Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
VIOLET
R ylan pulls me closer as the little café comes into view, tightening his arm around my waist even as he kisses Jasper’s temple.
“I didn’t get much of a read at the ceremony Saturday. Do we like her family?” Jasper asks, looking across Rylan to me.
I nod, smiling, though it takes a lot of work and honestly feels fucking forced. Rylan hums and kisses the crown of my head.
“They’re great,” I say. “Elizabeth can be a bit much sometimes, but it’s not malicious or anything. And Jay is great. He loves Faedra. And for being a Beta, he has a really good sense of what she needs.”
Jasper nods. “That was the vibe I got from him Saturday.”
“That’s impressive,” Rylan says. “Didn’t you say she’s suppressed? I wonder if he took a few of the optional courses from the Council when she designated to help fill in some of the gaps.”
I shrug. “Yeah, she’s been suppressed since her bloodwork was confirmed in high school.”
Rylan tenses. “That’s at least four years,” he says, glancing down at me, incredulity in his voice.
“Yep.” I pop the “p” the way Faedra does sometimes.
“How many heats?” he asks.
I elbow him in the side. “Personal information, Rylan. You’re not matched with her, so it doesn’t matter.”
Jasper looks between us both. “Aren’t they worse the more you suppress?”
I nod, walking quicker as I see Faedra and her family at one of the outdoor tables of the café.
“Fuck, I hope they’ve gotten an Omega through a heat before,” Rylan mutters, scratching at the double snake tattoo on his neck. “Because that’s going to be fucking wild .”
I smack his arm again.
“What? It is. I was assigned an Omega that had suppressed one heat, and that was…” He trails off, shaking his head. “Not sure there’s much else that’s that level of intense. Maybe a forced heat, but I never had to help with one of those.”
I scrunch my nose and flinch.
Forced heats sound fucking miserable. There’s medication you can take to trigger a heat if you’re close to when you’d normally drop into one. Lots of Omegas use them as a way to help plan around their heats. Scheduling childcare and time off is easier when you’re not fighting through the haze of the heat. Forcing one is taking those drugs and using them nowhere near when you’re supposed to be going into heat. The farther off the timing, the higher dosage it requires.
I force myself away from that train of thought, focusing on Rylan’s arm around me and his subtle scent blending with Jasper’s cologne. They smell delicious together.
We’re close enough now to hear Faedra, though her back is turned toward us at the moment.
“I’m on my period. Now stop asking, Mom. It’s none of your business anyway.”
Rylan laughs. “First time you’ve seen them in a month, and you’re on your period? Tough break.”
Faedra glances over her shoulder, her cheeks slowly staining red.
“Whatever, man,” Jasper says, laughing even as he shoves away from Rylan. “Periods don’t bother me.”
Faedra drops her head into her hands as she groans. I elbow Rylan again without really meaning it. When my best friend glances up, an eyebrow cocked, I snicker.
“It’s not like it’ll be a problem for long. You’re only getting them because you’re suppressed.”
Incredulity flashes across her face, and I’m suddenly sure she’s moments away from punching me out of frustrated embarrassment. Rylan tenses beside me, noticing it, too.
Jay intervenes before it gets dicey, though. Thank the gods.
“You bring that project you started?” he asks Faedra.
Rylan helps me into the seat across from Faedra, Jasper on my left and Rylan taking up the seat on my right. The moment Rylan’s settled next to me, he’s running his hand along my thigh, first the outside and then the inside. His face is impassive, a polite half-smile tipping his lips as Faedra pulls out the new quilting project she’s been working on since the gala.
My breath hitches as his finger brushes over my clit. Jasper glances at us, his eyebrow raised, but doesn’t say anything. Rylan’s next touch is more insistent, and I roll my hips, trying to keep from making a noise. He leans over and kisses my shoulder before pressing his grin into my skin.
Bastard fucking knows how hard it is for me to be quiet. Who the hell thought he’d have a fucking exhibitionist streak? His hand is featherlight where he runs it back down my leg.
Fuck, am I trembling?
Faedra’s mom takes a few of the finished pieces of the quilt and turns them over in her hands, tracing the sewn seams.
Rylan runs two fingers over my clit, and even with my clothing between us, it sends a rush of heat through me. Holy hell. I clench my thighs and force a swallow, trying to focus on whatever Elizabeth is saying right now.
“Interesting choice of colors,” Jasper says.
Rylan’s fingers move faster. Jasper grabs a menu from the table and smacks his wrist, angling the hit so he doesn’t manage to strike me at all.
Rylan grunts. “Fuck off,” he mutters before lacing his hand with mine and resting them on the table.
