Page 22

Sin

S he looked stunning.

I stood at the door to Melanie’s flat, meeting her with wide eyes.

I had only seen her in a maid’s uniform, so it was definitely an improvement. Except for when she was naked, naturally.

But the dress Kai had designed for the first event leading up to the Ceremony was breathtaking.

Blue silk scattered with gold stars, her brown hair styled back in a bun with spirals floating around her ears. Gold dewdrops rained across her shoulders and breastbone. Her glossy lips pink, her lashes brushed with mascara, dark blue to match her dress.

Even though the cut of her rejection was still there, I couldn’t ignore how my alpha instincts awoke as she took in a deep breath, and her throat bobbed as she swallowed down my scent.

“May I come in?” I asked as the seconds ticked by long enough for time to stretch. Four stylists shuffled in the room behind her, throwing us glances. Though they were Kai’s employees, their allegiance was obvious the instant one of them turned to fully face us, casually adjusting what I assumed to be the camera hiding in her breast pocket.

There was no escape from our mother’s webs. But their presence might be another indication of who Melanie really worked for. Caspian admitted that he searched for her, and revealed his results, athough it did nothing to lessen his and Kai's mistrust.

Even though I’d come here specifically to lay the groundwork for what Kai called ‘the big fucking reveal’, I was too distracted by the simple sight of her to remember that we were introducing her to our parents for a specific reason. It wasn’t just to use her as a decoy; it was a chance to see if our parents and Melanie knew each other, and if they were really that cunning.

Melanie pressed her lips together, and a look of determination crossed her face as she stepped back to grant me entry.

I knew it would be difficult to be in her space. But I had no idea that it would still smell of her heat.

With a single wash of her scent, I stirred. The swirl of rich brandy flowed through the room, and the beta stylists couldn’t sense how luscious it smelled.

Her heat would have ended when Kai’s did, and his scent usually drifted away a day later. But Kai preferred to keep the floor to ceiling windows in his nest open as he created new designs on his balcony. And our heat suite would have been scrubbed clean the day we left.

The moment the door closed behind me, her defensive aura morphed into shaky nervousness, and it clicked instantly that she had just invited me into her nest.

A thud echoed through my body, and my alpha instincts switched to high alert, even more intensely focused on her.

I had to control myself so I did nothing that would put us in jeopardy, such as drag her into her bedroom to finally have my way with her.

Kai was tense enough, no matter how much love Caspian and I buried him in. I highly doubted he would appreciate a late arrival due to my lack of ability to control myself.

I scanned the room as I entered, bathing in the pure rush of her home. It was like her small living room contained a festival. Not only the rich red and purple walls, each bottom half hidden by overflowing ocean blue bookcases, but the bold patchwork blankets that covered every surface, the flowers and animals painted across her wooden table, chairs, and doorframes. All enhanced by the way the light graced each corner of the room, reflecting new beauty with a sweep of my gaze.

Melanie glanced at the stylists to my right, clearly uncomfortable. We had forced them upon her, made her invite strangers into her nest. The fact they were betas made no difference when it came to a nest. Kai refused to let a single soul inside unless he had given us express permission.

My alpha instincts sighed with relief as she stepped in close. From how I instantly responded to her scent, there was no doubt that the match was still in place. I couldn’t feel the same bond I had during her heat, but my desire for her still remained. In that, I was thankful she had bitten Kai, no matter how furious it made him.

It didn’t matter how final a rejection apparently was. I still responded to her as if she was my omega.

Vibrant spices consumed me as she edged closer. I pulled in a breath just to glue her scent to my lungs.

Even with heels, she was a head shorter than me, and it was easy to look down at her and admire the arch of her throat as she tilted her head back.

We hadn’t even touched and I already felt as if I was drowning. My head dizzy, my instincts blazing, I reached out, taking her arm, pulling her to me without a thought.

A cry of surprise fled her as she spun straight into my arms. She gasped as her palms hit my chest, and I didn’t hesitate as I wrapped one arm around her shoulder.

“Sin,” she whispered. My name on her lips was the elixir I had been craving.

I took another breath, a small moan echoing from the back of my throat. I prided myself on control, but what could I do when the scent of her heat still hung heavily in the air?

“It appears your rejection did not work,” I said, brushing my lips over the soft curls that framed her cheeks.

She stiffened under me, and I could taste her awareness in the way her aura shook around me.

I had never been particularly interested in other omegas. Even when my family pushed me towards Caspian’s sister, I had no intention of pursuing it. It was only that first meeting with Kai, where a single waft of his scent awoke a power inside me I hadn’t acknowledged. Kai smirked the second we matched, and, before I realised it, I’d pulled him into my office and bitten him.

