Page 54 of Priceless
“Just tell me where to go,” she said, though we still walked with her. “And I’ll meet you for… you know, the wedding night.”
Cameron and I shared a look. Just the thought of a wedding night with Ocean was enough to make me hard. But not if it wasn’t something everyone wanted. None of us knew how to respond, so we didn’t, guiding her up the stairs to the wing where all our rooms were. Her room took up a large corner of the floor, with windows overlooking the coast and her namesake. There was a hidden door to the nest as well.
Cameron opened the door first. Plush white carpet and a huge bed—complete with a curtained canopy—dominated the space. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace, and Ocean’s things were spread here and there. The room was a little anonymous, but that could be fixed. “This is your room.”
“Thank you.” She moved to stand by the bed, looking a little lost.
I went to her, unable to stop myself. “Can we help you with that?”
She flushed, a wave of her scent washing over me. “No, that’s okay. I’ll, umm…” Her hands fidgeted with the ends of her lace sleeves. “I’ll have Ruby help me undress and then meet you?—”
“She’s not here,” Cameron said. “We’re all alone for the wedding night.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks were so flushed, I wondered if she was just nervous or suddenly feeling sick. “Okay.”
I turned her toward me, noticing the way she wouldn’t look at me. “You’re nervous?”
“You could say that.”
“I promise you don’t have to be,” Cameron said gently. “We’re not going to hurt you. Or force you. I know what we said, Ocean, but nothing will ever happen that you don’t want.”
Her lips pressed into a line, so subtle I barely noticed it. But it was there. Clearly, there was something that she was scared of. “It’s not that.”
I tilted her face up to mine. “Are you uncomfortable with us helping you undress?”
She hesitantly shook her head.
“Then we’ll talk about it, whatever it is. But let us help you get comfortable first. Here.” I turned her toward the bed and started to undo the buttons all down the back of her dress and supported her so she could step out of it. All that was left was her corset, garters, and underwear. They left nothing to the imagination, and allowed us to see the curves she had going on for miles. If this gorgeous Omega had any questions about what we wanted before the night was over, we weren’t doing our jobs.
Her hair fell around her face, so none of us could see her expression. “Let me help with this too.” The corset was laced tight. So tight it took me a second to undo the knot holding the laces. “There we go.”
Ocean hissed out a breath as it loosened, the sound cut short. It sounded like… pain.
“Ocean?”
“I’m fine.” But the waver in her voice told me otherwise.
I glanced at the others, and they were just as confused as I was. Gently, I loosened the corset further, and I saw it.
Ocean’s back was bloody. Her skin marred with angry red lines where the boning of the corset pressed into her skin. The top of it dug in so deep it had cut her. This was way, way too tight, and there was no way for this amount of damage to be done in just the time she’d been in this dress today.
Not to mention she had been laced into this for hours.
“You’re bleeding.”
“What?” Everett snapped.
I tried not to hurt her as I pulled the fabric further away from her skin. But there was no way around it. “Who did this?” I asked, trying to keep anger out of my tone and failing completely. “Who did this to you?”
She shuddered, and for a moment, I didn’t think she would answer. Finally, “You know who.”
Looking at the others, I saw my own rage reflected back at me. “What the fuck were they thinking?”
“I can keep it on,” she whispered. “If it’s easier for you. If you don’t want to see me without it.”
“Who the fuck told you that?” Everett growled.
She huddled in on herself even further, and I glanced at Cameron. “Get a first aid kit.”
