Page 9 of Packed Up In Vegas

Kai and Diego each took a spot at my sides and worked lotion into my skin until goosebumps covered every bit of me and I was dizzy from breathing so hard.

“Open,” Amir commanded, gesturing to my mouth with a forkful of pasta twisted around half a meatball.

I accepted the bite, still shivering when Kai scooped one of my feet onto his lap and dug out the tension with his thumbs.

“There’s a lot of things happening at once right now,” I commented once I had swallowed.

“That’ll be the next three days,” Amir reminded me. “You need to get used to it. We don’t want you to have a panic attack out there.”

“Right.” I swallowed another bite of pasta Amir offered and almost died of bliss when Kai shifted me, leaning my back to his chest and Diego lifted my legs onto his lap. So comfy. With a quiet hum, I let myself melt, leaning into his warmth that was actually enjoyable now that I was in air conditioning.

The suite door opened and Miles swept inside. “I see you’re all getting acquainted. Callie, sweetheart, I have a contract for you to sign and I’ll need your banking information so we can deposit the first chunk of your money as soon as I submit the paperwork.”

Miles grinned at me, his blue eyes bright beneath his tousled brown waves. He passed over the clipboard with the paperwork and I read all of the intricate details, feeling like I was signing my soul away when I laid down my name.

“Perfect,” Miles crooned. “One step closer to your new life and the best sex you’ll ever have.”

“Don’t look at it, little dove.”

I dragged my gaze away from the needle the nurse was bringing closer.

“Hey.” Kai took my face in both of his hands. “Look at me. I’ve got you.”

I’d much rather look at him than a needle, so I let myself focus on the warmth of his golden brown eyes, the sweep of straight lashes, the fullness of his lips that I had decided were kissable the moment I saw them. It seemed rude to drop my gaze further, even though he wasn’t wearing a shirt and the lean, muscled planes of his body practically begged to be admired.

They’d already administered the medication to reverse the scent blockers—which would take a little while to take full effect—and I’d immediately burst into tears. I’d always been like that with needles. I whimpered as the heat serum was injected under my skin, the burning tingle slowly spreading up my arm, followed immediately by a dose of birth control. They’d put me through one of the rapid-test clinics dotted around the city to make sure I didn’t have anything that required extra precautions, and luckily Jerry hadn’t brought anything to our bed.

“Well done,” the nurse praised. “You’ll have about an hour before it kicks in fully, but you’ll start feeling the effects in a few minutes. I’m sorry to say that it can make you a bit emotional, so don’t worry about that too much when it happens. You’ll settle quickly once you’re out on stage.”

“Deep breaths.” Kai stroked my cheeks with his thumbs, before sweeping one over my wobbling bottom lip. He pulled me onto his lap. The hyperventilation started almost immediately, panic galloping through my system, setting my heart to racing, and making my head feel like it was going to float away into the stratosphere. I clung to him, desperate for an anchor. His grip tightened until it bordered on pain and I felt like his arms were the only thing keeping me together.

This wasn’t fucking fair. Not twenty-four hours ago I’d been engaged and now…

Fuck.

I wiped the tears streaking down my face.

“She can’t cry on stage,” Diego murmured, sitting next to us with his shirt off too.

“Sure she can,” Amir said. “Tons of those rich bitches have a crying kink.”

“Don’t be dicks,” Kai snapped.

“Rude,” Amir said with a laugh. “That’s literally all we’re here for. It’s just the serum wigging her out, not a big deal.”

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal for him, but he wasn’t experiencing it. I buried my face against Kai’s chest with a soft whine, that omega sound of distress ratcheting tension through him. “Where’s Miles?”

“Right here, sweetheart.” Miles stroked a hand over my hair. “I know it’s a lot. The drugs will settle soon.”

I sniffled miserably. “I hate it.”

Kai nuzzled the top of my head. “You’re doing great.”

“Mhmm,” Miles agreed. “And your first twenty-thousand was just deposited in your account.”

I popped my head up. “Really?”

Fuck. That already made me feel better, knowing those dollars were sitting there waiting for me on the other side of this.

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