Chapter 11

Eleven

LACY

T he next morning, I was sitting cross-legged on my bed in shock at what happened last night.

Did I seriously just give the head of my security a fucking blowjob?!

I didn't have anything to drink last night, but somehow, everything felt like a dream - like I was drugged. Did an alpha's scent have that kind of effect on omegas? But I never felt that with my ex-boyfriend, so maybe not.

But it could be a possibility.

Today was going to be a late start to work. I had a singing gig with my band at a wedding at five today. The couple paid us a big chunk of money to play at their wedding, and I was excited. And the bodyguards would have to accompany me. I almost groaned with embarrassment at the thought. I never thought I'd be prancing around with personal bodyguards and being one of those celebrities.

Shit, I needed to make breakfast for everyone.

I rubbed my eyes and walked into the bathroom connected to my room. I washed my face, brushed, and tied my hair up in a messy bun until I could shower after breakfast and prepare for the wedding.

I still wore my pajamas from last night as I walked down the stairs. I wasn't prepared to see a bunch of guns lying on the couches while Lucas cleaned them. He looked up at me with a smile that barely reached his eyes. I briefly wondered who hurt him in his past. He was just so serious all the freaking time.

"Morning, Lucas," I said, sitting on the armchair beside him. His attention was diverted back to the gun as he wiped it down with a rag. "Did you sleep good?"

"I did, thank you," he said, not looking at me. His one silver earring that dangled from his ear caught the sunlight, and I studied the weathered lines on his face.

"That's good," I said, not knowing what else to say to him. He wasn't one for conversation. "Would you like breakfast?"

"Sure."

"What would you like to eat?"

"Anything you have. I'm not very picky," he said gruffly, rubbing a hand over his buzz cut. His tattoos looked fierce all over his arms. He wore a simple white tank top and sweatpants. I guess the guards had an off time and didn't always wear suits.

Then I remembered Ryder in bed last night, and my face turned hot. He most definitely wasn't wearing a suit.

"Okay, I'll make scrambled eggs then," I said, getting up and walking to the kitchen. Grabbing the egg carton from the fridge, I cracked as many eggs as I had left into the mixing bowl. I didn't go shopping much for myself, just the bare minimum since I lived alone.

But now I had no idea how long these men would be staying at my house.

"Let me help you, dear," said Ethan, appearing beside me and gently tugging the whisk from my hand. He was wearing his suit already, and I wondered if he slept in it. His short beard looked rugged from sleep, but he looked content.

"Thank you," I said, handing him the bowl as he whisked it furiously. "You look like an alpha who knows his way around the kitchen."

"I don't know much about cooking, to be honest," he chuckled. "How did you sleep, Miss Lacy?"

"Much better now that you're all here," I said, looking for a large pan. "It would be impossible for anyone to get to me. Or for anyone to break into my house."

"That's very true," he said, salting the eggs in the bowl. I put the pan on the stove and watched him pour the mixture in. "But you still need to be careful."

"You don't have to help with breakfast," I said.

"This is no trouble at all. We're the ones inconveniencing you, my dear," he said. My stomach flipped every time he called me that. He had an older gentleman-like demeanor, and somehow, I trusted him instinctively.

The gentle quiet of our cooking was interrupted when Adrian came down the stairs yawning loudly and only wearing a pair of black briefs. His tanned chest had impeccable definition from his muscles.

"Hey, Lacy," said Adrian, leaning against the fridge. I tried not to stare because whenever we looked at each other, my heart would beat out of control. His wild abandon made me want to drop everything and run off into the sunset with him. He was the fun one, and I knew hanging out with him would be trouble.

"Where's your clothes?" I said briskly, grabbing the bacon slices from the freezer. "Did you lose it on your way here?"

"I did," said Adrian, grabbing a jug of milk from the refrigerator like it was his house. My eyes widened when I watched him chug down a whole glass in front of me. "Yes, I'm an alpha with a big appetite."

"I can see that," I said, watching as he washed the glass in the sink, his elbow brushing mine. The contact sent flurries of desire to flow through me. For an omega, it was natural for me to gravitate to more than one alpha until the pack marked me as theirs with their bites.

The men were all sitting around the table, myself included, with scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Sorry, the meal isn't fancier," I said. "This is all I had today."

