Chapter 25
Cordelia
Mum kidnaps me as soon as I’ve finished with Gale. I barely have a chance to wave goodbye to my alphas before I’m frogmarched down to Main Street.
“No books,” Mum says under her breath, pointing.
I do a double take. They have gotten rid of my books. Even the tourists have put them away. There are no birthplace of Lynn Marino posters, nothing; it’s like the last few weeks never happened.
“No talk of her. No whispers, no gossip. Lynn Marino does not exist.”
I gape at her. “How on Earth did you manage that?”
“We have skills, don’t we, Lorelei?”
I jump, whipping around to find Lorelei smiling smugly. Her ninja skills aren’t rusty at all.
“We do indeed. Come, we need to go to the bookshop.”
We get to the shop and walk in with me almost trembling in trepidation. Sofia smiles when she sees me. I edge deeper into the store and turn in a massive circle. There are no Lynn Marino books. No displays, no pictures, no teasers. Nothing. It’s all gone.
I stand there, my heart feeling so full, I don’t even have the words to tell them how grateful I am.
“I love you all.”
“Of course, you do; we’re awesome,” Sofia says smugly.
“Come on, we’re having coffee,” Lorelei says.
I’m led to the couches at the back of the store, and my anxiety grows with the way Mum and Lorelei keep looking at each other. Asher comes in, sets the coffees down, and with a jaunty salute, escapes. I kind of envy her but relax a little when Sofia joins us.
I spot a frame above the counter with a scrap of black material. I swivel my head and stare at Sofia.
“You did not!” I say and burst into loud cackles.
She grins. “Every time he comes in here, he has no idea that my triumph is right there in his face.”
I don’t think there is anyone in Sunshine Cove who knows that the material in that frame is a pair of underwear we stole when we were fifteen years old.
“Raiders of the Lost D’arc.”
I hold out my fist, and she bumps it.
“Uh-huh, are you two finished?” Lorelei asks. They are both well used to our nonsense.
“Yes, we’re good. Proceed with the lecture.”
Lorelei sips her coffee. “There’s no lecture. This is a lesson.”
“In what?”
“I want you two to help us organise the next matchmaking event.”
I look at Sofia, and she looks at me. We burst into laughter. This is some kind of elaborate joke; it has to be.
Mum and Lorelei wait us out, watching us with small satisfied smiles that turn to irritated frowns as we continue giggling.
I wipe tears from my eyes and look at Lorelei. “Now, what did you really want to talk about?”
“I’m serious, you two are taking over.” A thread of anger makes her tone sharp.
“We are not!” Sofia exclaims crossly.
“We’re moving online; it’s going to be a business, so I want you two and Julia to do the last two events with me.”
I stare at her, feeling sick. “While I appreciate the offer, and I love that you are thinking of me, it’s obvious you are a tad confused because I am absolutely a terrible fit.”
“Answer’s no, Mum,” Sofia says and folds her arms under her breasts.
Lorelei takes her time setting her coffee cup down and lifting her gaze to pin us with a truly terrifying look.
“How would Devon like to know his omega is displaying his ancient underwear as a trophy to the world?”
Sofia’s jaw drops. “How do you know about that?” she whispers in horror.
Julia looks at me. “You have too many secrets; we just need to throw a dart with a blindfold on, and we’ve got you by the balls.”
“Don’t have balls,” I say sulkily. This isn’t fair. I don’t want to do this.
“They do. Big hairy ones. Wrinkled and gross,” Sofia mutters, leaning back in the chair as if getting away from our mothers will save her.
I snort a laugh.
“Sofia!” Lorelei snaps.
“Aw, Mum. You don’t understand, I’m not a matchmaker. That’s not what I do.”
“No, you are an observer. You watch people. You assess who they are and learn how to give them what they want.” Lorelei turns to me. “You know romance. I’ve read your books; you are sweet and charming, and your dates won’t go too far but will be creative.”
I groan. We’re already locked in, and they are just waiting for the official yes.
“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” Sofia sinks down into the mustard-coloured couch.
“Nope,” she says, making the p pop with all the attitude of a happy mum who just won the argument of the year.
I look up at the ceiling and wish I hadn’t entered the bookshop this morning.
“Okay, well, that’s all we wanted. We’ll leave you to your day.”
