Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

33. Lilah

CHAPTER 33

Lilah

His words. They are everything I need. Everything I want. And unconfined hope blooms and grows out of control as I stare at him.

I want to throw myself into his arms. Shout out, Yes! Let’s face the consequences together. But I can’t. This is Omega in Paradise . One of the biggest shows on TV, and even if it’s not what I thought it was coming into it. It gives hope to so many omegas out there. I would be a pariah if I were to help cancel this show.

“Miles—I think we should take it one day at a time. One ceremony at a time.” The words feel sour on my tongue, and his face falls, hitting me square in the chest.

“One day at a time?” he asks, his voice distant and closed off. He shakes his head, breaking eye contact. “Yeah…of course.”

My fingers tighten on his thigh, and I’m not even sure when I placed my hand there. “Miles, look at me.” He slowly lifts his vivid blue eyes to mine, and they hit me square in the chest. His day-old scruff darkens his cheeks, and his perfect lips part on an exhale. It’s the sadness in the depths of his eyes that holds onto me and squeezes my heart. “I said that wrong. I can’t cancel the show that helped me through my lowest point and helped me heal enough to open myself up to the possibility of love again. And if we take it one day at a time, we will all know for sure this is what we want.”

He does a lap of my face, searching for something he must find because the light returns to his eyes and he smiles. His musk of perfectly sweet Almond Joy envelopes me like a comforting hug, and a purr rumbles in his chest. All of it has me swaying toward him, uncaring what the cameras pick up or what the other omegas in the room might think.

He closes the distance and presses his lips to mine in a soft kiss that’s nothing like the possessive one in the library or on the golf outing. But so absolutely breath-stealing, I’m lightheaded by the time he draws back, my fingers gripping his suit jacket to hold myself steady.

My perfume mixes with his musk, strong and blatant between us, and I inhale the combination. It’s perfect.

A smile tugs at his lips, and I capture my lower lip between my teeth, tasting him on it. Rafe clears his throat next to us, a glass of champagne in his grip. I bring my eyes slowly up from the tips of his toes to his face, and he grins.

“You really take the job of shield seriously,” he says teasingly, his voice low enough to avoid being picked up by the cameras. The words don’t hurt or cause a pang inside of me. Probably because he doesn’t sound remotely serious. “But I’m the one you should be warding omegas off of.”

I am swimming in their scents. Heaven on Earth. Rafe’s nutty sweetness washes over me, and I inhale deeply, savoring the two of them mixing together. The full force of their musks is something I could survive on. Damn. The hints I’ve gotten were nothing but a tease.

Elliott strolls over casually, dipping his hands into his pockets as he comes to a stop in front of me. I look up and up and up his tall form to find him smiling down at me. His dark eyes are even darker with the shadowing of the light.

The full force of all three of their attention is a drug. Especially with our pheromones out and present. I can’t even concentrate on the other omegas and whatever perfume they are putting off because these three mixes are mouthwatering. Now Elliott's pure chocolatey peanut butter hits me. Each inhale reminds me of the VIP room and what we did.

More please .

Put some ice cream on me and call me a sundae. I need all the toppings . My cheeks heat with the thought, and my perfume becomes so strong and full of need, I squeeze my legs together attempting to stop it. This is not the place.

And I am firmly reminded of that when Hailey and Blair appear next to Rafe. Hailey placing a possessive hand on his arm that has me hyper-focusing on her long fingers on his skin. I want to tear her touch off of him. Even as he effortlessly shakes free of her and steps closer to me.

She covers it up with a little laugh. “What are we all gathered over here for?”

Blair sneezes, looking slightly sick. “Why are your musks so strong?” She sneezes again. Her cheeks start to flush, making her look worse. “And all of you are really chocolate?”

“Are you okay?” I ask, when all I really want to do is stand up, grab Miles, Rafe, and Elliott, and run away with them. But I don’t. I only live that fantasy inside my head.

“How can you handle this combination?” She wrinkles her nose and sneezes again. “Maybe I’m allergic to chocolate like Ben is.” She backs away and heads to the opposite side of the patio, sinking into a chair, all while sneezing three more times.

She says something to Ben before I pull my attention back to the guys and Hailey. I tuned out her attempt at small talk, and it seems the guys are barely answering. Probably for the cameras. Chad saunters over, Willow on his arm.

“The party has arrived,” he says, and Elliott smiles fondly at him.

While Rafe pretends to sag with relief. “Took you long enough.”

Hailey’s muted vanilla and lilac perfume turns sour, and she crosses her arms, keeping a smile on her face. Willow’s quiet, her gaze falling on one of the guys filming us. She looks slightly sad, but we can’t talk about it. And I’m pretty sure she’s still taking the scent blockers because there is not even the slightest hint of her perfume.

Chad’s a tangy papaya. That fills the air like a tropical vacation on an island somewhere warm and beautiful. If I close my eyes, I can picture it. He really is the party. All personality, even if he’s abrasive and so confident he could probably share it and still have too much.

But there is no hint of desire or lust for the guys. Not like Hailey, who is leaking it like a deflating tire. Or me, who smells like I rolled around in a mud pit of pure lust.

