by Kathryn Moon
“I’ve told you, my relationship with Rake is—”
“I know, I know,” Carolyn said, nodding. “I suppose, if she were a link between the two of you.”
A link between? Something feminine for me to enjoy with Rake, like a toy?
“It’s just that you insist on your life with your pack—”
“Because they are my pack, Carolyn.” I held my hand up, the alpha in me stretching. “Stop. This is disrespectful to all of us. Lola and Rake, as well as you and I. The link between Rake and I is our friendship, our… It’s a different kind of bond, I know, but it is a bond. We’ve never needed someone else to complete it, and that’s never what I’ve looked for in a partner.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, Matt,” Carolyn murmured. Her hackles were up, nerves grated after being chastised.
I relaxed and pulled a stool around to sit and enjoy my breakfast, trying not to let the guilt of knowing Carolyn was at least right in suspecting my interest affect my appetite.
Seventeen
Lola
“Where did you put my clothes, by the way? I need to get going soon.”
Leo and Rake exchanged one quick look, and then Leo answered, “No.”
“No?”
“It’s almost dark, you should just stay the night,” Rake reasoned.
“I have to work tomorrow,” I said, eyebrows raising.
Rake made a dismissive sound, but Leo said, “We can get you to work.”
It had been easy to indulge the day away with Leo and Rake, first on the lush green ‘garden nest’ that faced out over the park, and then in Leo’s rooms snacking and watching movies together, talking aimlessly.
I checked my phone. It was almost eight, and I was starting to get hungry. If I stayed to eat with the guys, I’d be getting home even later. It was hard enough to think of facing my apartment after two days in this palace of a house, it would be better to rip the band-aid off. I made to sit up, but Rake’s head was in my lap and Leo’s arm around my shoulders circled close.
I snorted and shook my head. “Come on. I’m not going to work in your boxers and sweater. It’s a look, but not the one I aim for in the beauty department. I need to get home and shower and sleep and…”
“If you had something to wear for tomorrow would you stay the night?” Rake asked.
“You’re not buying me an outfit,” I said, catching the gleam in his eye. Was that even possible this late on a Sunday? Probably, if you were Rake.
“We could easily get you home in the morning. With a driver to the Stanmore, you’d save time,” Leo bargained.
I twisted to look up at him and regretted it immediately. Leo had a pleading gaze down pat.
“I have to go back,” I said. Maybe not tonight but…eventually. Soon.
“Then Leo and I will come with you,” Rake said.
“No! Fine. Just tonight,” I said in a rush, heat rushing up my cheeks at the thought of Rake walking into my apartment. It was bad enough now, knowing Leo had been there. And I was definitely going to unpack my fucking boxes before he came over again.
Leo grinned in triumph, and I was certain I’d just offered a future tool for him to use in this kind of argument.
“Just tonight,” I repeated. “And I need to be up and on my way home at like five-thirty tomorrow.”
“No way. Seven-thirty.”
“I cannot go into Designate with this face,” I said, waving my hand over my bare face.
“I like this face,” Leo murmured, bending down and nipping at the tip of my nose and then traveling down to my lips for soft, persistent pecks.
This had been my day. Endless cuddles. Constant kisses. All very PG too, which was somehow even more indulgent? Naked in Rake’s arms in the bath yesterday, his intentions had been chaste, even while we were hip to hip and his erection had pressed between us.
I hummed and arched into the kiss, aware of Rake rolling against my side to watch, his chin resting between my ribs. Leo was facing upside-down to me and I liked the new angle, sucking on his bottom lip and humming as he did the same. His hands were cupped over my shoulders, fingers brushing softly against the collar of his t-shirt. A moment later, I gasped into the kiss as Rake pushed the shirt’s hem up, scooting down to kiss over the sensitive skin of my stomach before dipping his tongue into my belly button.