“That you butchered!” I hiss under my breath.
They stand up, beaming at each other.
“We didn’t say yes,” Sofia shouts.
“Yes, you did!”
With that, they leave in a cloud of satisfaction that smells like roses.
“That was mean and evil.”
“That was so evil,” I agree. “Want a drink?”
Sofia nods, stomps behind the counter, and comes out with a bottle of coffee-flavoured liquor.
“A drink to bolster our spirits.”
We drink straight from the bottle.
I hold it and scowl. “A drink to the evil demons our mothers are.”
We drink again.
And we keep going, trying to forget, until we’re giggling and helplessly sitting on the floor, laughing, as Fox and Elijah pick the lock on the bookstore door and ask just how much we’ve had.
The answer to which is ‘this much.’
Katsu carries me home. He’s big and strong. I fling my arms wide, overbalancing, but he catches my weight, refusing to let me fall.
“My mum made me a matchmaker!” I howl. “How can I possibly match anyone? I do everything wrong.”
I wriggle and try to escape, but it’s impossible. Sebastian can be heard yelling from the street.
I cock my head and listen to him set out a blistering lecture on his parents. I don’t know who I’d bet on to win, but Sebastian storms out, slamming the door, ignoring his mother, who rushes out, calling his name.
Fox unlocks our house and watches as I’m dumped on the couch. I wriggle off and lie on the floor, staring at the vaulted ceiling. I really love this house and all the wood. It’s a warm house. It feels cozy. But in summer, everything opens up, and it’s light and airy.
“We could raise kids here,” I whisper. “Lots of kinds. Like a whole basketball team.”
Fox appears upside down. “Let’s worry about sleep before we worry about offspring.”
“Sleep, I don’t want to sleep. I want to fly.”
I spread my wings, oops; I mean arms, only to bash them into the couch on one side and the coffee table on the other.
“You can fly into bed right now,” Katsu growls. “Sit up and drink this.”
“No, I don’t want water.”
He shakes his head, picks me up, and sits down with me curled up on his chest. I lay there listening to his heartbeat, feeling the way the rhythm of his life slows the chaotic panic of mine.
He strokes my hair and holds me tight; he never takes his eyes from mine. He just watches me like I’m something important, like I’m someone precious.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I admit finally.
“You won’t lose me.”
There’s a knock at the door, and Devon stalks in. He and Sebastian have a terse conversation full of spikey anger, and then they leave. I want to call out for Bas to come back, but the room is spinning.
“Fox?”
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs, and he appears with a glass of water that he helps me to drink.
I stare up at him, remembering the panic and fear on his face when the preorder went live.
“You’ll hate me.”
He smiles. “I won’t.”
“You will. Some days, I hate me, too.”
And with that, the world swirls a little harder, and I fall into the dark oblivion of sleep.
I wake up with a start, with a horrible memory of Lorelei making Sofia and myself matchmakers. My head spins, and my stomach twists violently. I climb out of bed and go to the toilet, cleaning up and washing my face with water.
I look like shit.
Memories start filtering. I remember drinking with Sofia. We did it too fast. That bottle should have been drunk over several hours, not half an hour. It was fun, though.
I creep into the kitchen and reach for a glass, only to stop when I see a bottle and two painkillers.
“Thank you,” I say with heartfelt gratitude.
I stay in the kitchen, wincing as more and more memories return. When I can’t stand it, I go out onto the balcony. The night is freezing, and the world is quiet, like every single creature is tucked up in bed, asleep.
I put my head in my hand and groan. I should never have done that. Secrets have been spilled with less alcohol, and I left poor Gale.
“We took care of everything,” Sebastian says softly as he comes out, pulling the door closed.
“Gale?” I whisper. “I was stupid, irresponsible.”
“Overwhelmed, needing a minute to escape, trapped?”
Sebastian pulls me back against his chest, and the warmth seeps into my bones where a chill has been starting to settle.
“Yes, we took care of Gale. I’ve had a big chat with Mum and the dads, and we’ll see how things go, but I think this time, instead of blackmailing you, they will sit down and ask you if you want to do it.”
I sigh. “I think I would be terrible. And I can’t say no to anyone. I don’t want to do it, Bas. I really, really don’t.”