Tamika and Tyler join us, mixing their flowery and bakery scents with ours. It’s all a bit overwhelming, and as they make small talk, I quickly excuse myself to get away from the many perfumes.

Slipping into the house, I head down the hall to one of the bathrooms. Before I can close the door behind me, Rafe’s right there, invading the space. I spin toward him with a gasp as my ass hits the sink.

“I hope you weren’t really using the bathroom,” he says. The words skate over my skin, hardening my nipples and making slick gather between my legs. My stomach bottoms out as he boxes me in, lifting my ass to the sink ledge, and steps between my legs. “Because I really need to collect another hole-in-one payment. ”

“You aren’t really giving me an option, are you?” I ask with a breathless laugh.

He leans forward and inhales. “I’m drunk on your perfume. Tell me no and I’ll stop.”

“No,” I whisper to see what he’ll do.

He nips my throat and chuckles. “Mean it, sweetheart.”

I mold my hands to his chest, drawing him closer. “No,” I say again.

He rumbles against me, a low growl flowing over my heated skin. “Still not meaning it.”

“Oh.” A gasp bubbles up as he nips me harder just below my earlobe. “No.”

The weakest protest of the three, as my fingers thread into his hair, holding him to me. He sucks my sensitive flesh into his mouth, biting me softly, before soothing it with his tongue. A soft whimper falls from my lips, and he runs his hand up the other side of my neck, his thumb on my pulse point.

“Perfume for me, Lilah.” It’s a demand. Almost a command, pure primal alpha snapping. My stomach drops, a shot of electricity runs down my spine, and my body does what any omegas would in this situation—I submit to him, my sweet cookies and cream scent permeating the space, my desire for him on full display with my smell alone. He groans, his teeth grazing my jawline, before finding my mouth.

His tongue delves between my lips, taking what he wants. His palm on the back of my neck, angling my head to give him deeper access. I’m lost to him with just a kiss.

“You are such a good little shield,” he murmurs, his grin widening as he presses a teasing kiss to the corner of my lips.

I gasp, trying to remind him, “No cameras are in here.”

His eyes darken, and the playful mask slips. “Good, because I don’t want them to see what I’m about to do to you. ”

The words hit me with a jolt. I know the “shield” comment is just a cover now. He’s tossed aside the pretense, and there’s no mistaking his intentions. He’s not thinking about playing a role or sticking to the plan. What he wants from me is raw and unfiltered, and he’s not afraid to show it.

My stomach does somersaults like it’s being paid to perform as his hands trail down my sides to my legs. He gathers the skirt of my dress in his fists and works it up my legs, closing the distance between us as he does.

His thumbs glide against my soaked panties, and I arch against the barely-there touch like a touch-starved omega. Which isn’t too far off the mark.

Then he drops to his knees in front of me, his eyes fixed between my legs. He licks his lips and lifts his golden gaze to mine, silently checking in, before focusing on my panties. He leans forward, sucking at the material and earning a needy moan from me.

“You taste so fucking good.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to react before he hooks his fingers into the band of my underwear and pulls them down. Lifting my ass just enough to get them off. He pockets them, but I’m far too needy at the moment to care.

He leans forward, his breath puffing over my sensitive folds, then his tongue slips against me. He groans, and my fingers thread into his hair, attempting to drown him with my sopping wet pussy. But apparently he is Aquaman because he doesn’t even come up for air as he sucks and tongues me. My clit pulses with need as he swirls his tongue over the swollen bud.

I cry out loudly as he continues his assault. He snakes his hand up, pressing his palm flat against my lips, holding in any other sounds I might make.

“Shhh, sweetheart, this is our secret to keep,” he rumbles against me, and it lights me on fire .

My orgasm burns through me like a forest fire, catching anything in its path up in flames. I lock my legs around him as my head falls back, breaking contact with his hand. A loud moan parts my lips, and I don’t care. The whole space smells like me and chocolate with peanut butter. I need more.

“I need you,” I say, and it cracks out of me like a plea.

He leans back, my legs draped over his shoulders, and grins up at me. “You have me on my knees—” he says, dropping a soft kiss to my inner thigh. “What more do you need?”

He knows.

The bastard knows.

He just wants me to say it out loud.

I swallow, dragging my nails over his scalp as I tug on his hair, encouraging him to find his feet. “Sex, Rafe,” I whisper against his lips as he leans into me.

He chuckles lightly. “Mmmm, sounds tempting, but we’ve been away too long. The ceremony will start soon, and I like the idea of you standing up on that dais without panties and being needy for me.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond. Backing away, he finds the doorknob at his back, his eyes drifting to my still spread legs. A flare of heat in the depths of his eyes threatens to burn me alive even more than my orgasm just did.

“Cover up,” he orders, the words threaded with an unnecessary bark that has me dropping to my feet and straightening my dress automatically. I scowl at him as he laughs again. “Good girl.”

Then he’s out the door, shutting it behind him. Slowly, I turn to look at my reflection. My blue eyes are bright with happiness? Love? My cheeks flushed a deep pink against my pale skin, and my lips don’t need a touch up because they have the natural color of being thoroughly kissed.