Page 13 of Beautifully Scarred Omega

“It is.” His voice is soft. “Sometimes life gets so busy, I forget to stop and appreciate things like this.”

“I’m the same.” I stare at the horizon, aware of the heat radiating from his body, the subtle shift in his scent now that we’re alone. “It helps put things in perspective, doesn’t it? At least it does for me. Seeing the vastness of it all...” I hesitate, then let the words come. “It makes me feel insignificant. In a good way. Like my problems are smaller than I thought.”

Too much. You’re saying too much.

But he just makes a quiet sound of agreement.

“I know exactly what you mean.” He’s looking at the stars now, his profile outlined in silver light. “It’s so easy to get caught up in life. To forget that we’re small, and temporary, and lucky to be here at all.” He pauses. “It makes me grateful. Just to be alive. To be standing here, in this moment, with...” He trails off.

“With what?”

He turns to look at me. The terrace lights catch his eyes, turning them luminous.

“With someone who understands.”

The tension between us is palpable now. Sylvie and Finn, standing on a beautiful terrace, the city glittering below them, both of them waiting for the other to make a move.

“Finn.” I drop my gaze, then look back up at him through my lashes, hesitant and vulnerable. “I don’t usually do this. But...” I bite my lip, letting the pause stretch. “Would you like to go to my room? We could talk more and it’s quieter there.”

I wait.

I know he’ll say yes. They always say yes.

“Actually,” he tilts his head, that easy smile returning, “what if we went to mine instead? If you like this view, the one from my suite is pretty nice too.”

Fuck.

Griffin’s rules are absolute. Always my room. Never theirs. My room has cameras, backup, and an extraction team ready to move if something goes wrong. His room has none of that.

But then I think of Cindy. Seventeen years old and unable to walk. She had her whole life ahead of her, until him.

If I insist on my room, he might get suspicious. And I cannot let this alpha get away. So I give him Sylvie’s soft, trusting smile and step aside.

“Lead the way.”

CHAPTER 5

Sophie

The elevator doors slide shut, and the air immediately thickens.

It’s just the two of us now. No crowd to disappear into. Just Finn, standing close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off his body, and me, completely aware of every breath I take.

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. The green suit is still fucking hideous. Unfortunately, the man wearing it is not.

In the enclosed space, his scent is impossible to ignore. Sunlight and honey, warmer now, concentrated enough that my body reacts before I can stop it. Heat unfurls low in my belly. My own scent blooms to meet his, rain and crushed rose petals rising off my skin, and for a second the two of us are just this, two scents twining in the air, his and mine, sweet and dark and impossibly right.

Within seconds, I can feel the omega in me strain toward him, wanting to get closer.

His scent surges in response, fast and intense, and his nostrils flare. He’s definitely noticed.

Good.

This is part of the game. Lure him in, make him comfortable, make him think he’s the predator when really he’s the prey. I’ve done this dozens of times.

Except usually, I’m pretending.

Usually, every instinct in my body isn’t urging me to close the distance.