Chapter Thirty
CHAPTER THIRTY
GETTING WOKEN BY a phone call at eight in the morning on a Sunday is not my ideal start to the day. Swiping the device from my nightstand, I frown at the unknown number on the screen. I am tempted to ignore it, but my instincts tell me that would be a mistake.
“Shiloh Acherley.”
“Ah, good morning, Mr. Acherley. I apologize for the early call. My name is Donovan Griffith.”
Curious. Why is a DAU leader reaching out to me? With the Montgomery cult being dismantled, I assumed the threats against the label would lessen. “What can I do for you, Mr. Griffith?”
“I spoke with your brother and other leaders at the FCDA,” he explains.
I guess Jericho gave him my number. Not that I can be upset with my brother. He is always looking out for my staff’s safety.
“With both of our agencies spread thin tackling the situation in New Hampshire and tracking the breeding ring active here on the East Coast, we have found ourselves in a bit of a situation. Jericho suggested you may be able to help.”
“And what situation would that be? I’m afraid I don’t have much leeway to help financially. That is a decision that all the label executives would need to make together.”
Donovan barks a short laugh. “No, we don’t need that kind of help. Though donations are always appreciated. You have met Bea and Omen Powell, correct?”
My body jerks upright hearing her name, heart racing as a thousand thoughts fly through my head. Has something happened? It isn’t a stretch to believe the scattered Montgomery cult members could target Omen for her role in bringing their leader down. She and Bea share an apartment, which would make both omegas face the same danger.
“I have,” I grit the words between clenched teeth. Every particle of my being is urging me to rush out of my apartment and track Bea down. I need to see with my own eyes that she is unharmed.
“Last night, someone attempted to break into their apartment. The police arrived quickly, but the intruder fled before they could apprehend them.”
Fucking Fates. Who the fuck dared to try to go after my omega?!
“We need to move both girls to safer locations, which is where our problem arises.”
I connect the dots quickly. They want to send Bea to stay with me until the threat against her is resolved. My apartment building is the safest in the city, and I could provide a secure means for her to get to and from the office. Am I prepared to have her in my space for an undetermined amount of time? Her scent permeating every inch of my apartment and car?
“Sabine can stay with me.” The words slip from my lips before my mind has time to fully process what I am agreeing to. If her options are to stay with me, or be sent elsewhere, I’d rather know her safety was in my hands.
“Perfect. Thank you. Both girls are still asleep, so we likely won’t be dropping Bea off until early to mid-afternoon. If you could set up her access to your apartment before then, that would be beneficial.”
The phone drops to the bed beside me after he hangs up. I stare up at my ceiling, realization sinking in. Did I really just agree to allow the omega who haunts my every waking thought to stay in my guest room for an indeterminate amount of time?
Fate grant me the strength to resist the pull between us. The last thing we need is an unwanted bond tearing apart the pack she is building with her former bodyguard.
I’m pacing the floor by my front door when I hear the alert on my phone from apartment security letting me know Miss Powell is on her way up. I open the door a crack to hear the elevator when they arrive. Nerves have my eye twitching as I wait.
Why did I agree to this again?
When the doors open, I see her step out onto my floor. A curious look in her dreamy midnight blue eyes. She’s wearing high-waisted jeans decorated with white daisies and a flowy white crop top. So sweet, the picture of youthful innocence. I swing my door open and her eyes fly to mine. Her clothes may express sunshine and kindness, but a fire burns in her soul.
She doesn’t say anything as Donovan introduces himself. Instead, she grabs her suitcase from his hand and ducks around me to walk inside. The inner brat in her is bulging at the seams, demanding to be let out.
Clenching my jaw, I speak with her guardian for a few moments, learning more about the threat against her, before he leaves us to settle in. Closing the door behind me, I immediately notice her discarded suitcase and shoes. They are haphazardly sat by the stand I keep my mail on. The disarray bothers me. It has been too long since I’ve shared my home with someone else. Rules will need to be spelled out between us.
My limited control over my instincts is endangered by her presence in my space. I cannot afford to also have her testing my patience with her messiness. I will snap and put her over my knee faster than either of us is prepared for.
Fate grant me the strength to walk away from her stay unbonded and unattached.
