CHAPTER TWENTY – LILY #3
But all my so-called friends have piled inside, and I don’t know how to stop Otley and Ellis from joining them.
The Airstream is fondly known as a land yacht, and other than some basic upgrades, it’s a bit of a time capsule from the 1970s.
Sunflower curtains cover the windows and although I managed to salvage the original linoleum floors and tambour cabinets, there’s no missing the wear and tear in other areas.
But the guys aren’t interested in the décor as they stand in the small living area, their nostrils flaring as they breathe in the warm air.
I press my back up against the wall, unable to turn away as they exchange a long, loaded look.
Sarah has settled on the tiny L-shaped couch and is now staring up at the tense scene in fascination. “What’s going on?”
Laura, who’s the only alpha in our book club, casts an apologetic glance in my direction. “Um, I think we should maybe go see if Tristan and Leo need a hand…”
“What?” Beau chirps. He looks from the guys to me and back again, a huge grin splitting his face. “Oh, yeah. This is definitely one of those if you can’t take the heat, get into the kitchen moments.”
I roll my eyes at him, but Kaysie swoops to the rescue, dragging him away while Laura steers a bemused Sarah to the door.
“Lily?” Ellis asks when we’re finally alone. “Why does this trailer smell like your heat?”
I suck in a sharp breath at the blunt question.
No matter how much I scrub and sanitize the place, I can never quite get my perfume out of the damn cushions.
And of course, Otley and Ellis know exactly how my heat smells, even when it’s in a battered old camper van, with nothing but some monster porn and sex toys to see me through.
“I spend some time here,” I mumble, avoiding their eyes.
“But what about Logan?”
“That’s new…” I gulp down an inadequate breath. “We don’t… He’s never…”
“Never?” Otley’s gaze sears into mine, so intense I feel tears burn behind my eyes. “Who’s been taking care of you, Lily?”
“I’ve been fine.” What else can I say? My first heat wrecked me, and it’s been downhill ever since?
Pushing past them, I hit the button on the old fan I keep on the kitchen bench.
When I turn to face them, I can’t help folding my arms over my chest. “This is how it is for unmated omegas who can’t afford fancy heat clinics. We make do.”
“This isn’t making do-.” Ellis scowls, but Otley touches his arm, and he bites back whatever crappy thing he was going to say about the trailer.
“You’ve made do,” Otley confirms in a low voice as he moves towards me, only stopping when his breath feathers over my face.
He’s standing so close, I can see the new sun streaks in his ash blond hair and the tiny lines around his gray eyes.
“But that’s over now. You don’t have to do it on your own anymore, Lily. ”
“You don’t get it,” I tell him, my gaze darting around the faded, cramped interior.
“This old hand-me-down trailer is the only place I own. You don’t know what that’s like, because you get to live wherever you want.
But this is me. This is it. The only place where I hold the keys.
And if Rosie really does sell the farm…”
Otley shoots me a sharp, questioning glance, and I suddenly lose the energy to explain.
They don’t understand. This trailer was the only place I could escape to for my heat, but it’s also a symbol of how little control I have over my life.
I’m not homeless, but I live in Rosie’s house.
I never went away to college or rented a room with friends.
Maybe Logan will want Leo and I to move in with him, but how is that different from living under Rosie’s roof?
“You need keys,” Otley says abruptly. “To this house, and all our others.”
“I’m not trying to move in with you, Otley…”
“Why not?” Ellis asks, striding over and reaching out to cup my face. Even in his costume, his eyes glow with earnestness. “We want you with us, Lily. All of us do. I can’t tell you how bad it would be if you walked away again…”
The again makes my chest hurt and Otley casts Ellis a warning glance. “That’s Lily’s choice,” he tells him, settling a hand on his shoulder. “But it’s not what we want. And if you want us to buy the farm…”
I rock back against the counter; a strangled sound pushed from my chest. “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?” Otley lowers his voice, but the intensity of his gaze doesn’t soften a bit. “If it makes you feel safe, I’ll buy the whole damn town.”
I snort a laugh, because when alphas make claims like this in the books we read, everyone swoons.
But this time it’s completely insane. I complain about not having my own place, and Otley wants to hand me the keys to Knotty Falls.
“Maybe just start with Lexington’s,” I tease.
“Tristan said you promised there’d be one opening here soon. ”
A sliver of amusement glints behind his glasses. “You can have all the restaurants you want. Just make me a list, and I’ll start calling their CEOs.”
