Page 105 of Our Deceptive Heat

“Why are we stopping?”

How can she not feel the tension on the bus? The rage?

I’m tense watching her now, like she’s prey. All my body is poised to attack this threat.

Envy spins in his seat so he’s sitting with his legs in the aisle and stares at her with a malevolent mask.

“Ryn’s scent is cinnamon and sugar?” he asks evenly.

“Yes-”

“No.” He lets out a brittle laugh. “You stupid bitch. No, you’re wrong, so wrong. My scent is cinnamon and sugar.”

And then Envy does whatever it is that he does and lets the omega to the surface, and the bus is drowned in sugar and cinnamon. Only his pack can taste the bitter notes.

The bus doors open.

No one on board is surprised, but then we’ve been keeping this secret for years. Our team is hand selected and every single person was hired because they lived in a little village called Carmine.

They’ve always known what Envy was.

Cadee stands up, glaring coldly at Tara, flanked by José. Nial cracks his fingers.

“You might want to give Daddy Raines a call and tell him you fucked up. Ryn isn’t an omega, she’s a beta. Just a boring, nondescript beta. And you promised. We had a deal. Which you just broke.”

Envy sounds like an alpha, but then we’ve taught him everything he knows. His voice, his mannerisms, the way he smells normally. It’s all been an elaborate ploy to protect his designation.

But now he’s some kind of hybrid between the two. An omega who acts and thinks like an alpha. An alpha with the appeal and scent of an omega.

He is glorious. He is ours. As much as she is.

And he’s also hers. Completely.

Tara whimpers. I don’t know what she sees in Envy’s face, but whatever it is, it’s scaring the shit out of her.

A surge of pride rushes through me.

Our omega stands up and strolls to the front of the bus. Reaching out and squeezing Quint’s, our hair stylists’, shoulder and then clasping hands with Harris, our chef.

“Get that whore off my bus or I’m not going another step,” he says with casual menace.

“But the song, you can’t. Your contract. You can’t be an omega.” Tara stands up and goes to follow, but Nial snarls and steps in between them, defending the omega he’s sworn to protect.

I snort. “Get off the bus, Tara. My omega doesn’t want you here, and what my omega wants, my omega gets.”

Envy glances back down the bus at me and smiles. It’s so good to see him be himself. I stand up and jump over the seats, stalking towards him. He meets me halfway. Gliding towards me.

Fuck, it’s been too long.

“I missed you,” I say softly. He slides his hands up my chest and over my shoulder. I’m captivated, as I always am. Envy is the miracle we never thought we deserved.

Well, until we met Ryn.

I kiss him with all the hunger I’m forced to hide.

Tara whimpers. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Not my problem,” Digs growls. “My omegas scent disgusts you? Good, fuck off. Tony, get us another songwriter.”

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