Page 97 of In Deep

“This one, I think,” I say, alighting on the third and lifting it up for Sophia to inspect.

“Yeah, that’s gorgeous,” Sophia says. “Makes me wonder whether I could stomach another. I’ve tried to tell her it’s going to hurt.” She jerks her head in my direction.

“Where are we doing this again?” the artist asks.

“Here,” I say, tugging down the waistband of my skirt and pointing to the soft skin of my stomach, just by my hipbone.

“It will hurt.” She nods, chewing at gum. “But it’s always more painful for us omegas. It isn’t bone, so it’s not as bad as it could be. And I have some numbing gel that can help.”

I take a deep inhale, suddenly nervous.

“You sure about this?” the older woman asks, a smile hovering on her lips.

“Yes,” I say with all the self-assurance I can muster. She tells me to take off my skirt and wriggle down my underwear, and then she cleans the skin.

“So, what’s the meaning behind the design?” the woman asks as she prepares her equipment.

“She’s in love,” Sophia says.

The woman frowns slightly. “Is it about an alpha because you know this thing is permanent?”

“So’s what we have.”

The frown on the woman’s forehead grows deeper. “But you’re not bonded, right?”

“No, not yet. That’s why I want to get this.”

“Maybe better to keep it that way,” she mutters, snapping shut a drawer. “In my experience, an alpha is only good for one thing.”

“What’s that?” Sophia asks.

“Cock.”

Sophia laughs and I find myself doing the same. I lift a hand to my cheek, finding it cool. A comment like that used to have me blushing. Not anymore.

“Yeah,” I say, my gaze flitting between the two other women. “The cock is good, but there is other stuff too.”

“What?” the artist quips. “Like their arrogance, dominance and control-freakiness.”

I smile mischievously. “That can be fun sometimes.”

“Oh,” Sophia says, wiggling her eyebrows.

“But I was thinking of stuff like having someone that cares for you, someone to talk to, someone to snuggle up with at night.”

“See,” Sophia points her hand in my direction. “I told you, in love.”

Is Sophia right?

As I lie back in the chair and grit my teeth against the pain, I mull it over. It does feel like love. This warm fuzzy feeling in my chest. This sensation like I’m floating in a safe and secure bubble. The little butterflies I still get whenever one of my alpha looks at me.

Yes, I think I am in love. With all of them.

Chapter 31

If it’s love, then maybe it’s about time I tell my parents.

The boys spend more and more of their evenings at training in the run-up to the competition. I don’t mind. I haven’t had a lot of time to myself since we fell into this relationship together, and I enjoy the opportunity to listen to true-crime podcasts while I unpack my belongings and rearrange them around my room.