To ruin an Omega

Chapter 292: The pool

FIA

“Why would you do that?” I tried to make it sound light. Almost teasing. “I know you tend to be myopic but geez.”

I chuckled. He chuckled too, the sound rough but real.

“But you wouldn’t just say that out of nowhere.”

“Well…”

He paused, like he was choosing his words carefully.

“It was starting to feel like everything that led up to her presence here lined up perfectly.”

We walked down the stone steps together.

“And also… when the witch Ophelia was murdered, I was certain I smelled Madeline’s magic.”

My heart kicked hard against my ribs.

“But it was just… my cognitive dissonance.”

He stopped mid-step. Through the bond, I felt something shift. A spark of realization, sudden and sharp.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing important.”

“Cian.”

“It’s just that I was wrong. And I should have handled it better.”

His hand tightened around mine.

“I am rash. I blow hot. Even the Ronan and Aldric situation now… It’s messing with my head even now. And it’s taking everything not to just let it out.”

His voice cracked slightly on the last word.

“I don’t know if I can take anymore.”

The words hit me like a punch. This confirmed it. I had to keep the Valentine situation tight. I had to protect him from one more thing that would break him open.

But Madeline was now high up on my radar herself. This was proving to me that she was no saint.

“So I assume he hasn’t mentioned the card.”

“I believe Garrett would have handed it to him by now. So yeah.”

I nodded. We had reached the path that led toward the estate grounds. The sun was starting to paint everything in shades of gold and orange.

I looked at Cian. Really looked at him. The tension in his shoulders. The tight line of his mouth. The way his eyes seemed darker than usual.

“You look like shit.”

He barked out a laugh that sounded more surprised than amused.

“Well, I feel like shit.”

I chuckled lightly. An idea formed in my head. Reckless maybe. But he needed it. We both did.

“It is hot. We can go swimming.”

“I’m sure there is a lot on both our plates right now than swimming.”

“I’m sure living life will clear up those creases on your forehead.”

I reached up and pressed my thumb between his brows, smoothing the tension there.

“We might have enemies within and without. But we only live once. Wolo.”

“It’s Yolo.”

I stepped back and grinned at him.

“Well…last to reach the pool is a sore loser.”

Then I ran.

My feet hit the grass and I pushed off hard, heading toward the direction of the pool. The wind caught my hair and pulled it back from my face.

Behind me, Cian’s voice rang out.

“I’m not doing this.”

I ran faster. The distance between us stretched. I could hear my own breathing, feel my heart pounding, and for just a second everything else fell away.

Then I heard him mutter something that sounded like “fuck” and his footsteps started pounding behind me.

I laughed and picked up speed. But he was faster. Of course he was faster. His legs were longer and he was built for this in a way I was not.

He passed me easily and turned to run backward, laughing in my face.

The sound made something warm bloom in my chest. His smile was real and genuine. The stress lines around his eyes had softened.

I picked up speed anyway and pushed harder even though I knew I would not win. The pool came into view ahead of us, the water reflecting the sunset in ripples of gold and pink.

Cian reached it first. He turned and caught me as I stumbled to a stop, both of us breathing hard.

“I win.”

“You cheated.”

“How did I cheat?”

“You have longer legs.”

He was still grinning and he was still holding my waist. And in that moment, standing there with him in the fading light, the weight of everything we were carrying felt a little bit lighter.

His grin lingered as his eyes moved slowly over my face, then down my neck, like he was noticing things he had not let himself notice all day.

“You’re hot,” he said, voice low and rough from the run. “You should cool down.”

Before I could even process the warning, his hands shifted on my waist and he bent slightly like he meant to lift me.

My eyes widened. “Cian, don’t you da—”

He tightened his grip and started to hoist me up.

A squeal tore out of me before I could stop it. “Wait! Wait!”

He paused mid motion, smirking like he had already won.

“Yes?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck quickly, pressing close. “Hold me tighter first.”

The request slipped out softer than I intended. It was not part of the playful game anymore. For a second the air between us changed, heavier, quieter. His expression shifted. The teasing faded and something warmer replaced it.

His arms tightened immediately, pulling me flush against him like he never wanted to let go.

“Like this?” he murmured.

“Mm-hm.”

I let the moment stretch. Felt the steady beat of his heart under my cheek. Let myself breathe him in. Pine and sun and something that was just him. For a second I allowed myself to pretend the world was not cracking open around us.

Then I moved.

My arms locked around his neck and I shifted my weight hard to the side.

His eyes widened in shocked realization. “Fia—”

Too late.

We tipped together.

The world flipped in a blur of sunset colors and laughter and startled curses. Then the cold water swallowed us whole.

The splash echoed across the estate.

I came up first, gasping and laughing as wet hair clung to my face. Water streamed down my shoulders and soaked my clothes until they stuck to my skin.

Cian surfaced a second later, sputtering, his hair plastered to his forehead. He stared at me in stunned disbelief.

“You dragged me in.”

“You tried to throw me in!”

“You asked me to hold you tighter!”

“Ha! And you fell for it.”

He blinked once, then twice. Then a slow grin spread across his face, equal parts exasperated and impressed.

“I cannot believe I fell for that.”

I laughed, treading water in front of him while the last light of the sun shimmered across the pool’s surface. The tension in his shoulders was gone now. The hard lines around his mouth had softened. For the first time all day, he looked lighter.

Worth it.

Completely worth it.