Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
CASH
I watch her hips sway as Trinity powers up the hiking trail ahead of me.
For someone who spends most of her time sitting behind a desk in heels, she’s surprisingly agile on the volcanic terrain.
The rest of the wedding party—Lucas, Matheo, and Kyren included—fell behind at the first scenic overlook about fifteen minutes ago.
“Trying to set a land-speed record?” I call out as I catch up to her at a bend in the trail.
Trinity doesn’t hear me, instead staring intently at her phone as she angles it toward the cloudless sky. She makes an adorable face, her tongue peeking out between her lips in concentration as she shifts positions.
“Let me guess,” I laugh. “You’re hiking this fast to get back into cell phone range?”
Her cheeks flush pink, and she quickly tucks the phone into the pocket of her hiking shorts. “No,” she says, then immediately sighs. “Okay, fine. Yes. I’m pathetic, I know.”
“Not pathetic. Dedicated.” I take a swig from my water bottle. “Though you might consider enjoying the tropical paradise around you. The emails will still be there when we get back.”
I can’t believe I’m the one saying it, but I just don’t want to see those cute little frown lines on her forehead turning permanent early just because of stress.
Trinity pulls at a curl at the end of her ponytail.
“I know, I know. It’s just—I’m waiting to hear back if my bid was accepted for a real estate investment I’m really excited about…
” She trails off, glancing at her pocket like she can see through it to her phone before forcing herself to look away. “It’ll be fine.”
“The workaholic struggle is real,” I say, not unkindly. “I get it.”
“Takes one to know one, right?” She eyes me up and down, her gaze lingering on my legs. “How are you in such good shape, anyway? I’m practically dying, and you’re not even breathing hard.”
“Lucas and I run five miles every morning.” I stretch my arms overhead, enjoying the pleasant burn in my muscles. “Keeps the mind sharp for all those spreadsheets I have to analyze.”
Trinity’s eyes widen. “Every morning? That’s some serious commitment.”
“Well,” I smirk, dropping my voice, “I might have skipped this morning if I’d known what kind of exercise I’d be missing back at the villa.”
Her face turns from pink to crimson instantly. She looks away, suddenly fascinated by a nearby tropical flower.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” I say, though I’m enjoying her flustered state more than I probably should. “Even for a beta, the evidence was hard to miss. And Lucas acted like he’d just walked into a wall when we got back to the villa. ”
“Where is Lucas?” she blurts, clearly trying to change the subject. “I thought he’d be right behind you.”
I chuckle, scanning the trail below us. “Lucas gets distracted by wildlife on hikes. He’s probably halfway up a tree trying to make friends with a squirrel by now.”
“He likes animals that much?”
“He’d have adopted a house full of furballs by now if I didn’t have a pet dander allergy.” I shake my head fondly. “It’s his one disappointment in life—that our house isn’t overrun with four-legged companions. Or two-legged ones, honestly.”
She tilts her head to the side, a small smile twisting her lips. “Your house is already pretty full with three alphas. They can be pretty animal-like sometimes.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I realize my mistake.
She thinks we’re an established pack. Packs live together. But Lucas and I have our own place, Matheo has his mansion in the hills, and Kyren lives... actually, I’m not entirely sure where Kyren lives when he’s not crashing on someone’s couch.
“Well,” I begin carefully, “our living arrangement is…unique.” Not technically a lie. “We each have our own space, but we come together regularly.”
Also not a lie, though regularly is stretching it when it comes to Kyren. But since the couch in question has often belonged to Matheo in the past, I’m going to say it counts.
Trinity nods, seeming to accept my explanation. “That makes sense. Four grown men need their space sometimes.” She smiles, a hint of something wistful in her expression. “It must be nice, though, having that built-in support system.”
“It is nice,” I say, surprised by how true it feels despite our arrangement being entirely fabricated. Sharing the villa has been less fraught with friction than I would have thought possible. “What about you? Do you live alone?”
“My apartment is my sanctuary,” she says, pulling out her phone again and frowning at the lack of signal. “Just me and my color-coded calendar.”
“Sounds familiar.” The thought of her living arrangement being so similar to what mine was before Lucas makes my chest tighten unexpectedly.
She gives me a shy smile. “We’re a lot alike, I think.”
I agree with her, but only because I’ve spent so much time dissecting her life through every bit of her digital footprint that I could get my hands on.
“You’re easy to relate to,” I tell her.
“Not for most people,” Trinity scoffs, eyeing me. She kicks at a pile of pebbles, sending them skittering along the trail ahead of us. “You’re the first male beta I’ve met who was packed up. Was it hard to slot yourself in with them?”
I choose my words carefully because I really don’t want to lie to her.
“Lucas and I were actually together first. We’ve been a couple for a few years now,” I explain.
“Matheo and Kyren were roommates in college, and I decided to rush their frat. After a bit of hazing, they were the only ones who were willing to sponsor an upstart, sixteen-year-old beta delusional enough to think he could make it through rush in an alpha fraternity. Matheo and I worked together after college, and when Lucas and I decided we wanted a pack, it only made sense for us all to link back up.”
Trinity’s eyes widen. “Sixteen? In college?”
I nod. “Math prodigy. My parents were very proud—and very eager to get me out of the house.”
“That’s remarkable.” She looks genuinely impressed, which makes my chest tighten pleasantly .
“I usually get what I want when I’m determined to have it,” I say, meeting her eyes directly.
Trinity blushes again, and I realize just how true that sentiment is. For a moment, neither of us speaks. The tropical breeze rustles the foliage around us, and somewhere in the distance, a bird calls out to its mate.
