Page 12 of Wicked

“What do you mean?”

“The rules about what alphas and omegas can do outside of ‘the sacred rituals of a bond’ or whatever. Is it just sex that’s forbidden, or are we not even allowed to kiss?” He lowers his gaze to my lips.

It’s been so long since I thought about the specifics of the rules, I’m not entirely sure. There were alphas who kissed omegas before the bonding rituals back at the compound. I can’t remember if they were supposed to or not. Sneaking around the cabins for a stolen kiss was something I desperately wanted to do back then. The couples seemed so excited and happy together.

“I think the rule says that we can’t lie together.”

Candlewick reaches out and grasps my hand. “Is that Bible code for sex, or can we just not lie in the same bed together? Because there are a lot of things we can do standing up.”

I look down at our intertwined fingers. My whole body comes alive with his touch. For a split second I allow myself to imagine crashing my mouth into his and running my hands along his back. Would that technically be against the rules?

“Sex is forbidden.” I’m absolutely certain of that. But a kiss? An embrace? Would those be wrong by themselves?

“When you say sex, do you mean anal penetration, or does oral count?”

The image of Candlewick lying naked on a bed with his fingers threaded through my hair while I pleased him with my mouth flashes in my mind. I used to please men in the pits that way with my fingers filling their ass. It’s something I’m good at. What would it feel like to please Candlewick in that way? To make him come in my mouth and moan with ecstasy?

Those fantasies are wrong, and I know it. I wish I could take them back. But I don’t have the same control over my mind that I have over my body.

“I don’t… know. Oral is probably wrong too.”

Candlewick slides his hand into my right back pocket where I stashed my phone. “Can I borrow this for a second?”

“For what?” I ask.

“I’m going to look it up online.”

“The information about my god online is written by people outside our faith. There’s no internet at the compounds.”

He pulls my phone out and hands it to me. “Unlock it and just let me try.”

I do as he says and give it back to him. There’s no harm in trying, I suppose.

“While you do that, I’ll change,” I say, holding up the shark shirt and taco-cat pants.

“Okay.”

I walk around the closet because that barrier is the closest thing to privacy there is on this roof. In addition to being ugly, the shark shirt is too small. It fits tightly against my thin frame and leaves a sliver of my abdomen exposed. By contrast, the taco-cat pants are enormous and barely stay on my hips.

When I emerge from behind the closet, Candlewick throws back his head and laughs. “Oh my God! I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture. Can I use your phone to take a picture?”

“Absolutely not.”

He pouts, and my heart completely melts. I want to give him everything in the world. I suppose I could offer him some entertainment at my expense by letting him use the camera on my phone.

“Fine,” I say.

He claps. “Thank you! Also, you’re kind of built, aren’t you? Check out all those muscles you were hiding underneath that hideous red wolf shirt.”

“I’m just skinny. It’s not real muscle.”

“Oh, I see. If you’re skinny, it doesn’t count as muscle.” Candlewick rolls his eyes dramatically. “Such a typical alpha response. Fine, I won’t tell you how hot you are.”

I swallow hard. Is Candlewick being serious? He can’t possibly think I’m hot. Especially not in comparison to how attractive he is. He deserves someone who looks like Timber.

He turns my phone to the side and snaps a photo. “Just so you know, I did find some information about what you’re allowed to do with omegas.”

I hold my breath. “From where? What did they say?”

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