Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Josie: They’re asleep now. All clear.
The text comes through the second we come upon Ethan’s hotel room.
“I have to go,” I tell Ethan as he slides his hotel key into the door.
“Going to see that omega of yours?” he asks with a ribbing tone. When I look up at him, though, there’s no taunt. His expression is one of soft excitement for me.
“Yeah,” I admit. “I’ll see you soon? Maybe we can meet up after both of our tours are done.”
My old friend confirms the idea with a nod. “I hope things work out, Jim-Jam.”
I playfully push him for using the childish nickname that my grandma used to call me. “Night, loser.”
He gives me one last grin before disappearing into his room. When I get to the elevator, my nerves start to dance around in my stomach, the inevitable creeping up on me. I will my feet to move slower when I get off on the right floor, my heart beating a mile a minute.
I didn’t expect her to say yes to my proposition, but I couldn’t help myself from trying.
Any crumb from Josie is a lifeline that I cling to, awaiting the moment where we get to be in each other’s orbits once more.
Texting her is a breath of fresh air, one that I’ll become addicted to as this tour treks on.
A part of me feels like I should be wary of spending time with Josie.
She’s been the center of my despair for the past month or so after all, but I can’t bring myself to have any bitterness or resentment.
The rancor has proven to be nonexistent; all I want is to spend time with my scent match, no matter how long it may be.
I come to her door and send a text, aware that her bandmates are sleeping in their respective rooms.
Jamie: Here
The door opens suddenly, like she was expecting me any second, and that knowledge leaves me stunned. Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, and her scent pours into the hallway, rewarding me with her bursting flavor.
“Hi,” she says.
I can’t help the smile that takes over. “Hi.”
She moves aside to let me in and marches into the suite, her eyes going every which way.
“We’re going to hang out in my room, is that okay?”
My heart skips a beat. “Of course.”
“Awesome, let’s go.”
She speedwalks and I follow, ironically enjoying being at her beck and call. My skin prickles with the thought, my stomach flipping at the images my brain conjures.
I wonder if she likes being in control, I think. Or if she likes to let go.
Her room is plain, just like any hotel room, but one part of the floor is covered in her stuff. Her suitcase lies open, ready to be hastily put back together before we head out in a few days to our next destination.
She crawls onto the bed and pats the spot beside her. When I join, I can smell the faintest hint of her champagne scent on the sheets, just enough to make me stifle a groan.
“I’m surprised you let me come over,” I say honestly, fiddling with my hands.
“I told Malaki I was sorry but haven’t had the chance to tell anyone else.
” She sighs and looks me head-on, courage blooming in her gaze.
“I’m sorry, Jamie. I know it probably hurt that I cut things off for a while.
I didn’t mean for it to be so final, but I was dealing with stuff that…
well, you know, I’m sure.” I nod at her cute rambling.
“So, thank you for letting me figure things out.”
“Of course,” I say, reaching out. She takes my hand and my heart swells. “I just want you to be happy. I’m sorry if it’s been stressful.”
She shakes her head. “I’ve made it more stressful by fighting with myself.”
This is why I refuse to hold a grudge. I can see plain as day that she is going through something and from our interactions, I can tell she is a good person. She is as loyal as she is stubborn, and her friend is spiraling. I don’t blame her for trying to put her first.
“At the end of the day,” I start, running my thumb over her palm. “You just met us. You’ve been Cleo’s friend for a long time, and I know more than anyone what that means. I just wish I could make it easier for you.”
“You are. Just by being here, by being supportive.” Her eyes look glossy as she smiles. “Still, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to say it again,” I tell her. “I forgive you. You are safe. That’s all that matters.”
She relaxes a little bit more and then huffs out a laugh. “I must say, I didn’t expect you to be the kind of person to send me suggestive texts.”
Despite my earlier tenacity, my cheeks flush. “I’m usually not,” I admit. “But the way you looked in the bar earlier, I… God, I must have had one of those alpha moments, huh? I wanted you to see me.”
Josie’s eyes look me over, telling me everything I need to know by the twinkle in her gaze. “I have always seen you. But now I guess I just have a better view.”
“Did you like the better view?” I ask, nervous.
She nods, and my stomach somersaults.
