Knight Life In Vegas (Sin City Omegas #3)

Chapter 9

H oly shit. Ho-ly shit.

I had thought Francisco was life-changing , but having two alphas at once was mind-blowing . Getting fed steak, shrimp, and fries afterward didn’t hurt either. Eduardo sat me on his lap, knot-deep, while Dylan fed me. Even after the knot went down, I was too comfortable to move.

We watched a ridiculous made-for-TV movie about a small-town omega moving to the big city. I was relieved neither of them demanded much conversation because my brain felt like scrambled eggs. I wouldn’t make the mistake of staying too late this time. We had the room until check out at ten in the morning, but I fully intended to be back in my own apartment well before then.

“Could you pass me my purse?” I asked Dylan.

I unashamedly stared at his ass as he climbed off the bed and bent down to fetch it off the floor for me.

“Thank you.” I popped a dose out of the pill pack and let it dissolve under my tongue.

“What’s that?” Dylan asked.

“That’s rude,” said Eduardo, poking Dylan in the forehead.

“It’s fine. It’s just a scent blocker.”

“You’re killing me, princess.” Dylan pouted, looking every ounce the needy pup. “I’ve been dying to know what your omega scent is.”

“It’s not that exciting.”

“You’re not the one who gets to breathe it in.” Eduardo dragged his nose up the column of my throat. “I’m curious about it, too.”

“Neither of you are showing off your scents,” I pointed out.

“Our doses will wear off overnight,” Eduardo said.

I would be gone before that happened, but I didn’t say so out loud. They were both very insistent about getting to cuddle me after they had railed me senseless. Part of me wondered if I should be embarrassed by how strongly I reacted, but I was too tired to care that much.

I settled back against Eduardo’s chest and his arms wrapped around me, Dylan stretching out next to us with his head on my thigh. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“Querida, you could never disappoint us. Why don’t we get some sleep?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” I adjusted until I was horizontal, the alphas sandwiching me in a cozy cocoon. Getting out once they had fallen asleep wouldn’t be easy, but it would need to be done. They were already far too much of a temptation, just like Francisco had been. His absence sat like an ache in my chest. I knew he was a scent match, and my intellectual denial of that out of spite for fate didn’t stop my body from craving him.

Maybe I had spent too long sleeping with the same man and now my body expected anyone that touched me to become a long-term addition. I didn’t need a new alpha, let alone three.

Dylan was out like a light, and Eduardo followed not long after. I did my absolute best to stay conscious, first listing out states, and then elements on the periodic table, and then every fruit I could think of trying to keep myself awake.

They both purred in their sleep.

The minutes crept by and I waited in silence to make sure they were fully asleep. I didn’t really want to leave. I was so damn comfortable and even thinking about getting up right now had my baser instincts rebelling.

Whispers of warm leather and tart cherries teased my nose, accompanied shortly after with lemon oil and pink peppercorns. Those elements sank down to the marrow of my bones and I clamped my teeth over my bottom lip to stop from cursing out loud.

Was fate fucking serious right now?

Two more scent matches.

How was it possible that my two valiant attempts at one-night stands had led me to scent matches every time?

I wasn’t ready.

Staring down the barrel of forever made my stomach turn. I simply refused to entertain the life fate was trying to throw at me. It could put a hundred scent matches in my path and I wouldn’t accept a single one of them. I hadn’t been independent for decades and I wasn’t going to give up that opportunity just because I was supposed to.

I wriggled as carefully as I could to the bottom of the bed and slid gracelessly to the floor. I collected my clothes in the dark and dressed by the light of my phone screen in the bathroom. My feet screamed when I slid them back into my heels, but I wasn’t going to traipse over hotel carpeting barefoot.

With every instinct yelling at me not to go, I turned the door handle and slipped out of the room, ordering a rideshare on my way down to the lobby. I felt like a dick with every step, but the guilt couldn’t overwhelm panic, knowing that if I stayed, if I let fate dictate who I was meant to be with, I could end up in exactly the same position I’d just escaped.

I messaged Ava, my fingers shaking.

Charlotte:

Are you awake?

