Chapter 3
W hat the fuck have I gotten myself into?
I didn’t even like when Jerry left the lights on. How was I supposed to have sex in front of a room full of people? The universe was unfair.
I hovered outside the hotel, my luggage at my side, when a black SUV rolled up with a painfully beautiful alpha in the driver’s seat. His hair was longer than I’d expected, falling past his shoulders like a sheet of black silk, and his eyes were a gorgeous golden brown. He hopped out with a smile and beelined straight for me. “Callie?”
“Yep,” I squeaked out.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kai, one of the alphas who’ll be taking care of you for your heat.”
Even his name was pretty. Miles had sent me a photo of him so I wouldn’t get scooped up by the wrong person.
“Ready to go?”
I barely finished a nod before he was taking my luggage to put it in the back, and then he opened the front passenger door for me, those warm golden eyes watching me expectantly. I hopped into the front seat, trying to buckle so quickly I accidentally locked the belt.
Kai chuckled and took it out of my hands, resetting the mechanism and buckling me in properly. “Excited or nervous?”
“Both? I feel like I might pass out.”
“We’ll get you relaxed in no time.” He kissed my cheek and I bit down on a whimper as he rounded the vehicle and climbed into his seat before zipping out into the traffic.
Sweet mother. He was so fucking pretty. It was like someone had ripped him off the pages of a magazine, and he was going to touch me . Why didn’t I have a pillow to scream into right now?
I had a white-knuckle grip on the door handle, my other hand fidgeting with my hair.
“Deep breaths.” Kai laced our fingers together. I stared down at where we touched, the fizz of electricity traveling up my arm. “I promise we’re going to take very good care of you. I know I can tell you not to be nervous, but it won’t make a difference, so instead I’ll tell you to keep breathing.”
He had no alpha scent. He was probably on scent blockers like me, but it would’ve been easier to chill out if he could have just shut off my brain with a burst of whatever he smelled like.
The drive was short and I spent most of it internally screaming and trying not to sweat all over Kai’s palm.
“Here we are,” Kai said as he pulled to a stop.
It wasn’t a hotel I recognized, but then I didn’t know any that weren’t on the Strip, and it looked snazzy with teal glass that shone in the sun. The valet took the vehicle, and Kai took my hand again, wheeling my suitcase behind him to lead me inside. The brief stretch of heat between the air-conditioned vehicle and the hotel already had me sweating.
Kai chuckled. “Not used to the desert?”
“No. I’m suffering .”
“Well, I promise you don’t have to leave the AC for a while now.”
Thank goodness for small miracles.
On the way up, Kai dropped his arm around my shoulder and it took every ounce of fortitude not to simply melt against him. I wanted to know what he smelled like. Miles too. Scent blockers might be the courteous thing, but they did absolutely nothing to assuage my omega curiosity.
It wasn’t really polite to speculate, but considering what was going to be happening between me and Kai tonight, I felt a little entitled to know. How awkward would it be if his scent repulsed me? How the fuck would I get through a heat in that case?
“Are you on scent blockers too?” I asked.
“Yep. The other alphas are as well. We all get everything neutralized at the same time.”
“But what if someone doesn’t like someone’s scent? Then isn’t it too late to back out?”
He gave me a cheeky look. “Should I be offended you think my scent is going to be gross, little dove?”
Heat flared in my cheeks. “That’s not what I meant. You could think mine is gross.”
“Basically impossible with how cute I think you are.”
All the blood rushing into my cheeks was making me lightheaded.
“Diego and Amir are the other two who will be taking care of you,” Kai told me as we slipped into an immaculate open-concept penthouse suite.
“Holy shit, this is pretty.” A view of the city filled one wall through an enormous window, and the bedroom double doors were wide open to show off the biggest bed I had ever seen in real life. The bathroom was all white marble and sparkling glass, and the living room was set up with plush couches, a fireplace, and an enormous TV.
Two alphas emerged from the kitchenette area, looking oddly twin-like with their dark hair and eyes, beautifully bronze skin, and athletic forms. The easiest differentiation I could make with a two-second glance was that one had floppy curls and the other’s hair was cut short on the sides with just enough length on top to grab. I flushed at that thought being the first to enter my mind. Floppy Curls also had a sun tattoo on his hip.
“Guys, this is Callie,” Kai said, and then gestured to each of them in turn. “Callie, this is Diego and Amir.”
Diego was the one with the tattoo.
“Hi,” I squeaked.
Kai left me there with them to deposit my luggage in the bedroom and I stood frozen under their scrutiny. What did they see when they looked at me? I wasn’t entirely certain if my coloring had shifted enough so I didn’t betray my recent crying.
All the little hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up when Amir approached me, hooking his fingers beneath my chin. “Questions?”
Fuck me, his touch was full of sparks that had my stomach clenching.
“Only a million,” I said, trying at levity.
