Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
HENDRIX
T he distress alarm slices through the paradise I’ve found. Simona’s shock has her pulling away, but not so far that I miss the way her eyes dance to mine, searching for answers.
“You are safe with me,” I offer as I drag my thumb over her plump lips. They’re very distracting. “But I do need to go.”
Holding her hand in one of mine, I take us out into the hallway and walk straight past my office to the back exit. There’s no real risk of anyone coming into this part of the building, security is already providing an update into the small earpiece I wear. Several staff are on route to the Flamingo room, and I’ll be there as soon as Simona is safely away. Try telling my brain that though. I stand so near her, no one would ever know someone was in front of me. It feels right, but I’m also unsure how long it will be before I can physically feel her this close again. My hand on her hip is overly possessive but I have zero fucks to give.
In the laneway, a car waits. The driver, Danny, is already starting the engine when he sees me. It’s not the first time we’ve rushed people outside this way, but it is the first time I have rushed someone out for my own reasons. Thoughts of protecting her, making sure she is okay, drive me to be entirely selfish in my focus.
The surge in my drive to protect isn’t the biggest surprise of the night. I’ve always been overly protective of what is mine, but letting my staff fend for themselves is new.
I act as if we have an army racing towards us when I swoop her off her feet and into my arms. There’s no real need, aside from a lump inside my chest that won’t let up until she is in my embrace.
“I’m okay,” she whispers quietly. I think she’s talking to herself, but when I glance up, she’s looking up at me with those huge sparkling blue-hazel coloured-eyes of hers.
Jesus, I’m immediately thrown by the colour of them. At first, I thought they were bluer, but right now they’re greener. I want to be the one to learn how many different hues and tones they actually have.
“More for my sake than yours,” I answer. It’s uncharacteristic of me to explain myself but at the same time it feels completely normal.
Once we’re at the door, I set her down, but my hand on her hip asking her to stay. Leaning down, I press an urgent kiss to the spot under her ear I seem to have claimed as mine.
“Danny will stay out in front of Unity tonight. I’ll arrange better security once I’m at my desk.”
“I don’t need security. It will make it worse. Please.” Her eyes fall away as she argues quietly.
“Tonight at least, he stays there. Later we can discuss it further. Lock yourself in your room, leave a message on his phone saying the owner of the club wouldn’t give you access and made you get in a car. No ifs ands or butts, even if he calls or messages you. I’ll be explaining very clearly what I have done, minus a few pertinent reasons why, but your Alpha has bigger troubles than wondering where you are.”
“Is he the cause of the alarm?” she asks, her gaze falling away. She scents of his guilt which pisses me off.
“Looks like,” I offer, capturing her chin in my fingers pulling those spell-binding eyes back to mine. “He is not your responsibility. A grown Alpha made a conscious decision to seek membership, pay the exorbitant application fee, which is incidentally not something everyone can afford. But he did so knowing the rules of my establishment because you have to read, then agree to abide by them before you can process payment. The security team is in the room and he’s cooperating.”
It is like watching opposing forces at play. In my arms she’s completely present and one hundred percent in, but emotionally she’s withdrawing. Fast, like water draining out of a bathtub leaving me looking at a different version of her. One that I’m not a fan of, but one I would cherish as much as the confident woman who kisses me back with lust on her lips and seduction in her eyes.
Her gaze falls away. I wait for them to come back to mine, shutters are up in them as she shields herself protectively. I’m not a betting man, but she obviously has made her mind up about something. Given we were discussing her Alpha, it’s to assume I need to be careful. But being careful didn’t get me to where I am today.
Opening the car door, I guide her in the back, then place her bag on her lap. “You have money and a phone. Use them both. I’ll call you later and leave a message to let you know what happened. But I’m not going to play games, Simona, the version I give you will be a recount of what actually happens. You’ll only get the truth from me.”
