15. Candy

Ifluffed my hair in the full-length mirror, making sure I was absolutely perfect for tonight's performance. I had a fresh beauty spot on the left side of my lip, heavy mascara, rouge on my cheeks. I was going to go for a fascinator, but the beads bounced off my cheeks when I danced, and I spent half the show annoyed.

I loved the 1920s theme. Two weeks ago, it was ‘Egyptian,' and I had to paint my body in gold every night. It was exhausting.

This week was just a short dress, a fluffy feather boa, and fantastic heels.

Shaking my head, I made sure the swirl of my blonde chignon was just right. It was the last performance of the week, and then I had two blissful fuck-free days before another seven-day stretch.

I really was living it up.

My dressing room was warm and cosy, and only two minutes away from the theatre where I was about to perform, and it was totally drenched in my scent.

I couldn't believe I still had eight years left on my contract. It felt like I'd been doing this for a decade already. We had a leaving party last night for one of the girls who had reached the end of her contract. We all envied her, but we were happy for her as well. She'd done her time, and she deserved her freedom. I just wished my end wasn't so far away.

Frowning, I ran my hands down my arms and nudged the gold bracelets studded with pink diamonds. Nothing I ever wore was mine. They liked to let me think I owned things so I would be more comfortable spreading my legs whenever they asked.

I sighed as I took a final look at myself. I was only twenty-two. There would be time to live my life when my contract ran out. But would I ever look this good?

Curvy calves, wide hips, fantastic breasts, and ass you could bounce a coin off of. A cute round face, eyelashes made for fluttering over baby blues, and a small button nose some of my clients loved to poke. Which annoyed the hell out of me, but, when they were paying six thousand for a night, I'd let them get away with whatever they wanted.

I hoped whoever won me tonight would be gentle. The past two nights, the alphas had been rough fuckers and my pussy still ached.

There was a knock at the door, and my eyes flicked to the clock. It was only eight-thirty. Someone usually came to collect me at eight-forty-five for the nine o'clock performance. But I loved a good distraction.

"Come in," I called, turning to the door.

As it opened, I was met with the heady smell of mangos, and my back went straight up.

I swallowed my moan, relief flooding me as soon as Apollo appeared from behind the door.

"You're early," I said with a smile. I hadn't seen him all day. If I was away from them for even an hour, I missed them; five hours and the craving kicked in; ten and I started pining. My alphas were the first thing I thought of in the morning, and the last picture in my mind as I drifted off at night.

He stepped inside the room, the left side of his lips hitching as he checked me out. "Shall I leave?" he asked. His soft voice sent shivers through me every time he spoke, especially when accompanied by a smile.

Apollo dressed in his usual black work suit; white shirt, black shoes, the slight bump on his right hip where he kept his taser. He'd taken alphas down with it before, and it made me so hot I slicked on stage in front of a hundred guests.

He kept his blonde hair cut short now. I wished he would grow it out again. It used to be exactly the right length, so smooth and silky when it brushed against my cheeks as he kissed my shoulders. I never forgot the night we shared together two years ago. It was the memory I replayed the most when guests were fucking me.

"Not at all," I said, my lips curving into a sultry grin. "You know I always have time for you."

Pleasure I usually kept hidden bloomed as he hit me with one of his serious looks. I loved and hated them. Because, when he looked at me like that, he always told me the truth. It didn't matter how much I loved his honesty; it hurt more than his lies.

He stepped towards me. No matter how many times he'd done that over the years, my heart fluttered with excitement, wondering if this would be the day he cracked and took me.

Apollo smirked as he lifted a round Tupperware container filled with creamy pasta and placed it on the table next to the door. "Another midnight snack for you," he said. "I added walnuts to the cheese sauce. Let me know what you think tomorrow."

I moaned, my mouth instantly watering at the thought of the white sauce coating my tongue. If I didn't work out every day, I'd be huge from the amount he fed me. I never wanted anything from the club kitchens, because none of their food could ever match up, especially when every container he handed smelled of mangoes. He knew how much I loved Italian food, and he even started making his own pasta for me.

Apollo's energy shifted, heat rolling from him as he caught my needy whimper, and I gave him a wicked smile. "You don't have to ask. You know I'll devour every last drop and still ask you for more."

"That's exactly what I was hoping," he hummed as he moved closer, his scent growing stronger with each step.

I leant back against the make-up counter, pressing out my chest. His eyes lightly danced over my body before meeting my gaze with amusement.

"Why did you want to see me, Apollo?" I asked, my voice low, bending my hips back.

Without warning, he dropped to one knee. His fingers on the floor, he looked up at me with a grin. "So, so many reasons," he said, reaching out and gently wrapping his fingers around my ankle.

