Page 24 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus (The Exchange)

Chapter Nineteen

Everly

"Everly," Connor says later that evening. He shoots me a bright smile, extending his arm for me to come inside.

"I'm going to get some laundry done," Luke says, kissing my temple. "Then I'll handle moving our stuff while you're with Murphy."

"Okay, thanks," I say as he pulls my mouth to his. We share a brief kiss, and my cheeks burn. Luke smacks my ass and heads off back the way we came.

"Come on in," Connor says. "We've got a few things for you."

"You really didn't have to do that," I tell him as his hand meets my lower back. He guides me into the living room.

"Indeed we did," Connor says. "It's an important part of the courting process. You look positively beautiful. Would it be too forward to ask that I could have a go before you head out with Tom?"

My jaw falls, and I actually miss a step. Um, what?

Connor catches me with his hands on my hips.

"For the love of God, I'm hopeless," he says, shaking his head. "I'd like an opportunity to take you on a quick date."

"Oh, yeah," I say with a laugh. "I'd like that."

"You're sure I haven't scared you off?" His dark olive complexion helps hide some of it, but he’s definitely blushing.

"No." I snort a laugh. "Usually I'm the one saying ridiculous things, or tripping into something, or generally being embarrassing. I'm grateful you took the pressure off me."

"Glad I could help," he says, brushing his black hair away from his face. "I took the liberty of picking a few things out for you. I know it's customary to ask prior to purchasing gifts." He shrugs. "I was hopeful you'd be open to all three of us."

"Of course," I agree.

Archie and Tom are in the living room waiting when we make it down the hallway.

"You look beautiful," Archie says, standing and coming to give me a quick kiss. His hands slide up under my dress, and he flashes Tom a nice view of my ass.

I turn to say hello to Tom. He's leaning forward in his chair like he had to hold himself back from pouncing.

"Hi," I say, giving a little wave. Tom growls, wrapping a large forearm around me and pulling me into his lap. He faces me toward the room, and I look up at him a little confused.

"I want to hold you while you open your gifts," Tom says, shrugging a giant shoulder.

I pat his arm and snuggle back into his chest. It's a little pathetic how desperate I am to be held and touched.

"Mine first," Archie says, handing me a small wrapped gift. It's very heavy for its size. "We don't want to overwhelm you, so we decided we'd give you one each tonight."

"You really didn't have to get me anything," I say, staring into Archie's eyes.

Tom grunts, squeezing me with the arm around my middle.

I rip into the wrapping paper and carefully open the box.

"Ohmigosh," I whisper, pulling out the book on top. "Lucky Charms: Scottish Courting Traditions. Archie, this is incredible." My fingers skate over the gold-embossed lettering. I flip it open and glance through the pages.

"That's not all there is," Archie says, kissing my cheek. He gently takes the book and nods to the box. I reach inside pulling out the next book. It's even older.

"The Origin of Packs in Scotland?" I shriek. It was a banned book for a lot of years, and I freak out a little bit realizing I'm holding an original copy. "Ohmigod, thank you!" I toss myself at him.

"I'd say she likes it," Connor says, laughing.

"I love it!" I assure them, but then my mind catches up to reality. "This is too much." I'm unsure about the first book, but the second? I know that book cost more than I'd expect a whole pack to spend on the entire courting process.

"No," Archie says, brushing his fingers over my cheek. "None of that, lass. I can afford it. I assure you."

"Still," I whisper. My face heats, and I shake my head. "You're right. That's not the proper way to accept a gift. I'm sorry if I—"

My words cut off as Archie shoves his tongue into my mouth. It's a dirty kiss that has me grinding on Tom's already-hard cock. I whimper as Archie pulls back.

"I'm glad you like it," he says, pecking a final kiss on my lips.

"You can go next," Connor says to Tom. He hands him a large coat box in sparkly, baby pink paper. It has a huge silver ribbon. Tom places it in my lap, and I grin over my shoulder at him.

"Thank you," I say, leaning up to kiss his cheek. His beard is scratchy against my skin.

