Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
RYDER
S imona whimpers, and her incredible coloured eyes flutter to a close. As the car moves forward, she follows the motion and drapes against my chest.
Her skin is warm, her cheeks rosy-pink, and I don’t need to ask if her heat is here, because it’s obvious.
I just wish her fear wasn’t as easy to discern.
“You’re safe, Sin,” I whisper, brushing the hair from her sticky forehead.
She makes a faint noise before she hides it behind gritted teeth, pluming her scent into my face. And fuck me, I was a freak for her cookies and cream scent before. Now, inhaling her sweetness, it’s nothing short of a religious experience. She’s staring deep into my eyes, and I can read the answers to all the mysteries of the universe in them.
“We’ll always protect and love you,” I promise easily. Echoing the sentiment I’ve felt since our first strange meeting. My words fall between us like soft rain, and the both of us take the chance to simply enjoy it for what it is—a reunion .
A small smile tugs at the corner of her lips, making her beauty shimmer. Also highlighting the minor but noticeable changes she’s going through; her pupils are getting bigger as they dilate, her brow is slightly pinched in discomfort, and her breathing is altering to shorter cycles like she’s been jogging. But that’s all surface level.
Simona has always stroked the deepest, fiercest, most vivid emotions and feelings within me. These few minutes with her in my arms, I swear my DNA alters. Which is exactly what happened with Hen and Dom. Now I just need to make sure she unequivocally knows she’s ours, with no question or doubt in her mind.
“In an hour from now you’ll still be wrapped in my arms. In a day, I hope you’ll understand I’ll always be here to hold you. In a year, I’ll kiss your face and remind you of the first time I held you like this. In a decade, we’ll celebrate and relive the beautiful life we’ve shared. We start today.”
Her lip quivers as hope sparkles brightly in her eyes. Her heavy-lidded eyes. But Simona’s heat is in the early stages. She’s still able to fight through the tides. There will come a point where the waves will crash over her, and she’ll think she’ll drown, but we’ll hold her high and tight and keep air in her lungs.
“I needed you all yesterday. And you were there. I asked for space while I was with Tristan, and you gave it without questioning or doubting my reasons even when I went out. I asked Dominic to prepare the papers, and I know he has been working ever since. As if that wasn’t enough, I say a handful of words to Hendrix and you all come running. It’s a lot to take in,” she says quietly, pressing her forehead to mine.
Cookies and cream flavours my mouth, and I lick my lips hungrily before smiling. “We said we would. And we will always do what we say.”
“What if he knows? ”
Simona’s question is open-ended, likely because she isn’t entirely sure what she’s trying to say. All I know is that I want to allay each of her worries before they even have the chance to become more than fleeing thoughts.
“Our focus is you, Sin. We’re going to spend our days showing you how incredible you are. We’re going to go wherever you want to go. Every day you’re going to do whatever it is that makes your heart happy. We won’t hold you back. If he tries to hold you back, or if he does anything to make the light in your eyes fade, then our focus will shift.”
“Your career?”
I lean up to kiss the tip of her nose, making sure she gets a lungful of my scent too. So she smells, sees and listens, and understands completely how committed we are.
“My career will always be there.”
“What if he exposes you? Being with me is probably going to ruin your career.”
“Then I will beat him in his twisted games by exposing myself first. I wanted to be anonymous to protect myself and my pack. But I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure your safety. I’ll show his face next to mine, in every post and clip I make if it means you are protected.”
“For me? You’d do that for me?” Doubt crests, along with another flush of colour, unnecessarily reminding me her heat is on the way. I massage the tension rising until the small spasm she rides ebbs away.
“That and more, Omega,” I pledge. Easily. Desperately.
But of course, because of how destined and fate matched we are, Dominic and Hendrix somehow utter the same words, at the same time, with the same devout declaration. It’s perfect really.
As is the gracious relief that flutters through her scent, making her smile wider. She buries herself under the crook of my neck. “I need a nest, and your Alpha attention. Each of you.”
Hendrix pushes the Range Rover’s V12 twin turbos to their limits. We weave and flow through the light traffic to the opposite side of town. Simona is loose and semi-alert as we come to the gates.
I run my fingers gently through her hair as we approach our destination. “Nearly there. Will you listen for me, Sin?”
She stretches, rubbing her face along the edge of mine as she sits up. Intrigue colours her eyes.
“Why?”
Hendrix is the one that answers. “Because, sweetheart, we’re starting everything today. And hiding nothing from you in the process.”
Dominic has his phone already connected to the car sound system. It rings a few times, and while we wait for the call to pick up, I cup my hands around her face and try to show her there’s nothing to be scared of.
“Welcome to the Phoenix Group,” a cheery male voice echoes through the cabin. “So we can direct your call to the right department, please listen carefully to the following options. Press one for Violence and Maiming. Press two for Alpha Assassinations ….”
Dominic scoffs.
Hendrix snarls before cutting the man off completely. “For fuck’s sake. How are you in business?”
The silence is instant before the man on the other end speaks animatedly. “I feel that’s a rhetorical question. And since you’ve already been in communication with us, asked for our help, and paid us a rather colossal sum of money, I feel it’s a waste of my time answering. We are in the service industry, however, so if I need to explain how The Phoenix Group continues to be the most successful bogey man in our society, a position we’ve held for decades now, I will. Because customer satisfaction is very important to us.”
And then he stops talking, and the car plunges into deathly quiet.
Simona giggles, breaking the tension. She wiggles out of my tender hold and reaches Hendrix’s shoulder. Having her hand on him settles his building aggression and frustration. He even turns to her, a look of relief on his face as obvious as the smile on hers.
“Please. Just give us confirmation you have set up a team around our building,” Dominic interrupts, keeping us on track. Like he always does.
There’s a melodramatic gasp from the stereo. “Is that you, Counsel?”
“You know it is. Stop wasting time. Time I could be spending caring and tending our Omega, as opposed to listening to you act like a clown when all I need is a confirmation of you doing what you promised.”
Drama oozes through the speakers. “Yes, we heard you were courting an Omega. When do we get to meet her? Or is it him? Either way, we could arrange an introduction at our next conference. We’d definitely visit your office in person if that’s the case, Dominic.”
“Over my dead body,” Hendrix hisses, mirroring the strike of my own whiplike anger at the thought of Sin being anywhere near the Phoenix Group. Unless it was by her choosing.
“Ohhhh, so you’ll be pressing three for Alpha Assassinations? Although we wouldn’t actually accept a contract to take ourselves out. That would be bad for business.”
The man on the phone is having way too much fun. Another voice joins him, and they both are laughing before the call hollows out. It’s followed by the pinging alert of a text .
“I swear, Dom, your fees better go up exponentially for absolutely any work you do for them,” Hendrix snaps.
“You work for the Phoenix Group?” Simona’s shock makes her swing her gaze back my way as she looks for confirmation.
Dominic beats me to answering her. “We’ve got contacts everywhere, and lots of friends in dangerous places. We will use every one of them to keep you safe, and happy.”
Then it’s my turn to look in shock at the Omega sitting on my lap. I knew Dominic was smitten but hearing him speak with such gentle reverence only confirms how right she is for our Pack.
Simona releases another big exhale, her warming scent rushing down my throat. She settles back against my chest, staying quiet in a happy calmness as her heat starts to dig its claws deeper.
Exactly like she does to me, and boy, it feels incredible.