Page 29 of Royal Omega

It should bother me; after all, Ransom is damn well aware of my plans when it comes to Carissa.

Instead, all I can think about is the two of them together, touching each other. Carissa and I never saw each other naked; we never got past kissing and groping in the dark corners of ballrooms. Once or twice my questing fingers found their way to heaven between her thighs, but I didn’t know what I was doing. I doubt I ever made her cum.

Did Ransom get further? From the scents in here, I’m guessing he did. Did he knot her? What sounds did she make when he was inside her?

What sounds would she make if I took her for myself?

“Fuck,” I mutter aloud as my cock grows hard in my pants. “This is a nightmare.”

I start to pace the floor, unsure of what to do next. Before I can decide, there’s a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I say absentmindedly, and then I groan when our young producer walks into the room, cameraman at his side. My body rebels against the stagnant beta scents, mixing with the delightful Carissa still hanging in the air.

“Confessional time, Conrad,” Seth says with a grin. “Follow me?”

“Seriously, can this wait?” I ask, running a hand through my hair.

Seth shakes his head. “Sorry, buddy. You know you have to do this. Part of your contract. Might as well get it over with now; the others are gonna have to do theirs later tonight, and you know they’re going to wish they had free time then.” He winks at me as if he knows what my packmates have been getting up to. The implication makes me want to punch something. “So change into your confessional clothes, and we’ll get it done, ok?”

Gritting my teeth, I shut the door in his face and stride through the suite to my room. Pulling off my tee-shirt, I yank the blue button-up shirt off the hanger and throw it on, buttoning it almost to the collar, trying to replicate the way it looked the first time I did this. We have to wear the same thing for every confessional so that it’s less clear when the session was filmed. It helps the producers create whatever asinine storyline they decide will work best for the show.

I planned for this, of course. I knew there would be confessionals, and I had planned to use them in my favor — to get out to the world the way the Castle family destroyed everything I loved. But now, feeling raw and exposed by my recent interactions with Carissa, the last thing in the world I want to do is talk about her in front of a camera.

***

THEOmega Girlsproducers shoot confessionals in front of a green screen in a small, sound-proofed room in the basement of the mansion. I sit in the chair, facing the camera, a small table at my side. There’s a disposable water bottle on the little table, the cap half-twisted to make it easier for me to open.

Seth settles in across from me, notepad in his lap. “So,” he says. “Shall we start with Carissa Castle?”

I glare at him. “I’d rather not,” I reply. “Why don’t we talk about Cindy first?”

“Oh come on,” Seth says, giving me what he clearly thinks is a friendly grin. “I understand you know Carissa from way back?”

“Yes.”

“Full sentences please?”

“I know Carissa from way back,” I growl.

“And? How did you know her?”

I sigh and reach for my water bottle, taking a long sip as I contemplate how best to describe my relationship with Carissa. “We used to be in love,” I say finally.

“Really?” Seth’s eyebrows go up. “And what happened?”

“She broke my heart.”

Seth scribbles notes on his notepad. “Can you say that again, only put Carissa’s name in instead of ‘she’?”

I clear my throat, gripping the water bottle until it crinkles in my hand. “I know Carissa from our childhood. Carissa... broke my heart.”

“What happened?”

I lick my lips, running through all the different angles I imagined when I signed up for this damn show. Imagining all the ways I could play this. Finally, I lean forward and say, “Carissa Castle is not what she seems.”

Seth leans in, too, his eyes gleaming with interest. “How so? What makes you say that?”

“When we were young, Carissa and her family set out to destroy me and my parents. Her family, especially her mother, used Carissa to lure me in. They made me think we were in love. And then, when I least expected it, Carissa accused me of attacking her. Trying to harm her.”

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