Ava:

I am! Just feeding Lucy

Everything OK?

Charlotte:

Can we talk?

Ava:

Of course

Phone or in person?

I hesitated. If I went home and stayed there, I was probably just going to cry myself into a dehydration headache. Not that going to Ava’s would prevent that, but at least she would be a sounding board with an opinion that wasn’t spiraling.

Charlotte:

In person. I’m almost home and I’ll drive over.

Ava:

I’ll put the kettle on

About half an hour later, I was pulling up to the pack house. Ava opened the door before I had even gotten out of my car and pulled me into a hug as soon as I was within reach. The immediate affection set me off, tears pouring down my cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m okay. I just keep doing everything wrong.”

“What do you mean? “

“They’re all scent matches . I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, let’s back up for a second. Who are scent matches?” She pulled me further inside, locking the door behind us and directing me to the kitchen where she poured hot water into two cups for tea.

“It feels like every alpha I run into is a scent match.”

Ava eyed me speculatively. “And that’s bad?”

“Well, it’s not good .” I explained my reasoning: panicking over choosing the wrong person, worrying about falling in line because fate dictated a match, about craving them even though I had deliberately parted ways with them to stop myself from being able to reach out again.

Ava listened quietly, absorbing my freakout with a nod here and there.

I stirred a bit of honey into my peppermint tea and stared at the golden liquid as I tried to sort through the war between brain and body.

“I totally understand being nervous.” Ava laid her hand over mine. “And I definitely get how it could be scary when you were just trying to have some fun and something that feels like the threat of forever shows up.”

“I just wanted to be independent for a while and figure out who the hell I am. I don’t even know anymore.” I buried my face in my hands. “I chopped off parts of my personality to fit the box of being Andrew’s wife, and now I don’t feel like I’m anything except a mom.”

“It takes time to find yourself again. Are you totally against having fun dating scent matches?” Ava asked.

“We both know that’s not how it works. Yours weren’t casual, not even on day one.”

“I was also in a very different position than you are. I know it doesn’t feel like you’ve been able to be independent, but you’ve done such a good job raising your kids. If you don’t want to pursue romance, no one’s going to force you. Keep exploring who you are.”

“I want to.” My stomach tightened. “I don’t think I can, though. This is twice in a row now. How am I supposed to take any chances when every time I’ve tried, fate is right there shoving someone at me?”

Ava hummed thoughtfully. “That’s a fair point. So the alpha from last week is a scent match, and the one from tonight?”

“Both from tonight,” I said sheepishly.

“Damn, girl.” Ava laughed. “I’m so proud of you. Okay, yeah, two attempts resulting in three scent matches definitely sounds like fate is trying to send a message.”

I sipped my tea, trying to let the sweet minty flavor relax me. “Can’t a girl just get railed in peace?”

“I guess not. You’re really sure you don’t want to explore that?”

I sighed, trying to relieve some of the tension in my body by rolling my shoulders. “I have too many trust issues to put that on anyone.”

Ava nodded slowly. “Well, that sounds fair. Do you have a plan?”

“Not at all. I practically army crawled out of the hotel room tonight when I realized who they were.” I grimaced, guilt, self-loathing, and longing kicking me in the chest. If I was a little less fucked up, I would still be asleep in their arms instead of crying at the kitchen table of my one friend in the world in the middle of the night. Talk about pathetic.

“I bet it’ll all look better in the morning. Everything is too fresh.” Ava tapped my cup. “Why don’t you finish your tea and stay here tonight? We’ll have a nice breakfast in the morning, and when you’ve had more time to think about everything, we can have another talk, see if there’s a way to keep fate on a leash so you can have some more worry-free fun.”

“I could definitely use some sleep. Panicking the night away uses up a lot of energy.”

Ava smiled and squeezed my hand. “The other guest room is all yours.”

“Thank you.” We finished off our cups of tea quietly in the kitchen, and when she had yawned one too many times, I sent her up to bed and disappeared into the guest room, to wash up in the en suite before collapsing onto the blankets. My life was fucked. Hopefully it wasn’t going to get any worse.