Chapter 10

So, this is what it feels like to be totally blissed-out on the pheromones of three compatible alphas.

Grady has always been a match, but Ward's and even Cassian's pheromones thump in the air in response to mine.

I'm pretty sure I'm actually perfuming in the middle of the High Roller, which is kind of a problem.

I try to keep my sexual stuff out of the club, despite its highly sexualized nature.

I work with these people.

I don't want them knowing what my O face looks like.

Grady pulls his fingers free of my sex. I expect him to bring them to his mouth, but he pulls them to mine. "Lick them clean for me."

Ward curses, shoving his elbow on the table as he turns farther to watch the show.

My tongue darts out, licking Grady's fingers.

Maybe I suck them a little.

It's hard to tell with everything so hazy.

"I can taste hints of your cum from earlier," I moan as he pulls them free. He slides his hand back to my pussy as Ward licks his lips, like maybe he's envisioning tasting me by way of my tongue. "You've got major Daddy energy." I smile, looking straight into Ward's eyes.

"Grandpa energy," Grady says, covering it with a fake cough.

"Grady," I snap. "Don't be a dick. Do you happen to have one of those contracts you're always talking about?"

"Nah, baby," Grady says, fingering me while ignoring my clit. Likely, he doesn't want to get me turned on again just yet. "Not in my pockets or anything, but if Granddad over there has an email he'd like to give me, then I can shoot a copy his way."

"A contract for what?" Cassian bites out, reminding me that he's also here.

Grady pulls his fingers from my core, bringing them to his mouth and sucking off my slick. "It's a heat contract. We use fill-in alphas for Anni's heats."

"And you'd invite me into your nest?" Ward asks, leaning forward and nipping at my lower lip.

"I don't really have a nest," I admit, following his mouth as he pulls back. "We usually rent one of the private rooms here at the club or use one of the omega sanctuaries. The Omega Exchange is seriously fancy, and they have room service." I nod dramatically. I'm still feeling woozy or a little high off their pheromones.

"That sounds nice." Ward runs his fingers over my cheek.

"How about a compromise?" Cassian asks. "I need a fake girlfriend and your skills. You need alphas and a safe, comfortable place to ride out your heat. Let's help each other."

Grady laughs, running his hand down my arm. "Let's hear your terms again. I think negotiations start at a hundred grand."

"Grady," I snort, shaking my head. "We'd be helping each other, so no money needs to exchange hands." Not that I really couldn't use a hundred thousand dollars. Or even fifty, if Grady and I split that amount. It's only fair, considering he'd be my built-in security.

"Hey, I've got plants that need to be fed and watered regularly," Grady lies.

I look at him over my shoulder. "Since when?"

"Fine," he concedes. "It's just the one, but it's some seriously needy vegetation."

"I'm weirdly proud of you for keeping a plant alive," I admit, biting my lip.

This is how I know my instincts are firmly in control. My brain instantly believes he'd make a great dad because he has a damn houseplant. It's a ridiculous correlation to make, but the breeding impulse is nearly impossible to fight. Luckily, I have an IUD because, logically, I know I'm not ready for kids right now. Even if my instincts want me to burrow into a warm, safe nest and pop out litters of little alphas and omegas.

I bat my lashes at him, and he grins in return.

"Yeah, no way you make it to three weeks before your heat hits," Grady says. "Your pupils are blown, and you're giving me googly eyes. I'd say a week, max."

"Well, then, let's come to some sort of agreement," Cassian says, ruining a perfectly sweet moment. "Shall we?"

I let Grady do the majority of the negotiating for me.

Cassian needs someone who can pass for his girlfriend to watch a game with his father. I have no idea why beating his father at cards is so damn important, but I don't press for answers that I have no right to.

The alpha pheromones have me kinda loopy, and Grady has always coordinated everything when it comes to volunteer alphas.

I'm basically looking at Cassian and Ward the same as any faceless cocks. Except, I'm slightly more attracted to their scents than I have been with any of the alphas in the past.

On the plus side, the club has mandatory STI screenings that must be passed to be approved for membership. I'm more than a little relieved that it would have been done this month, since they just joined.

Grady and I are good. We both got tested to be hired at the club, which was ironic because I was a virgin. We've also gotten tested after each heat, even though he always requires the guys to be tested beforehand.

Condoms are practically impossible during heats, since knotting fucks up their efficacy rate.

Blah, that's an unsexy thought.

I'm grateful when their talk comes to an end, and Grady carries me out the back exit and to the parking garage. Once we exit the elevator, he turns and heads for his truck. He opens the door, lifts me into the passenger seat, and helps me buckle up. My entire body jolts, and my jaw falls open. I could've sworn I saw Kane standing at the edge of one of the concrete columns, but in the blink of an eye, he's gone.

"What's the matter?" Grady spins, assessing for threats.

"Nothing. I'm tired." I laugh, shaking my head. "I think I caught a reflection and thought it was a ghost for a second."

I'm blissed-out on all the orgasms and clearly exhausted.

Ward calling Cassian "princess" clearly triggered my memories of the surly alpha. I'm not sure if it's age or distance from the situation, but I feel terrible every time I think of Kane.

I'm not sure if my brother killed him, but I wouldn't be shocked if he did. The thought of being dragged from my parents' cage to one monitored by Ranger was too much for me to handle at the time, but even I can admit I acted rashly. My response proved me to be the teenager Kane always heckled me about being.

If the same thing happened now, I would handle myself differently. But I also know I was in shock when I shot him and ran from my old life.

Those months I spent on the run before I met Grady were the loneliest of my life. I considered going to Ranger's home in Virginia more than once, but I truly didn't know if he would welcome me with open arms or lock me in his basement for running in the first place.

My heart hurts when I think of Ranger. He wasn't a terrible big brother, but he was indifferent to my very existence. As a little girl who was sure her older brother hung the moon, I thought he was cruel.

I've had a whole lot more life experience since then, and I can recognize that we just didn't have anything in common, and he was incapable of faking care and concern.

At the end of the day, he's the only family I have left.

I sigh, snuggling into the seat as Grady climbs into the driver's seat. Lamenting my mistakes won't change anything.

If I magically found out the Andrettis were dead, then I might consider going home or trying to reunite with my brother. But without that guarantee, there's no point in returning. I'd be a prisoner while he tried to keep me safe.

I don't live far from the club, and Grady keeps his hand on my thigh for the entire drive to my apartment.

Lyra is nowhere to be seen as Grady carries me inside. I nuzzle closer to his throat, thankful that I don't have to tackle that conversation right now.

Grady gets me tucked into bed, but he doesn't climb in beside me.

"Where are you going?" I ask sleepily.

"I've got to run home and water my plant." He bends over, kissing my temple. "I'll be back before you wake up." He strides out as my jaw hangs open.

What. The. Fuck. Was. That?

That was my boyfriend lying to me.

Okay, maybe not boyfriend, but he's definitely mine.

My man friend just lied to me.

I wait until the door closes behind him and shove my exhausted form out of bed.

Am I really going to follow Grady?

Oh, who am I kidding?

Of course, I am.

The pheromone haze has fully dissipated, and I now know what I should have remembered then.

Grady Wells is not a plant guy.

I don't care what bullshit he spewed to Ward and Cassian.