I adjust in my seat, trying to calm my heart. I can feel my pulse in my fucking pussy right now, and he barely touched me. My heat in September is going to be—to use his word—wild. I mentally shake myself and force myself to focus on my best friend, trying to fill in the gaps of the conversation that I’ve missed.
“So I’m just going to quilt these onto one large white background and then quilt it all together,” she says, moving a few of the pieces around.
Her mom’s voice lowers, losing a bit of the manic edge she typically has, as she sets the pieces down. “It’s going to look great, Faedra.”
Faedra’s cheeks are warm as she looks up, her eyes misty with new tears. The waiter appears literally a second later like it’s a freaking scripted scene in a movie, and it gives Faedra a chance to blink quickly and tuck her project back into her bag. The man is nice enough as we all put in our orders.
The moment he’s gone, I lean forward and adjust my skirt. “So have you looked up where they live yet? I can’t believe you’ve managed to not look.”
Honestly, it’s shocking at this point. Faedra’s so incredibly curious about everything . And yet she’s managed to not even run a simple search of the guys’ address to get a sense of what she’s walking—flying, I guess—into tomorrow.
“I don’t know Denver,” she says with a shrug.
Yeah, that’s not the reason.
It occurs to me that all the fears I had to work through last week are still circling for her. Where she’s going to be living, if she’s going to fit in with their group of friends, what she’s going to do regarding suppressors and career and everything else that comes after graduating college. Well, what are best friends for if not holding your hands during terrifying moments? I arch an eyebrow, and she sighs, digging through her bag and grabbing her phone.
“Aiden, switch,” I say, standing up and moving around the table.
Her brother takes it well enough, dropping into my old seat and striking up a conversation with Jasper. Rylan grabs my other hand and adjusts his seat to be closer to me while Faedra types in the address and pulls up the first listing offered on the search results page.
The moment the site loads, I’m tipping my head back and laughing, nearly missing Faedra’s jaw dropping in complete shock.
“Holy shit, Fae,” I manage to say despite my laughing growing borderline unhinged.
Jay looks over her shoulder while Rylan looks over mine. They give nearly identical surprised grunts. Must be a guy thing.
“Eight million dollars?” Rylan asks, voice warm and happy. “Damn. Does one of them have a black Amex, too?”
Faedra ducks her head, trying to hide her blush, and digs something out of her bag. The golden soldier flashes in the sunlight, practically glowing like neon against the all black card.
Jasper leans forward, grinning. “No fucking way.”
Dad has one, so it’s not really that shocking to me. What is surprising is that they still fly commercial. You have to have literal millions to be offered a black Amex. And yet her guys definitely didn’t act like Old Money. Or New Money, either, flashing it everywhere they could. It makes me wonder how newly into the money they are. Or maybe it’s different because they’re so much older? My dads don’t flash the wealth, either. That’s all my mom.
Aiden leans back in his chair, an eyebrow raised, and Jasper laughs.
“I need to find me an Alpha with that kind of connection.”
Rylan scowls and reaches across the table to shove Jasper in the shoulder. “You did,” he grunts. “He just has a stick the size of Texas shoved up his ass right now.”
My stomach drops, but I keep it off my face.
Jasper grabs Rylan’s hand and kisses his palm. “He still doesn’t have a Centurion.” He tilts his head and then shrugs. “And to be fair, Sienna has that effect on most people.”
I clear my throat, glaring at them both.
The last thing I want right now is to have to discuss the shit show that is my mom’s bullshit.
“Wait.” Faedra puts down the card, covering it with her palm. “What has your mom done this time?”
I turn my look on my best friend, flipping my hair and twisting my industrial piercing to keep from answering right away.
Rylan says, “What hasn’t she done at this point?”
I cover his mouth. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I say, giving Faedra a desperate look.
Rylan bites my palm, his teeth grazing the skin, and lightning shoots down my spine. My nipples tighten, and he smirks against my hand, noticing the sudden change in my breathing. I can’t help the giggle that falls from me.
Jasper clears his throat and rests his elbows on the table, his chin on his palm. “Sienna has decided that Dominic’s pedigree is not nearly as perfect as she would like.” His lips curl back from his teeth as he says it. “She’s filed three motions with the Council to have Violet reassigned.”
I push away from Rylan and shake my head as Faedra’s gaze turns worried.
When no one rushes to say something, Jasper drops his arms and stretches his neck.
“Please tell me you’re going to buy something ridiculous with that card, Faedra,” he jokes.
Faedra rolls her eyes even as she laughs and then tucks the card away.
“I’m not built to spend that kind of money all at once. Maybe I’ll have Violet do it for me, send her a list and everything.”
Rylan laughs and nods. “Perfect.”