Page 19 of Vallaverse: Noir
The running joke is that Omegas are the least dominant designation. Omegas in heat take what they want and you can either keep up or be dragged along. I don't like being dragged. I open my mouth to him, letting him take it how he needs to, and toe off my shoes. It's astounding how much difference an inch or two make. When I was wearing the heels I was almost at eye-level with him, without them he's at least a few inches taller than I am.
I reach back to unzip my dress and slip the straps down my arms. The dress falls to the floor in a cloud, leaving me in just panties. Beckett's hand leaves my jaw and snakes down my side, purring when all he feels is bare skin. I slide my hands down his sides and push his pants off his hips. His scent gets even stronger and I fight the urge to shove him away from me and onto the bed.
He needs a nest. I can't forget.
As if by magic, Pierce chooses then to return. The sound of the door unlocking turns Beckett's purr into a snarl, and then a growl when the door opens and quickly shuts. I listen as he takesa few steps into the room and stops. The deep breath he takes is loud, even from several feet away. “I don't know how to do this,” he says quietly.
Beckett's kiss doesn't falter. If anything, he becomes more aggressive. His hand lowers to my hip and pulls me roughly to him. Something about the sharpness of the movement or the motion of it makes me grunt, wincing away from the kiss. Beckett is too busy glaring at Pierce to notice. His eyes are dark, one pupil nearly completely blown.
I try to turn to look at Pierce, but Beckett's grip on my neck tightens. I can give him a lot of grace right now. He is in heat, and it seems like it's going to turn into a violent one. Even so, I'm only willing to let him control my body so much. “Let go, Beckett,” I order. “I need to see him.”
He shudders, but lets go of my neck. Instead of allowing me to step away from him so that I can see Pierce, he turns me quickly, again forcing me off balance; and the way my body twists with my feet still hung up in the dress and encumbered with the shoes makes me wince. “There,” he says against my shoulder. “You can see him.”
Pierce's eyes roam down the front of me, slowing as they cross over my thigh and hip, but his clipped words are for Beckett. “Don't jerk her around like that. It hurts her.”
Beckett pauses in dragging his nose up the side of my neck. “Did I hurt you, Alpha?”
“Yes,” I tell him honestly. “I have problems with my hip and leg.”
“I'll be more careful,” he kisses the top of my shoulder. “I promise. I just need you so much. And you wanted to see him. Omegas can be jealous, you know.”
“I brought you nesting material.” Pierce says, still openly staring at the scars from my injuries and surgeries. “You need it.”
“Thank you,” Beckett replies, but doesn't let go of me.
“Is this going to be a problem for you?” I ask either of them who care to answer. I need it to not be a problem.
Beckett sighs and answers truthfully. “I don't know. Maybe.”
“Let's see how you feel after we make your nest,” I suggest.
He licks across my shoulder and hums in pleasure. “Just being near you … Are you going to help with the nest?”
“Do you want me to?”
He's quiet for a moment, but then answers honestly again. “No. Just watch. Do you have any worn clothes here?”
I nod. “Let me get them for you.”
He releases me and crosses the room to take the basket of silky materials from Pierce. He dumps it out onto the bed and sighs contentedly as he gets to work.
This is an odd heat so far. Maybe it's because everything is awkward and new, or because of the scent match, or even the presence of the Valla. I don't know. But it seems out of place that he's gone from whimpering in the elevator to the aggressive display of the last few minutes, and now he's happily fluffing and weaving his nest together.
I go over to my suitcase and pull out the clothes I was wearing earlier and add them to the pile of material Beckett is working through. I step back, away from the bed but not toward Pierce. I don't know what to do with him. Beckett isn't interested in him being involved in this, butIfeel a pull toward him as strongly as the one I feel from Beckett.
We barely know each other's names, and I have to figure out how to navigate this heat without either of them drawing blood. I thought getting them out of the very public ballroom would be best, but the only improvement to the situation is that we aren't in public. I'm still the center of their tug-o-war. This could still go very badly.
Chapter Twelve
Pierce
It is very good that the Omega tempered his handling of Dana. Very, very good. Seeing how easily he pulled her off balance in the ballroom, and now the surgical scarring on her hip and outer thigh, I'm actually impressed with my self control. The fact that he's an Omega,herOmega, is the only thing that saved him. There would have been an incident if someone else had put hurtful hands on her.
I don't think I can address the fading bruises on his body. He doesn't have any marks on his neck that would signify a bond, but he has plenty of them everywhere else. If I'm this bothered by the marks, I can only imagine what Dana must be feeling.
All this time, I've been looking for an Omega. All these years. It never occurred to me to look for an Alpha. Not once. That's my own fault, I suppose. I grew up with the belief that I would one day find my perfect Omega and would start my perfect life with them. I simply wasn't looking at Alphas. It's definitely my ownfault. But really, all the clubs and things don't really push the idea of mating with Alphas. It's all Omega, all the time.
I've been avoiding thinking about the clubs. The clubs are toxic. I only go to them if I really can't go on without relief when I go into rut. I stayed away from them for my last two ruts, but I don't think I'll be able to go without relieve during my next one. And now, I won't have to. I won't have to sufferorgo into a club full of Omegas who don't really want me. They just want, and they keep wanting. Just blind want.
