Lola & the Millionaires: Part One (Sweet Omegaverse #2)(66)

“I’ll walk you out,” Lola said, swaying as she rose up from the couch.

She’d worn heels for the dinner but kicked them off almost immediately when we moved to the couches, and now she bounced along behind David as he made his goodbyes and they headed for the doors, a little drunk but not terribly so. I wasn’t sure if it was all women in formal wear and bare feet that I found arousing, or just Lola.

I carried a tray of glasses with me to the bar, and realized from where I stood I could see out of the living room and to the front door clearly. Lola and David were standing close at the door, Lola’s smile easy as David said his goodbyes. I poured wine, refreshed Matthieu’s bourbon and ice, and when I looked up again the cousins were still speaking. Except this time Lola’s head was dropped, her smile gone. David had her hands in his, his head cocked to try and catch her eye.

Liquid splashed against my hand and I shook myself, wiping tonic water away with a rag and spilling some of the drink back into the sink. Rake would forgive me.

I took the drinks back to Carolyn and my pack, Carolyn relishing the undivided attention of the moment by telling some story regarding her and Matthieu at an event. I slipped away before Rake could pull me back down the couch and headed for the front door where Lola was watching David meet a cab on the road. Her lips were turned down as she stared out the window, but when she caught my reflection in the glass a new smile bloomed.

“Are you all right?” I asked, soft enough the room of people nearby wouldn’t hear us.

She nodded and turned away from the door. “David just got me in the feels is all,” Lola said with a soft shrug.

Her lips were a vivid red, eyes shadowy, but her hair was down and mussed with waves I wanted to run my fingers through. Instead, my hand was caught by hers, a gentle squeeze of her fingers around my palm.

“Thank you for inviting him, by the way,” she said.

“Of course,” I said, giving in to the urge to pull her closer by her hand, leading her back to the others. I was holding her loosely, she could pull away if she needed to, but Lola followed along at my side, warm shoulder brushing against my arm.

“I suppose I should’ve expected as much, dating one of the city’s most desirable alphas,” Carolyn continued, rolling her eyes at Matthieu.

“Just the city’s?” Matthieu joked, his shoulders tense, eyes tracking Lola as her hand slipped free from mine and she practically skipped back to Leo’s side.

“You have a constant flock of sycophants, Matt,” Carolyn said. “I didn’t realize I’d have to defend our relationship so much.”

I glanced to Rake just as he rolled his own eyes.

“The one I don’t understand is Wes,” Lola said, before Rake could say something petty to Carolyn.

Wes, who’d been left to his own quiet devices in an armchair facing the couch, raised his eyebrows and glanced at us in question.

“Wes?” Carolyn echoed with a puzzled frown.

Lola stretched her long legs out on the couch as she leaned back into Leo’s chest, nodding and grinning wickedly. “Where are his sycophants? With the way he smells, I would’ve thought he’d have a non-stop pussy parade following him around.”

Matthieu choked on his scotch, and Cyrus belly laughed at the announcement. I found myself laughing too as Wes shifted nervously in his armchair while Carolyn gawked at him.

“Bravo!” Rake cried, leaning forward and clapping his hands together. “I concur. And on that note, how does he smell to you?”

Lola sat up, adorably puzzled. “Why? Does he smell different to you? Like…sex on the beach, but not the drink.”

Leo’s eyebrows shot up, and his grin was giddy as he glanced down at Lola. She was expressing interest in one of us. Or maybe not interest, but appreciation. An alpha. Wes. Our too often overlooked protector.

“Amazing,” Rake said with delighted awe. “He smells sweet and fresh to me, but it doesn’t make my mouth water.”

“Doesn’t make my mouth water either,” Lola said in a soft mutter with a slight giggle as Leo barked a laugh and dragged her up onto his lap, burying his smile against her throat.

I wanted to dive in next to them, to soak up their sweet faint scents. I joined Rake, let him anchor me with a hand on my thigh, and Cyrus stretched an arm out over both our shoulders.

“Oh now I understand it,” Carolyn said with a twist of her lips as she stared at Lola. “I couldn’t picture you with Rake at all, you seemed so timid. But now it makes sense! Anyway, every time I see you, I get that song stuck in my head. The old silly one, umm…” Carolyn hummed and waved her hand with thought while Matthieu frowned at her. “You’ll know it. Um, ‘Her name was Lola, she was a Show—’”

Wes sat forward, a sudden growl echoing in the room, startling Carolyn into silence. I glanced at Lola, and dread landed heavily in my lap. She was sitting up, stiff and pale, scooting away from Leo quickly as he reached for her, her back heaving with breaths.

“Lola, it’s all—”

And then she was up off the couch, legs scrambling clumsily as my entire pack stood as if we might catch her. She ran for the bar, straight to the sink, and heaved. Leo raced after her, framing her back and stroking her hair away from her face.

Carolyn sat gaping at us all as the warm, happy mood of the party suddenly died.