An Omega For Two: SoCal Cuties — Book 1 Read online

  Beside me, Elijah cleared his throat and I realized I’d been staring at Sawyer for longer than I’d thought. I broke eye contact with him and looked over at my boyfriend. We were all an absolute mess, and I smiled at him.

  “How was that?” he asked.

  “A-fucking-mazing,” I replied. He smiled and squeezed my leg and nodded.

  “Good,” he told me. “I’m glad.”

  And he was, but there was something else behind his voice—something not so sure that what we’d agreed on had been the right move, and that scared me.

  “All right, Sawyer,” he said, getting to his feet. “I appreciate you helping us out with this. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to spend some time alone with my boyfriend now.”

  Sawyer glanced at Elijah, back to me, then back to Elijah again. “Oh, of course,” he replied, clearing his throat as he got to his feet. “Just, uh…let me clean up and I’ll get out of your hair.”

  Elijah nodded and Sawyer headed off to the bathroom. When the door shut behind him, I glared at my boyfriend.

  “What the Hell? Why are you kicking him out all of a sudden?”

  “What’s it matter to you?” Elijah hissed back. “We got what we wanted, didn’t we? Unless of course, you didn’t.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Elijah

  I was furious, and I couldn’t believe Max didn’t understand why. I’d seen the way they were looking at each other there when Sawyer came like a fucking fire hydrant. I saw their eyes, locked onto each other as my boyfriend told that alpha to “fucking kiss” him.

  A kiss!? I know it was stupid after we’d all been fucking each other’s brains out, but somehow that one kiss had been more intimate than everything else and had felt like a punch straight to my chest.

  What the fuck was that?

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Max asked indignantly. It upset me even more that he obviously had no idea what I was talking about.

  “Oh, fuck,” I groaned, sitting back and putting some distance between us on the couch. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at me. The fact that he was absolutely drenched in Sawyer’s seed just made things even worse.

  “What?” he asked again.

  “Seriously?”

  “Look, are you going to tell me or just be a baby and make me beg you to tell me what’s on your mind?”

  “That kiss!” I blurted out angrily. “What the Hell was that?”

  Max’s expression shifted from one of anger to one of utter bewilderment. I balled up my hands into fists and shook my head as I got to my feet and walked over to the counter to grab some paper towels. As I cleaned up, he didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes on me as he struggled to figure out what was bothering me.

  It doesn’t take a genius…

  “You’re mad that I kissed him?” he finally asked.

  “Why don’t you get cleaned up?” I replied, tossing him the roll of paper towels. “We’re going to have to strip the couch cushions and wash them too.”

  “Elijah!” he cried out, getting to his feet. “Will you just tell me—”

  “Woo!” Sawyer announced as the bathroom door opened and he stepped out in all his beautiful, naked glory, the light behind him silhouetting his physique like he was some kind of angel come down from heaven. “Now that was awesome, am I right?”

  I couldn’t help but shake my head slowly, although I tried to do it in a way that he wouldn’t notice. I didn’t reply, but of course Max did.

  “It sure was,” he said, almost as though he was talking to me. “We should do it again!”

  “Hell, yes,” Sawyer replied as he started to get dressed. “What do you think, Elijah? I could probably go again in a few minutes if you wanted to let me stick around.”

  “No, that’s fine,” I replied quickly.

  No fucking way is what I wanted to say. I moved to the door and unlocked it for him and gave him the eye, in a slightly firm manner, letting him know that it was time for him to head out. He looked a little put-off, but maintained his politeness.

  “One and done,” he joked. “That’s all right with me.”

  He headed for the door, but before he did, he leaned over the couch and kissed Max again as though they had known each other for years. Max sucked his lower lip gently, and as he did, brought his eyes to mine. It was all I could do to restrain myself, but I didn’t want to make a scene.

  “Okay, thanks, Sawyer!” I said, this time letting my tone be heard. “We’ll talk to you later.”

  “All right, Elijah,” Sawyer replied, again sounding like he wasn’t bothered by my obvious annoyance. “Thanks for choosing me for your fun.”

  I nodded and he pushed past me and headed out the door. It pissed me off that I still found him outrageously attractive and wanted to bury my nose in his armpit and inhale his strong, masculine scent. But as soon as he was out of the apartment, I slammed the door shut behind him and locked it.

  “Okay, what the fuck was that?” Max practically shouted, rising to his feet, still dripping with Sawyer’s juices. I rushed over to him, snatched the paper towels from the floor and started swabbing his abs clean.

  “Are you kidding me?” I growled. He slapped my hands away and took a step back.

  “No, Elijah,” he snapped. “No, I’m not kidding you. So stop being a fucking baby and tell me what’s the matter! You were on board with this, remember?”

  “Yes, with us fucking some alpha to spice things up in our relationship!” I bellowed. “Not with you falling in fucking love with the guy!”

  Max’s expression was one of shock, but I could see by his reaction that he had also been caught. Sure, maybe it wasn’t love yet—keyword being yet—but there was more there than just a wild and crazy sex act like we’d planned on. I suddenly felt myself wishing we’d found someone on that damned website.