"I didn't wrap it," Tom admits. I laugh, shaking my head. With those giant hands of his? I'm not shocked.

I carefully unwrap the ribbon, and Connor takes it from me.

The paper is thick and heavy as I rip into it.

I lift the lid of the coat box off and squeal.

There's a long-sleeve t-shirt pajama dress with Santa and all the reindeer in a cartoonish pattern.

Underneath that is a fluffy pink robe and matching knee-length socks.

There's also a pair of slippers that match the pajama dress.

"Okay, so I love this," I whisper, running my fingers over each piece to test how soft the material is. "It's perfect."

"Good," Tom agrees. Archie takes the box, and I spin around to face Tom. His giant hands are scratchy on my thighs as he helps me position myself.

"Thank you." I grin, kissing the edge of his mouth.

"I like it when you smile at me like that," Tom rumbles in his deep, gravelly tone.

I brush my cheek against his, and he grips my ass in his strong hands. It makes me shiver in response.

"I think I'll give you my gift after we visit the hot cocoa bar," Connor says, clearing his throat.

"Okay," I agree. "Luke told you guys how excited I was about that, huh?"

"Yes," Connor agrees. "And I feel like I've hardly had any time with you."

"Have fun," Tom says, caressing my cheek before lifting me off his lap.

Connor grips my waist and helps me stand. My eyes are still glued to Tom's forearms. He's incredibly strong, and it does funny things to the part of my brain that desperately wants to submit to a powerful alpha.

"Come on, little omega," Connor says, resting his hand on my hip. "Let's get some hot cocoa."

"Have fun," Archie calls out to our backs. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Connor waves a hand at him as he guides me to the door.

"I feel like our grumpy child is all grown up," Archie says, snorting a laugh.

Connor laughs, shaking his head. "It appears I've gained a bit of a reputation."

"I promised Murphy I wouldn't let you completely fill up on sweets," Connor says, nodding to my mostly empty hot cocoa cup. "But we do have a bit of a walk, so I wouldn't feel the need to tell him if you'd like to get a refill before we go."

"Okay," I agree, swallowing thickly.

Connor stands and comes to pull my chair out. He's incredibly fucking handsome in his dark jeans, sweater, and wool pea-coat. He's got a style you'd expect to see back home in New York. His light blue-green eyes sparkle as he helps me up.

We head back to the line, and I set about refilling my cup. I doctor it with all the good stuff. Connor's hands practically burn through the material of my thick sweater dress.

"That's more whipped cream than hot chocolate," he murmurs, nuzzling his cheek to mine. "No wonder you're such a sweet little omega."

I smile, shaking my head. I don't even think he meant that to sound like a line, but it totally did. Connor wraps a long arm around my shoulder and guides us out of the restaurant.

"I don't know that you've ever been over to the other side of the lodge," Connor says, pulling open a door and guiding us out into a courtyard.

"No, I haven't," I say, trying to hold back the quiver in my voice.

It's absolutely freezing. I shiver, cuddling into his strong chest. Connor looks totally different in his casual clothes. His hair is short compared to Murphy's or Luke's, but the top is longer and falls down into his eyes as he guides us along.

"Shit, it is cold. I should have planned better. I bet your legs are freezing."

"I'll be okay," I assure him as we walk the snow-lined sidewalk.

My glasses are foggy, but I can mostly see.

Well, kinda.

But I trust Connor to keep me safe.

"It isn't much farther. Then we'll be inside for the rest of the trip," he says, pulling me close.

We make it into the building. The bottom floor of this side has a huge wall of windows that show off the view down into the slopes. The check-in area has two women behind a long desk, and there are a few people sitting near the giant fireplace on the other side of the room.

Dark wooden flooring spans as far as the eye can see.

"Wow," I whisper as my eyes take in every detail of the decor. The interior walls have dark wooden beams that give it a very log cabin vibe. The lighting is low, with a warm glow. "Connor, it's beautiful."

"It is," he agrees. My heart pounds erratically as he bites his lip and guides us down a long hallway. The entire wall to our left is glass.

