8. A Teasing Taste Of Value
8
A TEASING TASTE OF VALUE
~SERENITY~
L a Sauvage was adorned for Christmas, the lounge's usual dark sophistication elevated by subtle holiday touches—golden lights cascading like champagne droplets from the ceiling, crimson poinsettias positioned between bottles of rare liquors worth more than some people's monthly salaries.
Serenity Vale paused at the entrance, her golden eyes with those distinctive red flecks scanning methodically through the dimness.
"Madame?" The host shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. "Your reservation?"
"I'm meeting someone," Serenity replied, her voice measured, betraying nothing of the storm of calculations whirling through her mind. Her gaze cataloged each exit, each face that might be watching her. The sensation of being hunted had become her constant companion since her father's murder.
She spotted him before the host could offer further assistance. Lucian Blackthorn, ensconced in the most secluded corner booth, somehow managed to look both perfectly at home and dangerously out of place among Paris's elite. Even seated, his presence commanded attention while paradoxically deflecting it.
A tactical choice of seating—back to the wall, clear sightlines to all entrances.
She moved toward him with deliberate steps, her black suit she intentionally wore catching the candlelight at strategic moments, revealing hints of midnight purple in the fine fabric that seemed to materialize and vanish with each movement.
Lucian Blackthorn rose as she approached, unfolding his tall frame with languid grace.
The sight of him nearly stopped her in her tracks. Against the lounge's dark backdrop, his pristine white suit was an assault on the senses, the rich purple tie at his throat creating a combination that should have been gauche but instead projected calculated dominance.
Even more unsettling was how the color combination inexplicably complemented her own attire, as if he'd anticipated her choice of dress.
"Ms. Vale." His voice rolled over her skin like warm cognac, his amber eyes gleaming with something that went beyond mere interest. "A pleasure to see you again under more... amenable circumstances."
Serenity's lips curved into what might generously be called a smile.
"Mr. Blackthorn." She extended her hand, cataloging the perfect tailoring of his suit, the way the fabric shifted over his shoulders. Expensive. Italian. Custom. "I appreciate your willingness to meet."
His fingers closed around hers, warm and dry. The contact sent an unwelcome frisson up her arm that she refused to acknowledge. Alpha pheromones. Nothing more.
"I've been waiting for your arrival after you read my text," he said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles in a touch so brief she might have imagined it. "Please, sit."
He gestured to the plush seating opposite him, waiting until she'd arranged herself before lowering himself back into his chair.
The movement was fluid, controlled—everything about him was controlled, from the perfectly arranged pocket square to the calculated warmth of his smile.
"You look ravishing," he said, those amber eyes making a slow assessment that felt more like a security scan than a flirtation. "Black suits you, though I suspect you chose it for practical reasons rather than aesthetic ones."
Serenity wore a suit instead of a dress to throw him off balance.
Wearing a tailored ensemble was meant to convey strength, a rejection of the feminine vulnerability that often came with her Omega designation. Maybe some would see it as her leaning into a tomboy, someone refusing to fit the mold.
She was trying to project a kind of power, a masculine aura that left no room for the usual expectations people had of her. A direct contrast to the soft, feminine dresses she imagined Lucian expected, like a declaration that she wouldn't play into his or anyone else's fantasies.
But she was quickly realizing that her cunning plan wasn’t having the intended effect. From the way Lucian was appraising her every curve in that fitted black suit with those obnoxious purple cuffs, taking inventory of the dark purple shirt with its annoying collar that nodded to jewelry, it was clear her "more is more" strategy was failing spectacularly. In fact, it seemed his interest had dialed up from intense to all-consuming.
Or maybe it was bordering on obsession. With Lucian, she couldn't quite tell. Yet.
A statement wrapped in a compliment wrapped in an observation. Serenity tilted her head slightly.
"And you chose white because you enjoy making a spectacle?" she countered, crossing one leg over the other.
Lucian's laugh was genuine, the sound of it transforming his face for a split second from calculating predator to something almost human.
"Perhaps. Or I enjoy reminding everyone around me that I can afford to be impractical." His fingers tapped once against the tabletop, an almost imperceptible tell. "Shall we order before we discuss why you've finally agreed to meet with me?"
"Certainly." She maintained the pleasant veneer, her mind categorizing each micro expression that crossed his face. "Though I suspect you already know what I drink."