Doubt colours her eyes, and the small self-deprecating huff she makes as she pulls away spins the dial on my mood. I’d planned to approach her Alpha with an open mind, but her reactions have me ready to rip the little shit a new asshole. Given the way she’s shutting down, it’s clear she’s used to people lying or screwing with her.
I catch her chin, tilting her face so she can’t look away. “Tonight has been a shock. For all of us. But you don’t ever leave me acting the way you are right now.”
Her eyes drop in an instant—faster than a rock to the ground.
I growl at the way she misunderstood me. Which confirms my earlier assumption she’s being metaphorically beaten down. It might take me a while as I earn her trust, but I will get to the bottom of who has marred this beautiful innocent woman.
But the past isn’t the issue right this second, it’s about us starting the right way and resolving things from the get-go. I squat down and tap her leg to get her attention which is harder said than done, she’s shutting down. “I wasn’t having a go. I’m not going to demand you act or feel a certain way, but in time I want us to be able to trust each other. If you’re angry, or upset, I want to know why. If I am, I will let you know the reasons. Can we do that?”
Simona chews her lip like she’s got a few things she wants to say but at the same time I’m fully aware I’m pushing hard. I stand up, giving her space, and while she doesn’t look directly at me, she follows my movements.
“And for the record, your lips are incredible. I’ll be dreaming of them way too much.”
I don’t miss the small smirk on them, or the faint blush that paints her cheeks rosy pink. Shutting the door, I walk to speak with Danny. “Perhaps on the way, you’d tell your passenger you’re in need of late-night snacks then order too much. Pick up extra supplies while you’re there and then insist they’re hers. Stay out front of Unity Collegiate and keep an eye on her.”
Danny doesn’t need to promise me anything. I know without a shadow of a doubt the man is loyal. As they drive off, I try Ryder, then Dom, and leave the same message for each of them.
“She has an Alpha. The stupid prick is in the Flamingo Room causing shit and all I see is an opportunity. If you don’t hear from me before the sun rises, please call my lawyer.” I laugh, hanging up, already imagining Ryder’s cheeky grin as he reads my message while my lawyer would be pinching his beautiful lips.
The walk back through Noire doesn’t fill me with the usual sense of accomplishment. Instead, I’m spurred on by coming face to face with him. As is standard protocol, the members have been separated, a guard stationed with each of themwhile our staff are already waiting in my office.
Stopping to wash my hands, and regretfully wipe her scenting off my face, I elect to change my suit. Despite knowing how steadying her scent would be, I’m not prepared to put her at risk. Her cookies and cream scent are impossible to ignore, but the other reason is I’ll be able to savour her scent later this way.
After listening to Coco and Justin recount their version, I arrange for them to be checked by our resident medic before finishing their shift and insisting they relax in one of the staff suites.
I feel strangely relaxed myself, even after pushing the door to where Brody Henderson greets me with the biggest shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen.He takes a step towards me, and I let him run the show.
“God, what a mess,” he offers sympathetically, flicking his chin up, intentionally keeping his posture as neutral as the look on his face .
In a lot of ways, he’s not what I expected; he’s got a schmooze about him, but it’s something a lot of rich, entitled men his age carry. It’s an indicator of his confidence and I’m sure a lot of people would trip over themselves to befriend him.
I’m not here to make friends. Using my hand, I wave to where I want him to sit, essentially in the thick of it. The small chair I pull in front of the bed I’m forcing him to sit on should be a clear sign of what I want to speak with him about, and as expected, he immediately jumps to try to placate me.
“I am sorry…”
I cut him off with a look. “And what is it exactly you’re apologising for?”
He throws his hands up in mock surrender. The cocky smirk on his face is as patronising as I expected. Clearly, I’m aware I was already not a fan because of his association with Simona, but at the same time he grates against my nerves.
I literally loathe everything he is and what he represents. And, yeah, I know I’m judging him without knowing, but much like I knew instantly that Simona was mine, I know this fucktard and I are never going to see eye to eye. He is everything I despise—pompous, conceited, wrapped in an air of entitlement so thick it nearly masks his scent. Which, for the record, is as offensive as he is. I grab the scent neutraliser we use and hand it to him, barely resisting the urge to lob it straight at his head.
