Knight Life In Vegas (Sin City Omegas #3)

Chapter 1

I tripped over a fire truck in the hall and caught myself on the wall, cursing quietly as I steadied myself. My eldest son had left his towel on the floor, a trail of water leading from the bathroom to the sodden pile. I collected everything scattered in my path with a sigh. This was pretty much a daily occurrence in our apartment.

We had to be economical now that I was divorced. A tidy two-bedroom in Las Vegas where my boys shared a bunk bed let our money stretch a lot further than the expensive apartment we’d had in Manhattan.

“Ollie, what did I tell you about leaving your toys in the hall?”

“Not to do it,” he shouted from the living room.

I pursed my lips. “And did you listen?”

“Nope!” He ran past me, stealing the fire truck out of my hands and barreling into his bedroom, where I heard Sammy yell.

“Ollie, get off!”

I changed direction to intervene, seeing my six-year-old trying to drive the fire truck on his eight-year-old brother. “Honey, your brother isn’t a road. Remember the conversations we had about personal space?”

“But there is no space, Mommy.” Ollie gestured to the small square of room on their floor that was full of their toys.

I tried not to feel too much guilt about it. We only had the money my parents had left me to survive on right now. My ex-husband had apparently embezzled so much of his personal wealth that there was basically nothing left for the boys and me after he was convicted and his assets seized.

“You’ll have tons of space to play tonight at Auntie’s. Why don’t you both grab a snack from the fridge and I’ll get your bags packed?”

Sammy crawled out from under his brother and dashed to the kitchen, Ollie following but making siren noises and pushing his truck down the hall. I made quick work of the task, knowing the juice boxes and crackers wouldn’t last them long.

I had always heard people weren’t supposed to make drastic decisions after big life changes like death or divorce, but I hadn’t listened. Moving my children from New York to Las Vegas was impulsive, but being in my home city made me sick after my entire life turned out to be a lie.

I’d been good since then: attending therapy for the last year, picking up new hobbies, helping my two boys adjust to life without their father. But I was going to lose it sooner or later. It was all bubbling beneath the surface: fury, sorrow, frustration.

If I didn’t let it out, I was going to burst.

I didn’t even have the comfort of a proper nest to climb into. My ex hadn’t allowed me much of one during our marriage, and I certainly couldn’t afford to outfit one for myself now. It wasn’t fair. Omegas needed nests. Surviving as long as I had without one was purely a necessity, but I still craved the comfort of it.

Charlotte:

Could I bring the boys over a bit early? They’re getting cabin fever.

Ava:

ABSOLUTELY

We got some new pool floats so they can tire themselves out before bed

Charlotte:

You’re a godsend!

“Okay, kiddos, I’ve got your bags ready to go. Let’s hustle.”

They raced me all the way down to the ground level, blessedly pausing at the doors instead of running out into the parking lot without me. I got them bundled into the back in their booster seats and smiled at both of them.

“Are you two excited for your sleepover with Auntie?”

“Yeah!” shrieked Ollie at full volume.

I flinched but disguised it by getting myself into the front seat.

Sammy nodded but wasn’t nearly so exuberant as his brother.

“And you’re going to be on your best behavior?” I asked.

Both of them nodded like little bobble heads.

“How come you’re not sleeping over with us?” Sammy asked.

“I’m having some mommy time tonight,” I said carefully.

Sammy pouted. “You could have mommy time with us.”

“I will, baby,” I promised. “Tomorrow, after Lucy’s birthday party.”

My children had been especially clingy over the past year after their father had gotten himself arrested. I loved them so much, but the cling was starting to feel closer to strangulation. They adored Ava and her pack, so I was hopeful they’d do well tonight. I could always come over in the night if I needed to, but this would be good for all of us.

“You packed Waffles for me?” Ollie asked.

“He’s in your backpack.” The stuffed dog had seen better days, but Ollie refused to part with it. I wouldn’t have had the heart to toss it anyway since it had been a gift for him my parents had given me when they’d found out I was pregnant with him. It was the only gift they’d ever been able to give him before they passed.

We passed the drive with the radio blasting, both of them singing along with misheard and mispronounced lyrics.

I couldn’t tell who was more excited when we arrived: my boys, or Ava and her pack.

“Hey, stranger!” Ava smiled at me from the doorway. Her dark blonde hair, almost the same shade as mine, was tucked up in a high ponytail to show off a heart-shaped face that matched my own. Her hazel eyes, also like mine, shone with happiness.