His smile sharpened at the edges, proving he not only orchestrated this union but did his research.
Goodness…I hate an Alpha who may potentially outsmart me…
"MacCutcheon, neat. Your father's preference as well, though he preferred it with two ice cubes. You take it straight." He signaled to a waiter who appeared silently at his side, bowing in his presence to ensure the acknowledgment of the hierarchy difference was crystal clear. "The lady will have a MacCutcheon, neat. I'll have the same."
The waiter nodded and disappeared.
Serenity kept her expression neutral, despite the chill that swept through her at this small evidence of his research into her life.
"You've done your homework," she acknowledged, the words crisp. She really hated to admit the truth, but she couldn’t ignore the work he inputted into this unexpected confrontation. It made her wonder what his true motive was for her — for him and potentially anyone else involved in this elaborate plan to “claim” her.
"I always do." Lucian leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on the table. The position should have seemed casual; instead, it felt like the coiling of a predator before a strike. "Knowledge is leverage, Ms. Vale. And I never enter a situation without leverage."
Oh really?
"Is that what this is? A situation requiring leverage?" She kept her tone light, but her fingers tensed against the smooth leather of the booth.
"This is many things." His amber gaze locked with hers, unblinking. "A business opportunity. A security measure. Perhaps the beginning of a mutually beneficial arrangement."
Their drinks arrived, interrupting whatever he might have said next.
Serenity waited until the waiter had retreated before lifting her glass.
"To mutually beneficial arrangements," she said, the irony thick in her voice.
Lucian's lips quirked upward as he raised his own glass.
"To new partnerships."
The whiskey burned a pleasant path down her throat, warming her from the inside out. She set her glass down with deliberate care.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Blackthorn. I agreed to hear what information you have. Nothing more."
"Of course." He adjusted his cuffs—a nervous tic or a calculated gesture, she couldn't tell. "Though I think you'll find what I have to offer goes beyond mere information."
Serenity felt the weight of his gaze like a physical touch. Something primal in her recognized the Alpha across from her—a dangerous, calculating predator draped in wealth and sophistication. But she hadn't survived this long by allowing her hormones to dictate her choices.
Or maybe she never encountered Alphas who made her feel so physically charged.
"Then, by all means, impress me." She leaned back, one eyebrow arched in challenge. "You have exactly one hour of my time."
His smile was slow, revealing perfect teeth that seemed just slightly too sharp in the candlelight.
"I assure you, Ms. Vale..." He leaned forward, the scent of expensive cologne and something darker— uniquely him —drifting across the space between them. "By the time our hour is up, you'll be begging for more time with me."
She met his gaze unflinchingly, refusing to acknowledge the tension coiling low in her stomach.
"That remains to be seen."
Beneath the table, her fingers tightened around her glass. She had the distinct feeling she'd just agreed to play a game whose rules she didn't fully understand, with a man who'd already mapped out every possible move.
Only time was going to tell how this played out…hopefully in her favor.
The amber liquid burned pleasantly as it slid down Serenity's throat.
She set the crystal tumbler down with deliberate grace, savoring the smoky aftertaste of what was undoubtedly a whiskey worth more than most people's monthly rent.
"Impressive," she conceded, gesturing to the drink. "Macallan 25?"
"Macallan 30, actually." Lucian's lips curved into that irritatingly knowing smile. "I had it shipped from a private collection in Edinburgh. I thought you might appreciate something... exceptional."
The way his eyes lingered on her face as he said 'exceptional' sent an unwanted ripple of heat through her core. She disguised her reaction by taking another sip.
"Let's skip the foreplay, Blackthorn. You claimed to have information about The Society. I'm still waiting to be impressed."
His amber eyes glittered with amusement.
"Direct. I like that about you." He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "The Society isn't what you think it is, Serenity. It's not a simple organization of wealthy criminals. It's a carefully constructed hierarchy of predators, with bloodlines and designations determining influence as much as wealth or brutality."
"I'm aware of basic pack dynamics," she responded dryly.
And even if she didn’t, anyone could put the pieces together for that.
"Are you?" He tilted his head. "Then you understand that what we have—the arrangement between myself, Darius, and Ronan—is quite...unprecedented."
“Well, you haven’t been very forthcoming that you three were in alliance. Odd when it seems as though Nikolai assumes you three are on different playing fields.”