I’ve been studying Trinity Jones through data points and digital footprints for weeks now, but being here with her—seeing her flushed cheeks and bright eyes, smelling her unique scent that grows stronger with her emotions even with my more muted beta senses—makes me realize how much I’ve missed by viewing her as a puzzle to solve rather than a person to know.
She’s not just beautiful. She’s fascinating.
Trinity breaks the silence first.
“So how does it work?” she asks, her voice shy but curious. “In the pack, I mean. I take it you and Lucas are... together together.”
“We are,” I confirm. “Lucas and I are partners in every sense. Matheo and Kyren are...” I search for the right words that won’t be outright lies. “They’re important to us in different ways.”
“What would have happened if...” Trinity trails off, fidgeting with her water bottle. “If you had been there this morning? When I was with Matheo?”
The question sends a jolt through me. She’s asking about boundaries, about pack dynamics, about whether I would have been jealous or participatory. The idea of watching Trinity with Matheo—or better yet, joining them—makes my pulse quicken.
“Anything you wanted could have happened,” I say honestly .
Trinity’s voice hitches slightly. “That’s not what I expected a beta to say.”
“Most people exist on a spectrum, betas included,” I reply with a small smile. “But betas don’t usually have the same possessive instincts as alphas, so we’re fairly adaptable in our sexual preferences.”
She takes a step closer to me. “And Lucas? Would he have been jealous?”
“Lucas has always had…let’s call it an abundance mindset. There is always enough love to go around.” I reach out to brush a stray curl from her face, my fingers lingering against her cheek. “Are you asking because you’re curious, or because you want me to explain it to you in detail?”
Trinity sways into my touch before catching herself. “Huh?”
“I can tell you exactly what would happen.” I lean in close, my voice low and intimate. “Do you want me to paint you a picture, Trinity?”
Her breathing quickens, eyes widening. The word escapes her lips like a confession. “Yes.”
“If you’d been in our bed this morning…” I step closer, her sweet scent intensifying as her pulse speeds up. “I’d have watched Matheo with you first. Appreciated the way your bodies moved together. Then Lucas would have joined, touching you where Matheo wasn’t.”
Trinity swallows hard, her lips parting slightly.
“And me?” I continue, watching her pupils dilate. “I would have guided you. Told you exactly what we all wanted, what you seemed to need. I’d have memorized every sound you made, cataloged every touch that made you gasp.”
“Cash...” Her voice is barely a whisper .
“In our pack, we take care of each other. And if you were there, we’d take care of you, too. Worship every inch of your skin until you can’t remember your own name.”
Trinity’s eyes are hungry now, fixed on my mouth. “Show me.”
I don’t hesitate. Gently but firmly, I back her against the trunk of a nearby banyan tree. My hands find her waist as I press my body against hers, feeling her softness yield to me.
“Is this what you want?” I murmur against her cheek.
“Please,” she breathes, hands clutching at my shoulders.
Being this close to her is intoxicating, even better than the compatibility test at the agency.
I capture her mouth with mine, and the kiss is electric. This is real desire, unplanned and uncontrolled. Her lips are soft, eager, opening to me as I deepen the kiss. She tastes sweet with an underlying heat that makes my head swim.
Her hands slide up into my hair, pulling me closer as she arches against me. I trace the curve of her hip, my fingers finding the edge of her hiking shorts. She makes a small, needy sound into my mouth when my thumb brushes the warm skin of her lower belly.
I break the kiss to trail my lips down her neck, breathing in her intoxicating scent. “You’re perfect,” I whisper against her pulse point. “Do you know how much we all want you? Not just for show, Trinity. For real.”
She trembles against me. “I want that, too.”
My lips linger on Trinity’s neck, tasting the salt of her skin as my hand slips beneath the waistband of her tight hiking shorts. The heat of her body draws me in, and I find her already soaked with slick, the evidence of her need sending a surge of hunger through me.
“Feel that?” I murmur in her ear, my fingers gliding over her, slow and deliberate. “Your body’s begging for me, isn’t it? So ready, so perfect. I’m gonna give you exactly what you crave.”
Her breath hitches, a soft whimper escaping as she presses into my touch. “Cash, please…”
“That’s it,” I growl low, circling with precision, building the tension in her trembling frame. “Let go for me. I’ve got you. I wanna hear every sound, wanna feel you shatter.”
Her nails dig into my shoulders, hips rocking against my hand. My pace quickens, driving her higher, until her gasp turns sharp, her body clenching around my fingers. She unravels with a cry, shuddering in my arms as I hold her steady against the banyan tree, her warmth seeping into me.
My fingers itch to tear open her shorts and take her right here against the tree.
Betas can’t scent the way alphas do, but that doesn’t stop my intense desire to taste her.
Her scent floods my senses—omega arousal mixed with tropical flora—making my brain short-circuit with need.
I’m about to drop to my knees when a familiar, grating voice carries up the trail.
“—can’t believe the view from up here. Absolutely amazing.”
Egret. His voice snaps me back to reality like ice water. We have seconds before they round the bend.
“Fuck.” I quickly extract my hand from Trinity’s shorts, helping steady her as she blinks dreamily and smoothing her disheveled hair.
Just as Egret’s platinum blonde head appears around the corner, Trinity leans against the tree in what I hope looks like a casual pose, though her flushed cheeks and rapid breathing might give us away.
“Next time,” I promise in a whisper only she can hear .
She nods almost imperceptibly, still breathless. Despite my aching balls and disappointment, I note with immense satisfaction that she didn’t think once about reaching for her phone once I got my hands on her.