Page 21 of Cost of Courting (When it Raines Omegaverse #6)

Chapter nineteen

Selene

I have a bond. I seethe, the rage pounding at my head, throbbing in my veins, but I want to hear this story. But every time I glance his way, I want to kill him all over again.

And also fuck him.

I want to fuck him so badly my pussy is literally throbbing with need. I have never been this turned on in my life.

Instead, I focus on Edric and the way his fingers are gently stroking my hand. He blows air out of his mouth, disturbing that painfully white hair. I want so badly to reach out and brush it back from his face.

This is what I hate about these alphas. They always leave me all twisted up with conflicting thoughts and wants. Hate and love go hand-in-hand when I’m around them and always with a side of body betrayal and arousal.

His grey eyes focus on me, and I can smell that strange combination of scents that remind me of ice in winter.

“When we left with Octavia, things became pretty clear, really quickly, that there was something up with her.”

I listen to him with my whole body. I need to hear this.

“She was nervous around us, not wanting us to get close or touch her.”

“That’s because she didn’t really smell like that.”

“Yes. Exactly, but, at the time, we were confused and just trying to work out what had her so spooked.”

I sit back and try to pull my hands free, but he doesn’t let me go.

I vividly remember how I felt watching their car drive away.

With numbness taking over me, I’d walked back inside and had the beating of my life.

Luna had to fetch the neighbours to get him off me.

It didn’t come close to making me hurt as much as I did inside.

“We needed to know, but we figured out she wasn’t our scent match straight away, but we wanted to know what she was up to. So, we decided to play along.”

Edric opens his mouth and-

“Edric!”

The alpha in front of me lets out a growl of frustration but doesn’t let go of my hands.

“She needs to know.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Yes, she does, Mael. It makes a difference, it changes things.”

“Even if it did, it’s my story to tell, and I’m not happy to share it yet.”

Edric sits back, letting go of my hands. “You can’t wait too long, Mael. Kingston bonded her. It’s only a matter of time now.”

“No, it’s not. The bond means nothing. I’ve lived without you, and I can do it again. One bite doesn’t mean anything,” I snarl at them.

Kingston sniggers. “Sure, it doesn’t. You keep telling yourself that, love.”

I get a wave of intense arousal and heat through the bond. Kingston winks at me as he goes to walk out of the room, opening his pants and sliding his hand into them before he vanishes.

I let go of the breath I’m holding and close my eyes, counting slowly to ten, but I can feel him pleasuring himself. I can feel him thinking about me.

I squirm on the table, then force myself to sit still, instead clenching my pussy on air and wondering if I’m going to come right here like this.

“I want that story, Mael,” I grit out.

“No, it’s not relevant.”

“It is if it had some bearing on you being gone all this time!” I shout at him. I stand up, stalking towards him and poking his chest. “You owe me.”

Kingston groans from the bedroom, and I almost collapse.

His lips curls in a sneer. “We don’t owe you shit.”

I step right up close, tilting my head to look up at him. “The fact that you’re resorting to sulky rude Mael means that whatever happened was bad and probably where all those scars came from. You should just trust me. Once upon a time, you wouldn’t have hesitated.”

His dark eyes seem to catch fire as he stares at me. I can almost hear the indecision in him. It’s so loud.

“I know all your tricks. You get defensive and rude when you’re worried.

Do you think I care about this story? Do you think I’ll judge you?

Mael, I’ve seen you write your name on a wall with your piss.

I’ve cleaned up the blood from your broken arm.

Your mother threw all your underwear out on the lawn, and who was there to pick them up? ”

His eyes crinkle at the sides.

I smile back at him. Ruthless, I need to be ruthless. “I’ve seen your worst side. I’ve seen you shit in the woods, masturbate, cry, laugh, fall in love, and break my heart. There isn’t anything that could make me hate you but you.”

Mael reaches up and cups the back of my neck, leaning down until our foreheads are pressed against each other.

Kingston cries out.

I curse and cling to Mael to keep me upright.

