by Bonnar King
He was in pretty good shape—toned, with more muscle than one would expect from an omega. He smelled like fresh lilies and tasted like red wine. It was an addictive combination.
I wanted to taste him everywhere.
I firmly gripped his ass with one hand while holding his head back with the other. I covered his neck and chest with my kisses. He tugged my head back up and kissed me, and I was muttering his name under my breath. He moaned in response—a long, lustful moan that reverberated all over me and had my stiff cock wanting to be inside him.
Right now.
I wanted to fuck him raw. I wanted to pound into his omega ass until we were both screaming for release, and I wanted it now. I groaned at the need that flowed inside me, shockingly raw and alive. I groaned when he moved his hips, a grinding rhythm that only had the heat between his legs rubbing against my erection. A few moves, and I’d be inside him. I would feel his hot, tight omega-hole clenching around me.
Holy sweet hell.
I began to unbuckle his belt as I sucked on his tongue until he finally said my name. No, he moaned it!
Suddenly the lights came back on.
We both froze. The elevator started working again. Getting out of my sexual haze, I blinked as the light on the elevator buttons started blinking incorrectly.
It was going down. Not up.
Leo pulled away from me as if burned. He stood up and arranged his clothes, his breathing erratic and his green eyes cloudy and smoldering. His brown hair was messed up, but had that ‘just got out of bed look’.
Goddamn, he looked absolutely delicious.
I stood up, intending to push him against the wall and have my way with him again. But he sidestepped, picked up my shirt and threw it at me. His eyes widened in panic.
“Put it back on,” he hissed.
Whatever spell was between us was gone.
“No,” I said.
“Put. It. Back. On,” he demanded.
“Bossy, aren’t you?”
“Shut up.”
Definitely bossy.
And damn it all to hell, I was already imagining that bossy mouth wrapped around my cock.
I put on my shirt, still tense from our hot encounter. I opened my mouth, intending to argue with him and get him riled up again. Or maybe kiss him. Or maybe just take him right there and then, damn all the consequences.
The elevator door opened.
“Good evening. We just wanted to make sure that everyone’s safe and all elevators are functioning,” said the bellboy.
He then began to explain that there was a city-wide blackout which caused a technical problem in the hotel, leaving many guests trapped in the elevators. There was some speech about how we were all going to be compensated for the trouble and inconvenience, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I was still trapped in the moment between me and Leo, and I didn’t want to leave.
But again, he had other ideas.
“Thank you, Marcus,” he said sweetly. I was surprised he knew the bellboy’s name, until I found him looking at the name tag. Right. “That won’t be necessary. I’m checking out.”
An alarmed look crossed Marcus’ face. “Sir, is there anything we can do?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Get an emergency button for your elevator. It would work wonders.”
Then he walked out on the two of us, leaving Marcus staring after him nervously. Me? I was gasping.
Eventually, I cleared my throat. “Good evening.”
Then I was following Leo.
Or I was trying to.
By the time I left the hallway area and reached the lobby, he was gone. I walked around, looking for him. I was all casual on the outside, but inside was a different story altogether. My blood was still rushing at the feel and taste of him, and my body wanted more. Damn it, I was still hard. But I couldn’t spot his messy hair, and I couldn’t see any short omegas anywhere that fit his description.
He’d upped and left.
As a last resort, I checked out the bar. There was no Leo there. Not even the slightest smell of his sweet scent in the air.
I muttered a curse. I looked around one more time before realizing that I didn’t even know his last name. This hotel was big and prestigious, and they wouldn’t give me that information even if I gave them all the money in the world. Suddenly I was pissed all over again, my good mood from being stuck with him in the elevator plummeting down until I was back to being just as pissed off I was earlier in the night. In fact, this time I was even more angry.
I shouldn’t have come to Hollywood. But I couldn’t get out now, either.
Irritated, I went back to the elevator. Pressing the floor button to my room, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, not sure whether I should drink more wine or get an ice-cold shower first. Or jack off while thinking about the hot omega that got away.
This was definitely my biggest case of blue balls to date.
5
Leo
There had to be some sort of protocol when it came to dealing with your cheating, lying ex in the office—something like kicking his balls and having security take him out. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I could do any of that, so I had to settle for ignoring him.
Max didn’t make it easy. He followed me around like some puppy that wanted forgiveness more than anything else, and he kept trying to either flirt with me or make me laugh with his antics. Normally I’d be into it, which made me realize how much of an idiot I was for falling for his act. He still had the same easy charm, and it was difficult to forget that I was supposed to be mad at him.
“Come on, Leo. You know it didn’t mean anything. I was just having a bit of fun.”
I rolled my eyes. We were walking along the office halls of Think Train, the magazine we were both working for—the one I was going to own someday, I guess. He was whispering in my ear, trying to explain and make up some excuse about the scenario I saw. I was doing my very best to avoid him.