"This is perfect," said Lucas, his mouth full as he dug into his plate with gusto. I was sitting between him and Cooper. Ryder was sitting across from me, oddly silent as he ate each bite as if pondering over something in his mind.

Nervousness and apprehension settled within me as I ate. I started to wonder if last night was a figment of my imagination. He wasn't looking at me in the eyes, and all he wanted to talk about was business.

The nervousness in me was slowly forming into hurt. I never thought he'd be like other alphas, stringing me along with my emotions only to break my heart afterward.

"Did you check the cameras, Ryder?" asked Adrian.

"Fuck," said Ryder, dropping his fork onto the plate with a clatter. He slapped his forehead and shook his head. "I was completely distracted."

"We think we know why," said Adrian, chuckling as he ate. My face burned as Adrian looked between Ryder and me.

"Shut your mouth," barked Ryder, and I jumped.

For some reason, I sat there hurt. Was it really that bad that I had given him probably the best blowjob of his life? Or maybe it was terrible.

The men didn't say a word as they watched Ryder get up from the table to check out his laptop on the coffee table. We could all tell he was grumpy this morning.

I watched, too, wondering if he could give us a definite description of my stalker. But as I watched, I felt like a prostitute or some cheap omega. Him not looking me in the eyes or acknowledging me this morning was embarrassing.

I followed the pack to the living room to see what Ryder pulled up on the laptop. I didn't want to, but I had to show that he didn't affect me. He growled in frustration as he watched plain static on the screen.

"The fucker disconnected the camera somehow," said Ethan, inspecting the wires and high up on the ladder to check the camera. "Yeah, he disconnected a wire."

"Replace the wire, and we'll install more cameras around the house," said Ryder. Then he turned to me. "What time are we leaving for the studio?"

"We're not going to the studio. Later at five, I have to perform at a wedding," I said stonily, not looking at him. He didn't get the right to talk to me whenever he wanted to. I could feel his gaze on my face as I spoke. "Everyone is free to do whatever until then."

"Cool," said Ryder, his gaze returning to the laptop.

"I'll buy groceries for us," said Cooper amidst the awkwardness.

His pack leader clearly couldn't stand my presence after last night. Maybe he couldn't stand my scent. After a while my scent could get sickening, I thought, with my stomach dropping at the thought.

I walked to the table and started to clear it up with Adrian's help. Adrian seemed to notice the tension between Ryder and I since he was trying to crack light jokes. I just wasn't in the mood.

"Thanks, Adrian, I got the dishes now. I prefer to wash it alone," I said.

"Got ya," he said. "I guess I should shower and put some clothes on."

"Okay," I said, unable to crack a smile. He lingered in the kitchen after my short response, and then he finally left me alone, bounding up the stairs to get ready. As I washed the dishes, lost in my thoughts, I saw someone standing next to me drying off the dishes for me. I looked to my right to see Ryder calmly wiping a plate with a dry rag.

I never asked for his help .

I would rather much prefer being in the kitchen alone. Tense silence reigned between us. His body near mine sent signals to my omega wolf that the pack leader was nearby. My breathing came out harsher and faster as I washed the dishes, willing him to go away in my mind.

"It's okay, I got this," I said tersely, gritting my teeth.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. The nerve of him. Why was he acting like he wasn't the one with the attitude this morning? What the hell was wrong with this alpha?

But as I washed another glass- I dropped it, and it shattered in the sink with a small crash.

Shit .

I dipped my hand into the sink to pick up the large piece.

"Don't!" said Ryder.

But it was too late, and the palm of my hand was bleeding everywhere. The impending sharp pain hit me two seconds later, and I howled in agony, washing my hand under the running water and gripping my injured hand with my other one.

"Ahh," I said as Ryder grabbed my wrist and pulled it away from the water.

"It'll just keep bleeding," he said. "Lucas, see if there's anything in our van, please."

"On it," he said gruffly, slamming the front door open as he ran out.

The pain was sharp as a knife across the long cut on my skin as Ryder pressed a paper towel onto my wound. We stood there like that, gaze on my hand -refusing to look at him. His large, callused hand wrapped around my wrist seemed to relieve some of the pain.

Or maybe it was my brain playing tricks on me.