Page 10 of Room 710 (The Scarlet Hotel #15)

Elijah

The laugh burst out of me, unexpected, but it blended with the laughter in the studio.

We had a small live audience tonight, with Clark and Marty as hosts up on the set stage, and while this was standard practice for Lonely Alpha , I was more uncomfortable than usual—and it had nothing to do with the flimsy folding chair I was currently sitting in.

I didn’t like being so far from the house. I was itching to get back there.

Marc and Bethany, who were both here to manage the live show with me, turned in their seats to gawk at me, our knees bumping. “Was that… a laugh?” Bethany asked with exaggerated surprise.

“I think it was. And he’s not even trying to charm anyone,” Marc added, leaning over to put a hand on my forehead. “Are you feeling okay? Have you been body-snatched by an alien? What have you done with our grumpy boss?”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that bad,” I groused, slapping his hand away. “It was funny, admit it.” Most of the things Ziggy said were funny, in fact. He had a great sense of humor.

My crew members shared a look that seemed to carry a whole conversation I couldn’t begin to interpret.

So I didn’t even bother trying, just turned back to the show.

The final minutes to their challenge were ticking down, and they were rushing to set the dominos up.

At least Ziggy calling out Rune on his nasty behavior seemed to have chastised him a bit.

Rune stepped back from the table, crossed his arms over his chest, and refused to help, sulking like a toddler.

Rune really got under my skin, and under normal dating circumstances, he would be an easy choice to eliminate from the group first because he caused drama.

Unfortunately, drama also meant higher viewership, because people loved a good rivalry, and that was exactly what was building between Rune and Ziggy.

And that meant Rune couldn’t be evicted straight away.

Devon had been instructed of that fact, and while he didn’t love it, he’d admitted that there would be plenty of other men for him to get to know.

“Ten… nine… eight…” Alex was counting down the final seconds, eyes locked on the screen. Most of the men had stepped back from the table, their hands raised in the air as if they were concerned they might waft a breeze too hard and knock the tiles over.

“Easy does it,” Ziggy said so softly the camera almost didn’t pick it up. His hands moved quickly, fingers steady as Devon and Cy stepped back to let him finish.

“Five… Four… Three…” They were all counting out loud now, and I found myself leaning forward, hands clenching my thighs.

“Done!” Ziggy cried. His eyes were a bit crazed, his forehead damp with sweat. He looked over to the screen to see the countdown had stopped at two seconds. “Did we do it? Did we win?”

Clark and Marty appeared on the house TV again.

“Phew! Cutting it a little close, aren’t you?

” Marty said, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow.

“Talk about a nailbiter. But before we can declare you winners, we need to test it out. Devon, can you please tip the first domino? Let’s see how you did. ”

Devon walked over to the table and oh so gently, nudged the first domino. Nobody breathed while the pattern unfurled across the table in a mesmerizing pattern, and when the final tile fell, everyone cheered. I loosed a breath and sat back in my chair.

“Congrats, peeps!” Marty said, beaming down at them like a proud parent. “I wasn’t sure you could pull it off.”

“I knew they would do it,” Clark said with a wink.

“Sure you did.” Marty rolled his eyes in jest.

Clark’s expression sobered. “Unfortunately, winners or not, we still need to eliminate someone this week. Devon, have you made your choice?”

“I have,” he said gravely. He stared down at the floor, drawing out the suspense of the moment, just as he’d been told to do.

Then when he looked up, he made contact with each and every omega in the house, really making them sweat, before he finally walked over to Dash.

“I’m sorry, Dash. You seem like a wonderful guy, and I’ve had a great time getting to know you.

I’m sure you’ll find your true love one day… but it’s not me.”

Dash nodded, tears collecting on his lashes, but he didn’t seem surprised.

It was exactly as I’d predicted, all going according to plan.

Dash had the personality of a cardboard cutout.

I couldn’t even remember a single thing he’d done this week.

He’d obviously participated in challenges, but now that I thought back, I couldn’t remember a single time he’d stood out.

My brain had simply skipped over him. Devon had obviously felt the same.

“We’re sorry to see you go, Dash,” Clark said. “We wish you all the best in life and love. Please grab your things and leave the house.”

Everyone gave Dash hugs before he stopped by his bedroom and grabbed his bag, then rolled it down the hall and out the front door. Before the door had even closed behind him, I heard Rune say, “I call dibs on his bunk,” like some kind of opportunistic scavenger.

“Now, who wants to know what you’ve won for completing the challenge?

” Clark asked, and that seemed to dispel the lingering post-eviction gloom from the room.

All eyes lit up. I knew from experience that this experience would only get harder on them from here on out, as they got to know each other better.

I suspected we’d see fewer dry eyes next week.

I picked up the two-way radio and spoke to my assistant on site at the house. “Cue the prize.”

“Roger that, boss,” Jin said, and I saw on the outdoor camera as he unlocked the outer vault door and began to load their prize inside.

Back on screen, Marty leaned his head on Clark’s shoulder. “We have taken the liberty of ordering you all dinner from a local restaurant, and for one lucky boy, there is an extra special bonus. Devon, can you please select which of your housemates you were particularly impressed with?”

