14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen

Genesis

W hen Genesis emerged from the bath, wrapped in a thick fluffy towel and feeling incredibly relaxed, she found Orlando waiting for her. She shivered, excitement curling in her belly as he approached. He was so handsome and distinguished and moved with such elegant grace that it was practically erotic.

“May I?” he asked, gesturing to the bottle of almond oil he held.

Genesis nodded, and he circled behind her, his bergamot, cinnamon, and cardamom scent wrapping around her like a warm blanket. He began to rub the oil into her shoulders, strong hands expertly kneading her muscles. Genesis stifled a moan.

“So, if this is fake courting, I could get used to it,” she sighed, as Orlando rubbed oil down her arm. “But it sounds like Luke isn’t so sure.”

Orlando’s hands faltered briefly, then he moved to her other arm. “You heard that, did you?”

Genesis shrugged. “I can’t blame him. It’s not like you signed up for anything serious. Like I said, I chose your pack because it seemed like you never intended to mate again.”

Orlando’s warm breath against her neck made her shiver as he reached around to loosen her towel. It fell to the floor with a quiet flump .

“A fair assessment,” he replied, hands moving lower on her back. “I don’t believe it’s something any of us expected to consider again, least of all Luke.”

Genesis waited, enjoying the sensation of Orlando’s hands massaging her hips and lower back. Sometimes it was better not to ask questions, to let people tell you in their own way.

“Luke Wyatt was supposed to take Evelyn to dinner on the evening she was killed,” Orlando said finally, as he knelt to rub oil into Genesis’s legs. “A meeting ran over, and he wasn’t there to pick her up on time. She was mugged while she waited in the parking garage. He blames himself.”

“I’m so sorry,” Genesis said quietly. “Poor Luke. There was no way he could’ve known that would happen. It wasn’t his fault.”

“I know,” Orlando said, rising and moving in front of her. His beautiful hazel eyes were sad as he poured more oil into his palms, then ran his hands over her chest and collarbone. “And deep down, Luke knows too. But he keeps that knowledge buried so he can keep punishing himself. You’ve unearthed some truths he doesn’t want to face.”

“Honestly, same.” Genesis gave Orlando a wry smile, thinking of all her inner angst the last few weeks. “I thought I was over my daddy issues, and here I am putting on a farce to appease my fathers, instead of telling them to mind their own damn business, seeing as they have no right to dictate what I do with the life they didn’t want to be a part of.”

Orlando’s hands moved up to cradle her face, his eyes soft. “I hate to speak ill of your family, but your fathers are fools. I just met you and I already can’t imagine living without you.”

Genesis’s heart stuttered, but she hid the emotion behind a smirk. “Did I mention I could maybe get used to this fake courting thing?”

Orlando threw back his head and laughed—a joyful sound that made Genesis feel warm all over. Then he kissed her slowly and sweetly, stealing her breath, and making her head spin. When he pulled away to stare intently into her eyes, her core clenched and she had to press her thighs together against a rush of slick.

She could get used to this.

She should not get used to this.

“Behave,” Orlando warned, as his hands dropped lower. “This is about relaxation.”

Genesis gasped as his oiled hands kneaded her breasts, finding all the tender spots in the muscles beneath. She moaned, nipples peaking with desire even as her muscles melted under his expert touch.

She pouted when he moved lower, rubbing her stomach, waist, and hips. She heard his quiet chuckle as he knelt to oil her thighs. At the sight of him, kneeling at her feet in his bespoke suit, Genesis couldn’t help but whine, her core clenching again, sending slick running down her thighs.

“For fuck’s sake, Genesis,” Orlando growled, eyes darkening. “There are limits even to my self-control.”

She shivered, incredibly aroused by his unraveling restraint. She’d done that. She’d made Orlando Rossi lose his legendary cool.

Holding her gaze, Orlando leaned into her mound and inhaled deeply. She gasped at the flick of his tongue against her clit. Her hips jerked, searching for more, but he pulled back to give her another smoldering look.