I see white spots, and I think I’ve ruined a pair of jeans.

The alpha pulls me into his arms, holding me securely while I ride out the surprise orgasm because, somehow, from another room, Kingston has done that.

He’s dead. So dead. As soon as I can walk again.

“Yes. Okay.” He kisses my lips gently. “Can you wait until I’m ready? Please?”

I hesitate, torn. “Not for too long, Mael.” My voice is husky with arousal, and, all around us, my scent is thick and potent.

He growls, and then his lips find that spot where Kingston bonded me. I brace my hands on his shoulders and stay perfectly still while he mouths it.

No one is more surprised than I when I’m slammed into a second, even more violent orgasm. I cling to him, riding it out, quivering while he holds me against him.

“Good omega, good. Just breathe, I’ve got you,” Mael whispers and grips my ass, dragging me up against the hard ridge of his cock. I cry out again, shuddering.

“Mael,” I moan.

“It’s okay. It will make him remember who he’s fucking with.”

Kingston moans from the bedroom. “Not fair, Mael!”

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and turn my head, still panting, to find Bailey watching me from where he’s leaning against the wall. He doesn’t smell at all like an omega now. I vividly recall the hot scent that screamed at me to take some.

Now, he smells better, richer. That apple pie with less vanilla and more spice. He makes my mouth water.

It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since his heat.

“She saved us!” Kingston says and stalks out. He’s got no top on, just a long chain with various charms hanging around his neck. I recognise the cat I made him in metal work. He’s still got it?

I stare at the charm, my throat tight and feeling like I’m unable to speak. Mael slowly opens his arms, allowing me to stagger back.

“She saved us how?” Bailey unfolds himself .

Kingston wraps himself around me and walks me towards Bailey.

“Tell them how many people you killed to keep Bailey safe in his nest.”

I press my lips together as blue-green eyes gleam with interest. “You stayed?”

“She ran herself haggard going back and forth,” Mael says quietly. “Needed an IV bag.”

I curse Dot in my head, but I can’t take my eyes off Bailey. He approaches, gliding with far too much similarity to Kingston’s cat.

“Did you kill for me?” His soft drawl has a direct line to my ovaries.

I gasp.

Bailey is toxic. He’s poison. I’m unable to fight it as he leans in, ghost his lips down the side of my face. This house will forever feel like this now, overheated, over sexed, and potently undoing all my resolve.

“How many?”

“Four,” I whisper. “They were trying to break in. I killed them and then I called your dad.”

Bailey moans and shuffles closer, his hands finding my hips and dragging up my body, leaving me shivering and gasping.

“You don’t smell like an omega.”

He growls, and I hear the fierce bite of an alpha in his tone. “I’m not. I’m both.”

My eyes widen as he pulls me roughly up against his body. “You’re both?”

“I’m not your omega,” Bailey says with a growl. “But I am your alpha.”

I let out a squeak. He swallows the sound and grips my ass cheeks, kneading them roughly before he pulls me up off my feet. I can’t tear myself away from him.

What happened to my self-control? What happened to reason and logic and principles?

He tastes so good. I want to wrap myself around him and never let go. Fire sizzles in my blood enough that I abruptly remember who the hell I am. I pull away and step back, holding out a hand warily when Edric moves towards me.

“Do not even think about it!”

He cocks his head to the side and reaches into his pocket, pulling out hand sanitizer.

“That’s not even, you!” I let out a half shrieking growl, furious at my splutters. “Stay away from me! All of you!”

Kingston walks out with his jeans low on his hips. He’s still half naked with a huge expanse of bronze skin and hard muscles. I swallow hard, my thoughts evaporating.

Can I lick him?

Kingston flexes and winks at me. I shake my head, trying to free myself from his spell.

“Stop it!” I growl.

“It’s not my fault you’re horny. If you want a hand, any one of us can help you. We can even have sex with you and get it over with, as you said. ”

I wince. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“Have you?” Edric asks. “Why? Are you worried? We’d be extra careful with you, Selene.”