Devon grinned. “That’s easy. The win goes to Ziggy and his steady hands .” He leaned over in his seat to grip Ziggy by the back of his neck, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“M-Me?” Ziggy seemed stunned that he would win the bonus prize.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Devon’s hand on his neck.

A confusing surge of emotions flooded through me.

Foremost, there was jealousy, I had to admit.

I could imagine the feel of his soft skin, pliable beneath my own fingers, but it was tempered with satisfaction too, because no one deserved to win this prize as much as he did.

Ziggy had been foremost in my mind when I’d selected it.

But as they collected their bags of food Jin had left for them in the vault, chattering in excitement, there was also a lingering creep of anxiety that Devon’s favoritism might have just painted a target on Ziggy’s back.

Envy could turn anyone vindictive under normal circumstances, forget when under pressure in a controlled environment like this, and already, Rune was glaring daggers at him from across the room.

The episode was wrapping up, but I stayed where I was and watched as they carelessly shoved the domino tiles off the table, hooting at the racket they made, so they could set the food down.

I watched Ziggy’s reaction as he pulled the lid off a dish and clocked the exact moment he realized where the food had come from. “Guys, this is from Lorenzo’s. I used to work there! The food is amazing!” Of course I already knew that. It was why I’d chosen this meal in the first place.

“Nice choice, boss,” Bethany said.

Marc choked on a laugh. “Yeah, it’s almost like he had inside information about what might be a hit.”

I didn’t pay them any mind, though, because I was preoccupied watching as Devon passed the final container to Ziggy, decorated with a fancy bow, indicating that it was his special bonus.

“What is it?” a few people asked, leaning forward to peek as he popped off the lid slowly.

Ziggy moaned, and my cock immediately stiffened. I knew I would be replaying that sound in my head later tonight. “It’s cannoli,” he said, turning it around to show everyone.

Clark and Marty did their wrap-up for the audience, but I wasn’t listening. And even after we went off the air, I refused to look away until they were done eating. I wanted to see if he enjoyed it… needed to see.

He made me wait, though. He finished his meal first like a good boy, and I nearly purred in praise.

“Does anyone want a bite?” Ziggy asked. Everyone eagerly dipped their fork into one of the cannoli, oohing and ahhing over how delicious it was.

Fire licked at my insides when Ziggy offered to feed a bite to Devon, the alpha’s lips closing erotically around the fork.

“Mm, delicious,” he said, not breaking eye contact with Ziggy.

Bethany and Marc were chatting while they packed up and got ready to go home, but it wasn’t until Marc tapped my shoulder that I registered he was talking to me. “Huh? What?” I asked, startled.

“I said great episode tonight. We’re about to head out.”

“Um, yep. Okay.” He was probably hinting that it was time for me to clear out too, but I didn’t want to miss a second.

When I glanced back at the screen, Ziggy was savoring the second cannoli all to himself. The filling spilled from the sides as he took a bite, his eyes rolled back in orgasmic bliss.

And just like that, I needed to get out of here immediately. I stood suddenly from my chair. “Right! Good night!” I called over my shoulder, clutching my bag over my crotch to hide my growing boner.

Feeding Ziggy, even in a roundabout way, gave me a deep sense of satisfaction.

All I’d ever wanted in life was to take care of someone—physically, financially, sexually—but I was too controlling for most modern omegas.

And it was totally fine that omegas wanted to work or delay having kids in favor of a career.

There was nothing wrong with that—it just wasn’t me.

The older I got, the less likely finding the right one for me was going to happen, so I’d just accepted that this was my lot in life.

I raced home, unable to fully relax until I was back in my trailer, out front of the house. I blew out a sigh of relief as I dropped back into my wheeled chair in front of the bank of monitors and checked on my cast.

The truth was, I missed my real bed. My big-screen TV, my home gym.

My kitchen too , I thought with chagrin as I grabbed a plastic clamshell of salad from the mini fridge and balanced it on the edge of my cluttered workspace.

And I knew I could leave. I could go home any time I wanted.

I had a whole crew of highly capable people to manage the show, especially while everyone in the house was asleep, but…

I couldn’t just leave. Not when Ziggy was on the other side of this screen, a hundred feet away inside that house.

I knew what I’d started to feel for him wasn’t healthy.

It was bordering on obsession. It would be different if he felt something for me too, but he didn’t even know I existed.

It was more like I was locked in a one-sided relationship with my computer monitor.

Besides, he had a contract, and I had a job to do.

After last season’s clusterfuck, I couldn’t risk drawing the wrong kind of attention.

No matter how much I wanted him for myself.

For now, there was no harm in watching him from a distance. I could almost convince myself I was just doing my job, while at night, dreaming of what could be.

I picked up a pen and crossed Dash’s name off the list of remaining contestants. And so begins week two.

Dash Patterson Ross Walters Alex Clement Costas Layton Stuart Lee Garfield Basso Abraham McNeal Rune Cochrane Cy Adler Darnell Sawyer Prairie Donoghue Ziggy Goff