  “I didn’t…fall in love with him,” Max replied sheepishly.

  “You know what I mean!” I roared. “That kiss? The way you were looking at him! That was more than just you getting some good dick!”

  “And so what if it was?” Max snarled, surprising me as he leapt to his feet. “So what if I felt something for him? Is that a sin? You and I have been in a rut, haven’t we?”

  My jaw hung open. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t expected a response like that, and honestly, I couldn’t believe he’d say something so…cruel. Pinpricks of sweat began to form all over my body. I felt some kind of panic beginning to claw at me as the risk of Max slipping away from me began to feel like a real possibility.

  What have you done? I thought. Why did you agree to this?

  “What are you saying?” I said slowly. “You want to leave me for this guy?”

  When Max shook his head, I felt a warm wave of relief slide up my body and begin to beat back the panic that had started to charge across my limbs like an invading army.

  “That’s what you’re worried about, Elijah?” he said, stepping close to me. He reached up and gently took hold of my left shoulder and looked into my eyes. “I would never do something like that to you. You’re my boyfriend, and I just met him!”

  A deep breath forced its way through my body and I closed my eyes for a moment before looking back at him. “You really mean that?”

  “Of course I do,” he assured me, and I could tell by his tone that he did. “But I’m not going to pretend like there wasn’t an attraction there. Of course there was. You felt it too—didn’t you? Don’t try and tell me you didn’t.”

  Fuck…he got me there.

  It was pointless to pretend I didn’t. Sawyer’s alphaness was undeniable. His scent, his body, the way he fucked—all of it was sublime. But…we already were in a relationship, Max and me. It wasn’t like I was going to leave Max for him, and I didn’t want Max leaving him for me either.

  “God, why did we get ourselves into this?” I groaned, letting my head drop forward. Max reached up and lifted my ch
in, forcing me to look at him.

  “Elijah,” he said sweetly. “I’m not going to leave you for him. And I’m pretty sure you’re not going to leave me.”

  “I’m not,” I replied quickly.

  “Okay then,” he smiled. “So…have you considered the third option?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Sawyer

  Well, that was a little bit awkward, I thought as I stepped out of the apartment and walked over to my car. What was his problem?

  Everything had gone well, or at least I’d thought it had, until the end there when Elijah had obviously gotten a bug up his ass about something and basically thrown me out, and not too subtly either. Max had definitely noticed that, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were all tied up in an argument right now.

  “That’s the risk of threesomes,” I muttered to myself, gazing up at the sky. It was a bit cloudy, or maybe hazy, and I couldn’t see too many of the stars. But then again, that was life in San Diego. It wasn’t as bad as Los Angeles, but it still made me yearn for the country sometimes—somewhere away from the lights.

  Part of me wanted to get in the car and leave, forget about everything and just pretend it never happened. It would be simpler that way, and I liked my life simple—in control. But I just couldn’t do it. Something had happened back there. I’d felt it with Elijah, but I’d felt it even more strongly with Max, and I knew why: it was because I could breed him.

  My life was exactly where I wanted it to be, career-wise at least, but there was one thing I was missing. A child. Max could give me that, and I’d felt the urge to spill my seed inside him while I had him there on the couch taking my dick. What I’d thought would be a simple threesome, some fun with a couple of good-looking guys, had turned into something more—a real connection that I just couldn’t ignore, even if I wanted to.

  And the worst part of it all? I could tell Max wanted that too.

  His eyes had told me everything I needed to know. He wanted my cum and he wanted it inside of him. He wanted me to breed him, like Elijah couldn’t (or wouldn’t), and that meant staying with him—with them.

  I’d never considered something like that. I’d never even met anyone who had a real romantic relationship involving three guys, but it could be possible…couldn’t it?

  “Hmmm…” I grumbled as I walked to my car as slowly as I could, giving Max and Elijah all the time in the world to come out and tell me not to leave. It wasn’t going to happen, of course. Those kinds of decisions needed time, and even if they were discussing it right now, it wasn’t the kind of conversation that would be over in a few minutes.

  How would that work exactly? I wondered, already imagining what our future together could be. An alpha, a beta and an omega. It seemed kind of perfect, didn’t it? I’d keep working, of course—I didn’t even know what Elijah did for a living—but Max wouldn’t work. Not unless he wanted to. I’d never be one to tell my mate what he had to do with his life, but I’d be more than happy to provide for him.

  He was just so sweet and beautiful, and I couldn’t understand how Elijah hadn’t already put a baby in his belly. Maybe the rut they were in was really a canyon, a chasm between them, depriving them of the real intimacy you need with a person when you want to start a family with them. They reminded me of an old married couple that was just a little too used to their routine and had lost, or forgotten, the spark that had originally flared between them.

  Or maybe they’re just missing something? I thought. Like an unbalanced chemical equation, and maybe I was just the thing they needed.

  The loud, obnoxious cough of an engine across the street got my attention, and I turned to see an old, decrepit jalopy pull up beside the car and park. By the looks of the four guys inside, I could tell they weren’t here for anything good.

