Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
DARIA
This week has been surprisingly busy. Monday consisted of a long and detailed product tour with Terrance. I don’t think I realized how many products Good Vibes has. Everything from a feather tickler—yeah, it’s a thing—to ball gags. The thing I’m finding with all of them is that it doesn’t seem lewd or gross. The product packaging is elegant—mostly black and purple—and the care manuals also include QR codes to a website that has educational videos and resources.
Fixing the graphics for the website has been more than fun. I’m surprised I was given such a big responsibility, but it’s not like I’m editing the actual site. I’m simply mocking up design concepts.
Plus, having a task to throw myself into helps distract me from knowing I have to tell the guys I used to date their son. Kai is still out of town, and Vic’s been busy working with his clients. We’ve exchanged some cute group texts, but I find myself hesitating before hitting send.
It feels wrong to carry this secret and flirt with them. It feels wrong to explain everything via text message.
“Hey, Daria.” Terrance appears at my cubicle. “You know it’s lunchtime, right?”
“I know, but it’s almost perfect,” I tell him, making some quick adjustments on my Good Vibes tablet. Frowning, I shake my head. “The colors aren’t right.”
“Maybe a break will help?”
“Don’t come at me with your logic, Terrance.” I shoot him a grin. “Fine. I’ll go on lunch, but only because you’re practically forcing me to do it.”
“Only because it’ll help your brain.” When he peeks over my shoulder, I hiss and shield the screen from his view. “Woooow. Really? After I gave you the assignment, you won’t even let me see it?”
“It’s not ready. If I show you now, I’ll fall apart and maybe spend the rest of the day crying because I’m not good enough.”
He tips his head and considers me. “Is this the tortured artist bit?”
“Torture is nothing to joke about,” I say with a heavy sigh.
“All right, smart-ass. Go to lunch. Rest that pretty head and come back and dazzle the world with your designs.”
“Ugh, you’re so demanding,” I tell him, locking my tablet and grabbing my lunch box.
“I mean, technically, I am your boss. Kind of comes with the territory.”
“You’re lucky I like you.” I pretend to glare at him, and he chuckles. Over the past few days, Terrance and I have developed a fun working relationship. It helps that he speaks sarcasm and smart-ass.
“Wish I could say the same,” he says dryly.
Laughing, I roll my eyes and head toward the elevators, so I can go up to the patio, which is quickly becoming my new favorite lunch spot. Today is lovely, and since the grocery delivery service messed up again, dropping off another full grocery order, my lunch is amazing. As amazing as a sandwich can get, but it’s definitely better than a simple slice of meat and cheese. Also, whoever placed the order likes the fancy-ass bread from the bakery.
I wonder if there’s such a thing as a bread kink.
Pressing the call button, I check my messages while I wait for the elevator to travel up from the first floor.
Quinn
We need to hang out soon. I miss you.
Maybe next weekend?
Date night with Lincoln is on Friday, and I promised Vic I’d go to breakfast with him on Saturday. That’s two opportunities to tell them the truth, but I think I’ll wait until Monday, when Vic will be in the office for some deal the guys are working on. They’ll all be together then, and I’ll have plenty of time to mentally prepare for heartbreak.
“Daria?” an all-too familiar voice asks from behind me right as the elevator arrives.
I stiffen and glance over my shoulder, taking in Ryan. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi?” His face contorts, unreasonably angry over one simple word. Grabbing my elbow, he drags me into the elevator.
“What the fuck, Ryan?” I yank out of his hold. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Still cussing like a sailor, I see,” he says with a sneer.
“Still an asshole, I see.” I lunge to get off the elevator, but he grabs me and pulls me back. My heart skips a few beats, and for a second, it feels like the blood in my veins freezes, a sharp, frigid sting that echoes through my entire body before repulsion snaps me out of it.
His touch is slimy, tainted by the wrongs he’s committed.
“Get off me,” I snarl, bucking in his grasp and throwing my elbow back into his ribs.
He grunts and releases me, but it doesn’t matter—the door is closed.
Seething, I glare at him and retreat to my side of the elevator. The enclosed space isn’t nearly big enough. His scent is everywhere. It’s hard not to gag.
“What are you doing here, Daria?” Something is off about him. Ryan has always been a bit of a hothead, but it’s like anger is rolling off of him. Is he really that bothered by my being here? Where does he get the right to be mad?
He presses the button for the lobby. Of course, the fucker doesn’t think to ask if that’s where I’m going.
“I work here.” My pulse is racing and my hands are shaking. I’ve never been scared of Ryan. Then again, he’s never manhandled me like this before. The rough blow jobs and vile words were one thing, but physically preventing me from leaving? That’s a new one. The handrail presses into the small of my back as I try to find more space between us. Only ten more floors. Or maybe I’ll get lucky and the elevator will stop on another level.