She’d been such a wonderful friend to me. I almost laughed. It was still so strange to call her that when she was actually my ex-husband’s unwitting mistress. Looking at her sometimes still felt odd with how similar we were in appearance, knowing my husband had chosen someone who looked just like me, but twenty years younger. Mostly, I tried not to think about that part. I couldn’t hate her for what had happened. She hadn’t known a thing about me or my children, and she was so genuinely sweet. After everything had gone down with the exposure of the affair and my ex-husband’s arrest, as depressing as it had been, Ava and her pack had felt like the only ones I could turn to for support. They’d been a soft place to land and I’d be grateful to them forever.

“Hey! Thank you again for having the boys over. They have so much fun when they’re here.”

“We love having them.” She beamed.

Ava and her alphas had probably spent more time with my boys this past year than their father had in their whole lives, and my children thrived on the attention. The situation was complicated, with Ava’s daughter being my boys’ half sister, but we were both willing to give it a try for them to grow up with their siblings, even if their sire had done his best to ruin both of our lives.

The boys each gave me a hasty hug before running inside, where the alphas swung them around, making them shriek with laughter.

“What’re you up to with your kid-free time?” Ava asked.

“I have a whole plan for the night: window shopping for things I can’t afford anymore, dinner with a view, and not tripping over a single toy.”

I didn’t add that maybe, if I was brave enough, I’d find someone to pass a couple of hours with.

Andrew had spent years isolating me from my friends in New York, forcing me to socialize with people who were also being forced to do the same. None of us cared about one another. They never would have helped me if I’d gone to them. But Ava cared.

I knew that my connection with her was a trauma bond—we had both been hurt deeply by the same man—but I needed that connection.

“That all sounds good, minus the not affording.” Ava frowned.

“It’s fine. I couldn’t fit a single new thing in the apartment anyway. Trying to practice minimalism with myself and leave room for the boys as much as I can.”

“Snacks are ready.” One of her alphas, Jesse, came up behind her, looping his arm around her waist and leaning to kiss her cheek. “Charlotte, are you going to join us? You’re always welcome.”

“Not today, but thank you for offering.” I pasted on a smile, though my heart ached every time I saw how gentle Ava’s pack was with her, how obvious it was that they loved her. Their behavior had been a spotlight on all the ways Andrew had neglected and belittled me. It was hard to lie to myself that everyone was probably as unhappy as I’d been for years with Andrew when I could see how contrary that was in reality. Happiness, devoted partners, safety, and security that didn’t come at the cost of my own humanity weren’t fairy tales.

They’d been the reason I was brave enough to call Andrew and, even with my voice shaking, tell him I wanted a divorce when all the years of misery with him had crashed over me at once.

“Lucy’s well?”

“Yep,” said Jesse with an easy smile. “Just woke up from her nap. She’s getting fast at walking around using the furniture, so we have to keep extra eyes on her.”

In the background she was clinging to a chair, Ollie encouraging her to walk toward him, and my heart swelled to bursting. Every time I wondered if I’d made the right choices bringing my children here, allowing myself to accept the kindness that Ava and her pack offered me, I’d get little reminders like that. Our lives might be unconventional, but they worked for us, and that was okay.

Another of the alphas, Micah, slipped up to the door, standing close to his omega. “Hey, Charlotte. You’re off for the night?”

“I am. I promised Ava I would try to actually have fun instead of going straight home to clean while the boys weren’t there to follow after me making new messes.”

Micah laughed. “Good. It’s important to take real breaks.”

“I hope you have fun.” Ava hugged me tightly. “Go enjoy your peace and quiet. I promise we’ll call if we need to.”

I departed, only feeling a hint of guilt. The boys would have way more fun tonight with the pack than with me. After a quick trip home to get ready, I headed to the Strip and executed the parts of my plan I’d told Ava about.

I wandered through hotels alone, admiring the decor, in a dress and makeup for the first time since moving here. After the implosion of a twenty-two-year marriage, I was desperately trying to figure out who the hell I was without the iron thumb of my ex-husband holding me down. Reflecting on all the things I had given up over the years—how I’d curtailed my personality, given up my career, denied my omega nature, and made myself small to please him—pissed me the hell off.

Was looking for someone to dally with so I could ruin his claim of being the only man to touch me in the last two decades particularly smart? Maybe not. But I was lonely. So fucking lonely. Being strong for my kids was exhausting, and who could blame me for wanting to take a break in the arms of someone who had no idea what a mess my life had become?

The crowds at most of the clubs I passed were considerably younger than I was, and after giving up hope that I would find one with more age-appropriate choices, I slipped into line at one that advertised a ’90s Night. Even if the attendees were younger, at least the music would suit me. If they turned me away, I’d take it as a sign from the universe that this was a stupid idea. If they let me in…

I fussed with my dress—pink satin with an overlay of black lace—and my blonde hair I had pulled into an updo. I second guessed the style the closer I got to the front of the line. No one else had their hair up. I pulled all the pins free, hastily tucking them into the tiny purse that hung from my wrist.

