Just like that, my interest turns back to anger. He’s glad to see me? After everything this fucker put me through, he’s glad to see me?
“You little shit.” I ball my fist and punch him in the mouth. Arlo grunts, taking a step back, and I let him recover before coming toward him again. I’m ready to pound him until those blank eyes are swollen shut. I’ll take some teeth with me, too. Maybe wear them around my neck when they send me back to prison.
Much to my surprise, the little omega steps between us. “Alpha,” she says in a quiet voice. She lays her hand on my chest, inches from my heart, and it’s as if she’s cast an arrow straight through me.
My hands immediately unclench, my chest puffing out. I like her. I like her too fucking much. Something stirs in my chest, possessive and warm, and I find myself still, holding my breath as her hand’s warmth bleeds through my shirt and into my skin. It feels like a brand. Like a claim she’s making on me. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“That’s enough,” she murmurs. “He’s bleeding.”
I fight against the instinct to back away. There’s worry in her eyes, and I put it there. But at the same time… “It’s nowhere near enough. You have no idea—”
“I know you’re here because someone bailed you out of prison. And if you kill Arlo here, you’ll go back. I’ll be out an alpha, and you’ll be back in a cell.” Her voice is steady and even, her scent wafting over me in waves that make it hard to focus on my anger. She clears her throat, her sooty lashes dipping as she looks down at my chest where her hand is resting. “I know this isn’t what you expected when you came here… I know I’m not what you expected…”
I growl despite myself. Fucking guard and his damned mouth. There isn’t a single thing wrong with her; she’s fucking beautiful and perfect and everything I don’t deserve.
“…But let’s not ruin this before it can begin,” she finishes, her eyes drifting back up to mine.
I let out a shaky breath before nodding once. The omega sighs, her hand sliding away from me. I resist the urge to catch it and bring it back to its rightful place on my chest.
Leaning around her, I snarl, “You stay the fuck away from me, Cassa.”
He doesn’t respond. Just stands there slack-jawed, his mouth dripping blood all over his shirt.
“Thank you,” the omega purrs.
“Don’t thank me. It’s not over. I’ll promise you that.” I point at Cassa. “He and I have things we have to discuss.”
“I appreciate you stopping, all the same. You can pick any of those rooms, if you like,” the omega says, pointing. “I’ll get Arlo cleaned up, and then we can start again. Don’t take too long, though. No cameras in the bedrooms, and I was told—”
“I know, we have to be on camera as much as possible during filming hours,” I mutter.
I back away, giving Arlo a cold stare that promises that when we’re alone, things are gonna get nasty. Real nasty. He looks back at me with that empty expression, as if he couldn’t care less. The air gets thick, and I have to ball my hands into fists to remind myself to stay in control. Then the omega’s scent hits me again, like a fucking freight train.
“Any chance you’re getting close to your heat?” I ask Haven in a croaking voice.
She nods, her own eyes turning dusky as she looks up at me through those sooty lashes. “I think so.” She swallows. “Are you going to… will you help me through it?”
Could someone please show me some goddamn mercy?
“Are you sure you want me to help you?” I ask. I know my pupils are blown, my alpha instincts are on fire. I lean closer to her, taking in that damned scent.
She blinks at me, that little brow wrinkling in confusion. “Isn’t… isn’t that why you’re here?”
“No. I’m here because I was forced to be here. Because someone signed me up.”
I fully intend to add something along the lines of ‘that doesn’t mean I don’t already crave your fucking cunt like it’s fucking water and I’m dying of thirst,’ but before I can say anything else, Haven holds up her hand as if to stop me. I can see hurt in her eyes.
“I see,” she says softly, nodding as if she understands. “I’m sorry. I thought… that is, I assumed… that you volunteered.”
Growling, I loop my hands around that generous waist, pulling her flush against me. Surprised, she puts her hands on my chest, gazing up at me. Her confidence seems shaken, I assume because I couldn’t keep my mouth in check. Fuck.
“Look, Haven, that doesn’t mean I won’t help you,” I say.
“Of course,” Haven whispers, biting that damned bottom lip. “I get it.” She nods, inhaling again, but this time her eyes slide away from mine as she pulls back out of my arms. “I’m going to go help Arlo in the kitchen.”
I bury my hands in my hair as I watch her walk away. What the fuck did I get myself into?
Chapter Four