17. CAMILA

Chapter seventeen

CAMILA

I mention several times that to make it to work on time—which means at least fifteen minutes before my shift begins at 8 am—that I should just grab a plate and go. Sasha just laughs. Amiri doesn't even acknowledge my plea and Kolsen drags me into his lap so that I'm straddling one of his legs. If this isn't an intimate position, I have no idea what is.

I stare at the plate in front of me, suddenly a little too aware of my surroundings to shovel the food into my mouth. Amiri stands across from me and Sasha pulls up a stool at my side, both of them staring at me. It's Amiri's stare that has me on edge, a mixture of desire and anxiety swirling around in my chest. "Goddess, I'm never going to get over that innocent look in your eyes," Amiri muses as he grabs my plate and begins cutting into the little pancakes. Then he holds out his fork with an obscenely thick syrupy bite for me to take .

Nothing about this moment is innocent if the way Kolsen's cock thickens against my hip is to be explained. Still, I'm curious what will happen next as Kolsen's arm wraps around my waist and I lean forward to take the several-layered bite into my mouth. Syrup coats my lips and chin, Sasha twisting my face toward him to lick it off.

Then Amiri is back, feeding me another large bite. Kolsen steals my lips this time, taking extra care to clean my chin until I'm nearly vibrating on his lap. "We don't have time for this," I hiss. My gaze darts to the clock above the microwave. We need to leave in ten minutes and I don't have time for another shower.

Amiri chuckles, sliding my plate back toward me. "Then eat. And don't move. Kolsen might take it personally if you don't want to sit on his lap." Kolsen throws a middle finger at Amiri but his arm around my waist tightens all the same.

Sasha leans forward, licking a stray drop of syrup off the corner of my lips. "Kolsen likes cute things, buttercup. And you are fucking adorable. Eat. I'll ravage you in the car."

I scrunch up my nose as I start shoveling the rest of the pancakes into my mouth. I never claimed I was a lady. "There will be no ravaging. " Laughter meets my words, the moment comfortable despite the lingering heat and excitement of these new bonds forming between us.

After breakfast, I am surprised when a sleek black car shows up at the edge of the sidewalk, Kolsen explaining that I don't want Sasha to physically drive me anywhere. While he has a license, his road rage is intense and in a place like Ansdale where most people suck at driving, Sasha makes more poor decisions than good ones.

Both Amiri and Kolsen kiss me goodbye, telling me to behave. It sounds so different coming from them than my father. There's no way to misbehave at my job unless Sasha were to drag me into the bathroom for a quick morning fuck but I'm not ready for something that public yet.

Ten minutes later, Sasha has me curled up in his lap. It feels comfortable, like we've been doing this as lovers for years, not just a day. It's a little terrifying. "I'm not that awful of a driver, Camila." He dips his head to rub his nose across my chest. Everyone is going to know that I've been spending my time with an Omega. The desire for Amiri and Kolsen to do the same is a lingering thought, one that I won't be mentioning. It's too embarrassing to admit that I like being coated in their scents. It's a primal desire, to want everyone to know that I'm taken.

I shrug it off and address Sasha's statement. "No, you just react. Maybe more so than others."

He snorts. "Not exactly. Yeah, people piss me off. It's when I was close to my heat, though. I'm irritable as fuck, a goddamn terror as Kolsen likes to tell me. I'd be throwing up middle fingers and getting out of the car when an accident happened-"

"Wait," I sit up a little. "How often were you in an accident?"

"A few times? Enough that Kolsen took my license from me. It wasn't the accidents, though." He grits his teeth and I brace myself for a confession. "Fuck, this kinda goes back to the fire. Kolsen, he's protective."

This time, I snort. "I gathered that." Watching Kolsen slam my car hood last night and try to weather his anger told me just how protective that Alpha was of his mates. His gentle but firm touch tells me that he would never hurt me but it's a little startling when a man that large rages.

"You haven't seen him at his worst. My ex-Alpha grabbed me while I was nearly in heat and then set the house we had shared on fire. Kolsen rescued me. That's not a secret but it was everything about him, his anger took over him. That's all he was. I'm not saying this to scare you, Camila. I'm saying this because I need you to understand that he will protect you at all costs." Sasha's hold tightens, his scent morphing into this charred version of his usually sweet one.

"I don't understand."

"I rarely drive alone. I work at the same place with my Alphas so Kolsen or Amiri would be the one watching me charge at another driver and they were forced to protect me. Amiri has more control than Kolsen does but not by much. Me not driving is one of many things I can do to protect my pack."

Kolsen's behavior should sound terrifying. Instead, I find it endearing that someone would go to such lengths to protect another person. Then it clicks. "My father. Kolsen isn't going to talk to my father, is he?" I've given my new mates no reason to believe that my father is anything other than a piece of shit. What kind of parent kicks their kid out at night?