“Your scent is already changing, and not just because you’re beginning to smell like pack. You’re approaching your heat faster than we expected,” Orlando murmured, rubbing circles over her hips and ass as he spoke. “I shouldn’t fuck you again tonight. We don’t want you sore before your heat begins.”

Genesis shivered again. She was going to have her first real heat, and she was going to spend it with three alphas who played her body like a guitar and treated her like something precious. It was terrifying and exciting as all hell.

“You’ll never be able to relax tonight if I don’t take care of you,” Orlando mused, eyes burning with desire. “Come here, sweetheart.”

He moved to a nearby armchair and pulled Genesis into his lap. He held her firmly against his muscular body, her back pressed to his front, his arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel the hard press of his thick cock against her ass. She whimpered, her pussy clutching at the memory of that massive cock inside of her, his knot locking her to him so intimately. It had been an experience like nothing she’d ever imagined.

“Shh, I’m going to make you cum, Tesoro,” Orlando purred against her neck. “We’re going to give your sweet pussy a rest though.”

Before Genesis could argue with that pronouncement, his oil-slicked fingers found her clit and began to work. She gasped, hips rocking in time with his movements, grinding against the steely press of his cock. Soon, she was climbing, stomach abuzz, everything disappearing except for Orlando’s body touching hers. Genesis moaned, practically vibrating with her imminent release.

“If we’re making this fake courtship look real, I should mark you,” Orlando said, his voice uncharacteristically rough. “Do you trust me?”

Genesis’s head cleared for a moment, a spike of fear distracting her from her pleasure. Did she trust his mouth on her neck, staking a claim, albeit temporary? It would make the fake courtship more official.

“Yes,” she whispered, finding that it was true. She did trust Orlando Rossi, more than either of his packmates, and she knew he would always respect her autonomy. “I want you to mark me.”

Orlando growled, lowering his mouth to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He sucked hard on the skin, nipping and licking and teasing, before latching on again, pushing Genesis right back to the peak. His fingers moved deftly, gathering her slick, then returning to her clit with firm, quick strokes that sent her tumbling over the edge.

Genesis came screaming Orlando’s name, soaking his lap as her hips bucked violently. He kept his mouth against her neck, marking, bruising, claiming, promising, hoping. Genesis’s orgasm intensified, dragged out by the exquisite pain of his mouth branding her skin.

It didn’t feel pretend at all.

Afterward, when he tucked her into bed, contented and exhausted, he asked if she’d like him to sleep over. Respecting her boundaries. Always making sure she felt safe.

She asked him to stay.

Genesis watched Orlando slip out of his suit, folding it neatly on the armchair before climbing into bed. He was surprisingly well-built, despite his atypical litheness for an alpha, and Genesis wanted a lot more than the brief glimpse she got of him. It was probably for the best, however, exhausted as she was. When Orlando pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, she all but melted. She was asleep in record time.

Fake courting Pack Rossi was quite the experience. Mornings came with flowers and sweet notes, or breakfast in bed from Orlando. She spent long hours walking the property with Gabriel, talking about everything and nothing while he showed her glimpses of his process for making his unique art. There were thoughtful gifts like her new cowboy boots, delivered with typical gruff nonchalance by Luke, and afternoons spent sharing a sandwich with Duchess the chicken while watching the grumpy cowboy work up a sweat. If Genesis was lucky, he’d strip off his shirt and show off his massive biceps and a burly chest covered in silver hair that she loved to run her fingers through after a little afternoon delight in the barn or wherever else Luke felt like having his way with her.

There were lively debates over delicious meals, mind-blowing orgasms, and lots of old-fashioned charm. Genesis liked it more than she expected. She had to remind herself repeatedly that it was all pretend.

There was nothing fake about how Pack Rossi looked at her when she arrived at the main house before dinner with her fathers. She’d dressed in plum pumps that matched her lipstick and a black, tea length, vintage style bodycon dress. The best part was the surplice neckline that showcased her neck and collarbones, and the deep purple bruise there. It was stark against her golden skin.