“Miles gave her the rundown,” said Kai as he returned. “We can cover anything else.”
“Where is Miles?” I asked. “He said he would be here.”
“He will be. He’s just making sure everything else is running smoothly for tonight,” replied Diego. “You should go shower. Hair and makeup will be here in about an hour, and Miles will have paperwork for you. Also, if you want to eat, I would order room service now so you have time to digest.”
I swallowed hard. Everything felt like it was careening toward me now that I was here.
“I’ll order for you,” Kai offered. “What would you like?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs? I usually carb load before a heat.”
Kai gave me a soft smile. “I’ll put in the order now.”
I disappeared into the bathroom, grateful to have a reprieve. They were all certainly attractive enough to put on a show; I just had to reconcile myself to the fact that I was going to be a part of that. This was my last chance to be clean for a few days, so I might as well take the opportunity to indulge. I stood face-first under the spray until I felt a little steadier, and then set about scrubbing myself head to toe. Was I supposed to shave everything? Miles had said the audience wanted an authentic experience, but how far did that apply?
“Um, is anyone nearby to answer a question?” I called out. I cringed, letting my forehead rest against the glass while I tried not to let my embarrassment swallow me whole.
The door cracked open and Diego stepped inside. “What’s up?”
I crossed my arms over my chest.
He laughed quietly. “I’m going to see a lot more of you soon, and so is everyone else. No need to be shy. What’s your question?”
“Is this like an everything shower where I shave head to toe? I don’t know what to do.”
Diego’s eyes gleamed. “Only take off what you actually want to. I’m going to wreck you regardless.”
Oh god.
Heat rolled through me and I didn’t miss his appreciative look when I braced one hand on the glass, my fingers curling.
“If you don’t want to shave a single hair, then don’t. Probably better not to, quite honestly. Don’t want you to nick yourself and have to deal with any extra discomfort.”
Extra discomfort. How much would there actually be?
Diego parked himself on top of the marble vanity. “Hurry up with your shower. Your food will be here in a few minutes.”
“You’re just going to watch?”
“You need to get used to eyes on you.”
A tiny whimper escaped.
“Amir, Kai, the little omega needs to practice having some attention.”
Oh sweet baby Jesus. Then the three of them were in the bathroom with me, all watching me through the steamed-up glass.
“Don’t be shy, little dove. If you can’t handle this, you won’t be able to handle tonight.”
I bit my lip and tried not to focus on the fact that they could all see me naked as a spring day while I took the hair off my underarms and lower legs. By the time I was rinsing out my conditioner, feeling their gazes wasn’t quite so intrusive. But then I had to step out from the protective barrier of the fogged glass.
Kai held out a towel, dangling it from his fingers far enough away that I wouldn’t be able to reach. “Come on out, sweetness.”
With a deep, shaky breath, I stepped out of the shower and closer to them so Kai could wrap the towel around me. Diego dropped another over my head and squeezed the water from my hair.
“See,” Diego said. “Not so bad.”
Was I red as a beet? Yes. Had I fainted putting myself in front of these unfairly beautiful alphas while butt naked? No. I counted that as a win.
A knock on the door signaled the arrival of my food and Amir scooped me up to carry me over to the couch while Kai brought the cart in. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wishing that the scent blockers were already gone so I could tell what he smelled like. I craved the knowledge like a tangible thing, my omega instincts demanding to know.
In addition to the spaghetti and meatballs I had requested, they’d also ordered cheesy bread, two carafes of juices, and one of water.
Kai and Diego each took a spot at my sides and worked lotion into my skin until goosebumps covered every bit of me and I was dizzy from breathing so hard.
“Open,” Amir commanded, gesturing to my mouth with a forkful of pasta twisted around half a meatball.
I accepted the bite, still shivering when Kai scooped one of my feet onto his lap and dug out the tension with his thumbs.
“There’s a lot of things happening at once right now,” I commented once I had swallowed.
“That’ll be the next three days,” Amir reminded me. “You need to get used to it. We don’t want you to have a panic attack out there.”
“Right.” I swallowed another bite of pasta Amir offered and almost died of bliss when Kai shifted me, leaning my back to his chest and Diego lifted my legs onto his lap. So comfy. With a quiet hum, I let myself melt, leaning into his warmth that was actually enjoyable now that I was in air conditioning.
The suite door opened and Miles swept inside. “I see you’re all getting acquainted. Callie, sweetheart, I have a contract for you to sign and I’ll need your banking information so we can deposit the first chunk of your money as soon as I submit the paperwork.”
Miles grinned at me, his blue eyes bright beneath his tousled brown waves. He passed over the clipboard with the paperwork and I read all of the intricate details, feeling like I was signing my soul away when I laid down my name.
“Perfect,” Miles crooned. “One step closer to your new life and the best sex you’ll ever have.”