Page 10 of Packed Up In Vegas

“When do I get more?”

“Another twenty on each day of the heat, and the rest once it’s all over.”

I settled against Kai, still sniffling, but holding on to the knowledge that everything would be okay when this was over. But then my mind wandered to why I wasn’t okay in the first place and the sobs came in soul-crushing waves.

God, I couldn’t do this. But I would be even more fucked than before if I backed out now. Right back to square one, abandoned and broke, but with a heat on the way.

Fucking Jerry.

My life before today hadn’t been great, but it had been mine. It had been…comfortable, predictable, if nothing else. I just wanted to go back. If only there were something to go back to.

Kai continued to hold me, purring away until I got my sobs down to a manageable level. He nudged me to lean back far enough to see my face, his eyes flickering over the hair and makeup they had done for me before I had gotten the injection. I thought I looked ridiculous. I never wore this much makeup, but the artist had said something about the audience liking to be able to see the tear tracks from the mascara and I’d almost thrown up on the spot.

“I think we have to run you through makeup again real quick,” Kai said.

“I’ll probably just cry it off again.”

“Probably,” he agreed, “but try to keep that to when we’re on stage.”

I squirmed in his lap, the faintest hint of something tweaking the back of my brain. It crept in molecule by molecule, the scent blockers dissolving by the second.

Cinnamon.

Warm, like cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, and spicy like those candy hearts I ate every Valentine’s until my tongue went numb.

I bucked and shuddered like I’d stuck a fork into an electric socket, shoving my face against Kai’s throat. Sweet fuckity fuck. My tongue swept over his skin, soaking up that flavor, and suddenly I was in the air.

“Whoa there, sweetheart. It’s not time to start yet.”

I whined as Miles hauled me away and onto his lap.

“Miles… I—I think we might have a problem,” Kai said slowly, staring at me like he had no idea what to make of me. All I wanted was to climb back into his lap and breathe him in.

“Miles, please, I need.” I fought against his grip, trying to get back to Kai and suddenly Diego and Amir were there too.

“Calm down.” Amir’s voice was firm, but did absolutely nothing to temper my desire to get to Kai, or at least it didn’t until I caught a whiff of him. Rich, sunbaked cedar, all sticky and sweet in the height of summer. Fuck me sideways. I grabbed onto him and dragged him closer, whining as I got my face up to his throat.

Yes.

Perfect.

“This feels like more than a heat, Miles.” Diego did his best to extract me from Amir, but then he was close enough to scent too. Warm clove and nutmeg, like my favorite chai and the most delicious cookies.

A whine rocked through my chest, a whispered chorus of oh, fuck moving through the men around me. Heat sat like embers in my belly. I needed all of them all over me. Immediately.

“Okay, sweetness, don’t worry.” Miles opened a drawer and forced a respirator over my face so I could get a breath that wasn’t laden with alpha deliciousness. The others very quickly donned their own, followed by scent-blocking patches. I didn’t want those scents to go away, but with every clear breath it was easier to think and keep some semblance of control over myself.

My whine rang in my ears.

“Deep breaths,” Miles crooned, pulling me away from Amir and into his arms. “You’re okay.”

I clutched the front of his suit, letting him comfort me, his hands smoothing down my back as I clawed my way back to sanity. When my shoulders finally relaxed, I looked up at Miles, my mind full of questions. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s going to be okay, sweetness. Rest for a minute. We just need to figure out a few things.” His voice soothed me, sliding over me like velvet and untangling some of the knots of panic in my chest.

“Miles, we can’t take her out there,” said Diego. “We can’t let people see her.”

“If you don’t do the show, none of you are getting paid. All four of you are under contract. If Callie backs out now, she has to give back everything she’s been paid so far and still go through a heat, just not on stage. We can’t turn off the heat now that she’s been given the serum.”

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