All three alphas growled approvingly when they saw her dolled up and showing off their temporary claim. Their pleasure tugged at something deep in her core, filling her with glowing pride. It felt far too real.

Dinner with her fathers started out way better than Genesis expected. With one of her dads and her stepmom back in London managing the business, Genesis wasn’t outnumbered by her parents for a change. And they’d insisted she choose the restaurant, giving her full control of her home court advantage.

Genesis selected a local tapas place with an upscale, cozy vibe that she loved. Pack Rossi were perfect, immaculately dressed gentlemen. They opened doors and pulled out her chair, making sure she had everything she needed as if it was the most natural thing in the world—refilling her water glass, offering her wine or more food, draping a jacket around her when she shivered, smoothing a wayward curl before it could fall into a raised spoonful of soup. Her fathers watched their casual displays of affection with approval, obviously completely believing their courtship.

Genesis reminded herself it was fake when her temporary alphas engaged her dads in easy conversation about their respective businesses, travels, and mutual associates. Orlando was as smooth and shrewd as ever, Gabriel full of his usual warmth, and even Luke had dialed up the southern charm. Genesis could practically see her dads calculating when they could reasonably expect the mating announcement. Everything was going exactly as she’d hoped.

She should’ve known it wouldn’t last.

“It’s such a relief to know you’re so well taken care of, Genesis,” Henry Parker-Valentine remarked after most of the food had been eaten and they’d had a few after-dinner drinks. “Your stepmother will be ecstatic.”

Genesis tensed immediately, bristling at his patronizing tone. Her fathers had been bearable all evening, even if they had been posturing a bit with their manly alpha bullshit. They’d kept the conversation on safe topics—their businesses, Gabriel’s art, renovating Luke’s family farm—and Genesis had begun to think this night might go off without a hitch.

Orlando took her hand, intertwining their fingers and lifting her hand to his mouth to press a kiss against her knuckles. Genesis met his cool hazel eyes and felt instantly calmer. That look said, don’t worry, I’ve got you .

“We feel exceedingly lucky to be given a chance to court Genesis. We hope she wants us, but we know she doesn’t need us aside from heat tending,” Orlando said, gazing at Genesis with very convincing adoration. “She is obviously more than capable of taking care of herself.”

Ellis Valentine gave Henry a warning look before smiling broadly at Orlando. “Of course. Genesis is very smart and independent. But it isn’t like she’s ever been on her own, really.”

Icy rage stiffened Genesis’s spine. Despite the roaring in her ears, she put on her practiced bland journalist face. Still, there must’ve been something in her eyes because Ellis’s smile faltered.

“I’ve never been on my own?” Genesis was surprised by how calm her voice sounded when she was so full of fury. Orlando squeezed her hand, and she took a breath, eyes fixed on her father.

“Well, not precisely,” Ellis hedged. “I mean, you had the best care money could buy at the academy. Then private omega housing at university, and now your fully paid for loft in a secure building—which you can sell for a substantial amount, now that you’ve found a pack. Consider it our mating gift to you.”

Genesis pulled her hand free of Orlando’s so that she could clutch the table. She needed to anchor herself before she jumped across the booth and ripped her father’s throat out. She leaned forward, glaring at Ellis so fiercely that he visibly recoiled.

Her voice was low and lethal when she spoke again. “How generous, Ellis. As usual, you’re eager to pay someone else to deal with me. You have the audacity to say I’ve never been on my own? You ? The fathers who sent me away when I was six years old, mere months after my mother died . You moved on and left me to grieve among strangers while you built a new life for yourself. Every other student at that boarding school was at least twice my age. I had no one until Avery. And now you have the unmitigated gall to sit here with a straight face and tell me I’ve never been on my own? How fucking dare you? ”

This time, all three of Genesis’s dads flinched. She felt a hand on her back—Gabriel’s she thought—and it might’ve been the only thing keeping her from exploding. Her dads looked at each other, having one of those silent conversations packmates so often held.