“Do you pose like that for the guys?” she asks, her lips twisted into a cheeky grin. “Like, for Malaki and Cyrus. Do you ever… send them naughty pictures?”
I pull my lip between my teeth. “I do. In fact, their tastes are… very specific, so I try to cater to that.”
She takes the bait and intrigue flashes in her eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Well, I can show you,” I offer.
She stalls, and her perfume spills into the space between us. I inhale it—every ounce of excitement and nervousness as her perfume blooms at the prospect of seeing the sexy photos I send to my mates. I try to stifle a groan, but it catches in my throat, the sound gritty as it escapes.
I never thought I’d have such a visceral reaction to an omega. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe this could happen to me.
I have never been so happy to be so wrong.
“When I take pictures by myself, I normally use my phone. But Cyrus and Malaki have taken pictures of me, too. They have a polaroid collection meant for their eyes only.”
“Fuck,” she says, just barely above a whisper. I don’t think she means for me to hear it, so I take my phone out and pull up the app I use for hidden pictures. The ones I took for her earlier are the first ones to show, and her breath hitches when she sees them again.
I scroll a bit, coming across the ones Cyrus took of me a few weeks ago. “Both of my alphas are very different, but also the same. Cyrus likes to take pictures of me when I’m tied up.”
“When you’re tied up?” she asks, her cheeks flushing.
“Yes, I… I like being tied up. It helps me get out of my head. And I trust them to take care of me. It’s the most freeing I’ve ever felt.”
Her eyes widen, absorbed by the fantasy.
I pull up the first picture; I’m blindfolded, the rope wrapped around me in a box tie.
He had me kneel while he took pictures of me, unable to see anything.
My cock hangs heavy between my legs, and even now as I look back at it, I can feel the desperation that thrummed under my skin in that moment.
Waiting, pondering. Wondering when my alpha was finally going to make his move.
Josie gawks at it. “Shit.” She scrolls to the next picture, where Cyrus is above me, his thumb touching my bottom lip as my mouth gapes open. “These are… fucking hot.”
I flush a little before I keep scrolling. This time, I’m in front of a mirror, my chest peeking out from a ripped denim jacket, my unmentionables hidden by the counter.
“Malaki likes when I pose or take nudes in his clothes,” I tell her, scrolling to the one I know is next, where my hand is wrapped around myself, my face partially hidden behind the phone. “He likes to know I’m wearing his scent and thinking about him, even when he’s not there to pleasure me.”
Josie’s chest rises and falls. She is quiet, but I can feel the energy pulsing hastily. A part of me thinks something must be wrong, but then her champagne scent bursts, arousal lacing the usually bubbly notes.
Holy fuck, she’s turned on.
I move on to my favorite set of photos, the ones that my alphas take to send to each other.
“They both like to take photos of me when the other isn’t around.
Cyrus will send Malaki a picture if he’s out doing something and vice versa.
I think they’re my favorite, because I love when they coordinate with each other, love that they are conscious of the other when they are pleasuring me. ”
The photo that shows up now is one of Cyrus fucking me.
It’s explicit, and was probably dangerous for him to take, but I can’t bring myself to care about that.
My head is thrown back, my hands gripping the blankets.
It captures his cock inside me, my own sitting untouched on my stomach.
This is one that I hold dear, one that I wish I could print out and keep in my pocket forever.
I laugh. “Cyrus sent this one to Malaki. I hadn’t even come by the time Malaki burst through the door.”
Her finger barely moves over the screen, almost like she’s trying to brush against our skins herself. I want to say something about her hollowed breaths; how she is looking at the pictures with so much temptation. I want to reach out and take it, swallow it down and make it my own.
Despite the fear, my curiosity wins out.
“Do you like how they use me, Josie?” I ask, cautious. “Do you see the dynamic between us? How they like to show the other how well they can take care of me?”
Her eyes stay glued to the phone, like she is afraid of what she will see in my gaze if she looks. She gulps, but then nods. The movement is small, minimal, but I catch it all the same.
“Would you like it if you were there?” I ask, my voice a soft hush. “If they fucked us together? Used us at the same time?”
I’m not sure when the energy shifts. At some point, Josie stops looking at the screen and looks up at me, her eyes darting from my eyes to my lips. Her pupils are dilated, the beautiful green overtaken by her desire.