Chapter 2 #2
Her eyes widened, casting a silent glare at the senator that had me suppressing a snort.
Whoever she was, she was pissed at him. Blue highlights shone on the underside of her glossy black hair when her head snapped to the side.
A line of freckles spread over her sun-kissed cheeks, and I wondered if there were more of them under the sexy as hell sundress she was wearing.
I moved to the front of my desk, pressing my hips into the custom oak and gripping the edge behind me. The girl was unreadable, keeping her pretty eyes glued to me, assessing me. Her expression fell when it landed on my gun, some of the color draining from her face.
Instinct told me to comfort her, to hide my gun so she wouldn’t be nervous, but I assumed if I made any movement for it, it would only make her more nervous.
Instead, I forced my attention back to the man beside her.
Silence stretched on between us as I tracked my eyes over him, wondering how long he would stand there before squirming. It wasn’t long. A minute later, he shifted, eyes darting from me to Aidan.
“Senator Sterling,” I said, flicking a bead of condensation off my glass. “I don’t usually take unannounced private meetings.” A smarmy smile slid across his face, and I debated shooting him in the shin. “Why are you here, and what is this offer that couldn’t wait?”
Whisky stung my throat as I took a slow drag of the fifteen-year Midleton. Sterling straightened, trying to look taller. His suit may have been crisp and tailored, but he looked greasy and unkempt.
“I would like to introduce my daughter, Willow Sterling.”
A disgusted grimace tugged at her lips as he wrapped an arm around her waist. The gesture looked anything but affectionate, and I had the urge to break his fingers for touching her.
Some primal desire pulsed beneath the surface, my alpha already protective of the omega.
Now I recognized her. I remembered seeing her forced grins in a couple of newspaper articles next to her father.
As she turned away from him, the overhead light caught a glimpse of a crescent scar beneath her eye, along with a slight discoloration of her tanned skin.
Anger surged from some ancient place within me, my alpha commanding me to seek retribution for my omega. Blood rushed south, my trousers uncomfortably taut.
No.
Not mine.
Just an omega.
Aidan narrowed his eyes, rocking off the wall, sensing the shift in my patience.
I relaxed my frame, trying to make my features less intimidating as I faced his daughter, Willow.
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Sterling,” I said, dipping my chin. My Ma would come back from the grave and haunt me if I ever disrespected a woman. “I am Kaelen Finnegan.”
She flashed a tight grin that was more a grimace as she glared at her father. While she may have agreed to accompany him, whatever he was planning, she wasn’t privy to.
“Mr. Finnegan,” she said, stiff and uneasy.
“Wonderful.” Senator Sterling beamed, clapping his hands together. The motion set me on edge, making my teeth grind. “As you know, Mr. Finnegan, I am running for governor and I am finding myself in need of some assistance from your organization.”
Aidan didn’t bother to hide his snort, paling slightly when I glared at him. If the senator were coming to me, he wanted more than a simple donation. My fingers brushed over the rough grip of my gun, and I enjoyed watching sweat bead off his brow.
“What assistance are you looking for?” I asked.
“Your influence. Your connections. Maybe my opponent has a secret mistress. I’m sure you understand.”
“Dad,” Willow hissed, scowling at him. “Are you mad?”
“Quiet,” he spat at her.
No one should talk to her like that. If she were mine, I’d rip him apart. Shite. I was on the verge of doing something rash. My eyes snapped to Aidan’s, his expression tight. Willow was undeterred by her father’s admonishment, growling at him like a tiny lioness.
A rare glimmer of amusement twinkled in Aidan’s eyes, but he stayed out of it.
“And why should my family do this for you?”
A smirk tugged at my lips. Willow’s eyes widened, her scent perfuming in the room as she stared at the tattoos on my exposed forearms. That thick, beautiful scent almost sent me to my knees. My vision blurred as I struggled to remain upright.
“I propose an alliance,” Sterling’s grated voice cut in. “A marriage with my daughter, an omega, for you.”
“What?” she shrieked, the pale pink in her cheeks turning a frosty white.
“I don’t deal in people,” I snapped, pushing off the desk and towering over the other alpha.
Omegas were a delicacy to savor. And of course, this fucking weasel had a daughter who wasn’t only an omega, but smelled like mine, sweet and floral and summery. Everything that was far too good for a bastard like me.
