Page 20 of Omega's Vengeance

“Well, count sheep or something,” he grumbles.

I lie down again, scowling. “Mind your own business. You’re not asleep. Why do I have to sleep?”

He sighs. “Because you’re different than me.”

“Oh, I get it. I’m a weak little omega who needs his rest?”

He laughs gruffly. “This has nothing to do with you being an omega. It has to do with you being pampered. You probably can’t function without your beauty sleep. You probably have a little sleep mask, silk sheets, and a humidifier back home, don’t you?”

“Are you going to pretend as Valentino’s second you live in squalor?” I roll my eyes. “We’rebothliving pampered lives.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then he says, “Maybe that’s true. But I wasn’t pampered from birth. You were.”

I’m kind of hoping he’ll expound about his childhood, but he doesn’t. So I say, “You’re the one who started talking. If anything you’re keeping me awake.” I scowl at his broad back.

“I won’t say another word. Now go to sleep, okay?” He exhales roughly and shifts around, trying to get comfortable.

I let out a shaky breath, willing my body to calm. He’s not wrong about the amount of anxiety buzzing through me. I want to sleep, but I also know before I know it the morning will be here and I could very well die. He shifts around some more as if trying to find a comfortable position. Then at one point, he sits up. That scares the hell out of me because I’m afraid he’s heard something.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, heart racing.

“Oh, uh… nothing,” he grumbles. “It’s just that my arm is hanging off the damn cot.”

I frown at his surly tone. “I’m not sleeping on the floor, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

“I wasn’t hinting about anything, Alessio.” He shakes his head. I can’t see his expression in the dark, but I can feel his eyes on me. “Is it okay if I face you?” he asks quietly. “Then my arms wouldn’t hang off the cot.”

I swallow nervously. “Oh, uh, yeah.” I’m surprised he asked for my permission. “I can face the wall.”

“I don’t care if you face me.”

Facing each other feels way too intimate. He’s supposed to be my mortal enemy. We’re only working together right now so we don’t both die. “It’s fine.” I turn to face the wall. I feel him shifting his weight as he rolls over. When he rests his hand on my thigh, I stiffen. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry.” His voice is gruff. “I just don’t know where to put my arm. This cot is so cramped.”

“It’s not made for two people,” I mumble, praying he can’t hear how breathless I am. He starts to move his hand away, but I say, “It’s okay, Dario. I know you’re not trying it on with me. Go ahead and rest your hand on me. It doesn’t bother me.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

He shifts a bit more, and then he settles. His breath is warm on the nape of my neck, and the hard press of his chest against my back feels nice. I’m annoyed when my dick twitches. I don’t want to feel attraction for him, but I do. It’s dangerous to have any feelings for him other than hatred, but I’ve felt a weird connection with Dario since the moment we met. I don’t recall ever experiencing that with an alpha before.

The most surprising thing is that after a few moments of feeling really uptight, I begin to relax. My lids are heavy and I find my breaths begin to match the slow, deep rhythm of his. The heat of his bulky body seeps into mine, and the most delicious sensation of serenity washes through me as I drift off to sleep.

Chapter Five

Dario

Sleep ends up eluding me. I try really hard to go under, but there’s too much anxiety eating away at me. Having Alessio in my arms isn’t helping me relax either. Every time he moves, the feel of his warm, lithe body rubbing against mine makes me hard. It’s nearly impossible to ignore him.

I stay awake the next few hours, listening to Alessio’s soft breaths. I’m surprised he actually fell asleep. He was so wound up, I didn’t think he would. To ignore my arousal, I run the possible scenarios in my head of what will probably go down when Carlo returns.

They’ll all be armed with guns, so it’s essential that we take them completely by surprise. Fishing poles are no match for bullets, unless they never see it coming. I pray my decoy plan works. Needing to trust Alessio to carry off his part is asking a lot of me. Valentino is one of the few people on this earth I trust with my life. But in a few hours, that trust will need to be placed with an omega who wants me dead.

I don’t know what time it is exactly, but I get up off the bed and go to the farthest corner of the room to urinate into one of the empty water bottles. I don’t want to go into battle with my bladder full. When I return to the cot, Alessio is sitting up with his legs over the edge.

He rubs his eyes roughly. “I actually slept.”

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