Page 76 of The Omega Lesson

I grin at him. “Oh, my God. You are so going to fit into Team Trouble.”

Travis’ hands slide down to cup my arse. “Baby, I was the founding member.”

He turns me until my back is against the wall, and then we’re kissing for real. No careful pecks, or teenage elbow kisses. His tongue slides into my mouth, the prelude to his hands feeling their way across my body. I arch into both, moaning as our tongues tangle and heat blooms under my skin. I might taste like memories, but Travis is like lightning, every nip of his tongue and suck of his lips shooting bolts of pleasure down my spine.

But his scowl is back as he lifts my wrist and presses a soft kiss to the bond scar there. “I’ve never felt happier to prove a man he’s wrong. He’s a fucking fool for letting you go.”

“Then you’re really going to court me?” I ask, and even though one of his thighs is between mine and the top of my dress is riding dangerously low, I feel almost shy. Like that fourteen-year-old girl, waiting for a smile from her crush. “You didn’t just say that to make Richard choke on his oysters?”

“I’m taking you on a date tomorrow,” he replies, his fingers sliding from my wrist to my hand. When he turns it over, like he’s about to kiss my knuckles, I realise he’s staring at my bonding ring. Shit. It’s the first time he’s seen me wearing it, and I wonder how he’s going to react.

“It was your mum’s,” I say quietly.

“Yes. The Star of the North. Dad had it made for her.”

I know he had a complicated relationship with both his parents, but he just brushes a thumb over the setting and smiles. “She’d very much approve.”

I almost sag with relief, and he leans in for another drugging kiss. “Where do you want to go, Lexi?” When I blink at him, his grin grows wider. “I mean on our first date.”

I give a sappy grin that would’ve made my teenage-self cringe. “Well, you’ve got a lot to live up to, Mr. Lyall. Jack took me to the library, and we had sex in the stacks until a security guard caught us. Noah bought me a bouquet of apples and then ate me out over a hay bale. And Mattie lets me wake up every morning and suck his perfect cock until we both orgasm.”

“Jesus Christ,” Travis groans, his hand coming down to cover my mouth. After a grimace or two, he peels it away to ask, “Do I even want to know what Ben did?”

“He took me on my first helicopter ride.”

Travis grunts, although his eyes are now dancing with amusement. “I’ll come up with something.”

“Well, kissing me until my knees give way is a good start.”

And soon I’m pressed hard to his thigh, his hands digging into my arse as I ride both him and the wall. Still fully clothed - because even for a Lyall, this is a little too public for public sex – but I can feel every rigid inch of him through his suit, and my mouth is watering for more. He’s tall enough that I’m mostly hidden from the rest of the room, but as one deep, drugging kiss leads to another, we’re not exactly being quiet. And when my knees really are on the verge of giving way, I come out of my haze long enough to see a glamorous older woman sweep past with a much younger companion on her arm. When her eyes meet my dazed ones, she gives his arse a hard pinch. “I think she’s in heat,” she says in a mock whisper. “Maybe I could ask her to come roll around in our bed…”

I go rigid at that. Not because it’s a serious invitation – they’ve already passed on down the hall – but because evenIcan smell myself. And the only memory that comes to mind is of me being fucked through my heat by my pack.

“Do you think I’ve switched?” I ask in a shaky voice, ducking low behind Travis. I’m still mostly hidden from view, but suddenly it feels like everyone in the casino knows exactly what we’re up to. And exactly why.

“I can’t tell.” He leans in to graze his nose along my neck, then gives a frustrated shake of his head. “You always smell mouth-watering to me.”

Which just makes me want to melt even more. But there’s no time for that. If I’ve switched – and God help me – if I’ve gone into heat again, a casino foyer is not the place to have a meltdown.

“We need to get you upstairs,” he says, nodding toward the bank of elevators on our right. “Come on. I’ve got an all-access key.”

I nod, even though the elevators feel like they’re a mile away. But he smooths down my hair and tucks me close to his side, his arm covering half my body as we walk quickly across the foyer.

“Shit,” he curses as he runs his keycard across the elevator reader and a red light appears. “It’s not working. I’ll need to grab a new one at reception.”

I bite back a wail. Because that’s right back across the foyer, a distance I’m not sure I can make with my quivering knees. “I’ll wait here,” I tell him. “But hurry, okay?”

He nods, pulling off his jacket to drape it around my shoulders. “Any fucker comes near you, you toss that in his face.”

Because it smells like lightning - with a side of possessive billionaire.

I roll my eyes at him, only partly in exasperation. “I’m still an alpha, Travis. I’ve been kicking boys’ butts since I presented.”

“Don’t fucking talk about their butts…” he mutters, but he’s already headed to the reception desk, his stride that of a man you’d delay at your own peril. I hunch under his jacket, my mouth pulling tight as a perky receptionist runs a card through a machine and hands it over to him with a simpering smile. Even from across the foyer I can hear her say, “If there’s anything else you need, Mr. Lyall, I’d be more than happy to help you out.”

Like riding the room service cart up to the penthouse in nothing but a napkin?

My face is probably a dead giveaway when he comes back, but my jealousy can’t compete with his relieved smile. Pulling me in for a gentle kiss, he swipes the new card over the reader. “It will take you straight to the penthouse. No one else can get on, and the floor is completely secure. Wait there and I’ll get your mates.”

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