"Bird's egg blue." Mocking him, Claire cocked her head to the side and batted her lashes. "And, Shepherd, since we are being so congenial, what is yours?"
"Expressly, the exact color of your eyes." He wasn't flirting, he was annoyed, but even so the words were… something. They made her blush and he noticed it, his intense gaze losing its edge and gaining that unnerving calculation instead. "I also find the rich black of your hair to be incredibly fetching."
She was positively scarlet and clearly wanted him to look away. It had been months since she had tried to cover her nakedness and she did not know what led her to do it, but her arm came up to hide her flushed breasts.
Shepherd looked only amused, or fascinated might have been a better description. "And now you are shy…" he cooed, evilly. "This is nothing I have not said before."
But she had purposefully never listened… she had ignored it and hated the sound of his distorted raspy voice.
"You know I find you to be very beautiful," the monster continued, proudly prowling, trapping her against the sink. "You are, in fact, the most comely female I have ever seen."
Claire was sorely tempted to snap something nasty at him, to bring up Svana, or the Omegas, or anything to get him to stop looking at her that way. Instead she just stammered, "I… am cold."
"Well then, by all means, pretty little one," Shepherd's thick arms encircled her, "let me warm you."
A stifled noise sputtered passed her lips as bulging muscle pulled her flush.
His lips came to her ear and the man growled in the most licentious voice she had ever heard, "And you have the most beautiful pussy I have ever known. It is perfection. Anytime you should ask, I would lick it, taste you until you screamed my name like you did four times last night."
"STOP!"
Stroking his touch up her body until Claire's jaw rested in his hand, he pulled the Omega from where she tried to hide her face against his chest. Their eyes mere inches apart, his hand delved between her legs to lightly swipe the gathering slick at her folds. Pulling slippery fingers away, he made a satisfied male noise and left her standing, panting, flushed, and aroused, while muttering, "Bird's egg blue," as he left.Those moments… when one has a black bag over their head, when a body is being jostled, and you know, you just fucking know, your number is up… those moments just plain suck.
Feeling hands shove her back until her rear end made an uncomfortable connection with a hard chair, Maryanne prepared for her greatest performance. Or she did until the bag came off in a swoop and she was face to face again… with Shepherd.
The words caught in her throat, the typical sensual quality she knew how to use to manipulate failed, and all Maryanne could do was stare.
That man had decimated Thólos… ruined her city. That man stank of Claire's cooch. Ewww…
"Well," Maryanne let out a breath, "turns out I was right about just where Claire disappeared to. Guess that means I'm off limits, huh?"
The looming male leaned closer. "Shall we discuss the nuances of the agreement between my mate and myself? I only offered to spare your life. There was no mention of what I would do with said life. Technically, I could break every bone in your body, subject you to torture, take what little freedom you have left. So long as you continue breathing I will have fulfilled my end of the bargain." Shepherd's finger lightly tapped the table between them. "And Claire would never know…"
But he wanted something, otherwise she would not be there. He wanted something for Claire.
The terror was there, the slow rising panic that tainted her sweat and signaled to the much stronger Alpha that she was afraid. "You have a use for me."
"You will be coming back into my employ."
"What do you need me to steal?"
His mouth did not move in the slightest, but Maryanne was certain his expression displayed just how stupid he thought she was. "Your duty will be to bring information about the circumstances of the Omegas and the Beta, Enforcer Corday, to Claire. In these conversations, I advise that you make her happy, or you will be very unhappy when they conclude."
The thought of seeing Claire chased away a fraction of the dread. "Sure thing. I know exactly how to make her smile."
"You will not share detailed information, just the general wellbeing of the individuals I send you to photograph. You will not interact with these people or be seen. All images will be checked before Claire views them, and should I find anything unsettling, it would not bode well for you. You will speak of absolutely no one else."
Nodding, Maryanne signaled that she understood.