Chapter 8

Eight

LACY

I was mortified.

They were talking about the footage on camera from my living room last night. That was the only thing Lucas could be talking about when he asked Ryder if I was touching myself. They had to be talking about me.

I could barely breathe. Before walking into them, I was so hyped and excited about the song I practiced earlier and enjoyed the eye fucking from Ryder. Oh yes, I noticed the looks and stares he gave me the entire time. I wasn't born yesterday, even though I was a virgin.

But I had to be the boss omega. I needed to show them I wasn't fazed at all, so I didn't react to Lucas's statement.

"I'm in the mood for some ice cream," I told them. Lucas nodded quickly as if he was guilty.

"You sure you don't want to go home?" asked Ryder. He looked at me with a studying gaze like he wanted to dominate and swallow me whole. Like he couldn't believe I just asked to go out for ice cream.

Good .

"I'm very sure," I said firmly, spinning around on my heels and walking to the limo. "Today was a great fucking day at work, and I need something for my throat."

"Aren't warm liquids better?" asked Adrian, out of breath as he came up beside me.

"Well, I'm in the mood for ice cream," I said haughtily. He looked taken aback as he opened the door for me before Phil could walk around the limo. "Phil, please take me to Celestia's Confections ."

"Of course," he said, staring daggers at Adrian. Phil took pride in his work and wanted to be the one who held the door open for me, so he stood there awkwardly with his arms hanging at his sides.

"Thanks," I said, going inside and sitting all the way in the corner like before. Adrian naturally sat next to me, but he looked at me with concern.

"Is there something wrong, Lacy?"

"No, nothing," I said quickly as I watched Ryder, Ethan, Cooper, and Lucas come in after us. They didn't need to hear how rattled I was that they'd watched me last night. Ryder had probably jerked off to my video. Whatever . I didn't care anymore at this point since it was too late.

When they closed the door, I didn't look at any of them- occupying myself with my phone instead and trying to play a game I hadn't played in a while. The limo was quiet, besides the light hum of the air conditioner. I could hear the men breathing all around me, and I felt like all of their gazes were on me.

"Lacy," said Ryder.

"Yes?" I said, swallowing nervously and looking up. Act tough. Be the tough omega boss you are .

"We saw some suspicious activity outside your studio," he said. My heart started palpitating with worry now. "A man was sneaking around, trying to look through the studio windows, but when he saw us- he ran."

"Oh wow," I said, not knowing what else to say. There was an actual creep after me, and he wasn't going away. "So there is someone after me. What the hell could he want?"

"He could be a fan who took it to another level," said Lucas. It was the first time Lucas talked directly to me, and I was surprised as I looked at him next. He had brown hair in a buzz cut and one silver earring hanging from his left ear. He was the bigger delta of the two and huskier.

"Ugh, I'm legit freaked out now," I said, hugging myself from the cold air. Adrian gave me some space, and I was grateful. His scent, along with all the others, could send me into a panic again.

"Don't be," said Ryder. "We'll find him, and he'll go to prison for harassing you."

"Prison is not a great place at all," laughed Ethan. "He'll regret it."

It was true. The prison on Howl's Edge Island was no joking matter. They placed prisoners in wet dungeons with no real beds or food. I wouldn't care if the stalker was jailed. He broke into my house, and now he was sneaking around my workplace. It was disturbing.

The bodyguards could shoot him on sight for all I cared.

The strawberry mixed with chocolate ice cream tasted cool on my tongue as I sat on one of the tables outside the shop. The tables had cute blue umbrellas, shading customers from the sun as they ate. My bodyguards stood around me, adjusting their sunglasses and clearing their throats constantly as they waited for me to finish. I knew Ryder was low-key annoyed as fuck at me. He deserved it if he watched the video from last night and bragged about it to everyone.

"I'd like to buy an ice cream cone," said Adrian.

"If you must," grunted Ryder, his jaw tightening as he adjusted his sunglasses. The customers kept looking at our table and the weird arrangement of all five men standing around me with guns in their holsters.

I licked my ice cream, staring at the sunset, thinking about everything. I felt much safer than I had in days ever since hiring the bodyguards, so it wasn't a mistake. The only drawback was the camera they installed at the house, which I hated.