Or trying to.
“Leo, please talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said pleasantly, keeping a smile on my face. I had a meeting with the others in a few minutes—well, we all did—and I didn’t want to fight. I also didn’t want anyone in the office getting a smidgen of an idea of what had gone on between us.
“There is. I want us back, baby.”
I shot him a look that would have frozen lesser people in their place.
“There is no us and there is certainly no baby,” I muttered under my breath. Then I swept out of there and squeezed in between two of my workmates, chatting as we walked together toward the meeting room. My dad always held meetings on Mondays and Fridays to let us know the goals for the week, and to let us know how the previous weekly had gone.
I still wasn’t ready for today—specifically, for Monday. My weekend felt like it was too full of surprises, starting with Max and ending with that sexy incident in the elevator.
Almost immediately, thoughts of the tattooed Lucas, the sexy alpha I met in the elevator, filled my mind. Who’d have thought that the alpha I was absolutely sure wasn’t my type would end up being the one I was making out with that night? His kisses made me drunk, and for a moment I’d lost my mind.
As good as it felt to let loose, that wasn’t me. And it wasn’t going to happen again.
It had been a cowardly move, but I’d gone ahead and checked out of the hotel. Luckily, we hadn’t crossed paths in the lobby when I raced down with my bag.
Yes, his kisses made me tingle—heck, it had done more than that. But he also made me forget myself, which should never have happened in the first place.
“Good morning, everyone. Please sit tight. I have some major news to announce.”
My dad, Walter Kendrick, was a highly respected alpha, whose looks concealed the iron mind inside. He stood in front of everyone and waited for things to settle down. Then he opened a folder and his mouth, and I took my pen and notebook out to jot down distractedly.
&nb
sp; But his shocking words had my mind jolting back to life immediately.
“As some of you were aware, a week ago, I sold the company out to a major corporation—a corporation that specializes in buying smaller businesses like ours. As you all know, we have been having some problems with revenue, and I’m happy to announce that will no longer be a problem going forward with our new parent company.”
This was a shock to me. How could I have been so unaware this was happening. Who else knew about this? He’d definitely been keeping this very close to his chest. Probably in an attempt not to worry me. He knew how my omega nature would cause me become sick with worry.
My dad continued with the details. He assured everyone, who were quiet in their shock, that their jobs were safe and there was no need to panic. He promised everyone that all their old policies would still be in place, with only some changes they would need to adjust to. He then said that there would be no week goal right now due to the transition, and asked everyone to hang tight and just keep doing their assigned tasks.
I reeled back, feeling like I’d been slapped in the face. My father was already dismissing everyone, and I waited for the employees to leave the room. I stood up quickly and went to his side, wanting to confront him.
But he held up a hand before I could even say a word.
“You and I will have a separate meeting in an hour. I still have an important phone meeting to attend to. My office is free after that.”
I couldn’t believe it. I’d worked in our company since I graduated journalism from college, with the dream of running it someday—and my father had suddenly sold it? I mean, I knew it was having some problems, but that was normal for most companies that were still in the print business.
Drat. My questions wouldn’t be answered until I saw my father again. I tried to be patient, waiting at my desk and staring at my computer screen blankly.
Finally, what seemed like the longest hour, was finally up. I raced toward his office right away, knocking twice before entering, before he could answer. He’d just hung up the phone, motioning me in and telling me to close the door.
I sat on one of the chairs facing his desk. Then I didn’t waste any more time.
“How could you?”
There was a long sigh from him.
“I had to, Leo. You of all people should understand. This magazine is losing sales because every other competitor out there has an online platform and a vlog on YouTube. What the hell is a vlog, anyway?” He said, angrily.
“This magazine could have been salvaged,” I argued. “We could have turned it around. Pivoted by building an online presence.”
“Exactly. This is the only way to salvage it. It’s too late to start building that platform and business model now. I should have listened to you when you told me we had to adapt to new technology years ago. I shouldn’t have dismissed it as a fad, which is why I am trying to do something about it now before it’s too late.”
“By selling it to a money-grabbing corporation?” I asked.
Dad sighed again. Then, in a calm tone, he began to explain that he’d already reviewed all the possibilities and was adamant this was the best decision to keep the business alive. Knowing my dad, when he said he reviewed everything already, it meant he did. I wasn’t kidding when I said he had high standards and was very thorough when it came to his other baby— the business.
Sadness filled my heart at the thought of him giving up what he’d worked so hard at. My dad was one of the proudest alphas I had ever known, so for him to ask for help must have meant he was desperate to make sure the business survived. I felt bad that I wasn’t aware of it—that I had been too short-sighted recently to see the problems he’d been facing.
He kept talking, telling me not to worry. He was stepping down from being the CEO, but I was still one of the main players in the business—and that meant I had to be the one to teach the new CEO the ropes.
