Knot Your Damn Omega: Chapter 23

The blaring sound brought a groan out of me, and I turned over. That was the shrillest alarm sound I’d ever heard, and it had to be Esme’s phone. None of the pack’s phones sounded like that.

Her phone ended up on the floor at the edge of the nest. I grabbed it and swiped the alarm off, too late realizing it wasn’t an alarm at all, but a phone call.

Fuck.

“Hello?”

“Who is this? Put Esme on the phone right. Now.”

I blinked, still not fully awake. “Hold on.” Muting the call, I rolled back toward the center of the nest where Esme was sleeping, laid out in her silk nightgown like a fairytale princess who needed to be woken with a kiss.

So I did just that. I stepped over Rylan and Luke before kneeling beside her and kissing her. “Time to wake up, baby.” She moaned and curled toward me. “Not yet.”

“Someone’s on the phone for you, and sounded… insistent.”

Her eyes opened, looking at me as I held out the phone. “I thought it was an alarm and accidentally answered it.”

One look at the screen had her rolling her eyes. She unmuted the call and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“EMSE ELYSE WILLIAMS.”

I picked Esme up and turned her so she could sit across my lap. “Mom, if I wanted screaming as a good morning I’d live on a farm. With roosters.”

“You think this is time for a smart mouth? What the hell is going on?”

I felt her wince. “So you saw the pictures?”

“Everyone in the world has seen the pictures. Is there a reason I found out you’re consorting with a pack from everyone else but you?”

The word ‘consorting’ made me chuckle. I buried the sound in Esme’s shoulder.

“It wasn’t planned. I promise I can explain.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “It’s Saturday, right? We’re supposed to have lunch, anyway.”

Over the line there was a frustrated sigh. “Yes. Be at Aurelia’s by noon, and for god’s sake take the back entrance. They’re already going to be all over you. And make sure you’re camera ready.”

The call went dead, and Esme dropped the phone. “Good morning to me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I wouldn’t have answered it.”

“No, it’s not your fault. She would have kept calling until I answered either way. We just got it out of the way faster.”

Luke pushed up from where he was lying on his stomach. “I now understand your fear of judgment with regard to clothing.”

Esme stiffened. “My mom’s not a bad person. I promise.”

“Sweetheart, that’s not what I meant, and I think you know it.”

“Yeah.”

My little Omega leaned harder into my body. It did nothing for the state of my cock, already hard simply because it was the morning and she was close and smelled like a fucking treat.

“It’s just the world she’s from. I’m from. It was so important when Eva was younger, trying to cultivate a brand which could be successful and not harm her career or my dad’s. It matters less now, but it’s still the way she is.” Then more quietly. “That little bit of control in her life is all she has left.”

I banded my arm around her chest, keeping her fully against me. “It’s good to understand where it comes from, even if she doesn’t mean any harm. It’s affected you.”

Esme shrieked as Ben pulled her away by the ankles until he had room to settle over her. Much like last night when our Omega was given every distraction she needed with our mouths between her thighs, showing her exactly how much we loved the dress.

“When you go meet your mom, wear what you want to wear. I don’t want you thinking about how the pictures of you will reflect on us, on your mom or Eva, or even on you. They’re just pictures, and people will forget about them. I would one thousand percent rather you be happy and comfortable with a few ‘bad,’” he used his fingers as quotes, “pictures than to keep feeling like you can’t be who you are. Okay?”

“She’s already pissed at me. You want me to poke the bear?”

Avery sat up. “If poking the bear is what it takes for Momma Williams to understand who you are, that you’re an adult and your own person, and your personal image isn’t going to shatter the family? Then yes.”

Rylan stretched. “Bonus points if you wear some of our lingerie underneath it, knowing we chose something for you. So scandalous, wearing something sexy under your clothes.”

She flushed, and Ben kissed her before he let her up. “I guess it’s time to get back to a regular schedule. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed the break. My tattoo ass is going to be out of practice from lounging in this nest.”

He wasn’t wrong. It was time to get back to the studio. Our clients had been good about pushing off appointments, and the guest artists who’d agreed to fill in during our absence were hits, so we were told. But we were behind schedule now. I would put it off forever to be with Esme, but she had a life and a career too. We needed to settle into a more natural pattern with her now that we were courting, her heat was over, and she’d agreed to move in.

“I’ll bring more clothes back tonight,” Esme said. “Pretty sure everything I have here needs to be washed.”

