Thanks to their high-end shampoo, my hair had come back to life in just a couple of washes, though it needed a trim to give it some shape other than flat and straight.
“What’d’ya say?” Marco pressed.
I nibbled on my lip, looking from one determined man to another. There was no getting out of this, was there? Did I even want out?
No. I was Omega enough to admit that it felt incredible to surrender and have someone else worry about all the things I needed. I’d been in survival mode for most of my life, and I was bone weary from always worrying about where my next meal might come from, not to mention what I’d wear when my shirts and pants became too threadbare.
“Okay,” I agreed softly, promising myself I would only get the essentials.
Tommas whooped, making me jump and then laugh at how badly I’d startled.
He grinned. “Wait till you see where we’re taking you shopping. It’ll blow your mind.”
Gio’s voice broke through my reverie. “We’ll start out on Luxe Avenue and then go from there. The options are endless. I’m sure we’ll find things you like.”
I blinked at him. “Luxe Avenue? That sounds expensive.”
The guys chuckled.
“Oh, Butterfly,” Tommas grinned widely. “You’re in for a treat.”
Dimitri caught my gaze in the rearview mirror again, his expression soft. “It’s a high-end shopping district along the riverfront. Very exclusive boutiques.”
My stomach clenched with anxiety. “Oh. Isn’t there a Walmart around here? I don’t need anything fancy…”
As we veered through traffic, I couldn’t help but think about all the foster homes I’d bounced between growing up. The cramped apartments, the run-down houses with peeling paint and sagging porches. The group home I’d been dumped in before presenting wasn’t much better—a glorified warehouse for unwanted kids.
Our lives were as different as could be.
They were Armani, and I was the Great Value brand. We were fire and ice. Day and night. They were rich, powerful, and intimidating, and I was the girl without two pennies to rub together.
Dimitri tsked, and I swore his scent seemed to swell, his Alpha authority pressing in on me. “Are you going to let us, little Omega?”
Their combined signatures were too much, and with his Alpha demanding obedience from my Omega, I simply swallowed and nodded, a tiny humming squeak of agreement all I could manage.
A small smirk tilted his lips. “Good girl.”
Oh. My. God.I couldn’t hold back the needy whine that slipped up my throat from his praise.
Four distinct groans sounded throughout the car, which Dimitri blessedly pulled up to a curb outside a fancy-looking store.
I jumped out the moment he threw it in park, desperately needing that gulp of fresh air before I did something stupid—like crawling into Marco’s lap and shoving my nose into his neck just to get a stronger hit of his signature.
My chest heaved as though I’d just run a race while I stared up at the storefront before me.
The windows were spotless, the name of the boutique—Maison Couture—in fancy gold lettering above the door. Everything about this part of town screamed high end, from the cobblestone sidewalks to the ornate street lamps that seemed as though they belonged in a period drama.
I felt completely out of place in my baggy sweats as I drank in the sight of the mannequins posed in the display windows that flanked the door. They wore outfits that looked like they’d just stepped off a runway in Paris—flowing silk dresses in jewel tones, tailored suits that probably cost more money than I’d ever seen in my life, and accessories that glittered under the soft lighting.
My heart raced as I took in the other shops lining the street. High-end jewelry stores, fancy restaurants, and more clothing boutiques with names I couldn’t even pronounce.
This was a world I’d only ever glimpsed in magazines or on TV, never imagining I’d actually set foot in a place like this.
“Give me a minute,” Gio announced and strode into the store while I waited with his brothers, who surrounded me protectively.
I took the time to glance up and down the street, gauging any threats, scanning for the familiar faces that haunted my nightmares. Thankfully, there was nothing unusual until three startled-looking shoppers hurried out of the store, followed by Gio, who announced we were “all set.”
“Ready, Kitten?” Dimitri asked.