Page 20 of Begrudgingly Yours
That’s all I need to open the bottle and take a hearty gulp. It burns as it goes down but in the best possible way. My body tenses, preparing for the harsh liquid to work its way through my esophagus, as I hand it back to Ciro. Instead, Ciro hands the bottle to Opal, offering her some as well.
It’s not until I feel the liquid hit my stomach and instantly warm my body that I realize Stacia’s mates might not be the only frat brothers coming to this party.
“Are any of your brothers coming tonight?” I try to ask discreetly, but Ciro gives me a look like,girl.
Kendall takes a sip of his beer before answering. “Somemay show up, but Sam and Thatcher aren’t. They’re at home with their omega having date night.”
Stacia winces. “Well, kind of.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Uriah is the one that answers. “When Sam introduced Kit to Thatcher, their pack bond clicked in but nothing else. Kit isn’t Thatcher’s scent match. They’re trying to make it work, but I think they’re both just trying for Sam’s benefit.”
I cringe. “That can’t be a fun situation.”
Opal claps her hands so hard, the loud sound causes me to flinch. “Well, on that note,” she starts, “I need a fucking drink. Let’s go, Rory.” She clasps her fingers in mine and starts to pull me for a temporary get away. Before I can ask her what’s wrong, I can feel someone watching me. It should make me feel like I’m being stalked in one of those horror movies, but instead there’s a certain build of excitement in my stomach.
I don’t understand the feeling until I look over and see Everett leaning on one of the walls we pass, his eyes directly on me. It bores into me, like a hot ladle dousing me with warmth that I’ve never felt before. I watch as his eyes travel down to my boots and back up to my lips, the intensity I remember from our night together materializing on his face. I feel like I’m on stage, the spotlight beaming down on me, but there’s no audience. Only Everett standing in the middle of the red velvet seats, his eyes focusing on me like there’s nothing else he’d rather do.
I suddenly gulp and force myself to look away. I let Opal pull me into a different room, becausefuck. I need a fucking drink, too.
Gettingdrunk was the best idea ever.
I can literally feel the relaxation set in at some point in thenight. Opal and I try to limit ourselves to a few shots per hour, but I can’t remember if we kept our word. All I know is that Opal made the best-tasting glittery concoction I’ve ever drunk, and I can’t get enough of it.
The next few hours are spent taking shots and dancing. I rotate between dancing with my two best friends, switching back and forth depending on whether one of Stacia’s mates is there. Whenever Ciro joins, he both dances with Stacia and busts out random moves that make me belly laugh. When Stacia first met Ciro, I knew he was going to be the one that I enjoyed time with the most, and it stands true today. He’s the funniest fucking person I’ve ever met.
At some point, Opal disappears to go to the bathroom, and Stacia steps into the corner with her pack to take a breather. There’s a few other guys sitting with them now, Everett being one of them. I try to keep my eyes diverted from him, but they keep pulling me back like a magnet. Just as I’m about to look again, someone dances their way behind me. The random arrival shocks me, but it brings me back to the moment. I turn around to face him, still keeping the movement of my hips fluid as we meet eyes. He’s cute, and he doesn’t have any smell so he’s definitely a beta. His blond locks fall to his chin, and his physique isn’t anything to turn a nose up to.
“Hey, I’m Troy.” He reaches his hand out to shake mine, and even though it’s a really formal gesture, I meet him halfway and return it. “I saw you dancing alone and wanted to come say hi.”
I arch a brow at him, enjoying the display of both shyness and confidence bouncing off of him. He’s obviously trying to hit on me, but there’s nothing skeezy about it. The fact that he’s a beta is a plus, too.
Maybe I could afford to hook up withsomeone tonight. I haven’t been with anyone since my threesome with Dax and Everett.
Shit, why didn’t I realize that before?
“I’m Rory,” I respond, swaying my hips with a bit more vigor. I see his eyes go to them just like I wanted.
“Rory. Is that short for something?”
I laugh. “Veronica. Don’t ask me how it makes sense, because I don’t think it does.”
He returns my amusement. When he places his hand on my waist to move me closer, my breath hitches but not in a good way. I’m hesitant and I hate it. It’s all because of that darn alpha sitting right there in the corner.
Luckily, Troy can’t smell me, so he won’t be able to detect my indecision.
I let him pull me closer, ignoring the feeling in my gut that this doesn’t feel right. My scent doesn’t bloom, and my omega grits her teeth at me, wondering why I’m using my body to be close to someone neither of us likes. I mentally shrug at her, trying to get her to fuck off.
There’s a phantom feeling where Troy’s hand hovers over my face, attempting to cradle my jaw, when something weird happens. A hand slaps down on Troy’s shoulder, hard. I watch the beta hiss and his movement halts. When a very familiar face comes into view, I know why.
“Dax,” Troy greets him, but the alpha has his eyes onmeinstead.
“Sorry to cut in, Troy, but I’d like to dance with my girl.”
My jaw drops and I watch as my dance partner, the beta that I let touch me, holds his hands up in surrender and scurries away. I look back at Dax, his confidence bordering on arrogance as he gives me a smirk that says a thousand things that my brain doesn’t want to decipher right now.
That pisses drunk-me off. “Yourgirl?Says who?”
