Page 18 of Claimed Omega

Daniel’s lips pinched tightly, blinking the tears away. He got off the bed and tugged down on his wrinkled blue shirt.

“It’s okay, Shadow. I’m not an idiot. Of course, I knowwhyyou’re asking me to go, and I will take your grandma somewhere safe, but what pisses me off is that I don’t get a choice. If something happens to you, I will live with the guilt that I should have stayed to help you. But that’s okay. You do you.” He glanced at me with resignation in his eyes as he crossed the room, heading for the door. “Sorry that you had to see this, Trinity.”

“No apology needed,” I murmured, hoping my presence helped move the argument forward.

Grunting under his breath, Shadow turned and grabbed Daniel’s arm, forcing him to stay. Daniel fought him, swinging around with fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. My heart squeezed seeing his agony, understanding how it felt to be pushed aside, not to be asked what he wanted.

“Daniel, don’t leave like this.” Shadow’s voice cracked. He pressed Daniel against the wall, facing each other, plastered together. “Don’t break my heart because I won’t recover.”

A spark of jealousy spread through me, and I wished I never came into the room. Shadow adored Daniel. I heard it in his quivering voice and saw it in Daniel’s tears.

“We are meant to have a future, and I can’t be without it,” Daniel sobbed.

Shadow pressed closer, capturing his words with his kiss. I was very accepting of sharing him, but even for me, it was hard to watch. I wanted to be the one he kissed as if his life depended on it. The faint crack of my heart aching resonated through me, and I found myself crossing the room to leave them behind, feeling very much like the third wheel.

I reached for the door when Daniel grabbed my hand.

“Don’t leave, please, Trinity. Join us.”

Startled, I shook my head. “No, I shouldn’t have come. You two need to make up because we need to leave soon.” I pulled against his grip, but Shadow twisted toward me, his large, powerful arm swooping around my waist, drawing me against him, his cock hard as stone nestled to my stomach.

“Daniel’s right. We are all together now, so you stay. I am the luckiest man in the world to have two lovers who accept to share me. Stay.”

Daniel maneuvered to stand behind me, his hands coiling around my middle, his breath on my ears. “It calms us both when you’re near.”

Quivering, I wasn’t sure how I felt aside from the unexpected sensual affection from Daniel. I found the guy sexy as hell, but we’d had some stumbling blocks since I arrived at their compound. I felt like things were changing between us all.

Shadow slid a hand under my chin, tilting my head back. I met his gaze, melting too fast at the love he carried in his silvery eyes. There was no illusion that he cared for me, that he wanted me to join them, too.

“Are you sure?” I murmured softly.

“It would be the most incredible gift.” Leaning in, his lips brushed over mine. We kissed with a heavy passion, him taking his time like he memorized every lick and taste of me. It was impossible not to fall madly over heels for Shadow, the dominant Alpha, who everyone craved attention from. He kissed me like he was breathing new air into my world. My toes curled as I ran my arms over his arms, holding onto him while I leaned closer, trying not to touch his bandaged wound.

Daniel had his lips on my neck, which was new, intimate, and felt incredible. His chocolate scent, mixed with Shadow’s night-blooming jasmine, flooded my senses with the sweetest smells. I closed my eyes and floated on the heavens, with both men placing me in the center of their attention.

When we came back down to earth, a sense of guilt came over me. This wasn’t a moment about me. Daniel was hurt, and they were both using me as a distraction to deal with their issues.

“I absolutely adore you both, and I want to pick this up again, all three of us, and see where it goes, but not like this. I’m not going to be your escape from working out your emotions. And we need to leave soon.” I wriggled out from their embraces, coldness flaring over my skin to leave their warmth. Pushing them away left a wedge in my throat, and I could barely breathe at the way they stared at me. My chest ached with the tremor that I’d done the wrong thing because I was so new to these relationships I doubted myself all the time.

“You’re right,” Shadow said with a thin smile, which screamed his genuine feelings, and I loved that he always carried his emotions on his sleeve.

“Thanks, Trinity,” Daniel said softly as Shadow collected him in his arms.

With my cue to depart, I walked out of the room, then stood in the hallway for a few moments, catching my breath as I heard their soft murmurs inside. There was no argument, and it warmed my insides to know I had made a difference, even if my heart squeezed at how desperately I wanted to remain with them, to have Shadow kiss me that way again.

I pushed into a walk down the corridor and emerged in the main room, where breakfast was over. Viper and Aspen were dressed, both resembling bodyguards with their sheer size, their clothes that hugged their bodies, and the blades and guns on their belts. Evidently, there must have been additional weapons stashed in the apartment.

“Everything good with them?” Aspen asked.

Viper was picking his nails with the tip of one of his daggers, smiling at me as though I was all he thought about. It had me grinning, loving the sly grin he offered me.

“Yeah, I think it’s going to be okay.” I smiled, seeing Aspen watching me intently like he always did, examining every reaction I had, everything I did, to stash it away for later. “Well, let me go grab my shoes, and I’ll be ready in a jiffy for us to all head out.”

On fast feet, I retreated to the room I spent with Viper, where I woke up with him gone, but my clothes we’d dumped in the stairwell were folded at the end of my bed, along with fresh new clothes that fit just as well—skinny jeans, my bra, and a scoop neckline tee with long sleeves. I knew he was responsible, and I adored him for going out of his way to make it up to me.

Just the thought of our kiss in the stairwell, which led to so much more, had desire licking the fire between my legs. There was so much to unpack from my time with Viper, but today, I had to keep my head straight and my arousal at bay. That meant focusing on not getting caught by the Matteis mafia family.

I put on my black tennis shoes that had been placed by the door, noticing how much my hands trembled. Movement came from the corner of my eye, and I lifted my attention to the doorway. Viper strolled inside, and my breath hitched at the sight of his lips curling into a devious smile. God, I had zero chance of resisting this beautiful man. He approached me with his saunter, a black hoodie dangling from his hand.

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