Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Staff Quarters, Omega Hotel
My heart hammers in my chest. My pulse roars in my ears.
How much trouble am I in?
I scurry after the powerful Alpha who marches ahead of me with brisk steps.
I wrap my arms around myself anxiously, following him away from the lobby, winding through the dark, labyrinthine corridors into the bowels of the 1920s hotel and back into the staff quarters.
I stare at the General Manager’s broad back and golden tumble of hair: My boss.
“Keep up,” he commands without looking around.
“Well, if you didn’t have such fucking long legs, Icarus.”
Whoops, did I say that out loud?
Icarus glances over his shoulder at me, incredulous.
His expression is stern.
Why do his eyes behind those sexy as hell black rimmed glasses have to be so blue?
Icarus is the tallest Alpha that I’ve seen, at least six foot nine. He’s a gorgeous giant with a strong jaw, pale skin, and golden hair that is neatly slicked back.
In fact, everything about him is neat and in order just like he insists on running the staff.
He is dressed in one of his sleek black suits, which are provided to all management staff with matching Omega Hotel ties.
He is an uber dominant Alpha who is employed to control every Beta staff member and over twenty Omegas. Most Alphas couldn’t deal with it, but Icarus makes it look effortless.
Yet how much does it actually cost him?
I stumble, losing myself in the blueness of his eyes.
Bless my Stay Dry panties.
Icarus quirks his golden brow, darting a look up at the CCTV camera on the ceiling of the concrete corridor.
I swallow, giving a quick nod.
Maya monitors everything that happens in the staff quarters. The rules must be followed even here, when we are away from the guests. I forget that sometimes.
It took Icarus days of negotiation, and I don’t know what personal sacrifice, to gain the concession that the cameras only be placed in public areas and not his suite of rooms or the dorms.
Icarus holds his hands stiffly behind his back.
“It is Mr. Sinner,” he says, sternly.
I meet his cold gaze. “Are you reporting me, Mr. Sinner?”
“What do I have to report? I asked you to accompany Bird to the lobby because I have been concerned about his health and don’t want him wandering around alone right now.
Follow me to my study. Zoe is still sleeping, while her Aunty Lashonda sits with her.
Zoe is fine for at least another half an hour. Not another word.”
He glances significantly at the camera.
I mime zipping my mouth.
Icarus is protecting me.
Warmth spreads through me.
Icarus looks like just another grumpy Alphahole.
Looks can be deceiving, however, and haven’t I learned that in the last few years?
I duck my head to hide the smile playing at the corner of my lips, pretending to be contrite.
Aunty Lashonda is my close friend on the staff, the concierge.
Zoe has a lot of aunts and uncles. In fact, the sad thing is that she has dozens of aunts and uncles on the staff who she sees more of than her biological uncle, Hatton, who hasn’t been allowed to see her yet, or her granddad.
Dad has been banned from even giving Zoe a hug, which I know is killing him.
He treated all three of us kids the same, giving us the same amount of love, not caring which of us he had birthed.
He was an amazing Dad, whether encouraging me in my rampaging Robin Hood days, reading me bedtime stories no matter how tired he was, or patiently listening for hours when I was a teenager and obsessing over the latest Idol album by Immortal.
I had such a crush on the Beta rock star.
I was convinced that Immortal would be my Beta when I turned twenty-one.
Dad never destroyed my dreams.
Instead, he encouraged me to shoot for the stars, even if it meant that I came crashing down to earth and broke every bone in my fucking body.
I still tried.
Plus, no matter how tough Dad’s life was with my stepmom, he shielded us from the reality of it, until we were old enough to work out the truth for ourselves.
I want to free him and Papa from the guilded cage at the top of this hotel, as much as the Omegas beneath it.
I jog to follow after Icarus, as he smartly walks down further concrete corridors and then descends into the staff living quarters.
The corridor that runs between the dorms is narrow. There are no windows down here, only white washed walls and neon lights.
I wrinkle my nose at the sweet scent of breakfasts, wafting from the nearby kitchens. Sadly, only breakfasts for the guests.
My stomach grumbles.
I remember when I dined on fresh fruit, pasties, bacon, eggs, and my favorite, blueberry pancakes soaked in syrup.
The staff only receive toast or porridge. I’ve become used to it.
But should I have to? Should any of us?
Should my daughter?
The corridors bustle with Beta servers, chefs, housekeepers, and Omega HOs.
The Omega Hotel is a world within a world.
As soon as the staff see Icarus, it’s like the parting of the Red Sea.