“Are you stalking me and the pack? Trying to worm your way back in?”
A bark of laughter slips out of me. “You’re a real piece of work if you think that I would come crawling back to you .”
He shakes his head. “You loved us.”
“No. I loved the idea of you. Maybe I was close to loving the guys, but you?” I pull a face. “Hard pass.”
The elevator is almost to the lobby.
“You’re telling me you ended up working for my dads’ company by accident? No, no way. This is some next-level clinger shit.”
“You know what, Ryan? Maybe I did want to be in love with you guys. I’m a hopeless romantic, but one thing I’m not? Clingy. And you’ll be hard pressed trying to find me pining after the assholes who cheated on me.”
“It was one time,” he shouts. Fisting his hands at his sides, he directs a whole lot of hate at me, but I get the feeling it’s not only me he hates.
My omega instincts are screaming that I’m close to danger. This alpha is so furious, but so am I. With fate. With him and the pack. With myself for not leaving his pack the first time Ryan crossed a line.
“Like that makes it better?” I ask, keeping my cool when he’s so clearly close to losing his.
“You need to get over it.”
Remember when I said I don’t feel bad about sleeping with his dad? Yeah, this is why. Anyone else, and I might feel bad. But this asshole can choke and die. As the elevator doors swish open, I get off, speed walking away from him.
He closes the distance in a matter of seconds. “Hey, I’m not done talking to you.” He grabs my elbow.
“Well, that was a mistake,” I tell him right before turning and slamming my knee into his crotch.
“Fucking cunt,” he wheezes, dropping my arm and clutching his stupid dick.
“Miss? Is he bothering you?”
I glance at Von, the security guard. “No, he’s not bothering me,” I say, pinning Ryan with a hard glare. “At least, not anymore.” He’s still hunched over and recovering. I step forward and put my mouth by his ear, curling my lip in disgust when I almost touch him. “Don’t you ever put your fucking hands on me again, or I’ll find a way to chop it off.”
Then I step away and leave him clutching his dick.
Quinn is waiting for me when I get to my apartment. All it took was one voice message, telling her what happened, and she took the day off. I called Terrance on the way home and told him I wasn’t feeling well. Lying sucks, but he simply told me to feel better.
Quinn’s brunette hair is swept up into an effortless bun that I can never pull off with my curls. So many things about her are effortless. Her pretty smile, the light in her eyes. No one’s ever accused her of being too loud. Maybe that’s why we’re friends. Opposites attract and all that.
“Can I send Dylan after him?” she asks as she hugs me tight. Quinn smells like honey and musk, comforting and familiar.
“Let’s hold off on the assassination plans for now,” I say, resting my cheek on her shoulder. “I kneed him in the nuts.”
“Good.” Quinn squeezes me before pulling back and searching my face. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.” I unlock my apartment and let her in first, not realizing my mistake until she inhales sharp and hard, whirling around to look at me.
“Daria?”
Crap. I forgot that I have Kai’s jacket and how much my apartment still smells like me and Vic. Probably because I haven’t washed my sheets. I’m not exactly comfortable taking my sheets to my dads’ house, where Letti might scent her brother. Not to mention, I love having his scent surrounding me.
Quinn is still waiting for an explanation.
“I had a friend over,” I tell her with a smirk.
She arches an eyebrow. “I’m your friend. This”—she indicates the air around her—“is definitely fuck buddy territory. Or maybe a boyfriend?”
“Undecided,” I admit. “It’s probably going nowhere.” That’s not a total lie. I don’t want her getting too excited because my relationship is about to become nothing.
“Well, either way, how’s the sex?”
“God, it’s so good,” I confess. “So good.” Dropping my things on the kitchen counter, I open the fridge. “Do you want a drink?”
“Wine?”
“Of course. I’m not a monster.”
“Monsters drink beer?”
I shudder. “You mean piss water?”
“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” She grabs two glasses from the cabinet and places them on the counter.
“What are those alphas doing to my best friend?”
“So many things,” she says with a dreamy sigh.
“Ugh, get out of here with your lovey-dovey shit.”
“Sorry,” she says quickly.
I shake my head. “No, that’s my bad. I didn’t mean it like that, I meant to tease you.” Filling our cups, I let out a harsh breath. “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me because my love life is one massive failure.”
“It’s not a failure,” she says softly.
“It’s definitely not a success.” I grab my glass and the grapes from the fridge, fully prepared to feast on them while they’re still in perfect condition. Only demons like squishy grapes.
We sit on my worn-out couch and face each other, the bowl of fruit between us. I recount the whole encounter again—purposefully leaving out the part about Ryan’s dads.
