Zephyr looked around her settled room, happy with the way she'd brought it to life temporarily, and decided to take a shower before going down to eat. She went to her lingerie drawer, took out her sexiest peach-colored semi-transparent baby doll, and laid it on the bed, along with her small vibrator. Stripping, she entered her smaller en suite with a shower cabin and washed off the tiredness of the day.
Sudden multiple barks from downstairs alerted her to her husband’s arrival.
Wrapping herself in a towel, her burgundy hair wet and shining, she entered her room, only to find Alpha standing in the doorway of their connected rooms, his eye on the lingerie and toy on the bed.
She couldn't have timed it more perfectly if she'd tried. He looked up, perusing her towel-clad body with heat in his golden gaze, such heart that she could feet it on her cool skin. Her nipples hardened. His eye stopped on them, lingering on the knot of her towel, and boy did she want it to drop.
She casually raised her hands to her hair, the towel hitching up her thighs, exposing them, lifting her breasts higher, and he noticed every bit of it, and from the very sizeable tent in his jeans, she’d say he liked it.
“Have you eaten?” she asked innocently, aware that he was stripping her naked in his mind.
“No,” he growled, his voice deeper with arousal. His hands fisted by his side, and he suddenly pivoted on his heels, stalking out of the doorway and into his shower, slamming the door behind him.
Satisfied with the reaction she’d incited, Zephyr changed into her baby-doll, loving the way it hugged and fell on her curves. She loved the way lingerie made her feel, confident and sexy and desirable, and this one, in particular, made her full boobs look incredible. Covering it up with a long silk robe, and tying it loosely so it could give a peek with movement, she went down the stairs to the kitchen.
Bear joined her, trotting on her heels. Baron raised his neck from the rug where he was now lying with Bandit dozing, gave her a hard look before going back to ignoring her.
The house was otherwise empty, doors locked, drapes drawn.
They were alone.
The sun had set a while ago, the house lighting up automatically around dusk. The view that had been incredible during the day was a bit scary at night because it was pitch black, and Zephyr had never been this close to the jungle and this far out of the city before. Her eyes saw absolutely nothing in the distance, even though she could hear the sounds of animals, the water, and the lack of civilization. In the distance on the far left, the lights of the city twinkled. It was freaky how he'd comfortably lived here alone for so long. She wouldn't be able to last one night.
Knowing where everything in the kitchen was, thanks to Leah’s tour, Zephyr went about setting the table for two, taking the delicious-smelling carbonara and garlic bread Nala had cooked for them. She took out some red wine, poured them in two glasses to accompany the dinner along with two glasses of water, and lit up a candle in the middle.
Perfect.
Footsteps coming down made her turn to find her husband, wearing loose gym shorts and a loose t-shirt, his hair wet and curling from the shower. He looked at the setup but didn’t comment on it, simply taking a seat where she indicated.
“It smells great, doesn’t it?” she broke the silence, serving them the food. “How long have you had Nala?”
“A few years,” he replied, taking the dish with the bread and putting two slices on her plate before taking his. “She was the mother of one of the girls who’d worked with AV Security.”
That was her opening. “What does AV Security actually do? I know you give some kind of protection to people off the streets but how does that actually work?”
Alpha considered her, before tearing the bread. “AV gives security to sex workers mainly, but we also do extraction from places people don’t want to go.”
Zephyr leaned forward, interested. “Security to sex workers?”
He explained. “Sex workers are constantly in danger, from their pimps, their clients, anyone walking on the street." He paused, as though contemplating whether to tell her more, and then continued. "My mother was a sex worker, and I was the result of her rape. She also got beat up once, and I decided I wasn’t okay with any of that. I had a reputation on the streets. Gave my name to anyone who wanted the protection.”
She was surprised he'd spoken about his mother. She was also surprised at how kind the woman who'd been through what his mother had been through had been to a young girl like her. That alone made her remarkable. But she held off on commenting on it, sticking to the other side of the conversation.
“And they pay you for it?”
“I don't ask for a payment, but most of them want to. I make enough with the fights.”
Zephyr took a bite of her pasta, groaning in delight at the sheer deliciousness, before asking. "How does the fight money work?"
"People bet, I fight. I win, I get the money."
He used words like they were going out of fashion. Zephyr shook her head. "And fighting made you enough to buy half the city?"
He chewed on his bite of pasta slowly, watching her. "I only fight big fights now. People bet in hundreds of thousands."
She choked on her mouthful, her eyes widening. "Are you serious? They just throw that kind of money around?"
"It's a well-plotted bet usually," he shrugged.