Page 4 of Omega Forged (Hartlock Omegas #2)

Was it really me who was making him feel this way? A throbbing power uncurled in my stomach. The shame that came from this work sounded like a combination of people from my past who found me lacking. But I enjoyed many parts of it.

“No, please. Are you comfortable? I just wanted to have an actual conversation. My pack had meetings all day today, and all I could think about was talking to you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Wear whatever you like. I don’t care.”

“What about my old bathrobe?” I pursed my lips together to smother another laugh, unconvinced.

Only Omegas was simple. We omegas shared our bodies and others paid to see them.

My personality, or my motives, didn’t have any sway, just my cleavage and whatever sexy lingerie I had dressed in that day. It was refreshing to understand the rules of the game for once. Not like real life, where I floundered each time.

“Anything you like,” he insisted, the twist of his lips boyish. “I-I want to get to know you more.”

“To make sure I wasn’t catfishing you?”

His soft gaze roved over me, narrowing in on where I drew little circles on the bedcover. The giddy sensation in my stomach intensified. I had to get a hold of myself. Reading into Lloyd’s microexpressions? It was more delusional than past Tully, and that was saying a lot.

Remember what happened last time you thought an alpha was interested in you?

“I can’t lie. My packmate warned me you were just some guy in his basement. You’re much more appealing.” He bit his lip, the comment equally cute and vulnerable.

I failed to stifle the hitch in my breath, and his forehead furrowed.

“Is he there?” My spine snapped straight.

Of course, this was too good to be true. He was making me a show for his friends. My stomach sank, dismay heavy like a stone. Lloyd panned the camera around his empty room, but not before I caught the horror etched in his open mouth.

“No, of course not.”

The room had white walls crammed with frames, baseball caps and basketballs, even a signed jersey on the wall. Lloyd reappeared, eyes wide. “I promise, it’s just us.”

I pulled the corner of my sheet and draped it over myself. My stomach simmered. Let’s see how sweet and nice he remained when I hid my body from him.

“So, what did you want to talk about? Thinking of starting your own account? Attractive Alphas, it has a ring to it?”

I’m a terrible flirt. Chase always said I looked better with my mouth closed.

I resisted the urge to smack some sense into myself. This was a transaction. I had to play a part and earn money. He didn’t care if my faux flirtation was dismal.

“I don’t think anyone would pay to see this,” he scoffed and panned the phone down his body with a grimace.

I swallowed hard, trying to untie the knot in my tongue. Did he not understand what he looked like? Surfer curls, sharp jaw, and rock-hard muscles bulged under his formal outfit.

“There’s a market for anything.” I shrugged, attempting to appear unaffected. “How do you feel about wearing tiny scraps of nothing?”

My joke fell flat. The furrow in his brows deepened. Had I said something wrong? I enjoyed taking sexy photos. It felt like someone else’s body was on the screen. Someone with flawless, unmarred skin.

It didn’t feel as good to be in my body as it did to look at it. Not with my constant barrage of negative thoughts.

Tahlia was everything I wasn’t. Beautiful, confident, and powerful. She wouldn’t buckle under the weight of the Hartlock name.

Could Lloyd see the scars I was trying so hard to hide? Sweat trickled down my spine.

“Are you safe? You’re not being forced to be on Only Omegas, right?” he narrowed his gaze, and I jerked the phone in surprise, fumbling at the last second to keep my face hidden.

That was all I needed right now, to blow my anonymity within five minutes of talking.

“Oh—oh no,” I assured him. “I’m saving money to move into a new home. My roommate and I don’t exactly get along.”

Saving up to run far enough to escape the legacy of my blood and the man who it wasn’t enough for.

“You don’t have anyone you can stay with? Family?” he rubbed his chest.

It was on the tip of my tongue, the reason I was alone. I’d been hoarding everything deep down inside me and it bubbled up, coating my throat with raw truth.

“No, I’m all alone,” I admitted. “You know, I didn’t expect the phone call to go like this.”

That was better, steer the conversation surface level. To seedy compliments and innuendos. Somewhere my heart didn’t hurt so much.

“What did you think it would be like?” Lloyd asked, his voice deepened.

He watched my body like a hawk, only relaxing when the tension eased from my limbs.

He assumed, correctly, this wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.

Ask me what size my bra was, or what my sexual fantasies were.

Those were the questions I expected. That was worth money, not sob stories about what a washed-up omega I was.

It was easier to separate myself from who I was when I pretended to be Tahlia.

“I thought you’d want to see my face, or you’d ask me naughty questions,” I teased as his eyes widened in startled surprise.

“Naughty questions?” he wondered.

Dangerous, dangerous thoughts coursed through my body and my scent thickened as he hung in silence. The power in my hands. A lick of lust unfurled in my stomach. That was new. I hadn’t felt desire in so long. The drunk, dangerous alpha from The Barracks didn’t count.

I leaned forward and my cleavage spilled over the lacy bra.

“You know—” I taunted, and his throat bobbed.

Lloyd’s messages had always been respectful, which is why I noticed him. The explicit ones became like white noise after a while.

Lloyd froze for a moment, licked his lips, and his chest expanded in a deep breath.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure.”

“I-I’ve never done anything like this before.” He winced. “Join a site like this, I mean. I don’t know what I thought this would achieve, but t-then I saw your photos and I don’t know—maybe I am an idiot, but I couldn’t stop myself from messaging you.”

He carded his hand through his curls. His gaze darted to the side. My first reaction was to believe him. It was my nature. Not omega instincts, but Tully. Red flags could have been whipping in my face and I wouldn’t see them.

Omegas weren’t supposed to be alone. We needed touch, care, and nurturing.

I’d put blinkers on so much for the prospect of being seen and touched.

When the loneliness infected my every breath, I’d fallen for sweet words.

I promised myself never again. But something deep in my stomach sparked at Lloyd’s contrition.

I wanted to know more, even when my alarm blared.

“What made you join up?”

I’d given him a free pass to ogle and treat me like an object. He hadn’t taken it.

“My pack. It’s… in a bit of trouble right now.”

“So, you turned to half-naked omegas?” My soft, teasing tone brought color to his cheeks.

“It’s complicated,” he sighed. “You ever imagine your life and find it veering off in a different direction?”

Did I ever .

“So many times.” I caught my tongue between my teeth.

Was I so desperate for social interaction that I was about to spill my secrets to a stranger?

“Is that why you started this account?” Lloyd winked.

I let out a surprised laugh, holding my stomach. This was a transaction. But it didn’t hurt to talk to Lloyd, even if I faked all my answers. Perhaps I was hungry for connection.

I could be careful and it didn’t mean anything, not really.

“What else do you want to know?”