Chapter 11
Guest Bedroom, Devil Estate
“Good morning, you.” I open my eyes and find myself staring into Lark’s cool, jade eyes.
I’m warm under the covers, surrounded by the mixed heather and eucalyptus scents of the Beta and Alpha.
Pale morning light streams through the window in the guest bedroom.
Lark is grasping my hand, and his leg is slung over mine.
It’s like he wants to be certain that we’re not parted in the night.
He’s protecting me, even as I sleep.
But then, I didn’t want to be parted from him either. I asked if he’d stay sheathed in me, while we slept.
I’ve never wanted to try cock warming before, but it was intimate on a whole new level to stay locked together like that almost as if he was an Alpha.
Except, we weren’t doing it because we were in heat.
Our bodies are fully our own.
Did Lark even sleep?
There are deep shadows underneath his eyes, and he’s pale.
Yet he looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him as he plays with my hair.
I’m mildly disappointed that I’m not still warming his cock.
“Morning, you,” he replies with a lazy smile.
Then he swoops in for a kiss that’s deep, sweet, and makes my toes curl.
Suddenly, the door slams open, and I flinch.
Adrenaline surges through me.
I jump back from Lark, burrowing under the throw pillows like they’re any protection.
Lark growls.
“Growls as a morning greeting,” Antonio declares as he swaggers into the room. “I could get used to this.”
I peek through my pillow fort at him.
My skin prickles. I bite my lip.
Antonio looks fucking gorgeous.
And nothing like he did in the Institute.
Antonio is dressed in rumpled linen trousers with an ivory shirt and beaded necklace. His navy blazer is paired with his iconic silk fox scarf and a matching, playful silk handkerchief that’s tucked into his pocket.
His curls are sleeker, and the look in his chestnut eyes is sharper.
Antonio appears effortlessly chic like he’s just walked out of a magazine spread for Italian Vogue.
Well, if they had one that was dedicated to antiheroes.
“Don’t you scrub up well, pup,” Lark says, admiringly. “That guard uniform never suited you. Although, has no one taught you how to iron? Or how to knock?”
Antonio waves his hand. “Pfft, they tried, along with cleaning, cooking, and false accounting. You know, all the typical Beta skills, at least, in my family. Why would I care about those, when I could learn how to do awesome things like roundhouse kick, handle a gun like a pro, and master the art of becoming an assassin?”
How can he say those things so cheerfully?
I stare at Antonio. “You’re freaking me out.”
Lark narrows his eyes. “Don’t freak her out.”
Antonio tilts his head and flutters his impossibly long lashes. “I’m reformed now. Sort of. Plus, we’re on the same side. So, the only ones who need to watch their asses is your enemies, mia amata.”
I shuffle all the way out of my pillow fort. “In that case, yay us.”
Antonio studies Lark and me. “I love seeing you in Kai’s shirts. You’re both beautiful. Kai won’t tell you but he fucking loved seeing you wearing them too. You’re cute.”
Lark clicks his fingers firmly. “Here.”
Did Lark truly just order a Beta assassin to heel?
Lark has balls.
Antonio looks like he’s trying not to laugh but he schools his expression. “Yes, sir.”
He thrusts his hands into his pockets, strolling across the bedroom. It’s sexy but also, insultingly slow paced.
Lark’s eyes flash, and as soon as Antonio’s within grabbing distance, he surges up and snags him by his scarf.
Antonio allows himself to be pulled sprawling onto the bed between Lark and me.
Antonio’s blazer falls open, and his shirt pulls tight over his taut muscles.
I itch to explore his gorgeous body.
He looks like a Beta sacrifice between Lark and me.
Thomas and I once sneakily watched a late night movie like that, while we both blushed madly.
It fueled some of my best fantasies.
Except, Lark doesn’t strip Antonio out of his clothes, (disappointing), as would have happened next in the movie. Instead, he clinically begins to pat him down, assessing him for injuries.
My heart aches.
I kneel up, stroking my hand through Antonio’s hair.
Antonio looks between us, bewildered. “What are you doing? You know, I’m always up for being groped by beautiful people, but this feels more like playing doctors. Actually, I’m always up for playing that too. Hey, will you wear the uniform? You’d look incredible in a white coat with a stethoscope around your neck and that stern expression, Doctor Lark.”
Shit, now I’m imagining it.
He’d have made an incredible Doctor Lark. I reckon a heart surgeon.
