Page 49 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus (The Exchange)

Chapter Four

Rafe

This is going to be a problem. I know it's true the second Anastasia steps out the door of her suite.

Normally, she's drowning in the spare clothes Evie gave her so she'd have something warm to wear around the lodge. Except tonight she's back in her old attire.

She's wearing a black dress and black heels, the kind with the red bottom that women go crazy for. The dress is tight up top and flares out into a puffy skirt. She's got dark liner on her eyes and bright red lipstick on her plush lips.

My chest tightens as I watch her saunter down the hall. She's absolutely beautiful. Not that she isn't every single day, but she looks confident. It reminds me of the old Anastasia.

Ana heads for the stairs. I glance at the door.

I'm on the first floor. I could head her off wherever she's headed.

Wolfe is in the gym. He just got started a few minutes ago.

I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Since I'm pretty much exclusively in the office, my bosses don't make a big deal about me wearing the polo.

I mean normally I do wear it, but I spilled coffee on my shirt this afternoon and had to change.

Anastasia makes it to the first floor landing while I'm trying to talk myself out of interceding.

I can't sit here and do nothing.

She's an unbonded omega.

All omegas are required to be accompanied when they're outside of their room. Okay, so that policy is for guests of The Exchange and Ana is technically now an employee. But I get a weird churning feeling in my gut when I think about her being out without someone I trust to keep her safe.

I shove my chair back, grab my cell phone and keys, and move to intercept.

Anastasia sighs when she spots me. She marches along down the hallway and doesn't say a word. I follow her out into the cool evening air and shiver. Ana doesn't seem to be as bothered by the chilly temperature as I am. She hits the sidewalk that leads down to the shops in the small downtown area.

"Wait," I say, finally breaking the silence. "Where are you headed?"

"There's a bar," Ana says, running her hands over her arms. "I'm pretty sure it's that way."

I sigh so loudly it reminds me of my grandfather.

"How about we walk the fifteen feet back that way," I say, nodding to the parking lot. "I'll gladly drive you anywhere you want to go."

Ana's blueish-gray eyes study me carefully. Her body betrays her with a shiver, and I link my hand in hers.

"Come on," I growl, gently pulling her toward my car. "What were you thinking? It's cold as hell. It might not look like it's that far, but it's several city blocks."

"Jeez, sorry, dad. I'll do better next time."

"Not my kink," I grumble, guiding her to my SUV. I freeze. Shit, I really shouldn't have said that. I know it's Vik's, and I'm pretty sure she's hurt he's not here.

"I mean, it could be," I say with a laugh.

Anastasia snorts. I unlock it with the clicker and open the door for her. Ana climbs inside.

I give myself a pep-talk. No more dancing the line of accidentally upsetting her. Look after her, get her back safely, and tell Vik enough is enough. Whether the job is done or not, it's time for him to come home.

The lodge employs the majority of the people in our tiny town. There are a few restaurants and businesses, but this far up into the mountains everyone tends to know everyone. I'm immediately on edge when I see who Anastasia planned to meet.

Chance Butler isn't a bad guy, but he's twenty-three or twenty-four and has that dude-bro vibe of "I'll stick my dick in anything that moves".

I don't love crowded places. The bar is packed full of tourists and lodge employees trying to blow off steam after a long week.

Anastasia doesn't make a move to head for Chance. She meanders up to the bar, and I have no idea what to do. When one of the guys waiting grabs a huge handful of Ana's ass, I stop standing by the door like a fool and head for them.

I dislike that she doesn't slap his hand away.

I'm pretty sure she just managed to get that guy to buy her a drink.

I'm three feet away when it becomes clear Anastasia is the shark in this situation.

She pats his arm, removes his hand from her ass, and grabs the pitcher of beer the bartender holds out.

My jaw hangs open as she saunters my way without ever being carded. She's twenty-two. No one should be handing her alcohol without checking her ID.

I have a very Viktor-like urge to spank her ass.

Not all men will call it a loss and simply move on.

I grumble something to that effect to Anastasia, who marches toward Chance and the dude-bro collective.

"I had that under complete control," Ana says, laughing. "Come on, let's have fun. I haven't been out in ages."

She just put herself in a dangerous situation for what, a few free drinks? All she has to do is ask and I'll buy her whatever she needs.

I sigh. This is the last place I want to be to relax after a stressful week. I feel like Wolfe as I rage-text Vik. I heard all about last night.

Vik hasn't answered me in two days, and I'd be minorly concerned for his safety if I didn't know he's a hard son of a bitch to kill.

I text Wolfe a picture of Ana perched on Chance's knee at the high-top table. Anastasia is definitely showing her ass tonight, and I don't just mean in the tiny dress she decided was appropriate attire for a bar full of alphas looking to blow off steam after a week of dealing with tourists.

I vaguely consider texting Murphy. One sentence from him would put Anastasia off-limits again. The only thing that holds me back is my fear that it would extend to my pack, too.

I've never considered myself a violent person. Sure, I served my time in the military the same as most alphas I grew up with, but in general I choose communication over violence any day of the week.

That's why it's so off-putting when I suddenly have the urge to remove Chance's hands from his body. He can have them back. I'm sure a good surgeon could reattach them under the proper circumstances. As long as they never touch Ana again, he can even keep them.

I open the door to the nest, nodding for Anastasia to check it out. She slides by me and I catch her natural scent in full force. It's incredibly sweet. Her heat is coming up in the very near future.