I moaned at the unexpectedly erotic touch, and Leo’s mouth traveled to a sensitive spot on my jaw that he’d discovered. I squirmed between the two men, body shivering under Rake’s playful exploration, tongue flicking out to taste me as he moved toward my hip bone. He hooked the waistband of the boxers I was wearing with one finger and tugged it down, mouth latching on the skin there and sucking hard.
My eyes squeezed shut as the feeling pulled at my center. Leo’s hands slid beneath the v-neck collar of the shirt, covering my breasts and then gripping gently as Rake hummed, teeth scratching against my skin and tongue soothing.
“He’s trying to mark you, I think,” Leo rasped, amused by his omega’s antics.
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering in my chest, and I squirmed, trying to sit up and catch my breath. Rake and Leo followed, Leo’s hands leaving my breasts for my hips, his fingers sliding down under the fabric to stroke on the inside of my hips. Rake sat up on his knees, hands cupping my jaw and dragging me in for a deep, licking kiss, his hesitation from the day before gone as his tongue fucked my mouth. My core throbbed and my body rolled between them, grinding against Rake’s hips and then back against Leo’s, but my chest was tight and uncomfortable.
When Leo pushed my hair aside and leaned in to suck along the muscle of my shoulder, I shuddered again. Rake’s heavy perfume went from rich and sweet to charred and bitter, and there seemed to be hands in too many places.
“Lola?”
“Um,” I whimpered against Rake’s kiss, and gasped as Leo’s touch rose up to my waist, gentling as he scooted back.
Rake pulled away, brow furrowed, and I sucked in a deep breath. His eyes widened, and I wondered what he saw in my expression.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Leo murmured at my back. “It’s all right. You’re with us.”
I swallowed on air and nodded, reaching to draw Rake closer, but he only caught my hand in his and settled on his heels.
“What is it? Is it my perfume? I can shower.”
“No. No, it’s not that,” I said, bending and kissing him firmly on the mouth, the confusion of the moment passing. I reached behind me for Leo, but the second his back was against my chest, my whole body tightened.
Rake, with his gaze fixed to my face, noticed immediately. “Aww, Lollipop. It’s us together?”
Leo settled and pulled me down so I was facing the rest of the room, my breath immediately coming easier.
“I’m sor—” I said, eyes welling up.
“Don’t you dare,” Leo murmured, kissing my temple.
“Yeah, Lola, seriously. A threesome is intimidating for like, literally anybody,” Rake said, waving his hand through the air. “And if it’s something you experienced, you know…”
“With them,” I said, words rasping.
Rake paled but nodded. “It’s not me though?”
“No, Rake, it’s really not,” I said, tugging him closer and cupping his jaw to kiss him again. He settled against my side, and having them both close returned to being comforting.
“It’s like the elevator, probably. Being closed in that way,” Leo said gently, his hand rubbing over my bare thigh.
“I think I’m still a little shaky from yesterday too,” I admitted.
“Do you guys want me to go, though?” Rake asked, fixing his expression into something stiff and neutral. “If you want to like, connect, and everything, I would totally understand. There’s plenty of time for us to figure this out later.”
I glanced at Leo, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. “No. I want to be with you both,” I said.
“Same,” Leo said, smile stretching back
into place. “Today has been a good day.”
I nodded in agreement and Rake settled back against me, pulling one of my hands up to his lips to press a kiss against the palm.
“Come on,” Leo said. “A little more cuddle, and then we’ll go make dinner.”
I made myself cozy between them, Rake returning his head to my lap, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. This was a hiccup, if not a really fucking unfortunate one. But I wanted to believe that Rake was right. We had plenty of time to figure it out between us.
Leo drove me himself back to my apartment early the next morning, two big portable cups of coffee between us. He parked his car illegally in front of my building and insisted on walking me in, frowning at my unlocked street door.
“I’m gonna track down this landlord of yours,” he muttered.
I opened my apartment door and winced as I realized I’d left all the lights on when I’d left for the police station. “Okay, well, home sweet home,” I said, staring down at my shoes with Leo behind me.