“You disobeyed your Chief Alpha.” Lark’s voice is tight. He doesn’t sound moved by Antonio’s flirting. “Kai is one of the tallest Alphas who I’ve ever seen, and you’re smaller than me. I’m making sure that you’re not hurt.”
Antonio looks taken aback and then touched by the concern, before he pushes himself up, moving into the middle of the bed to gain some distance.
I exchange a glance with Lark.
What’s the problem?
“Kai would never lay a hand on me,” Antonio says. “You don’t know him, but that Alpha had me at his mercy. Then he did nothing but respect my boundaries. My family sold me to him in a business deal. He went to them for help, and they gave me to him, as if I was a useful tool that could be passed along in an arranged marriage. It was only business to them. In the end, it didn’t matter that I was better at MMA than their Alpha sons. I was still a Beta.”
“Why does that make Kai a good man?” I snarl, as fury bubbles through me at the thought of Antonio being treated like that, when he was college aged. It hits close to home because he’s been made to match with someone in the same way that I was. “Fletcher chose me. I didn’t have a say in it. You’re caged in this pack like I was with the Ace pack.”
“I can fly free now, when I never could with my family. It wasn’t Kai forcing me into a bond.” Antonio wraps his arms around his legs. “But a lot was resting on the deal. Plus, if Kai had rejected me, then my Alpha Mom would have blamed me. She’s a hardass. Kai spoke to me privately and let me make the choice. Look, every day since, when Kai had all the power over me, he’s never once used it. And that’s why I fell in love with him.”
They are in love.
I saw the same looks that past between the two men, as Lark did.
Lark hums in thought. “So, you weren’t in trouble last night…?”
Antonio’s expression clouds, and he hangs his head.
He looks unexpectedly guilty, when normally he revels in his devilry.
Startled, I inch closer to him, resting my hand on his knee in concern.
“Well, Kai did scold me for not making something clearer to you both. He’s very big on fairness and the proper treasuring of Omegas. I mean, full on worship.” Antonio flicks his gaze up to me and then Lark. “I saved you but I haven’t got the right to claim you. I’m desperate to. I’ve always wanted an Omega in my pack, and Kai does too. I’ve pined for that awesome connection, you know? But…”
Antonio breaks off, and now even Lark is looking alarmed.
Lark crawls with a slink of his hips that makes him look like a deadly panther toward Antonio and grabs him by the scruff of his neck.
Antonio appears startled for a moment, as if he’d forgotten that we weren’t still tame Omegas shut behind bars but instead, are now in the wild.
“Why can’t you claim us?” Lark demands. “We’re right here.”
“I want to,” Antonio breathes. “But this isn’t a safe pack. I’m not allowed to put you at risk. Kai says that Omegas should claim us, and not the other way around. Plus, if you knew all our secrets, then you wouldn’t want us, anyway. You wouldn’t want me. Fuck, if only I could court you and make you mine—”
Lark stops his words with a kiss.
Antonio melts underneath the passionate onslaught.
My breath speeds up, and I tighten my hold on Antonio’s knee.
When Lark finally pulls back, leaving Antonio breathless and glassy eyed, I scoot even closer to him.
“I haven’t been safe in a long time,” I say.
“I’ve never been safe,” Lark adds, grimly. “Who says that we’d reject you?”
I push a curl behind Antonio’s ear. “We already know that you’re a stabby conman mafia hacker, and we haven’t stopped being your friend.”
Antonio’s expression brightens.
He’s back to being the sunshine, and it lifts my mood instantly.
I smile. “So, we can’t join your pack yet. We want you as part of our pack, Toni. You can become one of our Brok pack.”
His eyes widen. His breath hitches.
Lark tightens his hand on Antonio’s neck. “We’re claiming you. Of course we are. Fuck every Alpha who thinks that they can cage and control us. We’re rebelling. What more can anyone do? They took everything from me. They’ve even taken my daughter. But we’ve found each other.”
“We’ll get Millie back, I swear,” Antonio promises. He’s glowing with a devious wickedness that’s energizing him in a way that makes him even more gorgeous. It also means that he’s back to his sunny rambling. “That adorable kid is my pack too. Don’t worry, I’ve already worked out seven possible schemes. To be fair, I never truly stop plotting.” I believe him. “Of course, my Second Alpha may be the one to—”
“Woah, hold up.” Wide eyed, I flinch back. “Kai mentioned this scary other Alpha last night, and he didn’t sound as friendly as Kai.”
