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I wrinkled my nose at him, abruptly recalled to a yacht cruising off the coast of Greece, where I was days away from going into a heat I didn’t want while surrounded by people who apparently wished me ill because of who my father had been.

“Stop it,” I told him. “I’m listening.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at me—one that clearly conveyed I hadn’t been. “I was asking if you’d prefer me to make a fuss with the yacht captain regarding the break-in and your missing items. I’m more than happy to do so, but it seemed presumptuous to act without your permission.”

Anger over the entire situation rose up like bile, hot and unexpected.Pre-heat mood swings for the win. I didn’t like how appealing it felt to let the big, strong alpha take care of this for me... but I also couldn’t face the stress involved with slinking in and trying to do it myself. The omega hiding as a beta, whining to an authority figure that someone took my pills, when I’d been using those same pills to misrepresent myself to the people who’d organized this cruise in the first place?No, thank you.

“Yes, go ahead,” I said, defeated. “Not that I expect it to do any good, but...”

“They should at least be made to feel uncomfortable for letting it happen,” Elijah finished for me. “Here, here.” He lifted a half-drunk glass of orange juice in an ironic toast.

I lifted mine in return and drained it.

“Consider it done,” Gabriel said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I prefer to deliver my bollockings early in the day. Will you two be all right here?”

“In your luxury cabin with room service and a private deck?” Elijah asked. “I expect we’ll muddle through somehow until you get back.”

“Indeed.” Gabriel glanced at his watch—a Rolex, if I was any judge—and nodded. “I’ll be as quick as I can. I’d suggest not opening the door to anyone while I’m gone.”

I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine at his words.

Half an hour later, I stood in the spectacular walk-in shower, taking advantage of it properly after my quick rinse earlier that morning. The rainforest showerheads poured warm water over me, washing away the dregs of sleep and worry. At least, they washed away the dregs of worry until I realized that I was fantasizing about having both Elijah and Gabriel in here with me, their hands sliding soapsuds over my bare, heated skin. Gabriel would press his body to mine from behind, his callused hand slipping over my flat stomach and delving lower—

I jerked back to awareness with a gasp, my heart and pussy throbbing in time with each other.

“Fuck,” I whispered, leaning my forehead against the cool respite of the marble surround. Not yet. Notyet. I just needed to hold on for a few more days.

FIFTEEN

Gabriel

CAPTAIN CARVALHO WAS a no-nonsense beta woman with cropped jet-black hair and tanned, weather-beaten skin. Her English was spotty, while my Portuguese was essentially non-existent, so we’d been relying on a cabin boy with a decent knowledge of both languages to get our points across.

“The captain says she will ask the crew if anyone saw anything,” said our erstwhile translator. “But if there is no evidence of a break-in—damage to the lock, belongings scattered, that sort of thing—then there is very little she can do beyond that.”

Ted Casick was also present for this awkward, impromptu meeting. He’d been propping up a wall, listening to the painfully slow exchange, his arms crossed over his chest.

“I have to say, Mr. Rosencranz,” he began, in his grating American accent, “if this girl was lying about being an omega in the first place, it sounds like she isn’t exactly a reliable witness.”

It was strange how Elijah’s soft Midwest drawl could be so pleasant to listen to, while Casick’s New York accent felt like nails on a blackboard to my sensitive ears. There were a number of things I wanted to say.What kind of omega would purposely lose her heat blockers in a snake pit like this... we know it was Tommy fucking Huntwell... it’s obvious to anyone witheyes that you’re neck deep in this scheme, you spray-tanned arsehole.