Adrian plopped into the chair beside me, licking the lemon gelato ice cream he ordered.

"Damn, this tastes so good," he said, licking it with his eyes rolled back in pleasure. His excitement at the amazing organic taste of the ice cream already put me in a better mood.

"Have you ever had Celestia's ice cream before?" I asked, giggling, as I crunched the sweet strawberry chunk.

"Mhm, no," he said, taking another giant lick. I couldn't help but notice the wideness of his tongue, and my stomach clenched with arousal. I quickly looked at my dripping ice cream and licked it off.

Cooper had also bought ice cream and sat on my other side. His long blond hair got stuck in the ice cream, and Adrian laughed as he cursed up a storm, flinging his sticky hair behind his shoulders.

"Yeah, this shit's good," said Cooper, relaxing back in his chair.

"She didn't pay us to eat ice cream," growled Ryder, who was clearly unhappy with this arrangement. Ethan and Lucas were like robots, constantly on the lookout, so he didn't need to worry about them.

"It's okay," I said in a calming tone. I enjoyed having the two men eat ice cream with me, and it felt different than eating alone. "The stalker would never show up here. He knows you guys are with me now. Plus, I feel less alone."

"Aw," said Adrian, rubbing my arm in affection. My face grew warm at the contact, and noticing my face flush, he removed his hand.

At that moment, I heard my phone ding with a text message. Upon seeing the unknown number, I unlocked my phone on the table with apprehension.

It said:

Enjoy the ice cream while it lasts. Soon, I'll lick you up when you're mine, little pinkie.

I gasped- ignoring the dripping ice cream in my hand.

"What's going on?" asked Ryder, quickly snatching up my phone.

"Hey!" I shouted as his eyes skimmed the text message.

"It's him," he said. At his words, Adrian and Cooper jumped off their chairs, flinging their ice creams into the trash and standing around me like a fortress protecting me from the enemy. Ryder handed my phone back to me and pulled his gun out instead. "We need to get her back to the car. Now."

I looked around frantically, my heart beating fast as they herded me back to the limo. A guard covered every opening around me as they tightened the circle around me. Their muscular planes pressed against my body as we slowly walked while Ryder scoped out the area.

"He's here if he knows she's eating ice cream," Ethan told Ryder.

"I don't see the guy with the gray sweater," said Ryder. "He knows what he's doing, and I'm not happy about it."

Once in the limo, I was relieved to be out of sight of the stalker. I didn't even care about how close Adrian was sitting to me. I looked at the text message again, and chills went up my spine.

He had been watching me eat ice cream.

I was starting to get annoyed and frustrated as I finished the rest of my ice cream. But I jumped when my phone started to ring. All the men sat on the edge of their seats in alarm.

"Oh, it's just my nephew," I said out loud, looking at the name on the screen and feeling silly. Manfred was my nephew- the son of Princess Lyra. "Hey, Manny."

"Hey, what's up?" he said in his usually bored drawling voice. To me, he was the jokester and never took life seriously. We were close in age, and he was even older than me, so we were more like best friends. We weren't exactly blood-related, but my brother was his blood uncle.

"Nothing," I said, trying to breathe evenly.

"You sound like something frightened you," he said. "Anyways, I have something to tell you. You won't believe it."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"My family finally agreed to host a haunted house event," he said excitedly. "I want you to come, and you can bring Olivia too."

"Ooh, that's exciting," I said, smiling but also partly relieved it wasn't my stalker calling. "When do you want us there?"

"How about this Sunday?"

"Oh no, that's Alana's baby shower."

"Monday night then," he said.

"I have work."

"Please."

"Fine, I'll try," I said, sighing. "It better be worth it."

"Oh, it will. This year's scare event is going to be so fucking awesome. Can't wait to see you."

"Alright, bye, Manny."

"Bye-bye."

As I hung up, I noticed Ryder staring at me with a hard expression on his face.

"I don't know how I feel about you going to that," said Ryder.

"Hey, you can't control what I can and cannot do," I said.

"That's true, but this is for security purposes," he said. "Anything could happen."

"Listen, let's just see what happens over the next few days," I said, biting my lower lip. Ryder had a point- but I couldn't live in fear just because a crazy stalker was after me. I still had to support my nephew and be there for him.