The Christmas lights from outside the window cast multicolored shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp angles of his cheekbones. The effect was both beautiful and subtly menacing. "Three Alphas working together without attempting to tear each other's throats out? Yes, I noticed that particular anomaly."
Lucian swirled his whiskey, studying its depths as though they contained secrets.
"Three Alphas, yes. But not just any Alphas. A financial strategist, a territory enforcer, and a political manipulator. Each with unique skills, complementary rather than competitive. A trinity of power designed to protect something of immense value."
Serenity's pulse quickened despite her determination to remain unmoved.
"And what might that be?"
"Not what." His eyes locked onto hers, pupils dilating slightly. "Who."
There’s only one person he could be referring to…
"Me," she stated flatly, refusing to phrase it as a question.
"You." He nodded, setting his glass down. "Our pack's Omega."
Our.
The possessive pronoun made her bristle.
"I don't recall agreeing to be anyone's Omega, least of all to three Alphas I barely know." Serenity's voice was edged with defiance, but she couldn't ignore the awareness creeping into her every pore. The table beneath her fingertips felt cool, and grounding, but not enough.
Even while she tried to deny the claim, something in her recognized its truth on a visceral level.
Lucian's smirk grew bolder, sharpening with an interest that went beyond obsession. His body language mirrored the predatory glow in his eyes, calculated and deliberate, like a panther closing in on prey. He shifted, sliding effortlessly around the booth until he was right next to her, his proximity sending an electric jolt through her senses.
The air felt charged with something dangerously potent, a heady mix of Alpha pheromones and his expensive cologne. She should have moved away, should have done anything but stay rooted in place as he got even closer.
He inhaled deeply, and Serenity felt the pull in her core, the primal thrill of being desired by an Alpha who wanted her so utterly.
Her body responded with an aching need, a traitorous hum of pleasure at the mere thought of being the focus of such possessive attention. Something in her quivered, knowing the implications, knowing the risks, but still leaning toward the danger he represented.
Her custom scent-suppressing panties clung to her as she felt the unmistakable pooling of slick, a physical reaction she couldn't suppress no matter how hard she tried.
Lucian's touch was just as deliberate as everything else about him, his lips grazing her neck with a barely-there pressure that set off a cascade of shivers. Her back arched involuntarily, surrendering to the sensation in spite of her resolve.
"Blackthorn," she murmured, the name coming out as both a warning and an unwilling plea. Her voice betrayed her, feeding into his confidence.
His chuckle was rich, resonant with the satisfaction of a man who knew he had the upper hand. It was an audacious sound, full of the certainty that he was in control, that he had already won this round, and maybe the whole damn game. He moved even closer, every motion a testament to his intention, a smooth invasion of her space that left no room for retreat.
The intent was palpable in the air between them. He wasn't just being bold; he was laying claim, knowing exactly how far he could push her without provoking the fight-or-flight response. It was a gamble, a risk that only a man like him would dare to take, and he was betting that she'd stay exactly where she was.
Every move is calculated, every breath a challenge.
That I’m not going to fight against him.
“Tell me to stop if my company isn’t driving you mad,” he whispers darkly with that husky voice that sends a thrill through her. She barely takes a breath in an attempt to reply before his lips are already brushing her. The touch feels sacred as if he didn’t comprehend he’d even be able to pull it off, leaving them in a stillness as his lips pull apart just enough to keep him centimeters away.
Their shared look is electric, her whole body seemingly on fire before it escalates from the light touch of her thigh, moving along the dress pants of her suit while his eyes never leave hers.
She swallows the lump forming in her throat, desperate to ignore the maddening sensual rollercoaster she’s enduring in this Alphas Presence.
What is positively clear is the fact he knows what he’s doing.
Knows that he’s driving my body mad.
She bites her bottom lip in frustration, and how he watches like a predator in the shadows, ready to mark their prey. To claim their territory.
“You think an arrangement like this one…a fake arrangement if I may be so bold to suggest for your convenience at the idea of an easy, safe escape route, wouldn’t be beneficial to you, Ms. Vale?” he asked, his voice dangerous and low, a dark hum against her skin that sent a shiver racing through her.
The response was instinctive and reckless, the moan escaping her lips with a traitorous ease. He growled, the sound feral and primal, vibrating through her in waves that left her desperate and wanting more. The frenzied desire only intensified as his hand moved with deliberate slowness along the front of her dress top, working on the buttons.