Deferentially, they draw to the sides of the corridor, bowing and bobbing their heads with respectful murmurs of Mr. Sinner.
Mr. Sinner doesn’t acknowledge anyone, but his expression softens a fraction.
I don’t miss the lingering or coy looks, from Betas and Omegas alike.
I bristle.
Icarus is loved by every staff member.
Does he realize?
Icarus reaches a large, mahogany door with a brass plaque that reads:
Mr. Sinner
General Manager
He swings open the door and gestures me inside.
I hunch my shoulders and shuffle into his office.
Well, this is going to suck.
Icarus’ office is actually part of Icarus’ suite of rooms that he shares with his brother, Ollie. They have two bedrooms at the back, and a small separate kitchen and bathroom to the rest of the staff, which has been useful for caring for Zoe.
A large, battered mahogany desk stands at the back of the room, which is covered in neat ranks of papers. The room itself gleams with how clean it is; nothing is out of place.
A rickety bookcase that is filled with old books stands against the far wall. On the opposite side, sits a sagging couch that Icarus has done his best with by adding cushions.
Ollie embroidered the cushions himself with white feathers against a blue that reminds me of his brother’s eyes.
The plain walls are plastered with beautiful paintings by Ollie of the sun, and ones that are just as beautiful to me because they’re Zoe’s: smeared finger paintings, scribbles in crayon, and her tiny handprints on creased paper.
Zoe’s pictures are as proudly displayed as if they’re the priceless paintings that are hung in the presidential suite.
Icarus slams shut the door, and I flinch.
He takes a deep breath, before turning to me.
I lick my dry lips. He made me promise not to risk going into that forbidden passageway again.
But hey, what can I say? I’m drawn to the forbidden.
Instantly, Icarus’ mask vanishes, as it always does, and the love that shines in his eyes floors me.
It’s all-encompassing.
Possessive and protective.
Yet it’s not something that I can return yet. He knows that I struggle with Alphas after my trauma. And we can at least have…whatever this is, right?
“I want to grab you by the shoulders…” Icarus’ voice is low and rumbling. It makes me shiver, “…and kiss you until you know just how frightened you made me for you.”
“I dare you to do it.”
Icarus growls, snatching me by the shoulders and slamming me against the door.
He towers over me.
He is so much larger than me that he could break me. But I trust that he never will, physically. I’m just not quite there emotionally yet.
His grip tightens.
My gaze darts to his plush, kissable lips.
I hear the other HOs talk. They whisper about Icarus as the ultimate fantasy Alpha.
It’s their dream to bond with him.
Yet none of us can because it’s rule four that no staff member can have a romantic relationship. Icarus is allowed to consensually help any Omega through their heat or pair up for his ruts.
But romance? Love?
A pack bond?
Maya would send her General Manager to the Alpha Center if he broke the rule. She would make sure that Ollie suffered.
It’s the main reason that I am protecting my heart from Icarus. It will shatter if I let myself feel too deeply. I can allow myself to feel like a pack but not hope for something that can’t happen.
At least, not until I can work out a way to break Maya’s stranglehold on this hotel…and family.
She took advantage of my dad when he was vulnerable and she’s been taking advantage of every Omega ever since.
Now that we’re away from the ventilators and scent blockers, I can smell Icarus’ familiar scent of hot apple cider and nutmeg.
He’s not my scent match, but I still luxuriate in my best friend’s delicious scent.
It means safety.
Care.
Home.
He slides his hands down from my shoulders. My skin tingles, as he traces over my sides and hips, as if checking that I am not hurt.
That I am still alive.
“Are you forfeiting the bet?” I taunt.
Icarus growls. His pheromones become thick enough in the air that my knees buckle.
I know how to play my Alpha.
Not my Alpha.
My friend.
Who doesn’t enjoy friends with benefits? Especially when that benefit is a knot?
Also, because Icarus is thorough in everything that he does, full discussion of consent, safewords, and negotiation of our kinks and limits.
Icarus grips my chin harshly, before lowering his head to capture my lips.
The kiss is hard and punishing.
I moan, kissing him back just as hard.
Then he draws away, kissing across the corners of my lips, then tipping my head to kiss across the light freckles on the bridge of my nose.
I laugh. “Are you done?”
“Are you?” He kisses me again. “Do you know how severely you would have been punished?”
“Worth it.”
Icarus leans against the door. “You’re a chaos goblin.”
“That’s why you love me.”
“Do you listen to a single order that I give you?”