I flip on the light as Anastasia takes in the room.

The center of the nest has a raised platform with three steps leading up to it.

The wall edges have thick dark wooden beams that attach to the ceiling.

There's a small area of about three feet of carpeting around the nest mattress.

The back edge is framed with giant cushions and has a row of bed pillows in front of it.

Anastasia glances at me over her shoulder. She looks uncertain. I grab her hand, leading her into the room.

"This is the medium style of nest," I tell her, guiding her over to the small bathroom. "There's no shower in these, but it's nice that you don't have to leave the nest to use the bathroom."

Anastasia peeks her head inside. "Yeah, that is handy. This room is big, though. Don't omegas generally prefer to have a more confined space?"

I tilt my head, studying her carefully. She sounds unsure. Every omega is different, but she should feel confident enough to ask for what she needs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce her life hasn't been as easy and glamorous as one might expect from the way she carries herself.

"It's open now, but you can use the curtains to help it feel more secure.

" I head over to the back corner and grab the wand, pulling it until the entire back wall is blocked off by the heavy light-blocking panel.

I grab the next wand and eventually we make it all the way around.

"The runner for the curtains overlaps in the front.

Or you can leave it partially open if you want a little light. Want to climb in and check it out?"

"Will you come in with me?" she asks. Her voice is so unsure it makes it very hard not to wrap her in my arms and squeeze her tight.

My mom always says there isn't much in the world a good hug can't fix.

I settle for wrapping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her up the stairs. There's a huge pile of blankets in the back left corner in addition to the fluffy comforter that covers the bed.

If I was Wolfe, I'd pick her up and toss her down. He could make her laugh. Vik would command the situation and intuitively know what she needs.

I frown, rubbing at the back of my neck. She looks up at me, and I know I've got to do something to put her at ease.

"The mattress in each nest is special ordered. They have this three-inch-thick foam topper that's got a waterproof layer. They're all removed and sanitized between uses," I say, like I'm reading the fucking brochure.

My head hangs. At times like these I'd kill for Wolfe's swagger or even Vik's 'I don't give a fuck' indifference. Neither of them would be blushing right now, but my face burns with embarrassment.

"Let's check it out," Anastasia says, taking my hand and kneeling down on the bed.

I follow her down, grateful for the olive branch.

She drops my hand and crawls up the mattress.

Her short dress barely covers her ass, and I feel like a total dick for being unable to look away.

She's got this slim hourglass figure that's even more pronounced when she's on all fours.

She makes it to the top of the bed and rolls over to face me. I toss myself down next to her.

Reaching over her, I grab one of the soft smaller blankets from the pile and tuck it around her. I lay my head on my forearm to keep my glasses from getting bent.

"It's very cozy with the curtains," Anastasia says, scooting close to my front. Her nose twitches and then she's burying her face in my armpit. Not my neck or my shoulder, but my man funk. It's so unexpected that my jaw falls open.

Her hand lands on my shoulder as her fingertips dance over my neck. It causes my chest to vibrate with a ragged purr.

My face burns.

I'm pretty sure it's worse than popping an unexpected hard-on. Which is entirely possible if she doesn't stop wiggling her front against mine.

"You stuffed me full of home-cooked food," Ana says, yawning. "And now you're purring? You, Mr. Castro, are going to make some woman very happy one day."

My hand falls to her hip, which is covered by the blanket. I wrap my wrist around her lower back to keep her from moving as she buries her nose even deeper.

"You smell so good," she murmurs. "Like citrus and sexy man."

My heart thunders so violently I'm sure she can feel it pounding away under her cheek, but Anastasia simply snuggles closer and promptly falls asleep.

"Found them." Wolfe's voice breaks me out of a dead sleep.

I blink awake to find Anastasia asleep with her head on my chest and her leg tossed over my pelvis. I vaguely remember pulling my glasses off and setting them aside on the carpet, but I didn't intend to fall asleep.

"Damn." Wolfe whistles softly. "I didn't see that one coming." He tilts his head, staring at Anastasia's ass. "That's a killer view."

"Get fucked," Vik grumbles, shoving Wolfe out of the way. He points at me. "You and I are going to have words tomorrow. I texted you more than twenty times. Fuck. I was about to call in reinforcements. I had no idea where you two disappeared to."

"Hush," I snap. "She's sleeping. Bitch at me tomorrow."

Anastasia snuggles closer to my chest. I feel ten-feet tall as I flip off my packmates and promptly fall back to sleep.

If I didn't realize I was fucked the minute Anastasia complimented my dad's lasagna and then cuddled up to my chest to sleep off the food coma, I definitely see it now.

The urge to chop Chance's body into small pieces comes back in full force as I realize they're dancing. Fucking hell, while I was daydreaming those two got really close.

His hand on her ass flexes, causing her dress to pull up dangerously high. That fucker acts like he doesn't care if he accidentally flashes her ass to half the room.

It's because he doesn't, I realize. I scowl like it's my job, but Chance doesn't mind because he never glances my way.

I'm working up the courage to walk over and cut in on their dance, when Wolfe walks in. The long floppy blond hair on top of his head is darker than normal, like he rushed here after a shower.

My jaw drops open when I spot who's behind him.

Viktor stomps straight for me, and he doesn't look pleased.

Aww, fuck.