Page 9 of The King's Omega
But one of them wandered closer, the confusion fading in his gaze, replaced by an expression that up until now had frightened me. Appreciation and desire.
Lust.
The air was suddenly filled with hints of cinnamon and cedarwood, savory, mouthwatering spices. Definitely Alphas.
For some reason, I wasn’t as scared I knew I should be. I felt something else entirely. “Dragons in my guts,” I muttered.
“What?” The man frowned at his brother.
“Dragons.” I flapped a hand. “Tickles in my knickers, eagles in my tummy. I can’t talk about it.”
His brother murmured something that sounded like “contagious madness.”
I let out a sigh. “Can I help you?”
My core clenched as the man approached. “Possibly. I’m Tarn, lovely one. Who might you be?”
Tarn. His name sounded familiar, but I knew I had never seen this Goddess-carved face. His turquoise eyes bore into me, drawing an answer forth. “I-I’m Vali. Novalia. I’m, um, Selene’s lady’s maid.”
“You lived in the brothel,” the other man said. “You served Selene there as well?”
“Oh, sure.” I fought to keep my voice from trembling. Something about these two made me feel as if I were being stalked. “But not just her. I mean, I worked a lot.” Madam had kept me scrubbing sunup to sundown and locked away during the ladies’ bedwork hours.
“You worked at the brothel?” Tarn leered, one perfectly shaped eyebrow dipping low. “A lot? Lorn, you said the servant was a girl. How old are you, girl?”
“I’m t-twenty. And you?”Ah, Vali, what an idiot. You don’t ask fine lords for their ages.
“My brother and I are both thirty-one, the same age as our king.” He reached out, and I recoiled. “Don’t worry, lass. We’re old enough to know our way around a sweet, flowery little pussy like yours.”
The word I’d heard a thousand times before in the Sow was dirtier coming from his soft, almost plump lips. My skin heated, and a red flush began spreading over my chest and shoulders.
Tarn’s eyes raked over my chest, taking in the color as he moved behind me. I didn’t know where to look, at him or his brother. Danger lurked on both sides and that thought made me flush even brighter. “Yes, just like that, sweet one.”
“L-like what?” I shivered, and realized that he had stolen my towel, and I now stood completely naked in front of them. Something dripped on the floor below me. I hoped it was bathwater, but was afraid it was pee. Terror gripped me… but not really. My heart raced not with fear, but expectation.
I’d lost my mind. Possibly the cheese had been drugged.
Both the men inhaled deeply. “Smell that, Tarn?”
“I do, brother. I wonder if she tastes as good as she smells.”
“She’s wounded. How did that happen, lass?” He stared at the deep scratches Selene’s nails had left.
My stomach cramped slightly. “It doesn’t matter. I, um, need that towel, though.” I edged back to the bed. I could grab a pillowcase or something.
“Eager, eh?” the man called Lorn said, stalking across the room. I scrambled up the side of the bed, clawing at the sheets for something to cover myself. They both stopped, watching me like skilled predators, waiting for the moment to strike.
“I-I need you both to leave,” I said, gathering a top sheet over my lap, and trying to sit in the mountain of bedding in a dignified way. Strangely, the wrinkles in the bedding irked me. My fingers darted out unconsciously, moving sheets and pillows this way and that, though I kept my eyes on the men. One of them—Tarn?—snorted. His fingers moved quickly, and Lorn responded in kind. Were they speaking a sign language of some sort? They looked at each other with raised eyebrows and pursed lips, then back at me.
Tarn buried his face in my towel, inhaling. “You’re not the King’s Omega, are you?”
“N-no,” I squeaked. I wasn’t sure what that even meant. The king had called Selene an Omega, but even I knew they didn’t exist. They were like unicorns or merfolk. “I’m her servant, Vali.” Ugh, the pillows were not in the right places! I prodded them again, making a loose semi-circle. “Still not right.” I tore the stacked pillows down and threw them to the floor, suddenly angry that these men were watching me act like a ninny.
Who fussed with pillows when strange men were prowling around? The cheese had definitely been poisoned. I kicked the final pillow to the floor and mussed the blanket back up.
The brothers growled at that.
I flinched at the sound and gripped the blanket until my knuckles turned white. Then the timbre of Tarn’s growl shifted to a deeper rumble that started the clenching in my gut again. I kept my expression impassive but felt something wet beneath me.
