Page 11 of Our Deceptive Heat

Must. Escape. Now.

I see a lifeline when Tyr saunters back from the kitchen and grab at it.

“See ya, Tyr,” I almost shout. Is sweat dripping down my face? It feels like it. “Email me what version you decide to go with, and I’ll send you the alternate lyrics for verse two. I think if you have Mako sing them, it will sound better.”

Mako growls and shakes his head as Tyr sits on his lap and leans his face into the other alpha’s shoulders. Moments like this are painful to watch. I get a double serve of yearning and guilt. I should not be feeling so damn aroused by my best friends.

“Do you ever think about anything else but work?” Mako asks. “And I don’t sing.”

My mind goes blank because, of course, there is something that competes with my mind’s space with work.Digs thumbs and how close they are to my pussy. Wait, no!

The Fate Pack. The band.

No, I don’t think about them, either. Damn you, brain.

We’re friends. The best of friends. I’m lucky to have them. There, that’s better.

Digs yanks on my thigh, and I fall roughly in his direction, dropping onto his lap with an oof.

He snuggles into me and locks those giant, meaty arms around me. I’ve practically got my breasts smooshed into his face. My heart slams against my chest and the ache between my legs is sudden and intense. All I can do is cling to him while I try to undo the spell he’s put on my body.

“Mine.”

Oh, that’s not fair.

I twist so I’m looking at him and still. He’s not smiling anymore. He’s gazing at me with an intensity that makes holding his gaze impossible. There’s a question, but I don’t understand it.

Not even a little bit.

“Digs?” I ask softly.

His name is echoed sharply by Tyr a moment later, and Digs abruptly let's go with a shuddering exhale. He stands up, hesitates, and, to my utter dismay and confusion, pats my head. Like I’m a dog.

“I’ll see you next time.”

I watch in surprise as he leaves the hotel lounge and goes into one of the other rooms.

I glance at the others, but none of them are looking at me.

“Come on, I’ll see you out,” Envy says quietly.

I grab my stuff, murmur a goodbye, and slip out.

The cold that sits inside me reminds me, too late, that there are no feelings between them and I. They are a pack who have made it clear they don’t want an omega. And they are my father’s up-and-coming clients. They are off limits.

They are not for me.

So why, for a moment there, did I think Digs was going to kiss me?

Chapter four

Ryn

Two Years later

The magic lie Itell myself is that you love me in the dark- Ryn Raines

Tyr picks me up by the waist and spins me around. His smile is as wide as mine. I curl my fingers in his shirt as I laugh, feeding off the joy of the pack.