And now here she was, our other omega. She was the perfect size for my arms, her lips quivering, her chest rising and falling against mine as she took a deep breath.

“Sin…” Her groan echoed around us. Her heat-filled eyes shot up to me, her lips parted, her panting breaths whispering across my neck. She curved her back, pressing herself closer.

It took one move, one moment to lean close to her. Only centimetres from my lips, she perfumed, and all my thoughts vanished. The only thing that remained was my desire to claim her.

“God, you smell so good,” she murmured against my chest.

“Do you want more?” I asked, caving instantly.

“Sin, I need…” She drew in another shaking breath. The line of her throat was completely exposed, and it would be nothing for me to push aside her hair and sink my teeth into her.

I could bond with her right here, and every second it grew harder to resist. And neither Kai nor Caspian could fight for so long. They would break eventually, it was simply a matter of waiting.

We watched each other, our breaths caught, our hold tight, my need to devour her pounding to the beat of my heart.

And then she whimpered.

And I couldn’t hold back, no matter who was watching.

I swept down to take her lips, pressing fully against her, savouring the moan that burst from her as my tongue brushed hers and she gave herself to me.

We moved together, meeting each other, falling into each other again and again. Our tastes blended, my vanilla softening her rich brandy, driving me insane with need. Her lips were soft with gloss, her mouth burning. Her hands fell from my chest so she could rub her breasts against me as she grabbed every piece of me I could give, as I did with her.

I wanted her to beg for me the way she had for my mates.

Melanie pulled back, gasping as my cock ground against her stomach. I was already hard. Simply seeing her again was enough to arouse me. But now, after tasting her, I needed to be inside her.

I wanted to rip my gloves off so I could feel the sparks of lightning dance between us again.

Her eyes glazed over, and I hoped she imagined everything I could do to her once I removed the dress my omega had created for her.

“Is this what you want?” I asked, pressing against her shoulders to keep her close, luxuriating in the stiff points of her nipples flattened against me.

Kai would wreak havoc on me for this, but the alpha in me needed to ensure she was mine.

Melanie clung to me, her eyes wide, a gentle whine of need falling from her lips.

I groaned as I bent back down, covering her lips with mine again. Each touch of our tongues was like magic, and I almost came as she nibbled my bottom lip, licking me before diving back in.

We were so lost in our need that it was only when a clink echoed from behind her that I was dragged out of the beautiful haze of desire.

My eyes shot open, suddenly remembering where we were and what we were here to do.

We both flinched back, still clutching each other, gazes filled with need.

The beta stylists attempted to busy themselves, but our moans were loud enough that it was obvious what we were doing. Melanie would need to redo her makeup, and the car to whisk us to Mansfield Hotel was waiting below.

It was not like the Spa where we could behave however we wished. We were about to enter our parents’ domain, and I couldn’t afford for either of us to be distracted.

Though it could be more beneficial for a hidden camera to show us absorbed with each other to prove my pack was serious about her—or I was, at least.

Neither of us said a word, tense expectation hanging like a veil over us. I had seen that look on Kai so many times that I knew if I took her hand, she would follow me anywhere I chose. If I guided her towards the small hallway where the scent of her heat emanated the strongest, it wouldn’t take long for her to fall into my arms.

And it was that thought that brought me to loop a stray curl of hair around my finger, tucking it behind her ear as I leaned down.

“Those betas work for Kai, but also my mother,” I whispered. “They report everything back to her, so it would be beneficial for us to leave now rather than acting like wild animals.”

Despite the fact that, as the alpha, I was responsible for her wellbeing, and I was the one acting like a savage.

Her body stiffened under me, and all that pride and satisfaction fizzled out as I pulled back to find her anger loud on her face. I was glad it wasn’t pain.

I desperately wished we’d also bonded so I could feel how I affected her.

“You’ll need to redo your makeup,” I said bluntly. “We can’t have you arriving at the party looking like that.”

Shock snapped across Melanie’s face, exactly as if I had slapped her. My heart instantly clenched, filled with the same shame I experienced whenever Kai looked at me like I’d betrayed him.

I instinctively sniffed to see what emotion her scent was exuding, which was yet another error. Because I’d been so caught up in our kiss that I hadn’t stopped to think of how wet her pussy would be.

And the scent of her slick burned between us as my alpha instincts swelled again.

“I’ll wait downstairs,” I said. My jaw ticked as I forced myself backwards. “The car is parked at the entrance.”

I followed my words with a passive look, as if her parted lips, trembling hands, and the soft curves of her body weren’t the most delectable sight I'd seen since Kai had fucked her.