Page 14 of Big Knot Energy (Shadowverse)

“Please?” he said, batting his ridiculously long and dark lashes at me and sticking out his pillowy bottom lip in the cutest faux pout ever.

“I have nothing to wear,” I said, grasping at straws as he adorably tried to destroy every reason I couldn’t go.

“Bullshit.” He wrapped a hand around mine and tugged me behind him until we stepped into my room and into my closet.

After a few seconds of pushing various pieces aside, he pulled a dress free that still had tags attached.

There was a reason I hadn’t worn it – the damn thing cut so low my boobs would practically hang out and the hem was only a couple inches below my ass.

“No way, Ax. I’ll be naked in that thing.”

My breath caught in my lungs when a dark blond brow raised, and his pupils blew wide. “We can get to the naked part later tonight,” he teased, quickly averting his gaze.

Teasing me about being naked wasn’t uncommon, not with Ax. I was pretty sure he would walk around with his dick in his hand, offering it to anyone interested if it was allowed.

“You’re wearing this. And makeup. I want every single person in that room jealous of my beta.”

My belly instantly went crazy with butterflies and my heart thumped wildly in my chest.

My beta.

Why did that sound so damn good coming from his mouth? Andwhy couldn’t I be more than another housemate, another member of the pack?

Once an omega was added…

With a sigh, I nodded. “Fine.”

I knew the three alphas wouldn’t care if I slept with other people. Why would they when they participated in that activity together on a regular basis? I’d never begrudged presenting as a beta, and the fact they couldn’t smell my arousal every time I’d touched myself to the sounds of them making love made me appreciate my designation all that much more.

They would be meeting with an omega tonight; someone they might end up courting. Maybe I would spend a little time getting cute and look for my own conquest. Even being bonded to Antonio for two years, we didn’t often have sex. And when we did, it was quick and usually painful; the alpha had never given a shit about my pleasure, simply pumped into me until he found his release, then went to his own bedroom. As in, we didn’t share a bed or a room.

That had never bothered me.

But living here with Ax, Cyrus, and Enzo, there had been many nights when I’d woken with nightmares of my abuse at my alpha’s hands and wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with one or all of them and let them hold me.

Pushing all those thoughts and fantasies aside, I took the dress from Ax’s outstretched hands and headed for my bathroom.

After stripping and stepping into the shower, I tilted my head back to wash my hair, then moved on to showering, washing, and exfoliating.

“Curl your hair tonight, too. I love when it waves down your back.”

I squeaked and slapped my arms around my body the best I could when I looked through the glass door to find Ax leaning against the vanity watching me.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Getting ready. Just like you,” he said. I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

“You have your own bathroom. Get out, perv.”

His chuckle followed him out as I tried to will my heartbeat to a normal cadence. How long had he stood there watching me? My cheeks felt like they were on fire. Had he watched me shave my armpits and bikini line? Watched me shave my legs?

Rinsing quickly, I ended the spray and reached around the glass door for the towel. I could hear the alphas’ voices rumbling through the house as I dried off and stepped in front of the mirror to start my skincare routine. Being the daughter of ruthless criminals might have had a lot of downfalls, but I’d always had the best of everything from skincare to clothes. Even as a beta I’d been a bit spoiled, and this pack definitely kept me in that spoiled princess category.

Huh. Maybe I had been pack this whole time and hadn’t registered that fact because I still carried Antonio’s mark.

There were ways to break the connection, to permanently remove his mark. But I refused to ask Ax, Enzo, or Cyrus to bankroll such an expensive procedure. I would simply do as I’d done all this time and keep the bond locked down and ignore the mark.

Except the dress Ax had chosen would put both my shoulders on full display.

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