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“I fucked up.”
Those three little words are worse than another set of words and make my blood grow ice cold. My eyes pop open to see the white cotton hotel sheets bunched up around me. My heart pounds in my chest as I slowly sit up and push Quinn away from me. His knot released earlier, obviously, or he wouldn’t be cleaning me up.
Licking my lips, I turn to him and blink lazily. “Explain yourself.” Dazed and sleepy, all I can do is stare at Quinn. He looks away from me, unable to meet my gaze.
This is really going to piss me off.
“I may have accidentally butt-dialed Malachi,” he says.
Maybe I’m slow, or just in that post-orgasmic bliss period, because I’m not quite understanding the problem. “Mm-kay.”
“While I was balls deep inside you.” Oh, there it is. To my utter dismay, he continues to go on. “They definitely heard us.”
Ever get so angry that there’s no neutral discussion to be had, just pure, raw anger?
That is how I feel right now, so it’s no surprise that I just nod like a lunatic while I struggle to absorb not only his words but my emotions as well—all of which revolve around anger.
Did I forget to mention I’m a fire sign?
The rage that consumes me is all-encompassing, a fiery inferno that threatens to burn everything in its path. I can feel the heat rising within me, spreading through my veins like molten lava. My hands clench into fists, my nails digging into my palms as I try to contain the explosion building inside.
“Quinn?” I hiss, my voice low and dangerous. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? How could you be so reckless?”
He shrinks back, guilt etched across his handsome features. Seriously, how dare he be so handsome? “I’m sorry, angel. It was an accident, I swear.”
His apologies do nothing to quell the fury raging within me. Accident or not, the damage is done. Malachi heard us—heard me—in the throes of passion, lost in the ecstasy of Quinn’s touch. The humiliation is unbearable, a searing shame that scorches my skin.
More than that, there will be suspicion on Malachi’s part, and he can’t know. They can’t know I’m an omega. It will ruin everything.
Betas can’t take knots, and I’m pretty sure I was panting like a dog in heat about his knot.
I lurch to my feet, not even caring about my nakedness. Modesty is the least of my concerns right now. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I hiss, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Malachi can’t know. No one can know I’m an omega.”
Quinn’s eyes widen with realization, the gravity of the situation sinking in. He reaches for me, trying to placate my anger. “Aria, listen. I’ll handle this. Malachi won’t suspect a thing, I promise you that.”
I bat his hand away, too consumed by the inferno raging inside me. “And how do you plan to do that, Quinn? You think Malachi is just going to forget what he heard? That he won’t put two and two together?”
I pace the cramped hotel room, the walls seeming to close in with each step. The stale air suffocates me as my mind races with the potential fallout. If Malachi finds out I’m an omega, it could destroy everything I’ve worked so hard to build.
Oh yeah? Like what, Aria? Shut up, brain, I don’t have time for you right now.
Quinn’s voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts. “Angel, listen to me. We’ll figure this out together, and honestly, we work in security. If anyone can protect you from whatever it is you are running from, it’s us. I promise.”
“Promises are just pretty lies, and I’ve been burned too many times to trust them anymore.” I whirl on him, my eyes blazing with barely contained fury.
He doesn’t understand. I have to make him understand.
Quinn flinches, but he doesn’t back down. His voice, steady and calm, cuts through the storm of my rage. “I know you’re scared, Aria, but I’m not just making empty promises. If we could just?—”
“Scared?” I laugh, and it’s a harsh, bitter sound that echoes in the small hotel room. “You think this is about fear? This is about survival, Quinn. Do you have any idea what it means to be me? Do you have any idea what will happen if they find out?”
Or worse, if Noah finds me.
Quinn’s jaw tightens, a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I do know, Aria. I know more than you think, because I can read between the fucking lines here. You are the one refusing to open up when you damn well know the pack will protect you.”
“The pack?” I scoff, shaking my head. “The pack that would see me as nothing more than a breeding vessel if they knew the truth? The pack would strip away every ounce of freedom I’ve fought for?”
Quinn steps closer, his presence a wall of warmth and strength. “Not my pack. They wouldn’t do that, and I wouldn’t let them.”