The bouncer eyed me up. “ID?”

I passed it over, holding my breath to see if he would judge me for being forty-two and slipping into a club full of twenty-somethings. He didn’t breathe a word about my age, simply charging me for the cover and sending me inside with a wristband.

The lights and noise were instantly overwhelming, but somehow liberating at the same time. I had been married before I was old enough to get into one of these places, so in a way it was a small reclamation of a future I could have had.

I made directly for one of the bars and ordered myself a vodka cranberry, pulling away to the edge of the room to sip it while I scoped out the attendees.

“Wanna dance?” A slimy-looking alpha slid up next to me, his hand landing on my ass.

“No. If you want to keep that hand, you’ll take it off me right now.”

He squeezed instead and I shoved him.

“Back off.”

“Come on, just a dance. I promise we’ll both have a good time.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“I said no .”

“Buddy, I don’t think she wants you around.” A tall, dark, and delicious alpha swooped in, putting himself between me and the creep. My heart fluttered that a stranger would step in to protect me.

“Fuck off, man.”

“Leave her alone and I will.”

I tilted my head to look up at my hero, catching snippets of his appearance between flashes of the strobes, the lights sweeping across his warm brown skin, and hair divided into twists that hung to the top of his ears. His shirt looked impossibly snug, and showed off the muscles of his arms.

The gross alpha rolled his eyes. “Fuck both of you, then.”

My savior alpha turned to me. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you for intervening so quickly.”

His eyes were so deep a brown they bordered on black. “You’re more than welcome. Want me to stand guard so you can finish your drink in peace?”

Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to take the risk I’d been contemplating. “I’d rather have a dance with you .”

He grinned, his smile setting off butterflies in my stomach. “I can never say no to a request like that from a beautiful lady.”

I tossed back what was left of my drink and his hand curled around mine, sending electricity up my arm. I had almost forgotten what that felt like: the first touch of a potential lover. He swung me out onto the dance floor, his hands hot on my hips.

I should’ve felt awkward dancing with a stranger, but his grip was steady, maneuvering me easily through the steps. I couldn’t quite put my finger on the style. Music from my teen years pumped over the speakers, nostalgia washing over me as strongly as lust. I hadn’t moved like this in so long. I had been so physical when I was young, with numerous dance classes, horseback riding, and track team, but it had all fallen to the wayside as I got older. This felt, in some small way, like I was reconnecting with who I used to be.

“You know the words, gorgeous?”

My cheeks warmed. He had caught me humming along. “They’re definitely coming back to me.”

He spun me around, pressing the length of my back against his chest, his lips brushing over my ear, and my nerves lit up like a Christmas tree. “Want to sing for me?”

“I think I need a couple more drinks before that,” I said with a laugh.

“I’ll settle for the song of your body.”

I laughed again. “What a line.”

“All I have is my smoothness to compete with these young folks.”

He spun me again and I hooked my arm around the back of his neck as the music slid into a song about a scorned woman getting sweet revenge.

“How old are you that the people in here are young?”

“Thirty-six. Is that too old for you?”

I couldn’t stop the giggles that leapt out of me. “You’re a baby.”

“Only an ageless goddess descended to earth would think that.”

“Not ageless,” I replied. “I’ll be forty-three next month.”

He pressed me closer, his purr rumbling through me. “Wisdom and beauty. How did I get so lucky?”

I wasn’t feeling particularly wise lately, but I didn’t bother to correct him.

“Dip,” he said a second before clutching my waist and sweeping me in an arc that ended with me breathless against him, and my hair a mess. “And spin.”

He clutched my hand and flung me out into the crowd before luring me right back in, catching me against him once more with my arms crossed in front of me, my fingers laced with his.

I was more than a little bitter that I hadn’t been able to experience this when I was young. I breathed deeply, hunting for his scent but coming up short. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was on scent blockers, and so were most people in here, given that I could actually breathe. Without that societal courtesy, the air here would’ve been so thick we could have waded through it.

He swept me through a handful of dances and one more drink until I had loosened up enough with his wicked hands all over me. I stood on my toes and claimed his mouth right there on the dance floor. His answering growl and grip on my waist sent a shiver through me.

“Do you want to come home with me, beautiful?”

“Yes,” I said before I lost my nerve. “Right now?”

“If you’d like. I’m happy to dance vertically or horizontally with you, anytime.”

“Let’s go.”