Each soft click revealed bare skin, the top three undone to expose a hint of cleavage and the smooth line of her chest.
For a man who never acts unless he has the upper hand, he was pushing his luck with his advances. But maybe he already knew she wasn’t going to tell him to stop.
He looked at her first, a smirk playing on his lips as he gauged her reaction, inching closer to the nape of her neck like a creature of habit.
The slow drag of his tongue along her skin made her eyes flutter shut; she gave in for that single, senseless moment, reveling in the wild sensation he ignited. The forbidden touch sent a bolt of heat through her, blistering and unrestrained. She should have cared, should have stopped him.
She should have worried about the consequences, about the way this action might ripple through the tangled web of alliances.
Would Darius be fine with this?
The answer came to her with an irritating clarity. The possessive fucker would be watching approvingly from the shadows, only stepping in if Lucian crossed a line Darius didn’t want to be crossed.
As if any line existed between those ruthless bastards.
The click of her belt buckle coming undone snagged her attention, loud and stark against the roaring silence in her mind. She looked down to see his hand at work, inching her zipper down with a predatory determination.
Each minuscule sound rang in her ears with jarring clarity, demanding they both acknowledge the direction this was headed. He was testing her limits, pushing her to react, to choose whether she’d let him get away with claiming her so obliviously. She kept telling herself she could stop this.
She could stop him.
Couldn’t she?
Her own body was betraying her, and she knew it; Lucian did too.
He played her reactions like a maestro, every touch deliberate, every move calculated to drive her mad with need. She should have been ashamed of the slick pooling in her custom-designed scent-suppressing panties, but all she could feel was reckless excitement at the idea of being wanted by him so entirely.
The bastard knew he had the upper hand, and watching him enjoy it made her want to give in with a dangerous abandon.
When she can say a single word and get out of…
Yet.
She bites her bottom lip even harder now, her pussy throbbing with intensity at the idea of being touched by him, at the shocking realization of just how much she craved the feel of his hands on her.
The heat that seems to ooze into the surface of her skin in comparison to the chilled breeze around them makes her want to quiver in submission, and maybe this is what this is. Maybe this is what it means to have her body rule over her mind. Never before had the sheer force of her reaction obliterated her instincts, and overwhelmed her defenses.
She had always been the one in control, but now, with him, it was different.
He’s testing if she can be submissive.
If she’s willing to lower her defenses for him. For a potential group of Alphas who actually see her potential despite her hyper independence.
Being submissive has frightened her ever since she knew she’d become this way, since the day she found out she was an Omega. To give that kind of control over to someone else was to open herself to dangers she swore to avoid. But this was the first time she questioned whether she could be submissive based on the Alpha in question, the first time she understood that her fear might not be the whole story. Lucian had stayed in the shadows until now, but as he crept closer, she felt the binding nature of his presence pull at something deep and secret inside her.
When they share a look, she knows what he’s waiting for: a sign of defiance, any sort of resentment for what he wants to do. When she offers him none, when she doesn’t show a trace of rebellion, he slips his hand into her pants without hesitation, until his fingers caress the layer of her panties. He felt the thick wetness of her slick, and she felt the intensity of his touch vibrate through her as though he was striking a chord.
She doesn’t even need to try and pretend the scent of her arousal isn’t flooding their senses, doesn’t need to turn a blind eye to how perfectly pleased Lucian looks as he purposely inhales and exhales, savoring the evidence of his effect on her.
“You smell divine, princess,” he teases.
There was no retreat in him, no holding back. For a man with no patience or margin for error, he seemed curiously content to play the long game with her, to push without pushing too far. It was a mess of contradictions, and it tore at her. She couldn’t let herself trust it…trust him.
With that knowing smirk, he intensified the contact, dipping beneath the thin fabric to touch her bare skin, his thumb circling in that terribly insistent way with her clit that made her thighs quiver and her head spin. It was almost more than she could process.
“Your body has a mind of its own, Serenity,” he murmured, with an authority that made her pulse spike. “Just like I knew it would.”
She opened her mouth to deny him, but the haughty protest died as he slipped another finger in and curled it just right. Her body bowed toward him in white-hot desperation as she let out a breathless cry, as everything in her screamed. She was on the brink, on the edge, already too far gone to remember why she’d ever thought she could resist this. She arched into his touch, her hips jerking toward him in a final, reckless surrender.