I look around myself wildly like this Second Alpha may appear from behind the drapes or under the bed.
Lark lets go of Antonio, paling.
“He hasn’t been here for a month,” Antonio reassures me. “He’s like one of those shadows that appear in the day and then disappears at night. You never know when the hottest — seriously hottest — Alpha will be tying you up with duct tape and fucking you like a rag doll through his rut for hours and then knotting you like you’re an Omega, and when he’ll be vanishing on a mission for months.”
“Duct tape?” My eyes widen, even if I’m admittedly wet at the image.
“Fucking like a rag doll?” Lark smirks. “Can Betas even be knotted?”
Well, that image has blown my mind.
So, Antonio has taken the place of an Omega within this pack.
Kudos.
“Only with the use of a lot — and I can’t stress this enough — a lot of lube and stretching.” Antonio pulls a face. “And it being hard to walk or sit down for days afterward. But seriously, worth it. On the other hand, my Second Alpha is the one who’s insistent about this pack not taking on an Omega. He’s ex-military, and I think that he’s suffered through a lot of shit. So, a Beta has to do what a Beta has to do. Who am I kidding? That man can make the earth fucking move.”
“Who is he?” Lark demands.
“I can’t tell you that. We are hunted outlaws, you know.” Lark points at his ass. “And I value this too much. In so many ways.”
“I thought that you didn’t get in trouble like that.” Lark narrows his eyes.
“That’s with my bear, Kai, who’s a cinnamon roll giant who you should seriously think about accepting as your Alpha,” Antonio replies. “My Second Alpha, on the other hand, isn’t.”
I wet my dry lips. “Is this far less cuddly Alpha with the kink for duct tape coming back soon?”
Antonio shrugs. “Who knows? He’s a mystery, even to me. You know those tragic hero types with the tortured back stories that they never talk about? Yeah, that’s him. I’m more the cheerful villain.”
Who the hell is this Second Alpha?
What’s the secret of this pack?
“If you don’t mind stopping the short, silver, and mysterious act for a moment,” Lark drawls. “What’s the name of your pack?”
Antonio’s gaze becomes steely in the same way that it did, when he was in dominant guard mode, breaking us out of the Institute.
He’s dangerous.
Yet never to us.
I feel like he’d be our perfect protector.
Although, after hearing what his asshole family did to him, I wish that I could protect him as well.
I don’t know how I could do it, while my legs are still weak and I’m literally lost in the middle of the wild forests and mountains with unknown Alphas.
Perhaps, with my witty banter and newly found feral growl.
“The name of my pack is…” Antonio pauses for dramatic effect, and I kneel up on the bed, holding my breath. What is it? “…none of your business right now, nosy Omegas.”
I let out a frustrated woosh of air. “Mean.”
Antonio grins, patting his ass. “Just look at how cute this tight ass is and remember that it thanks you. I don’t want to end up over my Second Alpha’s knee for telling you too much.” Then his face lights up. “Come on, this is your first morning in my home. You’re free, mia amata. Okay, I fucked up my undercover gig, revealed my identity, and blew the entire mission. But on the other hand, you’re not auctioned to some shady pack. You’re alive and you’re living it up on the wrong side of the law like good little renegades. Let’s celebrate!”
“Meaning…?” Lark asks with the same wariness that I’m feeling.
Antonio is so volatile that I never know what he’s going to do next.
Antonio dives off the bed to the wall and presses a switch.
To my shock, music bursts from hidden speakers in the walls. It’s a punk-infused Scottish rock cry for freedom vs control, the Snuts’ “Burn The Empire”.
My eyes widen in shock.
This type of rebellious music from a country that is an Omegacracy is banned in most countries.
The world fears their influence.
An Omegacracy is a country where instead of Alphas being the head of households, Omegas have the positions of authority both within the household and in government.
Nests and heats are worshiped, rather than knots and ruts.
Alphas are often warriors and valued for their strength.
Yet they’re not dominant.
What would it be like to be born in a country like that?
I hear that there’s both an Omega king and prince.
There are only a couple of small countries that are run with such systems, however, and they’re relentlessly mocked by the American press and social media.
Although, the government tries to suppress as much real information about them as possible.
The most popular meme shows an Omega with a crown riding on the back of a crawling Alpha who’s collared and leashed with the words: SCOTTISH ALPHA LOSES HIS AUTHORITY, LOSES HIS KNOT.
