Page 66 of The Beta's Bargain

“Answer me this, while my fingers are inside you, while I've allowed you to retain your freedom.”

His words are harsh, but I get a sense that it’s some kind of defensive measure, so instead of rising and biting, I let the comment roll past unchallenged.

I peer into his eyes, now on my level. The pale colour seems to change with his emotions, cold and mercurial as arctic ice or as warm as the shallows of the tropical seas.

“What?”

“What do you want from our pack?”

I hesitate. What I should say is a pack for Silver. A job. What I really want is something different. I go with my heart. “I want a memory of something different, something good.”

Falcon’s eyes widen slightly. His lips part, and I taste menthol on his breath a moment before he kisses me. As he does, he pulls his fingers out and then wraps his arms around me in a hug.

“You are a strange individual, Nyx.”

“People say that a lot,” I admit with a smile.

He helps me adjust my clothing and hair and then undoes the emergency stop button. We go down in silence, but his hand holds mine right up until the doors open.

“The plan was a success!” I announce as I stalk into the penthouse. I look around. There’s no one to be seen.

“Gray?”

I wander around and then tap on some of the bedrooms. All of them are empty. Wandering down the hallway, my steps pause outside Falcon’s office, thinking about that glass wall. I press a hand to my stomach to soothe the sudden butterflies the memory invokes. The office is empty, but I find myself drawn into the room. The glass is clear, and I look and see what they saw.

From here, there’s a dark room with the bed lit up by lights overhead. The bedding is navy blue satin, and the carpet is thick and plush. There are no windows in this room. It’s very intimate.

I suck in a breath, trying to ignore the way my body heats as I imagine what they saw. As I remember how I felt. I look at the spot where Gray emptied himself, but it’s been cleaned up. I reach out and trace the spot with my finger and shudder.

What am I doing? I’m letting myself have a moment, I think with sudden determination. I run my hands over my breasts, squeezing hard, before I pull at my nipples. My breathing comes faster. No one’s here…I could…

The window turns black. I see my reflection in it. A few seconds later, the office door clicks shut and locks, and then the light turns off. My skin crawls, and the hairs on my body lift. I shiver and strain to hear any sign of life.

Hands grip my waist and hold me still. “Stay,” Silas whispers in my ear. He trails his lips to my lobe and bites hard enough to pull a moan from me. My eyelids flutter closed as my head falls back.

“What?” I moan incoherently.

“Shh,” he whispers and starts peeling my clothes from me. “My pack hadn’t touched each other when we lost Dylan. We couldn’t. Before we met him, we used to touch each other all the time, but in our pain, we lived like strangers.” Silas lifts my hair, and his nose runs over my neck. My back arches, and his hands pause in their frenzy, reaching to lie over my bare stomach, lingering for a moment. I think Silas has gone into a memory somewhere. He pulls himself out a moment later.

“But the hunger is back.” Silas whispers in my ear. His fingers drift down, and I hold my breath, but they turn away, and he resumes tearing at my clothes.

In minutes, I’m naked in the dark. My fingers twitch, but I lift my hand to cover his. But so is he.

“Silas?” I murmur. “So, you’re all involved with each other?”

He moves my hair and kisses my neck. “You’re so lovely. Yes. I love them, and they love me. Is that a problem?”

I shake my head. “No. It’s a relief.”

He chuckles darkly.

His fingers reach down and stroke me. I gasp, trembling, as his fingertips dance over my clit. The pleasure spirals are rising in me. In the dark, where only my moans are audible, where the only thing I can smell is him, there is a freedom I’ve never experienced. It’s addictive.

And then the glass turns clear. Just like that. The light surprises me into frantic blinking. I look up to the bed to see a sight that turns my blood to fire inside.

Grayson is lying on his back on the bed, and Dylan is thrusting hard into his mouth. Behind him, Falcon is thrusting against Dylan. The scene clarifies, making sense in my pleasure-drunk mind. Fucking him. Oh, my god.

My core clenches, and I feel moisture run down the inside of my thighs. Silas laughs softly and presses something much larger than a finger against me.

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