Chapter 30
THIRTY
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA
I’m entirely clueless as the tinted van travels through the city. Malaki and Jamie sit on either side of me, their anticipation obvious as Malaki grins every second and Jamie’s knee bobs up and down.
“I really hate that you figured me out,” I tell the beta, referring to our conversation all those weeks ago in Los Angeles.
He grins. “If it makes you feel any better, it wasn’t easy. You keep things close to your chest sometimes.”
I feel giddy as he says that, like he can see how I operate and isn’t burdened by it. It’s one of the things I like most about the guys, how go-with-the-flow they are when it comes to how I react to things.
I told Jamie once that I didn’t do courting gifts, but I was partially lying. I can buy anything I want in the world, so I don’t have to ask anyone else to buy things for me. I do like to be spoiled just like any other omega, but I like mine in a certain sequence. And… when I least expect it.
Therefore, Jamie eventually discovered my one kryptonite: surprises.
It doesn’t matter how big or small they are; it always works in my partner’s favor. If it catches me off guard, the bigger the reward. There’s something so magical about someone being able to tell exactly what you want and giving it to you without any provocation.
Which is why when we pull up to the most well-known tattoo shop in the city, my gasp is so loud it’s almost frightful.
“Oh my god!” I hop out of the van, admiring the sign that I’ve only ever seen online.
This shop is on my bucket list; it’s in the top ten, actually.
Hanson Cooke, who is a celebrity tattoo artist from one of those ink shows, personally works here, and it has made this place’s waitlist nearly impossible.
It takes years to get in, and that in itself has always given me way too much anxiety to even try.
I look back at Jamie. “Am I mistaken? Are we going in there?”
He interlaces his hands with Malaki and grins. “We are. This is your surprise.” He bites his lip. “Do you like it?”
I nearly pass out from utter shock. “Like it? I am fucking floored! How the fuck did you do this?”
“Ethan’s bandmate hooked up with the receptionist,” he confesses.
A laugh bubbles out of me, and Malaki joins me in my amusement.
“It’s not a glamorous explanation,” Jamie chuckles. “But I made it right after we met. I just thought… this would be something you’d enjoy.”
“Right after we met?”
“Yeah, like the day after we met at the club,” he says, his cheeks flushing.
My jaw drops. I can’t believe how on the mark he was, even after only knowing each other for a short amount of time. My hand interlaces with his free one.
“You’re amazing.”
He sighs happily, likely picking up on the subtle way my scent has changed. “Let’s get signed in. You can think about what you might want while we wait.”
The receptionist, who I try to greet with a straight face, signs us in and has us sit in the waiting room.
I feel the happy jitters start; I always get slightly nervous before getting a tattoo, probably because it still feels like I’m rebelling with every new one that I get.
I have so many different images in my mind for what I might want, and I’m excited to see how the artist brings it to life.
Jamie and Malaki tell me about how Cyrus is spending the day with Florence. I ask them how things have been on the bus since she’s tagged along, and they told me that they’re all sleeping on the bed in the back and she has commandeered Cyrus’s bunk completely.
“Does that bother you?” Malaki asks me seriously, and I can’t help but stare at how bright the blue of his hair is under these shop lights. “That another omega is sleeping on the bus?”
“No,” I say instinctually. “I mean, if it were someone other than Cyrus’s sister, probably. But I don’t have any issue with her being around at all.”
That seems to bring some kind of relief to both of their features. “Good. I think we’ve all been silently stressed about it.”
“Aw, no. I would tell you if something was bothering me. But please do the same. If you guys think you’re doing something I don’t like, tell me so I can reassure you.”
Malaki reaches over and clasps a hand over my thigh. “From now on, we will.”
We get called back, and we move to a corridor that forks off in different directions. The guys pause so they can each kiss me on the forehead, and my brows scrunch.
“Are you leaving?” I ask.
Jamie nods. “I’m getting my belly button pierced first while you’re in the chair.”
I pause as an unexpected shiver dances down my spine. “What?”
Malaki grins. “He’s been thinking about it for ages, but now he’s finally ready.” He kisses his cheek as Jamie blushes. “He found this while shopping the other day and wants the piercer to use it.”
He shows me the ring in his hand, still contained by the clear plastic container it came in. The rod curves down vertically, but then at the end a little charm hangs freely, a red rose clinking slightly.