"Not unless you tell him that your father nearly hit you. Don't, Camila. Please don't lie to me. I know that you're not telling us what really happened before you left your house but just don't lie to me. I'm not going to say shit to Kolsen because he doesn't need to know and you don't need to deal with that but believe me when I tell you that if Teo tries some shit-"

"Then I'll be glad to make a little popcorn and watch," I say, cutting Sasha off. "Teo has been nothing but an asshole the last few weeks." I refrain from saying that I was nearly assaulted twice because while Kolsen might tear Teo apart limb by limb, I'm sure Sasha would find some way to do damage himself.

The car pulls to a stop and I look at the window, sighing as I realize that I have to return to reality. Last night and this morning thrust me into a world of what-ifs that I can only hope will come true at some point. My mates have offered me a place to stay and an invitation into a world I've been dreaming about. It's perfect. I just know that it won't stay that way, though. My luck isn't that great.

I grab my bag and my phone—the one I've been neglecting to turn back on after last night's fiasco. It's in bad taste that I didn't at least reach back out to Reid or Violet and Sofie but that's neither here nor there at this point.

"Not even a goodbye kiss? You brushed your teeth now. I'm allowed kisses." Sasha's bottom lip juts out in the most adorable pout that reminds me that he truly is an Omega. I lean forward and press a quick one to his cheek before my gaze drops down to the collar still around his neck. His scent blooms as his grin widens across his face. "You're curious, aren't you? Fuck, we're going to have so much fun. We need to discuss limits. We were supposed to do that at breakfast. Dinner. How's dinner?"

Sasha's excitement in exploring my body and my limits is a breath of fresh air. "Dinner sounds fantastic."

"Great. I'll pick you up at four. Well, the driver will be here and I will be in the car." Another stupid grin but I'm really beginning to love those.

I grant him another small kiss and then slip out of his reach before he lays me out across the back seat and decides to eat me out as a second meal. As intriguing as that sounds, I need this job. I also really enjoy it.

Unfortunately, two steps into the gallery, Violet mouths ‘Sorry' and then points to the guest benches. It's just my luck that Zana and Reid are sitting there. Zana is leaning back against the cream wall, her legs crossed. She's dressed in a pale orange pantsuit, complete with an abstract bandana around her neck. Reid looks like he stepped out of a prep boy magazine with the sweater and khaki pants but he's sitting forward, his hands clasped over his knees.

I know that look.

I scurry over there as I suck my bottom lip into my mouth. "Hey…"

"Don't hey me, Mila," Zana growls. "What the fuck happened last night? Reid came over saying that you left early and then you went out for a drive. You don't go out for drives, Mila." She isn't wrong and it would be her to figure that out. I'm just glad Ethan isn't here to worry over me because he would cause a scene.

"Can we do this later?"

Zana chuckles, the look in her eyes darkening. "No. We can't. Reid's been off since you called, which means Ethan has. He asked why you didn't at least text him goodnight. Spill."

I had completely forgotten about my real life the moment my mates showed up. This conversation is going to be extremely awkward. Reid's eyes dart to the entrance and then back at me. "Does it have anything to do with the car that dropped you off? Who's is that?" Both of their nostrils flare and I'm sure they can smell Sasha all over me.

"I'm going to give you the abridged version but know that I'm okay and I'm safe. We can talk more at lunch or something." I wait for their nods and then launch into an explanation. "Teo is an ass and wait, no. I met my mates. The ones at the fair that I kissed? Them. And well, they own Temple. Teo tried to corner me. Sasha saved me and then I went home. Dad got mad I throat-punched Teo and then I left. My car got a flat and my mates found me and took me home." That's a half-truth but I'm running with it.

Neither Reid nor Zana moves for several seconds. I hold my breath, wringing my hands in front of me, waiting for their reprimand but it never comes. Instead, I found myself surrounded by the biggest hug. Zana is on the verge of laughing, the sound rumbling through her chest. Reid is a lot more composed. "Mila, you deal with way too fucking much. You should have called."

"My phone died."

"That excuse is getting old, Mila. Need to get you one of those devices that never die," Reid jokes. "However, this mate thing? The owners of the sex club? That's not something I saw coming."

"Mila," Zana begins, pulling away to look me in the eyes. "You have the world's strangest luck. I'm glad that you're okay because I know you wouldn't lie about that. However, I hope that one of your mates will deal with your father or I will. This is the second child he's ostracized and the only thing that's ever kept me from marching into that house is you. Without you there-"

I shake my head quickly, throwing my hands up in defeat. God, Zana and Kolsen? My father wouldn't survive. "No, there's no need. All covered. We can continue this over lunch, right? I have to work."

Zana presses a kiss to my forehead, Reid squeezing another hug out of me before he gestures to the front desk. "I think you have someone else to deal with before you're going to get any work done. We only got preference because we're family. I'll reserve a place for lunch, Mila." Then they both pat me on the shoulder and exit the building, leaving me to the gossip whore that is Violet.

By the time I make it back to the front desk, she's basically salivating. "I. Want. Details. "