“So, the new CEO still needs to be trained, huh?” I asked, resigning myself to the idea. Maybe he would be compliant. Trainable. Maybe.
Or maybe we’d have a hell of a time arguing over everything as the new CEO tried to put his own stamp on everything, like most alphas tended to do. I assumed it would be an alpha, because there were no omega or even beta CEOs that I had ever heard of.
My dad must have seen the look on my face, because he stood up and walked over to where I was, patting my shoulder. He then squeezed it, which gave me no choice but to squeeze his hand back.
“It will be fun training him,” he said. “I know how you love getting things done your way, so this is the perfect opportunity. You can set the new standard exactly the way you want.”
I shot him a look. “When is he coming, then?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could respond, there was a knock on the door.
“That’s him now,” my dad muttered under his breath. Then he called out for the person to come in.
The door opened, and in came the new CEO. Great. I started by looking at his shoes, which was expensive Italian leather. Then, the slacks, which were pressed to perfection and fit his huge thighs so well — Wait.
I froze. A white dress shirt was practically molded over his large chest—his very familiar large chest, which looked broad and rock-solid. The shirt was long-sleeved, covering his tattoos. He looked as slick as any businessman I saw, and twice as formal.
Except I saw this body—intimately—before I saw the businessman who owned it. Heck, I’d been touching it.
Oh. My. Holy. God.
I looked up.
There was the chiseled jaw.
The firm yet sensual mouth I had been kissing not long ago.
And stormy blue eyes that were currently meeting mine.
“Leo, I want you to meet Mr. Lucas Hiddleston. He’s our new CEO.”
6
Lucas
Walter Kendrick was talking, but for the life of me, I couldn’t hear a single word that was coming out of his mouth.
Well, except for one word.
“My son… he is… he has…”
Son.
Goddamn, son.
The shock reverberated in my body as I stared at him. He stared back, the same shock reflecting in his eyes. Up above, I could practically hear the gleeful voices that put us together in that elevator rejoicing. Mockingly, it looked like. I froze in place, not sure whether I should enter or leave.
But Walter was already calling my name.
Reluctantly, I went in, though none of the uncertainty showed on my face. I was calm as ice outside as I strode over to where they were and he shook my hand, greeting me a good morning and telling me he was glad I was here. We’d already met up a few days ago to discuss his stepping down and my role as their new CEO, and I was prepared for this moment with him.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for this moment with him.
Leo stood up from his seat, not meeting my gaze. He was still as short as ever, wearing a white shirt hidden beneath a black suit, which hugged his sexy, little omega body perfectly.
But it was his eyes I wanted to see.
Once Walter was done speaking, I turned to Leo.
“Nice to meet you, Leo,” I murmured, keeping my voice neutral, as if I’d never met him before. I held out my hand.
Finally, he looked up.
I wasn’t prepared for the potency of those green eyes in broad daylight. He took my hand in a firm handshake, a nervous smile on his lips. A flash of those lips, swollen and thoroughly kissed, made me hot under my collar.
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Hiddleston,” he said, emphasizing the last name. So, it was going to be like that—pretending that we didn’t know each other.
“I guess we’ll be working together.”
The cool smile dimmed. “I guess so,” he murmured. Then he began walking ahead to the meeting room, where we would apparently be feeling each other out and discussing our plans.
For the company, of course.
T
his was going to be fun.
Walter was with us for the first half hour, smoothing things out and telling me a little background history of the magazine and a rundown of its oldest employees—which, of course, included his son, who’d been working in the company for a few years now since after college, which put him younger than I’d expected. Damn it. This day just kept giving out surprises.
Once Walter was gone, an uncomfortable feeling settled in the air, mostly coming from Leo. But none of it showed on his face as he maintained the cool expression he had earlier.
The door closed with a click. Leo took out a folder and handed it to me.
“My father has collected these,” he said. “Some of our most popular articles. He’d like you to get acquainted with our segments so you can have a new business strategy ready on how can capitalize on these.”
I took the folder, but didn’t open it. “And what would you like, Leo?”
His eyes shot up again. I could get lost in those green eyes. Irritated at my inability to concentrate, I met his gaze and didn’t look away, accepting the challenge and even purposely trying to intimidate the omega with my gaze.
As expected, he didn’t back down, either. Most omegas would have crumbled under that sort of pressure from an alpha like me, but not this omega— Leo was different.
“I’d like for us to get this done and over quickly so we can get things in motion as soon as possible. We don’t have time to waste. You can start by reading those articles.”
“I’ve read Think Train’s articles,” I replied. “Yours are written by L.K. Most of your employees’ articles are good, though some can be weeded out.”
“Weeded out, Mr. Hiddleston?”
“Lucas.”
“Mr. Hiddleston—”
“Lucas.”
“Lucas,” he hissed. “When you say weeded out, are you trying to imply you’re going to eliminate some of our writers?”