And that view isn’t toxic at all…
Gabriel was fascinated with Scotland as an example of Omega freedom, when he was younger.
But are the Alphas there as collared as the Omegas are here?
Would it be better if Omegas were in charge, as revolutionary as that thought is?
I want equality and not power over anyone.
Lark lets out a bark of laughter, but his eyes are bright with intelligence. “Wow, burn it all down, huh?”
Antonio winks. “Fight the Man, right?”
Antonio dives back to the bed and wraps his arms around me.
Joy rushes through me.
I let out a happy squeak, as he curls one arm under my ass, and another around my neck.
“May I have this dance?” Antonio asks like we’re surrounded by a waltz and not wild drumbeats, fast guitar riffs, and an anthem about breaking free from authority.
“You may,” I reply, politely.
Antonio sweeps me up into his arms, taking all my weight, which admittedly after my fever and time in the cell isn’t much.
I cling to him, feeling his silky curls against my skin, as our cheeks rest against each other.
Then I gasp, and my stomach swoops with exhilaration, as Antonio twirls and then bounces up and down like we’re in a mosh pit.
“Hey,” I laughingly protest.
Yet dancing like this to rebellious music that would’ve made Dad have a heart attack is thrilling.
I feel liberated.
Antonio licks across the shell of my ear, and I melt. “Did you like your nest?”
The bed was meant to be a nest for Lark and me.
I wrap my legs tighter around Antonio’s waist, stroking his neck. “I love it, Toni. I fucking love it.”
I pull back and claim his lips so desperately that he lets out a startled sound against my lips. Then he opens his mouth, and his tongue dances with mine, in time to the way that he twirls me around.
I’m lost in the music, thrusts of his tongue, and whirlwind that is Antonio.
When he draws back, I’m breathless.
“Mia amata.” His eyes are dark.
He kisses me feather light again, before his gaze catches on something.
“Hey, why did you kick poor Prince Artio out of the bed? Did he hog all the covers, or do you have a thing against the royal family? Because take it from me, some of them look haughty but are freaks in bed.”
I scrunch up my nose. “TMI.”
I stare at the teddy bear, who’s lying dramatically sprawled out on his back on the floor with his cape around him like a pool of blood.
Okay, now he’s deliberately trying to make me look bad.
Guilt swirls in my stomach. “We didn’t mean to reject him. It’s just that we didn’t want him watching—”
“Us being freaks in bed.” Lark stretches out on the blankets, stroking down his stomach suggestively, before slipping his hand up his shirt.
I can’t see what he’s doing but it must be something good because his eyelashes flutter and he widens his thighs.
His dick tents his shirt.
My breath hitches.
Antonio stands as still as a statue at the sight. “Shit, and I missed it. I’m not missing this show though.”
“Look, we’re sorry, Prince Bear Behind,” Lark says, teasingly. “Just pick him up, and we’ll kiss it better for him.”
Antonio gently lays me down next to Lark on the bed.
Then he arches his brow. “You should. This is the only thing that Kai has from his childhood and last pack. It’s his right to choose if he shares with you about his life but he’s a runaway. This bear belonged to his brother. Kai’s a billionaire, but this is the most precious thing that he owns. It’s a courting gift. So, I love you guys but I love my Alpha too. I’d die and kill for him.”
I believe him.
Plus, Kai gave us a courting gift…?
Lark nods, impressed. “As it should be.”
I scramble to lean precariously over the bed and snatch up Prince Artio. “Sorry, Your Highness.”
I pat the bear on his head but place him on the bedside table, facing away…because what I want to do to Antonio is not suitable for his button eye, singular.
I kneel up and snatch Antonio by his sexy scarf and drag him down onto the bed between Lark and me.
He lets himself be pulled down, enthusiastically.
He can’t seem to decide whether to look at the way my hand is grasping his scarf or Lark’s hand has never stopped working at his cock beneath his shirt.
Antonio licks his lips. “I’ve never been with a woman before or an Omega. Hey, why don’t you train me? I’m a dedicated worker.”
Lark snorts. “When you were a guard, you lay around chatting with us about old movies, the best way to make cappuccino, and how Dolce amp; Gabbana are your favorite brand because of their spectacle and flair. You do wear a suit well.”