Biting back another moan, I quivered at his simple touch, sucking in a breath as his thumb brushed my shin as he stroked me.

"But… There's something I have to tell you," he said. His face shadowed, he lifted my leg, and I allowed him to lead my foot forward, resting it on top of his bent knee.

I was already distracted. Any contact with my alphas drove me crazy, and this was the most he'd given me for months. There were days when he might loosen up enough to stroke my arm or put his hand on my waist, but it had been years since he'd run his fingers along my calf like that.

I trembled as he fed a line up to my knee, digging his fingers in just perfectly as he eased forward.

It was obvious he could see my pussy. Even if I was covered by the G-string, there was no hiding my slick. They all knew now that a single look wound me up.

I nearly whined as I parted my thighs. He knew all he had to do was say what he wanted me and I'd be his.

There were cameras absolutely everywhere. No part of the club went unwatched except the host's real apartments, whose doors were monitored at all times. Though I was sure it was bullshit and they put cameras in our rooms, anyway. They were always watching us, but I'd take the risk if he would.

Heat filled Apollo's gaze as his aura grew around us. Every piece of me vibrated in the presence of my alpha, power surging within me. I knew how deeply I affected him. I didn't need to feel it in the twitch of his fingers or how he leant forward, so close to pressing his lips against my knee. He was mine with one touch.

"What is it?" I said breathlessly. I was amazed I could even talk when all my awareness was pinpointed on him.

He edged closer, and I whimpered as his cheek brushed my shin and his head disappeared from my sight. I wanted him so badly I was willing to risk a day-trip to service local prisoners as a punishment for skipping the show so Apollo would put his gorgeous lips on my pussy and relieve me of my ache.

"Apollo?" I asked, my voice hushed. He still moved, though he wasn't going where I wanted him to.

He drew back, and I clenched my jaw in frustration as he held a pink buckled shoe in his right hand.

"Apollo…" I said, half a warning, half an invitation. My body relaxed, opening for him. Even though I was disappointed, it was better I let him play dress-up rather than sneak under my dress and make me come, though I was sure he had the same idea.

I melted as he lined up my foot with the shoe. Each caress was heaven, but it was just a tease.

He cupped my foot, his thumb tracing the arch where he knew my scars lay. Two years ago, when he found them, he spent time kissing them, tracing them, loving them. I told him how it happened, and they shared with me the story of how he was stabbed, and how Odin lost his eye.

Apollo swallowed, his neck bobbing under tanned skin. If I ever marked him as mine, it would be somewhere like that, so no one could ever doubt he was taken.

"The three of us…" He cleared his throat as my heel slipped into the shoe. He sighed, heat vanishing as tension crossed his face again and his chin dipped, avoiding me. "We're leaving." His voice cracked on the last syllable.

I stilled as he worked the buckle, keeping his head bowed as he fixed it in place. I thought I misheard him, but his aura was off and he just couldn't meet my eyes, especially when my foot twitched in his hand.

"You can't be serious," I hissed, all my playful energy dissolving as ice sliced through me and my hands tightened on the edge of the make-up table. "W-When?" White noise filled my ears as I understood what he was actually saying.

"In two weeks." He carefully lowered my foot, reaching for the other leg as he looked up at me. Pain crossed his face, seeping into his scent, and bile instantly rose in my throat, growing stronger with each word as I saw he meant it. "I know it's short notice, but they are having problems with the heat suites at the new spa in Rio and they need people to train the staff. I think it will only be for six months, maybe a year. Long enough to get everything running properly and then we'll be back."

Michael had put out the notice three weeks ago. Anyone could accept, and some of the hosts took it as an opportunity to escape their regulars.

I was tempted, thinking the four of us might have more freedom. When I asked Benny if I could go, all I got was a chuckle and a ‘Fuck no.'

"And you…" I said, running my tongue over my teeth, my frustration already rising. "Did you volunteer?"

His brow furrowed as he nodded, and I leant back, taking a proper look at him as he eased my foot into the other shoe.

"Why would you do that? I thought we had an agreement."

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I'm so, so sorry, sweetheart. But I have to do what's best for my pack."

I pressed my lips into a thin line, forcing myself to calm the pain that tore into my heart as I realised what he was saying.

His pack.

Zeus and Odin.

Not me.

"Apologising doesn't change the fact that you're leaving me," I said coldly, playing it off as if it didn't matter even though I was breaking inside.

"It's been two years, Candy," he said quietly as if I was delicate glass that would shatter at a harsh word. My instincts cranked up, seesawing between fight or flight. I had to do something, I had to stop it. Maybe they were leaving in weeks, but I had been waiting years. They couldn't just disappear.

