Page 43 of Glass Omega

“Is it really okay to let them leave like this, Edi? They nearly made it into the venue and I think some bruises and a black eye aren’t enough to dissuade them or Amante from trying again.”

It was troubling that they had made it that far in the first place. It meant that there was either a hole in my security planning,or we had a rat in the team that I had personally vetted. Either way it made my stomach sour as we walked together towards the garden where the reception had been set up.

“For now, it will be fine. It’s clear they at least don’t want Perrie enough to fight for her. We can deal with Alessandro Amante separately later,” Edison told me, his golden eyes measuring my expression which I thought I was keeping neutral. But I’d never been able to hide my emotions from him. “And I have every confidence you’ll figure out how they got in, Rhodes, it’s what you do best.”

He was right. I wouldn’t stop until I figured out how, or more likely,whohad let them pass through several layers of security relatively unnoticed.

What I didn’t like, though, was the fact that the security team was made up almost entirely of the younger generation of the Keane clan, a group that was supposed to be in Edison’s corner entirely.

A rat on our side had implications for Edison’s plans that I didn’t even want to entertain.

Edison’s words also had another question rising in my throat and I grabbed his wrist to stop him. “Whyareyou fighting for Perrie so hard? I thought it was just supposed to be a contract marriage.”

Edison’s lips pulled up into a half-smile as he gently pulled his wrist out of my grip and instead slid his fingers through mine. “It started that way, sure, but I think I’m going to enjoy my married life thoroughly.”

Despite knowing that Edison and Perrie would be a fully-fledged married couple, all the way down to having children together, I couldn’t help the sudden thread of jealousy I was feeling as he spoke.

Before today, I’d never wanted him to reveal how our partnership had changed from friends to more. It heldimplications that the older generation of the Keane family would protest, and most likely, refuse to ever accept, putting Edison’s leadership on even shakier ground than it already was.

What was even crazier, though? I was jealous of Perrie, sure, but when I happened upon them in the garden with swollen lips and childish grins, I found myself wishing I was Edison. Jealous that he’d gotten to kiss the omega who’d basically taken over our lives over the past month.

It was confusing as fucking hell and I hadn’t had time to parse through my own emotions yet, but now they were bubbling up to the surface and were clear on my face for Edison’s ever-perceptive eyes to catch.

As if he could read my thoughts entirely, Edison cupped the side of my face. I started to pull away, realizing we were in the middle of the mansion and not in his room, but his fingers tightened as he forced me to look at him.

“Just because I like my wife doesn’t mean that I am going to like you any less. You’ve known how I felt since we brought her here.”

Then his lips descended on mine and I could taste the last bits of strawberry flavored lip gloss that still clung to them as his tongue slipped into my mouth. It was heady and I was nearly lost to it, uncaring that we were still in a place where anyone could see us.

We hadn’t so much as touched since that first night because Edison was too busy with planning the wedding and I’d been hesitant and kept myself busy, cramming as much as I could into each day so that I wouldn’t have to confront the impending change that was about to happen in our lives.

And I regretted it now.

It was easy to forget how much you craved someone until you couldn’t have them for three weeks.

And mix Perrie’s sweet strawberry scent into it? I was done for.

Pulling the man by the lapels of his jacket, I let him crush me against the wall until every inch of us was pressed together and I wanted nothing more than to drag him upstairs to his room and tear the tailored tuxedo off of his body. To give into the itch of need that always seemed to swell when we were away from each other for too long.

But then I remembered where we were and why Edison was wearing a tuxedo in the first place.

Giving him a gentle shove away from me, I pressed a hand to my tingling lips. “I shouldn’t be kissing you on your wedding day. You’re someone else’s husband now.”

I thought my words would hurt Edison but instead, when I looked at him again, I found the alpha grinning at me.

“Why not? My bride doesn’t seem to mind at all.”

Confused, I frowned at him and watched as he turned to look at something down the hallway. Following his gaze, I found a wide-eyed omega standing at the end dressed in a shorter version of the wedding dress she’d been wearing earlier, her lips half open as her eyes darted between us.

An apology started to bubble up in my throat—for what I wasn’t sure—but it died almost as quickly as it started because Perrie didn’t look angry about discovering us in such an incriminating position.

Her gray eyes were wide, sure, but not with shock or hurt. No, judging by the way her pale cheeks flushed and the opening of her glossy bow lips, it almost looked like she wasenjoyingwhat she was seeing.

“Pet? Are you all right?” Edison asked, finally releasing me so that he could go to her, his hand outstretched. I didn’t know what else to do with myself, so I followed along in a daze, my body still buzzing from our kiss.

She glanced between the two of us before slipping her hand into Edison’s. “Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”

It was an implicit acknowledgement that she’d seen what we were doing and had seemingly accepted it. Perrie could have turned and ratted us both out to the rest of the people outside. She had every right to do so as Edison’s new wife. But every instinct I had was telling me that she wouldn’t.

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