I picked her up off the soft floor of the nest. “I wish I had time to take a shower with you.”

“Yeah, well, we both know that would take longer than we have.”

“Damn straight it would.”

But I loved that she was teasing me and taking it as a given I would fuck her senseless in the shower. Because I absolutely would. But my first appointment was early, and I hated being late.

“You’re not going to get home and want to stay there, are you?” I set her down in front of the bathroom door. “Because I have no problem tossing you over my shoulder and bringing you back here.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m coming back here. If only because I need to see what the hell Addison does with the room.”

“Your room. It’s your room, Esme. You can say it.”

She swallowed. “My room.”

“Not so hard, was it?” I winked and kissed her before jogging away. Five more seconds and I would have pushed her in the bathroom and into the shower. I needed a cold one myself.

My room was at the front of the house, and I took a look outside the windows, given we were now the new stars of what was sure to be a tabloid whirlwind. Sure enough, there were cameras outside. Most of them were hanging back further down the driveway, partially hidden by trees. But they were there, waiting to ambush.

The cameras didn’t bother me. Like we’d told Esme, we knew who she was and what we were getting into, and she was more than worth it. But we needed to be careful too. Too much exposure for her would hurt her, and the last thing I wanted was my little Omega hurting, unless it was her ass under my palm.

I flew through my shower and jogged down the stairs to grab a cup of coffee. I would need it to get through the day. The heat and furnishment of Esme’s room had taken a lot out of us. Not to mention the adrenaline and energy of a new relationship. We were all going to be dragging for a while.

Rylan was already lounging in the kitchen. “You see outside?”

His room was on the other side of the house on the front. “Yeah, I did.”

“What’s outside?” Luke asked.

“Cameras. Waiting for us, or Esme.”

He swore softly. “She’s going to hate that.”

“She’ll be fine,” I said. “But I don’t want her leaving without security. They went after her enough when she was alone. Now they’ll be ravenous.”

Her scent floated into the kitchen before I saw her. “Who’s ravenous?”

“Me,” I said immediately. “For you.”

The shade of pink she turned was a fucking miracle.

Luke was the more pragmatic one. He turned to her. “Just like you thought, there are paparazzi outside.”

Esme’s eyes went wide, and I saw the immediate panic, but Luke had it handled before I could take a single step.

“We’re fine. Everything is fine and there’s nothing to worry about. But I need you to do something for me, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

“What?”

“Don’t leave this house without Wes or another security guard.”

Esme wrinkled her nose. “I need to call them, anyway. I don’t have my car. But I guess my run is off the table. All of them will be until they stop actively following me.”

“‘Fraid so,” I told her. “You can run on the property here. But I know it’s not the same.” The back of the house had a fence high enough to keep her safe, but our land—large as it was—didn’t compare to the woods and parks outside the city where she was used to going. I was familiar with the area. It was stunning.

“I need to go to my house before lunch with my mom, and I’ll go back afterwards to do some work and grab my clothes. But I probably won’t stay too late. I’ve gotten used to having company.”

The words startled me, and I had to turn away and take a sip of my coffee. The stark, brutal knot in my stomach at her words. Fuck, why hadn’t I even thought about it?

No wonder Esme was skittish. Not only did everyone she’d tried to love want her to be a version of herself that didn’t exist, she was alone.

Her house was lovely, but she was still by herself in it. Watching her sister have a bonded pack, and watching the people she hoped might love her pass her off as nothing, and going back to her house afterward. Alone.

I had a visceral image of her in her bed, face ragged with the aftermath of pain, just as I’d seen her that day. She would have been by herself for days, whining, trying to bear the brutal need an Omega’s instinct for an Alpha’s knot.

Fuck me.

When you realized that, it was amazing she was staying with us at all. It made sense she was terrified, because every sign told me this was what she wanted. She wanted to be loved. Spoiled. Cherished. Everything which came with being an Omega. And she was scared it was going to disappear, just like it had every time before.

“Baby, come here for a second?”

Her soft footsteps circled the island until she was in front of me, and I wrapped myself around her until she was lifted off the floor. I inhaled her and reveled in the scent of sun-brewed tea and the sharp sweetness of lilacs. Just the one breath made my mouth water.

“What’s this for?” She asked.

I allowed her feet to touch the ground. “I just realized something, and it made a lot of things click into place.”

“About me?” Her voice shook a little.