“Don’t make that face. I’m really fond of this apartment,” Leo said.
“Fond?” I asked, scoffing at him.
He grinned and nodded, looking over to my couch. “Good memories and all that.”
I cracked a laugh and accepted Leo’s triumphant kiss, giggling against his lips. “Thank you for the ride.”
“Can I come over tonight? I’ve gotta fly back to the west coast tomorrow morning, and I meant it when I told Rake I was fine not having you to myself last night, but…” Leo trailed off, raising his head and waggling his eyebrows.
I laughed again. “But you want me to yourself? Yeah. Come over tonight. How long will you be out of town?”
“Couple days. You should plan a sleepover with Rake while I’m gone.”
“Are you the cruise director of my sex life now?” I asked, tilting my head.
Leo hummed and grinned. “I accept the position, thank you.”
He bent for a kiss and nearly had me up against a wall before I remembered that I needed to be getting ready for work. “Go. Go, you’re very distracting.”
“We can shower together,” he growled sweetly.
“You talked me out of an hour and a half of getting ready time, Leo, go. Save it for tonight.”
He laughed and released me, moving to the door. “Okay, but just prepare yourself because I’ll take you up on that.”
I was giddy by the time he left, and I flicked my lights off on the way to get ready for my shower.
“All of these are good,” Cyrus said, tapping the images in my fashion week layout, while the rest of the team and I sat around the conference table. “Most of these are amazing. But…”
He glanced at me and I shook my head, folding my arms over my chest. “Don’t be nice for my sake. Not if it means Wendy’s gonna dole it out later.”
Betty grinned at me and Cyrus’ smile flickered on. I wondered what he’d done all weekend while I was in his house. I hadn’t even seen him or Wes once. Not that my run-ins with Caleb and Matthieu hadn’t been awkward enough.
“Okay. These two. The photos are gorgeous, the makeup is impeccable, but it’s definitely something we’ve seen before. Even if it’s a trend that’s coming back…”
“Designate isn’t here to recycle old trends,” I said, and Cyrus nodded in approval at me. “Got it. There were two others. I think the looks are kind of hideous to be honest, but they’re brave.”
“Show me.”
It was Zane that pulled my images out, laying four of the more controversial looks. One was especially bland, a sort of dull dewy look. Another was striking, but presented entirely on pale models. Cyrus pushed those both away and stared at the remaining two. One was the gold makeup I’d done for Rake’s show in Odette’s studio.
“You didn’t like this one?” Cyrus asked me.
“It’s a beautiful image, but using gold leaf in a makeup look? The whole thing is really inaccessible. But it’s definitely a statement.”
“Though, it’s more common now for people to try really outrageous makeup. Even if it becomes a social media challenge for laughs—” Corey started.
Cyrus pointed to her. “That! Yes. How do we do that?”
“We can promote it on the site, on all our own social media. I’ll make a video of my own,” Anna said with a shrug. “I’ve got over ten thousand followers.”
Damn. Not bad. I’d been nearing those numbers before I stopped making videos. But Anna loved a dramatic look and social media loved the dramatic.
“Good. Do it. We’ll pitch it with the layout,” Cyrus said, standing up to stare down at the added photos and nodding. “Lola, you can replicate this for a shoot?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Put that together as quick as you can and we’ll add it all to our next pitch pack. Now. I have a challenge for you all. Highlighters are back in,” Cyrus said. Betty let out a massive groan and he nodded. “I know. And of course, we are Designate, so we can’t rehash the same drivel about opening up your features and shaping. We need to look at this from a new angle.”
“Get shimmer literally fucking everywhere,” Zane muttered.
“That’s not a suggestion, and if it is, it was a terrible one,” Cyrus answered. He pulled a box up from under his chair, opening it and tossing onto the table a collection of thin iridescent pens. “Here’s their new twist. They’re really thin. You draw on the area and then take your brush of choice to blend them out. I’m looking at you, Betty.”