Except maybe she wasn’t so sweet. A scowl bloomed on her beautiful features, and her scent burned with indignation and fear. An unfamiliar emotion urged me to take her in my arms and purr for her.
She thrashed in his arms, clawing at his face and cursing him.
Good.
He deserved it, and I wanted to see my little omega tear him apart. How dare he have something so precious and try to barter it away. I needed to protect her, claim her.
“I’m not a whore for you to give away,” she hissed, spitting at him.
No, you aren’t. Good girl.
Spit dribbled down the stunned senator’s face. Pride swelled in my chest, my alpha beaming at our omega.
Fuck.
I ignored the inappropriate thoughts. Maybe it was her father who needed protection. She was a feral thing. My dick stirred in my trousers, and I adjusted myself.
“Behave,” Senator Sterling said, curling his fingers around his daughter’s slender throat and slapping her across the face.
I saw red. The girl crumbled to the ground, clutching the bruise already blooming on her cheek. Aidan crouched beside her, pulling her away from the impending scuffle. In two long strides, I was in the senator’s face, gripping his shirt collar and slamming him into the wall.
Photos shuddered at the contact, one falling to the ground, the frame shattering. Glass crunched beneath my shoes. He glared at me, his alpha demanding him to fight back. But the man didn’t. He knew better than to test me.
Especially if he wanted something from me.
“Don’t fucking touch what belongs to me.
” Blood vessels bulged in his eyes, the color receding from his sallow, sunken cheeks as I slammed his head into the wall, accentuating my point.
“Don’t ever treat a woman like that in front of me.
” He tried and struggled to swallow past my grip.
“Say yes, sir, and I’ll let you leave with all your limbs intact. ”
“Yes, sir,” he coughed.
I released him, smirking as he crumpled to the ground. He stroked his neck, sucking in gasping breaths.
“Good boy. Now get out. I never want to see you again.”
Nodding, he stumbled to his feet, reaching out for Willow, who was still on the ground with Aidan. I stepped into his space, shoving him.
“She stays.”
The words escaped before I could stop them.
“You’re not going to kill her, are you?” he asked, and for one brief second, I believed it was out of concern for his daughter.
But no, the slimy bastard was worried about losing his leverage.
“Why should you care? You traded her away like a baseball card. Get. Out,” I said, drawing my gun and pointing it between his eyes. “You have ten seconds or I will paint the walls with your blood. One.”
He sprinted from the room before I could utter the number two. What had I gotten myself into? I needed to protect her from everyone, and that included her urchin of a father. I may be a monster, but I couldn’t let her leave with him.
How many other people would he have tried to sell her to?
When I turned around to find Willow, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find. Maybe tears would stain her swollen cheeks, or perhaps she would be withdrawn.
She was neither of those things; the spirited omega from earlier had returned.
“Let me go,” she demanded, her gaze glacial and unrelenting.
“No,” I said.
“Fuck off.”
The flat of her palm connected with my cheek. A sting radiated across my face, making my eyes water.
Impressive.
I smirked, rolling my head to the side and cracking my neck.
Willow glared, harsh, angry breaths puffing out her cracked lips.
For a split second, I imagined those lips wrapped around my cock, and I groaned.
Aidan’s brows raced into his hairline, his eyes wide and disbelieving.
“You’re either brave or stupid, Omega.”
Without a word, she raised her hand to strike me again. I closed my fingers around her narrow wrist, stopping her mid-swing. She balled her fist, her tits straining the thin fabric of her sundress with each ragged breath.
“Fight me all you want. The answer will still be no.”
All at once, she went still, her hand limp in mine. I released it, watching the fury in her body fade as resignation took root. Despite the indignation burning in her cheeks, a glassy hue glimmered over her eyes, dulling the lustrous shine that drew me in.
“Listen, sweetheart,” I said, doing my best to keep from barking at her. “The moment you step out that door, I can’t protect you. Your father will play dirty to get what he wants. If you think he’ll let you live your life unbothered once he realizes I released you, you are na?ve.”
My words snuffed out the last flickering flame of indignation in her eyes as her scent soured, a burned edge to the spring florals.
She was pissed that I was right, and hurt.