While he sprays, he gets somehow even more brazen like he’s aware he’s under my skin. “Are you the manager?” he asks.
Instead of answering, I rest my forearms on the tops of my thighs, leaning into his space. “I’m confused.”
That statement has him tipping his head. The well-practised, oily smile drops slightly while in his eyes there’s a stirring of suspicion. I pause, knowing he will break first .
“About?”
“Do you not understand the word no?”
He recoils before managing to refix his expression. I’m getting under his skin, and he doesn’t like it one bit.
Before he can explain himself, I go on. “I ask because in our terms and conditions of membership, which according to your signature on the form you read, we stipulate in black and white that any scene or situation requires ongoing consent. The cameras in the room, and there were three on record, have the male Omega you were engaging with making it very clear he did not want you to bite him.”
“He didn’t complain once when I was knotting him.”
“Perhaps you missed him telling you to stop because you were choking him? You may have robbed him of his voice, Mr. Henderson, but even I could see him shaking his head and fighting you off. Thankfully, my other employees did not miss his obvious signs he was not consenting. It took them seconds to react.”
He rolls his eyes. “Hardly an issue then, is it? Honestly, it was nothing more than a nip in the heat of the moment.”
“No means no.”
“I’d suggest Jasper,” he starts. The smirk on his face gets even cockier in his intentional misuse of Justin’s name.
“Justin,” I interrupt. Shutting down his flippancy. “At Noire we do not muck around with idle threats when it comes to breaches of the rules, nor do we take threats against our staff lightly.” I take my time, letting my words sink in. “Your membership has been revoked.”
“You can’t do that.” He surges to his feet.
I stay exactly where I am, letting him take a few steps towards me. I hope he loses control and lashes out. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than punching him in the face. “It’s already done. ”
“I paid a year’s membership fee,” he says, barely able to hold back the bark.
I hold my posture, despite wanting to physically pick him up and throw him out of my establishment. Dominic will be so impressed at my self-control, and my manners. I even manage to hold back the triumphant smirk when I answer. “And that has been refunded in full.”
I can see his mind ticking a hundred miles and hour, and even before he opens his mouth to threaten me, I can see it coming a mile away. “I’ll sue.”
Shrugging, I stand up not because I’m feeling threatened, it’s more based on my impatience to get this finished. “That’s your choice. But we will counter. We have nothing to hide here.”
“You run a fucking whore house.”
“Correct, I do. Interestingly, tonight you were one of the customers taking full advantage of the services I offer. Paying extra even to suck the cock of one of my male Omegas. My award-winning whore house also has every permit and approval required by law. I run it above board, and with full support of the local government and the police department. And just because you can’t seem to manage adhering to the membership conditions don’t waste time trying to turn this into a me situation. I assure you, Mr. Henderson, since you and I are having this discussion, it most certainly is a you problem.”
He begins to talk but I don’t give him the chance and cut him off. “I’ve already come up with the solution, completely legal too. In the terms and conditions of membership, the very ones you agreed to but have completely forgotten, there’s a clause about consent being king here and any breaches provides me, the owner, with the opportunity of revoking membership. None of the other people who joined with you are having their memberships revoked because none of the other people in this room with you broke any rules. In fact, being completely transparent, I refunded their membership fees as a show of good faith because I was so embarrassed by your actions.”
And I just took away his means of blocking my mate from seeing me. Not that he’s aware that is my only motivation.
“Did you have everything you brought with you?” I say, walking past him to open the door to the suite and holding it for him to pass through. I’ve got nothing else I need to say to him about his time in my club at least.
He scoffs and eyerolls several times on our way to the door. But like the immature piece of shit, I’m finding out he is, he is venomous as he surges past me to where his friends are waiting, dropping threats like they are candy.
“I think we’re done.” I speak over the top of his protests, shutting the door on his tirade, making it slam in his face. Because I fucking can.