Page 31 of They Love Me Knot (Starsfalls Omegaverse #2)

Daphne

I set the last of the flowers on a table near the main elevators. It’s a small arrangement (since someone won’t let me carry anything big), but I think it’s a nice “welcome to the party” that people will see as soon as they step onto the floor.

Ciro helped me bring all the flowers up, as promised.

Also as promised, he returned to the van with a new shirt on.

I kind of wish he didn’t. Him being shirtless made our time together much more enjoyable. The damn shirt fit him too, he wasn’t bulging out of it at all. I don’t know where he got it. I haven’t seen anyone else in here who’s as big and broad as he is.

Well, except for Alister, but he ran off to deal with urgent business, so it couldn’t have been him.

Ciro is still looming next to me even though that was the last arrangement.

The office workers are also hovering nearby, I’m assuming because they’re trying to figure out if we offer a shirtless man add-on delivery option .

Wouldn’t that be something.

I consider seeing if Alister is free so I can tell him I completed the delivery, but quickly dismiss the idea. I can text him from the van before I leave. I don’t want to disturb him, but most importantly, I want to get out of here and get ready for my dates.

“Thanks for your help, Ciro,” I say politely (and not at all begrudgingly). “I’ll see you around.”

I try to go for the stairs near the freight elevator, hoping to avoid another awkward ride with Ciro, but his stupid long legs beat me there. He calls the elevator, and it opens immediately, so he herds me right in.

I grumble under my breath, which he ignores as he pushes the button.

I lean against the wall and close my eyes, tired from the long and messy day. At least my night will be the same.

I smile despite my tiredness.

There’s a whoosh, and the doors shut.

The elevator darkens as it starts moving, a shadow crossing my closed eyelids.

If that means the power is flickering and we’re about to crash, I’m not sure I want to see it.

Maybe Ciro will protect me with his body, and he’s so muscular that neither of us are injured, but his shirt gets torn off in the accident and I’ll see what he looks like with streaks of dust on his sweaty body.

Now I’m feeling hot. That definitely shows the elevator is losing power since the air conditioning has gone out.

I carefully open one eye to assess the situation, aiming for Ciro’s midsection to see if it looks like he’s about to pounce and save me from being crushed to death.

I can’t see him at all. I open my eyes wide and look up when I recognize the finely threaded suit jacket a few inches from my face.

Alister leans over me, practically molded to my body, but with a few inches between us so he’s not actually touching me.

“I told you I would unload the flowers. You didn’t wait for me,” he says in a steely voice.

Why do I feel like I’m getting reprimanded for being naughty in school.

And why do I like it.

I squirm nervously and excitedly.

“Well, I…” I say, looking down at my shoes.

Alister moves closer and grips my chin to turn my face up to his.

“I asked you to wait in the kitchen. I thought you would enjoy the food for a few minutes and didn’t expect to be gone for so long. I’m sorry it took me longer than expected, but I didn’t want you carrying everything yourself,” he says.

I struggle to look him in the eye. I settle for looking at his cheekbones, which are nice and broad. I want to obey him, but I don’t want an alpha telling me what to do, but I also kind of do if Alister’s the one doing the telling.

And maybe also Ciro. My eyes dart to the right without meaning to, but I can’t see him around Alister.

Alister notices me looking.

“Don’t mind him, this is between you and me,” Alister says.

“Yeah, don’t mind me watching you aggressively hitting on someone who works for you,” Ciro says scathingly.

“She doesn’t work at my company, and our business is now concluded,” Alister says firmly, but there’s a hint of defensiveness.

I’m surprised Ciro is so annoyed by this.

Maybe it’s just the alpha thing. They’re driven to defend omegas even if they don’t like them.

I giggle manically at the thought of Ciro defending me even though he doesn’t seem to like me very much.

Biology is a bitch.

Neither of the alphas seem to know what to do with my creepy laughter. Alister tilts his head at me, and Ciro cuts off whatever he was starting to reply.

The elevator dings, interrupting our strange ride.

Alister straightens up, releasing my chin in favor of putting his hand on the small of my back to escort me out.

Ciro follows us, stopping when Alister stops in the lobby. I expected Ciro to leave now that there’s nothing heavy left for me to carry.

Alister barely spares him a glance before focusing on me. “Thank you for delivering the flowers. They’re beautiful, not that I expected anything less from you.”