  They were all wearing torn-up wife beater tank tops, two of them were smoking, three had gold chains (fake, no doubt) and they were all wearing black jeans. From the smell of them, there were two alphas and two betas. As they got out of their ride, they crossed the street and headed towards me.

  They weren’t there for me, so I casually leaned against my car as though I was going to get in, and watched out of the corner of my eyes as I pretended to go for my keys.

  “Oh, he’s gonna pay all right,” one of them muttered to the others. “If not, he’s gonna get what’s coming for him.”

  “I say we rough him up anyway!” one of the betas replied. “Make sure he knows who’s boss around here.”

  “Hey, you don’t need to convince me!” the other alpha laughed.

  Fuck, I thought as I looked at them as they made their way up to the apartment door. Don’t answer the door!

  But my prayers were not answered. In fact, something much, much worse happened. Elijah opened the door and stepped outside.

  “Oh, shit!” one of the betas laughed. “Look who it is, man!”

  “What—what are you guys doing here?” Elijah snapped. I winced at his tone.

  He’s gonna regret that…

  “Did you forget you owe us?” one of the alphas asked, his voice torn with fake bravado. Carefully, without making a sound, I stripped out of my clothes and lay them carefully on the hood of my car. Shit was about to go down.

  “G-guys,” Elijah stammered. “Of course I haven’t forgotten! I just need some time—”

  “Oh, you can have time,” one of the alphas laughed. “But you can have this too!”

  The alpha pulled back to swing, but I was already moving. I shifted, taking panther form and running my tongue across my fangs as they formed like daggers in my mouth. One of the betas turned as I leapt towards them. His face shifted into an expression of shock and horror, but it wasn’t him I was after.

  Just as the alpha’s punch was about to connect with Elijah’s face, I slammed into his back with all my speed and power, almost snapping him in half upon impact.

  “Ummmfff,” he groaned as he fell over and struck the wall of the apartment building like a bag of wet laundry.

  “Son of a bitch!” the other alpha shouted before shifting. His shitty clothes snapped and tore around him, as did the other two betas in his crew.

  “Elijah!” I shouted. The poor guy was in shock, but my voice sprang him out of his stupor and he quickly shifted, turning into an impressive coffee-colored panther with more muscle and physique than I’d anticipated.

  One of the betas leapt at me, jaws aimed straight at my neck, but he was simply outclassed. I spun and slammed him in the jaw with my hips, deflecting him away like a foul ball. He hit hard and rolled away as the other two sprang at me.

  I managed to dodge the beta’s attack, but the alpha’s teeth found my shoulder and clamped down. Flesh tore and blood spilled out as he bit. I howled and twisted away, doing my best to get him off me, but he had a good hold on me and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t break free. Luckily, Elijah had my back.

  He swiped at the alpha with his claws, slicing him across the soft belly with an impressive blow. I was actually shocked that it didn’t disembowel the poor sucker right then and there.

  And that did it.

  My attacker’s jaws sprang open, releasing me as he howled in pain and tried to throw himself back and away from us, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. No, he’d tried to kill me and hurt Elijah, and I wasn’t letting that go.

  I dove forward with lightning speed. My jaws found his neck and I clamped down with every bit of strength in my body. Something popped, probably his jugular vein, and blood poured into my mouth. He yelped again, but the wound was mortal and almost instantaneous. I dropped him to the ground and he hit like a lifeless corpse, which was close to what he was. As he lay there bleeding out, I spun around to face the rest of his mangy fucking crew.

  I heard the door again and looked up as Max came racing outside. His eyes almost burst from his skull when he saw what was going on.

  “Elijah!” he screamed.

  No! I wanted to shout. The betas spun and looked at
him, but I wasn’t giving them even the slightest chance of getting near him.

  I drove my skull into one of them, breaking at least one of his ribs, and heard Elijah tackle the second one. The first alpha, who I’d thrown into the building earlier, was back on his feet, but moving slowly, obviously injured.

  I leapt back, snarling, and put myself between them and Max, baring my teeth as Elijah took my side. I wanted them dead—all of them, but protecting Max was priority number one. If we kept fighting there was no telling whether or not I’d be able to keep them off of him, and all it would take was one single bite and he’d be gone.

  I snarled again, as the blood from their fallen alpha dripped from my teeth and lips. They were all hurt, and glanced at each other, obviously trying to decide what to do. One of them shook his head slowly, and I nodded back with a deep growl. Slowly, they all began to back away.

  I stayed next to Elijah as they retreated, shifted and got back in their car. As they sped off, the alpha jeered at us out the window.

  “You watch your backs!” he shouted. I shifted back and threw him the bird.

  “Always big talkers after they get their asses kicked,” Elijah smirked as he shifted beside me.

  “Would have killed them all if Max hadn’t come outside,” I said quietly. Elijah nodded, and as he looked at me, I felt the tension between us vanish. We’d just shared something together and after seeing him in battle, my attraction for him had risen. No doubt the same had happened to him.

  Maybe this could work…I thought as a slight smile formed on his lips. I looked back at Max, still stunned by what had gone on, and felt the bond strengthen between us—between all of us, and allowed myself to hope.