Betty, queen of blending, floundered for a moment. “So we do a cross-comparison of different highlighting strengths?”
“Betty, we’ll come back to you when you’re ready,” Cyrus droned, and the table chuckled.
“We go…celestial instead of the mermaid thing? Celestial is in,” Anna said.
I wrinkled my nose, and Zane grinned at me. “Lola disagrees. Share with the table, killer.”
“I… Celestial is just an inspiration to add to the highlighter, it doesn’t change its function,” I said, reaching for one of the pens. I shrugged at Anna in apology, and she waved her hand in answer, no offense taken. I uncapped the pen, its color a delicate shimmering blue, and studied the fine wet brush end.
“Come on, killer. You’re like two for two so far, aren’t you?” Betty asked. Sometimes my nickname was a compliment, and sometimes it was just a way for Betty to goad me.
“There are five of you sitting at this table, Betty,” Cyrus warned gently. “Corey, got anything?”
I drew a faint spiral on the back of my hand, looking at the pretty trace of color. I smudged the swirl into a soft glow and frowned as I rolled my hand in front of me. Just highlighter.
“Umm, we can try layering it over mattes?”
“We did that the second time the companies pushed it,” Betty said immediately.
My eye caught on a thin scar on the back of my thumb, a long line running from one knuckle over the next all the way to my nail bed, when I’d stuck my hand into a hole in the school wall on a dare, and caught my skin on an old nail.
“What if it’s not about how it’s used but where it’s used,” I said.
The table had moved on, and I was pretty sure as I looked up that I’d just interrupted Zane, based on the flat annoyance of his expression.
“Like…what if we highlight scars?” I asked.
“Scars?” Betty repeated frowning.
I took the pen and used it to paint the line of my scar, the blue standing out brighter against the shiny pale skin of the scar, adding decorative dots on either side and then turning it to show the table.
“Highlighting imperfections,” Anna mused. “It’s a statement for sure.”
“Where are we going to get models with scars on their face?” Zane asked, frowning.
I looked to Cyrus and watched as the light bulb went off behind his eyes.
“Omegas,” I said. “Their bondmarks. Betas too. But not just bondmarks, because plenty of people don
’t have those. It doesn’t have to be their face.”
“Reinventing the stretch mark under a crop top,” Corey said, smiling. “Giving so-called imperfections a different lense.”
“Ahhh, an inclusivity approach,” Zane said, nodding slowly.
“I love it,” Anna said with a shrug. “We need to find models.”
I looked to Cyrus, who’d been quiet through the discussion, and found him already staring back at me, eyes warm with a secret smile.
“This is exactly what we need. Start looking at models now. When we know what we’re working with, we’ll take it to the fashion team too. Make it an airbrush-free shoot,” Cyrus said with a nod. He pushed up from the table and raised an eyebrow at us. “Well? Go grab the portfolios. Start thinking designs too. Test some patterns.”
Betty raced to the wall to pull down binders of models, and Anna pushed up her sleeve to draw directly onto her skin. Cyrus flashed me his full, brilliant smile on his way out the door.
Eighteen
Lola
“I feel weird that your alphas go into hiding while I’m here,” I said to Rake as we took the elevator up from the first floor to his rooms. With Leo out of town, I’d picked up two giant orders of ramen for Rake and me.
“I mean, honestly, sometimes we’re all so busy doing our own thing it feels like I’m home alone,” Rake said with a shrug. “Other times we make sure we’re home for family dinners and movie nights. I can put out an alert to them to quit tiptoeing around you, if you want.”
I swallowed. Did I want that? Maybe not, but it only seemed fair. Between Leo and Rake, I was bound to be spending more time at the house. If the rest of the pack had to vanish just to accommodate me, there’d be tension about it eventually.
“Do it,” I said with a nod.
Rake pulled his phone from his back pocket and sent out a text. A pack group chat, of course. I wondered how many times I’d been the subject of that chat and then pushed the thought away.
I was going to be cool. In control. Calm and flexible.