It was her quietest father who finally spoke. Though Genesis didn’t know her parents very well, she knew that Charles was the neutral middle between the calculating Ellis and brash Henry.

“Ellis misspoke,” Charles said slowly, as though speaking to a dangerous animal. “We know that we’ve made mistakes.”

Genesis had suddenly had enough. She needed to get away from this table, away from her fathers and their bullshit excuses. She pushed her chair back, standing abruptly.

“The mistake was me coming here tonight thinking anything had changed,” Genesis spat, tossing her napkin on the table. “Orlando, Gabriel, Luke, I’d like to go home. I’m tired.”

Pack Rossi was at her side in an instant, Orlando and Gabriel on either side and Luke close behind her. They didn’t bother saying goodbye to her fathers, just tossed a few large bills on the table and led Genesis from the restaurant to the car that one of them must’ve summoned. Orlando was holding her door open, Gabriel helping her into the backseat when Ellis Valentine burst from the restaurant, calling his daughter’s name.

He hurried toward them, but when he reached the car, Luke put his big body in his path. Genesis couldn’t see Luke’s face, but the set of his shoulders and his tense stance told her all she needed to know. Ellis obviously understood the danger because he stopped, holding his hands up placatingly.

“Genesis, I’m sorry. We all are,” her father said, running both hands through his hair, his face twisted in something like pain. “This wasn’t how we meant for this evening to go. After seeing you at your brother’s mating ceremony, we wanted to try and make amends. To reconnect.”

Genesis stepped to Luke’s side, placing a hand on his arm. He relaxed a little under her touch, but didn’t take his glare off her father. Behind Ellis, the restaurant doors opened again, and her other fathers emerged, coming to stand beside their pack leader.

“Why?” Genesis asked, her voice hollow now that the rage had drained away with the adrenaline of the moment. “Why do you care all of a sudden?”

“We’ve always cared!” Ellis exclaimed, his voice rising with frustration. He caught himself, lifting his hands again and lowering his voice. “Genesis, we had to keep you safe after we failed your mother so spectacularly. Josie gave up everything for us. She believed in us before we made something of ourselves, and her family disowned her for it. They cut her off completely, and she never spoke to them again. We were all she had, and we failed her.”

“She got sick,” Genesis said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be melodramatic.”

Charles sighed. “After having you, your mother was really tired for a while. She complained of being lightheaded, stuff like that. We thought it was normal after having a baby and then being sleep-deprived from nursing at all hours of the night. The doctors thought so too.”

“That was a misdiagnosis,” Ellis explained, his expression more miserable than Genesis had ever seen it. “In actuality, she had something called peripartum cardiomyopathy. It weakened her left ventricle, putting her at risk for heart failure, blood clots, thrombosis. It improved over time but returned when she got pregnant again.”

Genesis took a step back, literally staggered by this information. “Pregnant again? What are you talking about?”

Ellis hung his head. “We wanted a son so badly. We were so excited. And then her heart failed, and we lost them both.”

“You look just like her, Gennie,” Charles said softly. “You always have.”

“We wanted to keep you safe. We didn’t want to lose you too,” Henry added, one hand extended as if to touch her. “We couldn’t.”

Genesis took another step back, her mind spinning, and heart breaking anew. This was too much. She shook her head sharply. “You lost me anyway. You lost me when you decided it was easier to send me away than to look at me—when you decided to brush me under the rug and start again with an omega who gave you the son you always wanted.”

Her eyes pricked with tears she refused to let her dads see. Without another word or a backward glance, she turned back to the car, letting Gabriel and Orlando help her inside. They climbed in after her, taking seats on either side of her, comforting her with their closeness. Luke was the last to walk away.

“You’re going to give her some space. She’ll call you when and if she wants to. You upset her again, and you’ll answer to me,” he growled, before stalking to the car, and slamming the door behind him.