My smile takes over my entire face as I look at the beta. “Jamie.”
If I thought his cheeks were red before, I’m sorely mistaken because his entire face turns a beautiful crimson. “I’m not going to be ashamed. I’ve already told you that I’m obsessed with you.”
I step toward him, our feet touching as I sneak a kiss. He makes a beautiful sound in response, melting into me. When we pull back, his eyes are dilated in a way that makes my knees feel weak.
“Just for the record,” I say. “I’m obsessed with you, too.”
I admire the new artwork in the mirror, away from wandering eyes.
The word is small, but it sticks out beautifully to me where I have it hidden beneath the waistband of my skirt.
I’m glad I found a place where I could have a few minutes alone to finally look at it, as I had the artist cover it up as soon as it was finished.
The feel of it on my skin makes me feel calm, grounded. Even if none of the guys have put marks on me yet, I still have something that claims me as theirs, through and through, even if no one will be able to see it.
“There you are, we were wondering where you snuck off to—” Malaki says, stopping abruptly when he sees the word planted on my skin. “Holy shit.”
He steps closer and gets down to his knees to look at it. Right there on my hip, the little word “rogues” sits healing on my skin. The saran wrap sits tight around my waist, and Malaki’s finger brushes over the blank skin beside it, completely in awe at the presence of it.
“What the hell? When did you get this, Bubbles?”
I laugh. This was supposed to be a joint surprise for all of them, but this reaction is one thousand percent worth it.
“I asked the artist to do this one first while you were with Jamie getting his piercing.”
My other arm is also covered in wrap, the new mystically drawn candle sitting between my other pieces of art. The artist had done my first one so quickly that he was already onto this one when the boys got into the room.
Malaki huffs out an amazed laugh. “It’s fucking beautiful. You know Cyrus is going to lose it, right? You might push him into rut.”
God, I fucking hope so.
He looks up at me with a gleam in his eye that matches mine. “I am also holding onto sanity for dear life.”
I reach out and cup his chin before uttering one simple word.
“Don’t.”
Malaki stands and takes me into his arms so fast, I gasp.
When my back hits the wall, he swallows my groan as his lips meet mine.
The omega in my chest is chanting “yes, yes, yes” as Malaki doesn’t waste a moment.
He balances me as one of his arms trails under my dress, his finger trailing over the center of me through my panties.
“You are a greedy little thing, aren’t you?” he asks, feeling the slick pooled there. “Do you want my cock, baby? Do you want me to take you right here, in the middle of this renowned tattoo shop?”
A whine climbs up my throat as he pulls my underwear to the side and touches me. It’s like we’ve gone from zero to a hundred and I can’t stop. I want it to be in the thousands. The millions. I need his cock inside me so bad right this instant that I think I might cry if he doesn’t give it to me.
I try to work his pants off, and he gives a dark chuckle.
“Allow me, Omega,” he grits out. “I need you just as much.” He pulls his sweatpants down, his cock springing forward.
When he slides the tip over me, I gasp at the coldness I feel there.
When I look down, a shiny metal ring is standing at attention.
It starts right below the head, the other end exposed right at the slit.
“Holy fuck,” I say, loving the way it feels on my clit.
“Do you like that, baby?” he asks, his accent a rugged rasp. “Jamie picked it out. He loves it, and I hope you will, too.”
I try to move my hips over it more. “I will, I will,” I practically chant. “Please, I want it inside me.”
“Oh, fuck,” he groans, maneuvering himself over me a few more times as it slides against my slick. “You are perfect, Omega.”
Malaki pushes into me and I immediately feel a pulse all the way down to my toes. He’s long, and the piercing feels different than Lennon’s did, but just as glorious. I find myself mewling slightly as he gets all the way in, his cock making me feel so full and satisfied.
He nips my shoulder as a deep sound comes from his chest. “You look so fucking good on my cock,” he says, watching where our bodies join. He pulls out and slides back in slowly, the movement sending shocks of pleasure through me. “Look at how well that pretty pussy takes me.”
His hips start to move in a faster rhythm, and it grips me in a chokehold completely. All I can do is hold on as he fucks me, his movements precise and deep and so freaking good.
My hands move into the long part of his hair right at the base of his neck. When he hits a certain part inside of me, I moan and accidentally tug so hard that I gasp. My hands retreat but he growls at me in response.