I snort at the offer, but Ellis shuffles closer, his scent wrapping around me like a caress. “Lily, we hear you, and we want to help any way we can. But just to be transparent, it’s really hard discussing this when I can smell your vibrator under the seat cushions.”
“Oh, my God!” I gape at him, but I can’t stop my gaze from snapping to the little drawer under the L-shaped couch. “You cannot!”
He gives me a rueful look. “I could probably point to every inch of this van where you were naked while you touched yourself.”
“Ellis!” I whine, even as I feel a needy throb in my panties. “That’s insane!”
“It’s the truth,” Otley says, his nostrils flaring. “The air throbs with your scent.” He nods further down the camper at the small twin bed. “That’s your nest, isn’t it?”
I whimper as Ellis’ head snaps that way and their combined arousal wafts over my skin.
They study the little alcove like it’s some kind of oasis in the desert and they haven’t had a drop of water in days.
I could tell them it’s the furthest thing from that; the mattress is lumpy and the damp soaks through the walls in winter.
But they’re already moving towards the bed, and I realize I’m helpless not to follow.
“Fuck,” Ellis groans, dragging off his elf lord wig and leaning against the wall. “I’m hard as a goddamn rock.”
“Can we sit down?” Otley asks, his throat thick with gravel. “Just for a moment? Will you let us in your nest, omega?”
I nod, because there’s nothing I want more in the world right now.
Everything else falls away as I breathe in our mingling scents.
My honeyed perfume is all around us, but now it’s sharpening under the deluge of alpha pheromones.
Caramel and cloves seep off Ellis; sweet but with the promise of spice.
Black cherries and autumn leaves swirl around Otley; dark and rich like a decadent dessert.
And while the focus of their fascination is me, at this moment, I barely know myself.
I’m not a friend, a mother, or even a mate.
I can feel Logan’s presence through our bond, and while it’s a comforting hum, it’s hard to focus on with the tension in the trailer.
Every instinct is tuned to my scent matches as they crowd close, drawing me down between them.
“Beautiful omega,” Ellis purrs, sweeping my hair aside so he can kiss the column of my neck.
His tongue laps at the sensitive flesh before he sucks hungrily on my ear lobe.
I moan, my head falling back, and he turns my chin his way so he can lick his way into my mouth.
“You taste so perfect, Lily,” he hums, drawing back to look at the other alpha.
“Ot, tell me she’s not everything you remember and more. ”
“More.” The word is a chest-deep rumble, and I feel the vibration between my thighs, which are already growing damp with slick. I whimper, clutching the soft denim of his shirt, and his hand slides into my hair, his eyes burning into mine. “Will you let us worship you, Lily?”
Sitting between them, their hands brushing over my skin, it’s hard not to get a sense of déjà vu.
The last time we were together like this was during my heat.
I’d never experienced the attention of two alphas at once, but even when I was deep in my haze, I could tell them apart.
Ellis was all passion and fire, while Otley’s hunger was a deeper, more controlling beast. His gaze never left my body, his intensity wrapping around us even when I was mindlessly riding Ellis’ knot.
That same unwavering focus now makes my heart thud as his hand comes to rest on my left breast. He presses just hard enough to feel my pulse battering my veins, my breath coming in tight, short gasps.
All the signs of a panic attack, but as Ellis runs his fingers down my spine, my back arches in invitation.
I want more, so much more, and Otley responds by sliding his other hand under my shirt.
His gaze never leaves mine as he eases the soft cotton over my ribs, drawing it up and over my head.
I shiver, thinking forlornly of my uninspiring underwear, but Ellis groans against my neck, his hands sliding over the trembling skin of my stomach.
Otley’s eyes are a smoky silver as he ducks his head and wraps his lips around my left breast, sucking on the tender peak.
The sound that leaves my mouth should be illegal.
But I’m too far gone to care. They’re kissing and stroking me, Ellis soft and worshipful while Otley’s touches are firmer and more demanding. I remember this with blinding clarity; the push and pull of their desires, weaving together until I was a shuddering, mewling mess.
Coordinated pleasure from my scent matches should definitely be illegal.
But just as Otley starts to ease me back on the narrow bed, a knock sounds on the trailer’s door. I jerk away, Otley rising to his feet and Ellis flicking a blanket over my exposed chest. Tension hums off them, but we all relax as Tristan pokes his head inside.
Until I catch the concern gleaming in his hazel eyes.
“Guys? Lily? Um, sorry to interrupt, but we have a real problem....”