Page 33 of Claiming Their Omega

“Aww, I thought that was what you did when you met a princess.”

“I’m not a princess.”

I snatch my hand back as I speak. There’s a fire burning in my chest, and my skin tingles with awareness where he kissed it. I feel completely off balance from that simple gesture, so I decide to turn the tables on him and try to catch him off-guard just like he did to me.

Smiling innocently, I plop onto Hendrix’s lap. “How’s that? If we’re out at a bar or somewhere else casual?”

Hendrix goes stiff as a board. “That’s fine,” he says, his voice a bit strained. He settles his arm around my waist. “Gotta make sure you don’t fall off.”

He’s challenging me right back, and I’m not going to fall for it. I won’t be the one who blinks. I stare him down. “That’s fine. Just don’t cop a feel.”

“If we were really courting, I’d cop a feel.”

“Not if you wanted to keep your hand, you wouldn’t.”

Hendrix smirks as I sass him, seeming to enjoy my mouthy attitude. His body beneath me is still stiff, though. “All right, whatever the princess wants, the princess gets.”

He lifts me off his lap with a strength that has me squeaking in surprise, then sets me down on my feet. My heart is racing and I feel hot all over. I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if he picked me up like that to kiss me, to press me against the wall…

No, I tell myself sternly. We’re not thinking about that. I don’t want that. I’m stronger than stupid biology.

“What about holding hands?” I ask, trying to maintain control of the conversation. “Is that all right? Or is it too, I don’t know, intimate?”

“I’m sure there’ll be a situation that calls for it,” Jesse says, that challenge still in his voice.

“What if I touched the small of your back?” Easton asks, startling me. “Just to guide you or while we’re standing together? That’s a nice subtle thing couples do, right?”

He looks at the other three as if he needs confirmation that he’s right on this, which is just so adorable that I could…

I could do nothing. Because I don’t want to do anything. God, this stupid Omega nonsense is destroying my brain.

The other three nod. “What about kissing?” Jesse asks.

I can’t tell if it’s a challenge or not, because although there’s a glint in his eyes, his entire body is stiff. I hope the idea of kissing me isn’t that horrible to him. I swallow hard. “I’m sure a peck on the cheek is fine. We can always claim we’re just being private. Not everyone is big on PDA, after all.”

All four men glance at each other, then nod at me. “Seems reasonable,” Hendrix says slowly.

They seem to be communicating on a level that I can’t manage, saying something silently with their eyes to one another. I admire their closeness, the fact that they can read each other’s minds and understand one another so well. I also envy it. I’ve never been that close to anyone in my life.

Oh, I love my family. I adore my parents and I know they adore me. Aiden and I have always been close. But this is something different. I find that I crave that kind of connection. I never wanted it before, probably because I didn’t know it was possible.

But while I still think this Omega nonsense is just that, nonsense, and I hate being controlled by my hormones like this, I find I do want a connection like that. A closeness like that.

I shove the thought aside to the back of my mind. I can think about finding someone to fall in love with once I’ve dealt with getting the rest of my life back. Romance isn’t a priority for me. Especially after what William did. I don’t know that I’ll be easily able to trust again after that.

“Great!” My voice sounds too high-pitched and I clear it. “So, now that we’re all good…”

“I mean, I think we should be a little grabby,” Jesse adds. “We’d be possessive of our Omega.”

I can feel the heat crawling up my spine and neck again. I just hope I’m not actually blushing. I don’t want them to see that I’m affected, even though I’m sure they’d politely ignore it.

The idea of one of them pulling me in, kissing me, perhaps leaning in close to murmur something in my ear… it makes me feel like there’s not enough air in the room. It’s probably just the Omega hormones, but that doesn’t change how strongly my body is reacting at the idea of these men touching me and holding me close. Kissing me.

I need to calm the fuck down. I gulp down the rest of my water, then swallow hard and glance around the table.

“Thank you for the food. It was delicious. Glad we cleared that all up, but now that it’s settled, I’d better… get some sleep.”

I tell myself I’m not fleeing as I hurry out of the dining room, but it feels like a lie.

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