"Holy crap, that's a killer view," I say, studying the trees and snow on the mountain.

"Yes," Connor says. "This is the part of the job I love."

"There's a part you don't care for?" I ask as we turn, heading down another hallway.

Connor grimaces. "I fear I've grown weary of The Exchange. It can be very rewarding seeing omegas find their pack, but it can be tedious at times."

I try not to cringe. Memories of the omegas on the bus and the way Anastasia acted file through my mind. "I get it," I say, giving his arm a squeeze. "Did I hear you took over for your family pack?"

"I did," Connor says as we turn down another long corridor. He goes on to tell me how his mom passed away. His fathers were grieving, and purchasing a franchise in The Exchange gave them hope.

He mumbles a bit about how things have changed in the last few years, and finally we stop at a door.

"I was originally going to bring you to the front entrance, but we'd have to venture out into the cold again. I hope you don't mind. This won't be as glamorous as the main entrance."

My face scrunches with confusion, and my glasses wiggle down. Connor chuckles, giving them a quick push up for me.

"I still have no idea what we're doing," I confess.

"I really am out of practice when it comes to wooing a woman," Connor says.

He reaches into the chest pocket of his coat and pulls out a small black box.

My eyes widen; it almost looks like a jewelry box.

It's a square about three-by-three inches.

"Hold this for a moment." He places the box in my hand and opens the door.

"I swear I'm always dragging you to sketchy places. "

He unlocks the door and leads us through a huge maintenance room. We walk through to another smaller room, and Connor nods to the door.

"I'm sorry, it was the only way I could keep you out of the cold."

"It's no problem," I assure him.

"Go ahead and open it," he says. I lift the small lid and inside are several keys. My face must show my confusion because Connor reaches in and grabs the ring of keys. We head to the door, and he opens it.

My eyes scan the room. We're in a small office. Connor types in a code on the security system, and it beeps, I assume, to say it's disarmed. He wraps his hand around mine and guides us out of the office and into a small shop.

It's adorable. There are shelves of antiques and trinkets, books and snow globes, pictures and postcards. It's a little gift shop for the lodge, but it has so much more than a normal souvenir shop.

Connor flips the light in the corner as I meander the aisles, checking everything out.

"This is awesome." I grin at him over my shoulder. "You totally fibbed. You're not out of practice at wooing a woman at all."

Connor gives me a look of pure molten sexual desire as he prowls closer.

His hands land on my waist as he bends down, brushing a kiss over my lips.

My nostrils flare as I get a strong hit of his coffee scent.

My thighs clench together, but it doesn't help.

An embarrassing little whine escapes. He tilts my head back with a handful of hair.

My body melts into Connor's strong form as he fucks his tongue into my mouth.

It's not a playful kiss. No, it feels like he's trying to devour me whole, and at this point…

I'd let him.

"Fuck," he hisses as he pulls back. His pupils are huge, completely dilated. A moan escapes my swollen lips. They feel sore and puffy. Connor dives back in, kissing the ever-loving hell out of me. His cock is hard against my belly as he pulls me flush with his front.

He growls, and it elicits a physical response from my body. My core throbs, feeling tender and achy.

Connor kisses my temple and works his way down my cheek and over my neck. His tongue flicks over my throat, and I moan. Huge hands grip my hips, holding me in place as he steps back.

"My apologies," he says, clearing his throat. "I lost control of myself for a moment. I haven't even explained my gift."

My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath. He's got some ridiculous self-control. I was about twenty seconds away from stretching out across the floor in offering.

I lick my lips, glancing around to try to get back some of my lost brain functioning.

"Can I pick a few souvenirs?" I ask, eyeing the wall of postcards, stickers, and magnets.

"Of course," Connor agrees, running his hands down his jeans.

The thick bulge of his erection is fully visible.

Even the line of his knot can be seen. Although, I know it'll swell even larger when he's locked inside me.

"But I do hope you mean trinkets to send to your friends and family.

You won't need souvenirs of your own. We fully intend to keep you forever. "