“Yeah,” I said gently. “About you.”

She swallowed. “Do I want to know?”

Letting her stand, I tugged her back so I could see her face and tilted her chin up. “We’ve told you a lot of things, but I don’t think we’ve said this, and I think it’s something you need to hear. You don’t have to be alone anymore, baby. Okay? You never have to be alone.”

Her eyes went glassy, and she blinked away the reactionary tears. “You’re right. I did need to hear that.”

“You’re going to have a great day, and after it’s over, come home to us and have a great night.”

“Okay.”

Ben and Avery came down the stairs, and Ben called us. “Ready to face the music?”

I kissed Esme, taking the time to taste her lips. Just the one small taste had to last me the whole day. “I’m ready.”

Luke looked at her. “Call Wes.”

“I will.”

She followed us into the entry, and the others kissed her too before she fell back. Pictures were fine, but giving them easy pictures was silly. Esme stayed out of sight as we opened the door, and just like I’d thought, they converged from every direction.

The flashes were blinding and the questions overlapping so quickly I couldn’t make all of them out. What I did hear made me clench my fists, and I forced myself into the car before I made an ass of myself for punching a photographer in the face.

“Now I know why she wears sunglasses,” Avery said.

I tried to unclench my jaw. “I’m going to need some. Did you hear the asshole ask how good it felt to knot her?”

“Yes,” Luke said darkly. “But it’s going to be like this until they lose interest.”

They would. Eventually. When they saw Esme was actually fucking happy. They preyed on weakness, exploiting the cracks in her armor. I planned on making that armor stronger.

They were at the studio too. It was actually a bigger crowd. We parked behind the building. “Should we go in the back?” Rylan asked.

“No.” Ben stretched. “If we give them some of what they’re after, they might fade out after a while. But if we sneak in the back, they’ll be waiting and trying to photograph us through the windows all day.”

The man had a point. Ben was the most visible of us, having a large following on social media for the incredible hyper-realism he had the ability to create. I’d known him for years and it was still fucking impressive.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s get in the door first and make a plan after.”

We did. They swarmed us as soon as we turned the corner.

How does it feel to fuck the ice queen? Did you thaw her out at all?

Did you pick her because she was a challenge? Are you seeking fame by taming the ice bitch?

Everyone wants to know how good she is. Come on, give us a clue.

I somehow managed to keep my face blank through the barrage of questions and let them roll off my shoulders. They were assholes, and were being assholes on purpose. But yet again, I suddenly understood Esme more. These questions weren’t even about me. They were about her. If they’d say these things about her to us, what kind of questions had they asked her to her face?

Everything I was learning made me want to bundle her up in the nest and never let her out. Just make her feel safe for once in her fucking life.

The barrage of yelling quieted when the door shut, but they were still peering in, trying to get images of us. “Daisy, you okay?” I asked our receptionist, who was watching the window warily.

“I’m good. They’re not interested in me.”

I nodded. “Can you make some signs for the door? No unsolicited photographs, and no one not seeking a tattoo appointment or without prior permission can enter.”

“You got it. But first… I swear I’m not trying to pry, but I’m like so fucking happy for you guys. You don’t have to tell me anything, but I hope it’s going well.”

“It is going well,” Luke said. “Very well. And I think we’ll be more inclined to talk about it once all this dies down. You’ll definitely be getting to know Esme more.”

She clapped her hands, beaming. “Seriously, that’s awesome.”

“You’re the one who’s awesome,” Ben told her. “Thank you for keeping the place going while we were out.”

Daisy did a dramatic flip of her wild blue hair over her shoulder. “It was a breeze. And yes, I am awesome.”

Picking up clipboards from the desk, she handed out the consults we had. I knew I had a couple of piercing appointments, and I was likely going to be tattooing my ass off with walk-ins trying to rub off on the fame. But we wouldn’t give them much.

“Once we make those signs, if even one of them tries to come in here, make it clear we’ll call the cops if we have to.”

“What happens if one of the photographers makes an appointment?” Ry asked, looking at the windows.

Avery swore under his breath. They would do it, too.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Luke tucked the clipboard under his arm. “The most important thing is to keep everything as normal and boring as possible. If there’s anything the paparazzi hate, it’s boring.”

I couldn’t agree more. So we all broke apart like it was nothing but an ordinary day, and I hoped it would go quickly. Not even an hour and I was already missing my Omega.