“Style can’t be bought. But then again, who doesn’t look stylish, when you can afford Dolce amp; Gabbana?” Antonio shrugs. “I hated being a guard. But I’m dedicated to anything that I’m serious about and I’m serious about being your Beta. This is going to be fun. Kai’s given me permission, by the way. I’ve told him how I feel, and he understands. He simply thinks that we shouldn’t bond as a pack. Yet. He’s always said that we can bring other people into the pack, but only when we won’t be putting them in danger.”
“Then we need to make him understand that you’re already in our pack,” I say, stubbornly.
Antonio shivers. “Fuck, I love you.”
“Then show our Omega the proper use of your bratty tongue,” Lark says, sternly. “I’ll train you to please her. Okay?”
Lark has experience with women.
I can vouch for how fucking amazing he is with his tongue.
Antonio’s pupils dilate, and his breathing picks up.
He’s definitely okay with that. But I love that Lark is still checking in with him.
Antonio nods. “You have my consent to use me to pleasure you. How about we have a more serious conversation later about what we like, kinks, and limits. My safe word is knotty. No jokes, please. But now, I want to taste my first pussy.”
Oh, fuck.
I swallow. My mouth is dry.
“Lie down,” Lark orders. “Raise your shirt to your beautiful tits. Let him see you.”
I sprawl fully on my back, edging my shirt up, slowly. My cheeks flame.
Lark’s gaze is heavy on me, and shit, I think that he may have a voyeur kink because his hand strokes his dick, faster and faster. He’s edging himself. As cool as he’s trying to appear, he’s biting his lip and sweating.
Antonio hisses out a breath. “My gorgeous Omega.”
Then he kisses down my stomach, and I struggle not to move as each press of his lips makes my skin oversensitive.
He’s bringing me to life, a kiss at a time.
He grips me by the hips but lightly, stroking me in circular motions like he can’t believe that he’s touching me.
“Push her legs apart,” Lark’s voice is commanding. Fuck, it’s doing something funny to my insides. “Take a look at where you’re about to worship.”
Antonio nudges my legs apart, until he’s studying my pussy.
My hands clutch the bedding at either side of me.
I stare up at the ceiling, breathing hard, as he explores my folds, before parting them.
I dart a glance down at him and then, I’m transfixed at the hungry way that he’s staring at my pussy.
“Now, start licking.” Lark is as transfixed as I am. “Suck on her clit and don’t stop.”
And Antonio does.
He licks and sucks like it’s his mission in life.
I arch off the bed with a gasp, but Antonio grasps my hips, holding me down firmly and forcing me to take it.
“Toni,” I pant. “Fuck, Toni…”
I feel him smile against my pussy, before he flattens his tongue, questing out new ways to fuck me with it.
I can tell that he’s never done this before. But his enthusiasm is astounding. He experiments with circling his tongue, then tapping at my clit.
He devours me like I’m a feast.
Pleasure is winding through me.
I’m close already.
My fingers itch to reach down and grasp onto those silver curls. I want to ride his face, forcing him where I want him most to push him over the edge.
But Lark is leading this, and Antonio needs to learn on his own.
When he turns his head and brushes his lips against my sensitive inner thigh, I know that he already is.
“Slip a finger into her, beside your tongue.” Lark’s voice is breathy. He sounds like he’s close to coming too. “Now, crook it.”
I keen at the intense sensation.
“Please…”
I don’t know what I’m asking for.
More?
Definitely not for it to stop.
Lark understands. “Add another finger.”
Antonio slips in another one of his elegant fingers, and my pussy spasms.
I reach down, unable to resist petting Antonio’s curls. He glances up at me from underneath his lashes, and him looking at me with adoration, while his tongue and fingers are still in me, is what does it.
I come with a scream.
My back bows, despite Antonio’s hold on me, and I crumple the bedding tightly between my hands.
At the same time, I hear Lark’s deep groan of satisfaction. He tumbles the pillows next to me like an avalanche, as he comes too.
“Mercy,” Lark whispers, twisting to kiss me, passionately. Then he also strokes Antonio’s hair. “Good pup.”
“Breakfast is ready,” Kai’s rumbling voice breaks into my happy bubble with the two men on the bed. He’s standing in the open doorway, watching us. How long has he been there? His expression is unreadable. “Come down to the kitchen.”
My heartbeat races. My pulse roars in my ears.
I knew that everything would change, as soon as an Alpha became involved.
Have we broken any rules? Will he tell us a long list of them at breakfast?
Are we in trouble?