be happy to
join you for as long as you please, Rakim.”
Rake’s chin lifted at the challenge, and a moment later I laughed as he stepped out of his shoes and lifted them to hold in front of Carolyn’s nose. “As a matter of fact, I’m amazing in heels.”
Carolyn’s smile hardened, and I looked past her to see what Matthieu thought of the aggressive teasing between his omega and his girlfriend. His eyes caught mine and there was laughter creasing the corners that I answered with a smile. Carolyn pressed one hand to Matthieu’s shoulder for balance and unbuckled her stilettos, taking Rakim’s short boots and sliding into them with a sigh.
They looked like clown shoes on her, and the heels didn’t fit Rakim at all, but he strutted away in them with a slight wobble that made me snort. Carolyn followed him in an awkward stomp, lips quirked in a smile that seemed more determined than sincere. I caught the first whisper of her soft floral scent as she passed me. She was a beta, and I was a little shocked that she was willing to challenge her boyfriend’s omega.
“Matthieu’s girlfriends never like Rake,” Leo said in my ear.
Matthieu trailed after the two, hands in his pockets and shoulders sliding between flailing dancing models. His head turned and his eyes caught mine again, head tipping in question. Was I coming?
“Does Rake ever like Matthieu’s girlfriends?” I asked Leo.
Caleb caught the question and he smiled at me. “He tries,” he said, shrugging. “Come on. We’ll have to put ourselves between them before Rake gets it in his head to challenge Carolyn to a dance battle.”
I checked behind me and Wes was still there, bringing up the rear from a close but not crowding distance. I offered him a smile, and he looked so startled by it that I’d almost turned around before his cheeks twitched in answer. Leo pulled me along by my hand, the music growing louder as we worked our way to the heart of the crowd. It was a low tempo groove, one that was easy to raise your arms and swing your hips to without having to worry about impressing anyone.
Leo’s hands found mine in the air, his chest against my bare back as we swayed closer to his pack. Rake broke out from between Caleb and Cyrus, framing me at my front. He paused a few inches away and raised his eyebrows. He was even taller than usual thanks to Carolyn’s heels, and he waited in front of me, matching the beat of my twisting hips easily as he waited for permission.