The fabric is soaked by now, practically useless in its duty of suppressing anything, which is why he easily tugs it aside, allowing his fingers the joy of gliding along her slick-covered folds, before he slides one finger in to test the gushing pool of slick before a second finger, making her moan and lift her hips further to encourage his movement.
“Look at my royal,” he purrs enticingly as he pumps his fingers into her craving pussy. “So wet just for me.”
“I-I’m not,” she defiantly argues, which only makes him chuckle as he pauses, his fingers deep into her pussy and spreading teasingly until she whimpers and quivers at his domain.
"And yet here you are." His voice dropped an octave, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. "You may not want to recognize what pleases you, Serenity, but what your mind refuses to accept, your body is more than capable in acknowledging,” he emphasizes and inhales dramatically. “I can smell it on you. That beautiful scent of arousal that everyone who walks down this way will inhale and know I’m doing a good job as an Alpha by teasing the Omega I yearn to make a deal with."
Serenity fought the urge to squirm in her seat.
Damn her traitorous body.
“But wouldn’t it be nice if you let me, your potential Alpha, prove to you that I and my fellow alpha comrades can be of value,” he taunted, his voice dripping with challenge. He emphasized the suggestion with one final, insistent press against her clit, causing her whole body to jolt before he finally paused to gauge her response. When she met his gaze with that enticing mix of defiance and desire, he pulled his fingers out, making her whimper in frustration. The satisfied bastard spread his fingers wide, showing the slick that dripped from them and the obscene amount of desire she had for him in that moment, the proof of her need shamefully laid bare between them.
She blushed at the undeniable evidence, the hot flush creeping up her throat and blooming across her cheeks. His grin turned manic, and she knew he held all the power right then. Helplessly, she watched him lick his fingers, one by one, savoring every drop, deliberately slow, leaving no doubt about the effect he had or the control he wielded.
Then he put both fingers into his mouth and sucked on them, their eyes locked, ensuring she didn’t miss a thing. The wet sounds he made were lewd and intentional, and she could almost feel each step he took toward pushing her further, toward binding her to him. His aura was much too powerful; the sight alone had her nipples hardening and her pussy convulsing with an even deeper ache. The forbidden satisfaction he wore on his face broadcasted just how dangerous he could be for her.
Could she ever truly hope to resist an Alpha like him? One who knew how to dismantle her with a single touch, a single look?
She knew in that moment that he would never hesitate to appease her any time she needed.
“What...would be the consequences?” she managed to whisper at last. Her voice, though faint, held an urgency that betrayed how thoroughly he was unraveling her. If this crazed Alpha didn’t get her off with those fingers here and now, she knew she wouldn't have the strength or clarity to finish this conversation. At this point, she could barely think. Her mind was a haze of slick-coated desire, and she was beginning to doubt whether she even cared about the answer. Maybe she just wanted him to say anything that would justify what she was about to let him do, any excuse to let herself drown in this. Damn it. Maybe there was something wrong with her.
“No consequences, Darling,” he whispered back like it was some kind of penance, some kind of absolution for them both. The promise carried a thrilling recklessness, a fatalism that told her they could burn and he wouldn’t give a damn so long as she burned with him. He leaned in close enough to tease her with the ghost of a kiss, his lips brushing against hers like temptation incarnate. “No strings attached. Nothing that doesn’t fall in your favor, Serenity.” It sounded impossibly good. Too good. She wanted to believe it. Wanted to believe him so badly it hurt. “I’m psycho, but I always keep my word.”
He crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her long and hard, testing the limits of her resolve, seeing if that would push her over the edge—but she didn’t stop herself. She kissed him back hungrily, lost in the madness of it all. Unlike Darius, who fought for dominance in every move, with Lucian, she had more control and power. He let her take the lead, meeting her demand with a rawness that felt almost hesitant. It was as though he wasn’t used to giving this much of himself, as though he kissed like he was afraid of affection. The oddest thing to pick up on, and yet she felt it in her gut. There was so much to unpack with him.
So much to learn about this mystery of an Alpha and why he teetered between the brink of insanity and dominating success.