“Really? I think you would be wonderful at it, and that annoys me because I want to keep you all to myself. But I’m not going to let anyone force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
He slides his hands down the outside of my thighs, and I moan, leaning back into him.
“It would be nice just to be the four of us, just to be alone and be by ourselves for a while.”
“Which is why, at the end of this, we are all going to schedule some time and go and stay somewhere alone. Maybe a cabin on the mountains. You know that one you love in Second Chance.”
I lay my head back on his shoulder, moaning as he massages the tops of my thighs before he moves up and slides his big, massive hand over my stomach.
With one hand, he reaches up and pulls my head to the side and presses hot kisses to my neck, sucking hard enough that I go up on tiptoes, arching my ass into his hard cock.
“You are so gorgeous. Even though I know I should leave you alone, I can’t. I want you all the time,” Bas growls in my ear.
A thrill goes through me. I grip the rail hard, then let go, covering his hand with mine.
“Bas, please. I want you now. Here.”
He freezes, and I sense him looking up and scanning the surroundings.
“It’s some ungodly hour in the middle of the night. No one is awake, and it’s dark. Please.”
“Cordelia Darla Lake, you shock me. In the best possible way.”
“No, I don’t. I excite you.”
He bites my neck hard, and I cry out. His hand dips down, teasing my mound before his fingers slide through my slick folds, grazing over my clit. I jerk in surprise at the feeling but roll my ass against him.
“Feels so good, Bas, you’re so hard. I want you inside me.”
“Mmm, I want to tease you more.”
Damn him. I pull off the over-sized T-shirt I’ve been dressed in, dropping it to the ground, and grab the railings of the balcony, pushing my ass right into him.
“Oh, damn,” Sebastian hisses.
He pulls away.
“My jeans are covered in slick, baby.”
“Your cock could be, too, if only you would pull it out and give it to me,” I say breathlessly.
He laughs, but I hear him take off his clothes. Now, it’s just us and the cold and quiet world. All blues and blacks. He strokes his fingers into me in a smooth and confident movement that has me seeing stars.
“Oh, do that again. I like the way you curl them.”
He repeats the motion, and I thrust back, moaning at the feel of him filling me up.
“Damn it, Cordie.”
He drops to his knees and wraps an arm around my thigh, pulling me back onto his mouth. I stick my ass out, parting my legs as I bend over.
I bite my lower lip, dropping my hand to play with my nipples, twisting and tugging on them. He growls, and the vibration almost makes me come.
His thumb finds my clit and strokes circles, driving me insane. It’s almost painful, mostly pleasurable. I can’t catch my breath.
The cold is there in the back of my mind, but I’m burning alive now.
Sebastian is on his knees for me. Where I’ve dreamed about him for years.
His free hand slaps my ass, and that’s it. The sharp pain sends me hurtling into an orgasm. He continues licking me through it, feasting on my pleasure, drowning in my satisfaction.
He stands up, huge and powerful, my body is so slight compared to his. He slams into me, filling me in one movement, in one desperate thrust. I hold the railing harder, arching into him.
He’s wild tonight. Violent and aggressive, possessive and powerful, and I love it. He doesn’t hold me like a china doll, he treats me like the omega I am. The one capable of taking him, holding him, making him mine.
He takes his pleasure in me, and I take mine in him, but something grows between us, a deeper feeling, a connection, something that wasn’t there.
My mouth waters, and my teeth ache. I whimper and sob, fighting the urge to turn and sink my teeth into him, but it is so hard.
He holds my hips tight, his fingers biting into them as his powerful movements rock us to the motion of his pleasure. He slides his hand in front, finding my clit, stroking it. My body tenses, tightens, and then he’s forcing that knot into me.
I erupt, screaming into my hand, smothering the sound.
Everything falls apart and into pieces and gets put back together with the rightness of this moment.
One perfect moment.
“You were mine the moment I turned to find you staring at me in the bathroom.”
I smile at the memory. It was the night of The Raiders of the Lost D’arc. While Sofia was raiding Devon’s belongings, I walked into the bathroom Sebastian was showering in.
One moment that awoke my omega.
“You were the only one I could see,” I whisper.
He hugs me close, and I don’t feel the cold. My alpha has me, and that’s everything.