Ciro scoffs, watching our interaction.

“Th-thanks,” I stammer.

I like the praise just as much as the scolding. Maybe even more, the high of going from a scolding to getting his approval is keeping my emotions running high and my body in a tizzy.

“I don’t want you working too hard when I could help and you could save your energy for other things,” he continues.

“What ‘other things’ are you trying to get her to do?” Ciro butts in again, aggressively stepping closer and angling himself between us.

Alister gives him a sharp look.

“I’m trying to ask Daphne if she would like to spend more time with me now that she’s free. If you’re so against such pursuits, perhaps you should go elsewhere and leave us to our conversation,” Alister says.

“It doesn’t count as ‘asking’ if someone’s being paid to be nice to you,” Ciro replies, moving even closer to me as he tries to get between us.

“Like I said, our business is concluded, so I hope Daphne doesn’t feel the need to spare my feelings.

I sense a connection with her and want to see if she feels the same way.

Daphne is free to leave at any time, and I’ll respect her decision, which I hope she knows,” Alister tells Ciro, but he’s looking at me when he says it.

I nod quickly, agreeing with him. I do feel like I can tell him to leave me alone, and he’d listen and not bother me again.

I can’t deny the draw between us when Alister is so near. He makes me forget about the alphas from my past, what’s their names, and why I’m even trying to stay away from alphas to begin with.

Maybe it’s because they’re so handsome and dominant that I forget all sense and want to tackle them right here in the lobby so I can take them.

Yeah, that’s probably why I’m trying to avoid alphas. I lose all sense of public decency.

“This is still a business relationship, and you’re trying to fuck it!” Ciro says, loud enough that his voice echoes back at us and Katalina stops trying to pretend that she’s not listening.

I make eye contact with her and give a small shrug. She rolls her eyes and mouths back “alphas.” She keeps watching though, so at least we’re putting on an interesting show .

I’ve never wanted anyone to fight over me, but for some reason my omega thinks this display should make us tingly and wet, and my body is listening.

It must be the evolutionary thing of wanting to find the strongest mate, and what better way to determine that than to have them fight in front of you.

Not sure that really makes sense for omegas though, since we usually group up with several alphas anyway.

I mentally scold my horny inner self that it isn’t nice to want people to fight over you. We should care for them equally and not want them to get hurt.

My omega agrees we should fuck both of them, problem solved.

That decision does nothing to decrease my body’s response to the two testy alphas, and I’m losing my train of thought on the whole thing.

“Are you trying to keep the rest of us away from omegas now? We want you to deal with your issues for your own sake but haven’t pushed you on it because you’re an adult and you can make your own decisions.

However, if you’re going to prevent us from finding an omega, we’ll need to have a serious talk about helping you work through this mental block,” Alister says.

Now I’m confused. Do these two know each other? I never did ask Ciro why he was here.

“I’m not keeping you away from omegas, I’m just keeping you away from this one,” he retorts in a growly tone.

Alister looks back and forth between Ciro and me before taking a step back. He was leaning aggressively toward him as their “discussion” wore on but now seems to have calmed down .

“I understand,” Alister says.

“Good, I’m glad you’re finally getting it,” Ciro says, also stepping back.

“You want Daphne for yourself.”

“That’s not—no, I also have a—a business relationship with Daphne, so we can’t. I don’t even…that’s beside the point. I’m not lazy enough to chase every omega I come across. Not that I’ve come on her, I just—” Ciro cuts off his own rant, running his hand across his face in frustration.

He misses my pointed look at his “coming across me” comment. It looks like I’m not the only one who’s too horny for my own good.

“Daphne, do you have any reservations about dating someone who has business connections to Queen of Hearts?” Alister addresses me unexpectedly.

“Oh, um, no,” I say, glancing at Ciro’s slumped form. “But I’m not—not sure about…”

I shift uncertainly. There’s been a lot of friction between Ciro and I, but maybe it’s all due to sexual tension? He’s often verbally rude, but overall his actions are generally helpful.

Except for the time he thought I was stealing from him and unlawfully detained me. But he did that instead of calling the cops and having me arrested immediately. That could also have been his way of being nice to me.

I think Ciro’s niceness needs some work. His pat-down was pretty good though.

“Will you go on a date with my packmate and me?” Alister says with a nod to Ciro.

My jaw drops.

“You’re packmates?” I squeak out.