I groan. “I know you can all fuck. I got to hear it!”

Mael sits up on the seat he’s slouching on. “Oh, that would be so frustrating. Come here, crazy, and we can make you feel better.”

I turn, trying to keep them all in view, but it’s Bailey I forget about, and he’s the one that pounces, pressing up against my back. He grabs my hair and holds me tight.

“If you need help, we can help you. We would love to help you. I could spend all night on my knees, if you like.”

I moan as he scrapes his teeth over the shell of my ear.

“Bailey?”

“Yes, beautiful omega?”

“You should stop.” I know there’s a reason why I need him to stop, but I can’t think of anything.

“Why?”

Why? Why indeed. I don’t know why, I can’t think of a single reason why I shouldn’t just take every single one of these alphas to bed and give up everything that I’ve wanted to give to him.

“Mael, are you here?”

I jerk myself free of Bailey and put several feet between us.

Luna bounces in and stops when she sees me. Her eyes frost over, but she turns to Mael and grips his arm, running her hand along it.

“Mael, I need your help.”

I let out a vicious growl that has her turning white and stepping back. I stalk towards her. This petty, insolent little bitch wants to play power games. So be it.

“What are you doing here?” She looks between Mael and me, her expression growing more and more unsure.

I don’t say anything, just raise a single eyebrow and watch as she shrinks in on herself.

“Time for you to go, Luna.”

“No, I-”

“Time to go. These are not your toys, not your alphas, and they are not for you to manipulate when you can’t be bothered learning something yourself.”

“I tried!”

I snort. “You always try to, you never do. Let me guess, you lost your job again?”

Luna’s gaze drops to the floor.

“Right, go home and wait for me. We can talk when I get there. ”

“You can’t tell me what to-”

“GO HOME!” My purr thunders through the room, leaving her no choice but to turn and walk away.

Bailey wheezes. Mael gapes at me, but Kingston and Edric start to laugh.

I turn on them. “Are you right? Stop being so,” I wave my hand at their laughing faces.

“Are you sure you’re an omega?” Kingston teases.

“I dare you to find out.”

He clutches his chest. “I’m in love.”

The words are an arrow straight to the heart I gave to them when we were kids and a blow to my ego.

My furious anger returns.

“Are you or aren’t you?”

The room stills. It goes deadly, deadly quiet.

“What?” Kingston says, blinking at me.

“Are you in love with me?”

His eyebrows snap down, and his whole body tenses. Two seconds later, he closes the distance until we’re facing each other.

“Yes.”

My heart thuds hard against my chest.

“Yes?” I frown up at him. “Yes, what?”

“Yes. I am in love with you!”

I didn’t expect him to say that. I didn’t expect that at all. His eyes are earnest, his expression serious. Kingston never does serious.

“I bonded you because I am in love with you. I’m making it forever. You’re not escaping us again.”

I back away from him, remembering all the pain, the fear, the years of loneliness.

“We don’t know each other anymore. It’s been too long.”

“You are the same and more. I love the core of who you are, and every day of exploring more of you is just going to make me even happier.”

“Happier?”

“Yes, Selene. You make me happy. You make all of us happy. We want you. Forever. With us.”

I gulp hard and find my mind fuzzing with panic. Kingston reaches out, but I flinch and stagger back.

They are the only ones who can hurt me. No one else can break through my shield. I don’t like being vulnerable. I hate it.

“I need to think. ”

Kingston drops his hands and shrugs. “Sure. Think about it, talk yourself out of it. Run. It’s not going to matter. You are our omega. We’re not giving you up, and we’re not losing you again.”

I look around at Edric, Mael, Bailey. The four of them are in complete agreement. I don’t even need to hear the words to know that they aren’t going to fight Kingston.

They’ll fight me.

To keep me.

To have me.

The fight isn’t for them, though. It’s for me. Do I have a way of getting past the past and getting over my fear, or am I destined to live my sorry life alone?