Page 84 of The Rust in Her Hair

That dark amber and worn leather that lights me up. Except now there's something braided through it. Something hot and heavy and wanting. His desire pours off him thick enough to taste, and it drags a fresh rush of slick out of me before I can think to stop it.

"This isn’t your room, little omega." Nico’s voice is low and rough as he stops at the foot of the bed.

In the corner of my eyes, I see Owen in the doorway. I catch the shape of the beta off to my side, bare-chested, with wiry muscle, his shirt hanging from one hand.

But I can't look at him.

I can't make myself turn my head even an inch. Everything in me is locked onto Nico, onto the weight of those near-black eyes, and some deep animal part of me understands that an alpha like this doesn't share your attention.

He takes all of it.

"Omega." Nico’s voice is low and rough. "What are you doing in here?"

Going still at his question, all at once I feel completely ridiculous.

Isn't it obvious?

I'm kneeling in the middle of his bed in a shirt he can see straight through, no underwear, and slick dripping onto his sheets. I didn’t exactly leave room for interpretation.

I open my mouth anyway, hunting for something to say, some sexy way to tell an alpha I've decided I belong to his pack, and I would very much like him to do something about it.

But in over twenty-four years of being taught how to hold a polite conversation, not one of those lessons prepared me for this.

"Lyra," Nico growls my name, saving me from having to speak. "You need to be careful," he says, his voice a low rumble that vibrates through me. "Offering yourself up to an alpha isn't a game you tease." His dark eyes narrow on my face. "If you don't get dressed and get out of this room right now, I'm not going to be able to hold myself back. And I promise you, I will take every single inch of what you're so generously offering."

"I'm not teasing," I say, my voice a low whisper. I lift my chin, holding his gaze, trying to look braver than I feel. "I'm offering myself to you. To your pack."

The word "pack" drops into the room, and Nico goes utterly still.

He doesn't move. Hell, he doesn't even breathe. His dark eyes remain locked on mine, then they flash, bright and hot and wild as a growl tears up out of his chest, so deep and primal I feel it in my teeth.

Something in him flips like a switch.

Whatever careful, controlled man was standing at the foot of this bed is gone. What's left has narrowed down to me, only me, his whole enormous focus zeroed in like there's nothing else left in the world worth looking at.

"My pack," he says, low. A slow, dangerous smile pulls at his mouth. "And how exactly did a sheltered little omega figure out that we’re a pack?"

My heart slams against my ribs.

I could lie, and make it sound like a clever deduction. Like I’m just that smart. But the truth is already climbing up my throat, and under the weight of that stare, I don't have it in me to hold anything back.

"I found pictures," I whisper. "In the closet. From a camping trip." Heat floods my face, but I make myself keep going. "The four of you. Together." I swallow hard. "Making love."

Nico's smile widens.

He plants one knee on the edge of the mattress, and it dips under his weight as he leans in, closing the space between us one slow inch at a time.

"You went digging through our things?" he murmurs, and I nod. "You know, you shouldn’t snoop through what doesn't belong to you." He clicks his tongue, low and chiding, and the sound rolls straight down my spine. "That's very rude, omega. Somebody should teach you some manners." His eyes drag down to my chest then back up. "Maybe I ought to be the one to punish you for it."

I should be terrified, but I’m not.

I’m thrilled.

Slick slides down between my thighs, and his nostrils flare as it hits him.

"What are you going to do?" I open my legs a little wider. Cool air touches my bare slick pussy, and a sharp breath cuts through the quiet off to my side as a shadow fills the doorway.

Mack.