“I hope his balls fall off.”
I snort. “That would be hilarious.”
“So, work is good, then?”
“Yeah, it’s actually super cool. I’m helping this company called Good Vibes?—”
“Oh my god! I have a vibrator from that company!” She grabs my arm. “Tell me you get to try the toys out for free.”
“Actually...” I trail off and get up, setting my wineglass on the table and rushing to grab the present from Lincoln. I’m not exactly sure if every new employee gets this type of welcome package, but I’ve been dying to talk to someone about it.
Quinn’s eyes light up when she sees the bag. “No,” she says in disbelief.
“This was my welcome package.” I sit and pull out the bottles of lube first. Five, to be exact. Why an omega would need this much lube is beyond me, but I am excited about the warming one. Next is the little clit teaser.
“Oh, it’s so little! How cute,” Quinn coos, like we’re talking about a baby. “Love that it’s light purple.”
“Me too,” I tell her and pull out the vibrator with the clit teaser attached. Instead of bunny ears, it has a nice smooth pad, almost modeled after a thumb but a little bigger, so there’s no way the clit is escaping from its touch. The larger part of the vibrator is not too thick, but it curves at the right angle so it can hit the G-spot. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect night to test out this bad boy.”
“Mmm. You’ll love this one. It’s my favorite.” Quinn sips on her wine and plucks the vibrator out of my hand. “Seven different settings.” The toy vibrates in different patterns as she clicks through them.
“Do you still use it?”
“Sometimes,” she says with a coy smile. “Dylan is pretty good with it. Austin will use it if I ask.”
“And Brady?” I ask, arching a brow. That fucker is still kind of on my shit list. I know she’s forgiven him—and he really has worked hard to make up for the years they were apart—but he made my friend sad. That’s not something I can forget. Don’t get me wrong; I think Quinn is more than happy with her pack now, and Brady adores the shit out of her.
“Actually.” Her cheeks turn bright red. “He likes it the most.”
“Well, damn, Brady. Okay.”
We both laugh, and I’ll admit, I forgive Brady a little more. I expected him to be too alpha to use a toy. I’m glad I was wrong.
“What else?” Quinn asks.
When I pull out the knot ring, she gasps, snatching it out of my hand and setting her wine down.
“I’ve heard of these. Betas use them on omegas—or other betas who are practicing for a real knot. They’re supposed to be really nice.”
“They’re amazing,” I tell her before I can stop myself.
She side-eyes me. “Mmm. So, our mystery scent is a beta, huh?”
“Maybeeee.”
“I feel like you haven’t told me everything.” She sets the knot ring down and pins me with a look.
“I just...” Shrugging, I grab a piece of tissue paper and start to carefully fold it. “All the times before, I talked about it. I told you everything, and the relationships went to shit. This is so brand new, and I’m super excited, but I don’t even know if it’s going to turn into anything.”
By Monday, everything might change. I’m not going to get my hopes up.
“Okay. I respect that, and it’s all right if you’re not ready to tell me. But will you tell me if it gets more serious?”
Taking a drink of wine, I nod. “You’ll be the first person I tell once I know it’s real.”
“And to be super clear, even if you’re still not ready, I’m not going to feel some deep sense of betrayal if you suddenly show up with a pack. Our friendship is stronger than that, you know?”
“I know.” I give her a pointed look. “You kept your secret for years.”
She smirks. “But you still love me.”
“Yeah, I do. And I’m happy for you, even if you are a little liar,” I tell her, but there’s no malice in it. I understand why Quinn kept things to herself, and just because we’re besties doesn’t mean I’m entitled to every part of her.
Giggling, she grabs her wine and pushes my leg with her foot. “What else ya got?”
“Well, I’ve been dying to try these.” I pull out a pair of panties that were coincidentally my exact size—Vic told Lincoln, I’m sure. The lacy material is seemingly innocent, except for the clit teaser, much like the one on the vibrator, sewn into the crotch.
“Ohhhh, Dylan would love these.”
I snort. “What, the locker room wasn’t public enough? He’ll want to get you off at dinner?”
Her cheeks flame.
Studying my friend for a whole minute, I try to reconcile the sweet omega I met in college with the vixen before me. “Oh my god! Quinn! You’re so naughty.”
“It’s not me! It’s Dylan.”
I snort. “Please, you like it as much as he does.”
She presses her lips together, refusing to deny that, because it’s true. My quiet, shy BFF is totally into public play.
“When are you going to use them?” she asks.
“I was thinking soon.” Friday, to be exact. The card Lincoln put in the bag had strict instructions to wear these. The remote is nowhere to be found, which means he has it. Our date on Friday is definitely going to be torture.
But I can’t help thinking I’ll love it.