Page 27 of Pit Stop

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

SKYE

I would like to stay inside the trailer and explore more of the toys I bought, but we can’t. Not when Nox shows up at the door, a sly grin on his face.

“We’re going for a ride, sex birds. And we want you to join us.”

Maverick tells him to fuck off, but I think it’s a good idea. We probably should get out and do something besides fuck. It’s going to be painful enough to break this bond without actually bonding.

“We’ll go,” I say, and Maverick grumbles, pulling me into his bare chest and nuzzling his nose into my hair.

“We’re going to The Den,” Nox says, and Maverick growls.

“You want me to bring Skye there?”

“I mean, you’re mated, so he’ll be safe.”

Now I’m intrigued. What the hell is he talking about?

“So, what is this place, and why are you worried about me going?”

Maverick says nothing, but Nox pipes up. “It’s a place to go and meet omegas who want to fuck. Mav used to go there all the time.”

My eyebrows rise as does my jealousy. I don’t like the idea of Maverick with anyone else. But this will be my reality once the bond is broken. He’ll move on. So will I.

It is what it is.

“He doesn’t go there now, obviously,” Nox backpedals. “He’s getting enough at home.”

Maverick shoves Nox, who stumbles backward with a laugh.

“We’ll meet at the Q at four. We’ll make it to The Den in time for dinner.”

Maverick doesn’t say anything, so I reply, “Okay. Yep. See you soon!”

Nox winks at me and then strides off, leaving Maverick and me to watch him go.

“So, The Den, huh?” I ask as I shut the door, and Maverick stares down at me.

“It was before you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“We don’t have to go.”

“I want to. I’m so curious about this place.”

And I am. I want to know where Maverick hung out when he wasn’t with Forest at my dad’s place. I want to know what he was like before me, before us.

Forest is on his motorcycle in the Q parking lot, waiting for the rest of the pack to arrive, when he sees Maverick and me pull up.

He’s scowling as we approach, but his face softens slightly when he sees Maverick lean down and gently brush something off my cheek.

Dirt or a bug or something, but still. It’s sweet, and Forest sees it.

He may not like any of this, but he can’t deny that Maverick is taking care of me.

It could be so much worse.

“I think it’s really fucking weird that my brother is going to The Den.”

“He wants to see it,” Maverick replies.

“You really want your mate going there?” Forest asks. He’s wearing frayed jeans and a leather jacket, looking kind of like a stereotypical dick, if I’m honest. But then again, he’s been a pain in the ass about this whole mate thing, so right now I’m more annoyed with him than anything.

“How about I make my own decisions?” I snap back, and Maverick bites back a laugh.

“He’s safe with me.”

My brother rolls his eyes but lets it go.

And honestly, with the way everyone is acting, now I really want to see this place. I want to know what’s so scary and forbidden about it, and why I’ve never heard about it before. I’d have thought Delphine would have at least blabbed about it, but she’s never said a word.

A moment later, Nox rolls up with several other men on bikes and whistles loudly.

“You ready?” he throws his head back and howls, and everyone responds by hopping on their bikes and revving their engines. It’s loud and obnoxious, but as soon as I’m behind Maverick and we’re speeding down the road, all I can think of is him.

It’s amazing, the wind hitting my face, the scent of Maverick swirling around me.

I just inhale him, thinking back to when I first met him, how he came to the house with Forest, looking so damn hot. Not that he really looked my way. I was young and scraggly. And to top it off, I was shy, my head in a book more often than not.

But he did smile at me once and offer me one of the treats he picked up from the corner store—a bag of sour candy.

It made my juvenile heart flutter and my chest squeeze. I didn’t know what that meant until much later.

Looking back, I had an unrequited crush on him, one I knew he’d never return. And yet still, I watched him all the time, memorized his movements, and as I became a teenager, I’d dream about his lips moving across mine.

But he never gave me more than a gentle smile and a passing wave. As I grew older, my crush turned into bitterness because I knew I’d never have him, that he was way out of my league. That a man like Maverick would never go for a nerdy little omega like me.

But here we are, mated. His bites still lining my skin.

He thinks I’m sexy, he growls it in my ear, fucks me like his life depends on it.

My life does depend on it.

But for now, he’s my mate, the bond between us growing with each passing day. It’s going to hurt like hell when it breaks.