"Zeus needs a release. We all do," he said, and the room plunged into silence as my body jerked hard enough to rattle the table I was leaning on.

"You're… you're going to fuck other omegas?" I choked, my eyes wide in shock, as if he'd slapped me without warning.

Alphas that didn't knot an omega during rut had a higher risk of going rogue and slipping into madness. It was the same for us. If omegas didn't get knotted, we became animals. I'd had enough fuckboy guests torturing me, depriving me during my heats; my alphas didn't have to suffer, too.

"I'm sorry. I told you before about Zeus going rogue. I can't bear to see him snap and lose his mind again. He needs to knot. We just need some space. It's really not you."

Blinking slowly, my chest rose as I pulled in a deep breath and folded my arms. He was seriously giving me the ‘It's not you, it's me' excuse.

I'd thought before it would be better for them to not be scent matched to an omega like me, one who had to fuck for a living, making stuck like I was. But I also couldn't bear the thought of rejection.

"I never expected you to not have sex with other omegas, not with my job," I said carefully, though it hurt to actually acknowledge it.

"We wanted to do that. To just be with each other," he said gently as he stroked my calf, finishing the second shoe. "You're our only omega."

I huffed as he stood. "How can you say that to me when you're leaving?"

I told myself in the past I didn't care. I knew they didn't fuck other people. Unlike me. It wasn't fair to expect them not to touch another omega when I was with guests all the time. But it was different. Sort of.

Apollo bit his lip, avoiding my gaze as he rose, stealing my senses by drawing nearer. "I'm not enough for Zeus anymore. He's close to going rogue again, and I can't stop him."

"Then take me." I gave him a hard glare. The answer was obvious, but they kept running away. "Apollo, we've been fighting this for years. I'm exhausted. I don't care about the contract or Michael or whatever consequences could come. It literally aches not being with you."

Thankfully, there were only cameras in the rooms, and not recording equipment. As far as I knew, at least.

He lifted his hands, brushing his fingers over the soft skin of my neck, and I stretched, exposing myself and submitting to him instantly. Even the slightest brush from him was like warm sunlight on a winter's day. Sighing happily, I let myself be completely affected by his alpha aura, and I relaxed as he continued. I might be able to resist alphas when they tried to control me, but I didn"t want to resist him.

"I know," he said. "Of course I know how much it hurts, but there's only so much we can take. The main reason we haven't gone rogue is because we have each other."

I couldn't let any tears fall. It was too close to showtime to redo my makeup.

"Then why don't we do it like we planned before? We can find time and meet up in secret."

Though Benny had caught Zeus almost going down on me six months after we swore we"d behave, and he almost sent the three of them off to Tokyo like he promised.

Apollo's jaw tightened as he cupped my neck, and he blew out a heavy breath. "I've said it so many times, sweetheart. We'd rather be near you and not touch you than never see you again."

I was trying to control myself, but nothing worked when I was already collapsing inside.

"Don't I get a choice? Don't I get to decide?"

"Candy, I—"

"You are my mate, Apollo. I don't care if we dance around it and avoid the truth every single day. Even if we haven't bitten each other, you're mine."

I moved quicker than he could, pushing his right hand firm on my throat. "The only thing keeping us apart is you. You would have bitten me here already if you didn't hold yourselves back all the fucking time."

"That is unfair. Don't place the blame solely on us."

"Then let's make another petition to Benny. Come on. Even if it's seven-hundred-and-fifty million to release me from the contract, I've already earned over five hundred thousand pounds in two years. Maybe that can give us a holiday together or something."

I never allowed myself to hope for anything in life. But no matter how hard I tried to crush it, I couldn't stop praying a miracle would happen that would somehow change our situation.

"No. I'm not risking it." Apollo's voice was strained as he caressed the line of my jaw. "I'm not risking you, or Zeus and Odin."

I shook my head, letting him go. "You mean you're not risking Zeus and Odin. It's got nothing to do with me," I said bitterly. Anger vibrated in me, sending blood rushing through my veins.

"Candy, please. Try to see it from our perspective."

"Or why don't you see it from mine? You're not the one fucking strangers every night. You're the ones who chose to not have sex with other omegas. You're the ones who are choosing to leave because of it."

"I need to—"

"No, I don't care." I shifted back, brushing his hands off my neck.

"Candy, listen, please. You know how we feel about you, but—"

"Move, Apollo," I said coldly. "It's time for my show."

I stormed past him, head held high. There were alphas out there who wanted me, alphas who wouldn't leave me, alphas who would choose to stay with me if I asked them.

"Candy," he called after me. I refused to look back. I could hear his footsteps behind me, still smell the light traces of mango in my hair, but it meant nothing when they were running away from what we had together.