She pulled back slightly, breathless, watching him carefully. “If there’s really no catch, no downside, then why?” she pressed, wanting to see if he’d flinch. “Why go through all this trouble for me? What’s your deal, Lucian?” She tried to keep her voice steady, but the need he’d stirred in her was a ruthless bastard. It clawed at her, and made every word she spoke sound like a plea. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
Lucian didn’t flinch. He didn’t even bat an eye.
“Consider it a strategic partnership,” he said smoothly, as if talking dirty to her and discussing business were one and the same. “One I’m very invested in.” He tilted his head and gave her a look so penetrating she swore he could see right through her. “You said it yourself, Serenity: I’m a mystery. And don’t you want to solve me? Don’t you want to learn why I’m the kind of Alpha who can smell an opportunity—and the Omega I want—and have them both?”
There it was.
Not just a challenge, but an all-out dare. Her heart pounded against her ribs like a caged thing.
Damn him. Damn how calculating and brilliant he was. Damn, how tempting he made everything sound.
His hand takes advantage of the moment to slide back to where it felt like it belonged, into her pulsing pussy, pumping into her at the perfect pace while his lips silenced her before she could suddenly try and deny the emotions rushing through her.
She wanted to scream that he was full of shit, that she didn’t need him or anyone else, but her body had betrayed her, exposed her, and now her mind was starting to as well. He groaned as though he could hear her silent struggle and moved his hand against her with renewed purpose, fingers sliding in and out until she couldn’t think anymore.
“Are you going to cum for me, my pretty little royal?” Lucian taunted in an exaggerated Alpha tone, but there was an underlying anticipation to it, eagerness tinging his voice with a rawness that was almost a plea. “Let me feel you come undone for your Alpha, hmm?”
Each word pushed her closer, whetted her need until she was nearly past the point of no return. His fingers worked like he knew her body better than she did, slick and relentless, driving her toward a surrender that she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. Damn him. She felt herself start to give in, her resolve breaking, the last shred of resistance melting away as every inch of her begged for release. They both knew he had her.
Her body pulsed to obey, her orgasm just at the peak of euphoria, until it overwhelmed her and she thrashed against him, keening, almost sobbing, and finally coming undone.
“L-Lucian,” she dared to breathe out his name like molten sin, and it made him chuckle dangerously low against her ear as he tugged on her ear lobe.
“That’s it,” he breathed, savoring the way she convulsed in his grip, the way she shattered under his touch. “My royal. My pack’s Omega.”
His pack’s Omega.
The words rang in her ears, louder than the hammering of her pulse. She jerked away from him, panting, trying to regain control, trying to cage the chaos inside her chest. He didn’t hesitate to pull his fingers out, but before she could try to make further distance, his hand wrapped around her neck, stilling her while he offered his soaked fingers with a cunning smile that told her exactly what he wanted.
She couldn’t feel more flushed and embarrassed, as if she’s not realizing they just did all of that in the corner of the restaurant, with other people nearby, eating away. She tries to hide it while her eyes lock on Lucians before moving to those dripping fingers.
She’s too far gone to back away from this challenge, so she does what’s always been so damn hard for her to achieve.
Submits to the man who not only gave her the pleasure her body yearned for but seemingly protected her in his own way.
Protection in the most surreptitious way, like the fact no one has come by since they started the heated exchange, and how she’s positive none of it would be used against her because it would come back to him. It was a bit dangerous to assume, and yet, she could see against all odds, the loyalty in his eyes.
She leans in, eyes boring into his, while her mouth wraps around the base of his offered fingers and she sucks nice and slow, moving upward as the walls of her mouth tighten. He watches every single movement, holding his breath while his eyes never leave the intensity of hers.
She wanted to prove that yes, she could be submissive, and she would allow him to give value in the ways she needed as an Omega, but she could also be of service.
That started with her mouth.
The loud ‘plop’ of her lips leaving his fingers only follows with her licking her lips to acknowledge her own sweet taste. She had never been so “freaky” especially in public, but yet here she was, on the first “confrontational date” with Blackthorn, committing things she’d never do with any other Alpha.
Not even Darius.
His smile not only lightens his entire face, but his eyes twinkle with pride and temptation. She can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“Why don’t we enjoy some dessert before we continue,” he offers with a wink. “Would be good for us to continue this conversation with a fresh palette.”
She blushes at his commentary but lets out a huff.
“Fine.”
The real conversation was going to happen, but this teaser of lust was beyond her wildest expectations.