The incline increases and I can hear the strain of the engines as we climb the mountain, twisting and turning around each bend until we reach a small dirt turnout.

My eyes blink in the darkness, not sure why we’ve stopped, when I finally see it.

Small lit lanterns hanging on trees, a crooked sign hanging on a rusted pole.

The Den.

Well, this is fucking weird , I think as Maverick shuts the motorcycle off and I hop off.

His fingers gently brush my skin as he unbuckles the helmet and sets it on his seat.

His thumb brushes against my lower lip, as if he can’t help but touch me, and then he bends, kissing me softly.

I lean into it as more motorcycles approach, pulling onto the gravel and shutting off one by one.

His lips slowly leave mine, and his nose brushes against my neck, marking me as his. No one will dare even approach me with the scent of him permeating me.

“All right, enough. I can smell you from here,” Forest grumbles as he approaches. He makes a face at the two of us, and I flip him off.

Forest does the same back to me.

“Just wanna make sure they know who he belongs to,” Maverick tells him.

I want to bristle at the possessive alpha comment, like I would have a few weeks ago, but instead, those words make me melt.

The omega part of me is growing with each passing day. It seems I can’t quite help myself.

“Well, this place is a little primeval,” I say, looking at the flickering lanterns. It seems they’re actual flames.

“Yeah, that’s the appeal. Going back to the olden days when we still shifted, I guess,” Maverick says as Nox approaches and puts an arm around Forest, jostling him slightly.

“All right, losers. Let’s go in. Lots of treats waiting for us inside.”

The way he says that, with a growl on his lips, makes me shiver. Oh shit. What am I getting myself into?

But Maverick slides his arm around me, pulling me into him, and I know I’m safe. He won’t let anyone touch me. And I feel like people inside there will want to touch me. It reeks of alpha pheromones.

We stride forward, following the crowd of people who move toward the mountain face. I can’t make out where it leads, but as we draw closer, I see there is a doorway carved into the rock, and come to the silly realization that this actually is a den of sorts.

Hence the name.

Once again, I wonder why I’ve never heard about this place.

My eyes travel to my brother and realize it’s probably because they kept it from me.

It’s the alphas’ little secret. But then again, I’m surprised Rob hasn’t been here.

He loves fucking and getting fucked, but maybe this is only reserved for alphas and omegas.

Maybe betas aren’t invited. That would explain why Delphine never told me about it.

I’m about to ask what the deal is, but my words die in my throat when I step through the doorway. It’s dark in here, lamplight flickering from posts on the walls and from candles on wooden tables. The floor beneath us creaks as we move, and I hold on to Maverick a little tighter.

My gaze shifts around the large space. On the far right, there’s a bar, couples leaning against it, drinking and flirting, and in the middle are several large round chairs that people are lounging in, scenting one another and making out.

The smell inside is mostly smoke, wax, and alpha. But to the far left, in the shadows, I make out the shapes of people writhing, and as we draw closer, the scent of sex wafts through the air.

Oh.

I knew it. The Den is a place you come to get fucked. A hookup spot for desperate omegas and horny alphas. I bet there’s a maze of caves down that dark hallway where people could wander into and get some.

I peer up at Maverick, and he leans down to scent me again.

“You’re irresistible,” he murmurs as he nips at my ear. “Don’t want anyone to think I’m going to share.”

I pull away from him slightly and meet his hooded gaze.

“Did you seriously drive me all the way to a sex club?”

His lips twitch. “Would you have listened if I told you not to come, that you weren’t allowed?”

I arch an eyebrow at him, my stubbornness flaring as I consider it.

“Yeah, you know you would have been pissed, would have rioted, so here we are. Now you know what The Den is.”

“I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this. I just thought people went to The Pit Stop for sex.”

“That’s a closer one to town, but yeah. This is a favorite for some. Really makes alphas feel primal.”

I peer over my shoulder as Maverick tries to pull me farther away from the lewd acts being performed across the room.

“Okay, but I want to see it though. If I came all the way here, I want to see it all.”

Maverick sighs, his hand moving to my lower back, and I feel his nervousness. “After a drink. Then we can go exploring.”

The way he says that has my cock perking up. He has more in mind than just exploring. I know it. But still, I let him lead me toward the bar, watching as Forest chats with a lithe young man, his long red hair in pig tails, his lips pink and pouty. He’s wearing black leather pants and no shirt.