After a short nap on my couch, Bea had dragged her suitcase into the guest room and locked the door behind her. I half expected to have to drag her from the bedroom this morning, but am pleasantly surprised to find her awake when I step into the kitchen.
She’s wearing another soft sweater that makes my cock ache. Memories of the many times I jerked off over the remnants of her scent on the one I’d stolen from her office desk rush into my mind. If I can’t get a hold of myself, I may have to borrow this one too.
“Good Morning, Sabine.”
Bea narrows a hard look my way before raising a mug to her lips. My jaw ticks when I notice she is drinking coffee from my favorite cup. Not even a full day in and she’s already messing with my routines. “Good Morning, Mr. Acherley.”
I fucking hate hearing her address me so professionally. The sound of my name slipping from her lips is utter perfection. It would only be better if I was knot deep inside of her when she screamed it. “No need for formality when we are at home,” I say casually, fixing myself a to-go cup of coffee to get me through the morning.
She is silent as she washes her cup and sets it aside to dry. Her shoulder brushes mine as she walks by me. “I am a stranger in your home. A guest you are temporarily burdened with as a favor to your contact at the FCDA. Nothing more. It would be inappropriate for me to address you as anything else, sir.”
A shudder wracks my body and I snap. In the blink of an eye, my hand is around her throat as I pin her to the entryway wall. Resting my forearm above her head, my chest heaves. “Do not play with me, Sabine.”
“P-play with you?” she splutters. Honey sweet perfume fills the air between us, latching onto my barely contained instincts and trying to unreel them. “You seem to mistake the boundaries I am setting as interest. Which I can assure you, I have none. My heart is worth more than being tethered to someone who behaves as though I am a bug beneath his shoe.”
My brows furrow as I stare into her eyes, trying to decipher her words. I have been callous and cold, yes, but I have never been disrespectful. We rarely interact at work, and outside of it-
Ah. She must be referring to our surprise encounter at the bistro in the city several days ago.
“Sabine—Bea, my words then were not meant to shame you-“
“Having good intentions doesn’t excuse the pain you cause others,” she interjects firmly.
I reel back, feeling as though I’ve been slapped. Pain? Brushing her off hurt her?
“If you’ll excuse me, we have to leave for work.” She pushes on my arm, trying to get me to move, but I refuse to budge.
“No,” I tell her, shaking my head. “I need to apologize. I’m sorry, Bea. I should have told my brother you worked for me at the label.”
“Your brother?”
I brush my thumb along her cheek, reveling in the softness of her skin. “Yes. Jericho is my little brother, and my contact at the FCDA.”
Her lips part in surprise. The tiniest wrinkle sits between her brows as she thinks. I’ve known since the moment we met she was beautiful, but standing so close it doesn’t seem to be an accurate enough descriptor. Blue eyes shine like the purest of sapphires beneath long, dark lashes. Full lips painted a nude pink beg to be kissed until they’re swollen. She’s magnificent. A goddess walking among mortals, capturing our hearts after a single moment in her presence.
“Shiloh…”
My name is a question on her lips. It isn’t right. I want—no. I need to hear her say it with meaning. To cry out for me the way my soul is constantly begging for her.
The first press of my lips to hers has her stiffening. Uncertainty blazes from her dark eyes, but she melts beneath the next swipe. I watch, enraptured, as she kisses me back. She tries to wrangle control of our pace, but I squeeze her throat in warning.
Breaking away, her head leans back against the wall. The rise and fall of her chest brushes more of her scent onto my suit. I’m going to have to spray myself with descenter to prevent the entire office from spreading rumors about us.
Swallowing thickly, the reality of our situation crashes back around me. “Bea.”
Her eyes open and she looks at me, mouth thinning. “I won’t apologize for kissing you, but this—you and me? It can’t happen.”
“Of course it can’t.” She tries to shove me away again, but I crowd her closer to the wall. If she wants to be angry at me, to be hurt by my refusal, she can do so while I watch. I deserve every second of her anger and agony. Her head drops, so she’s staring at the floor. “I’m just Fated to be with men who can’t , aren’t I.”
Pulling my arm away from the wall, I grip her chin, tilting her head up. My thumb drops to press against the curve of her neck where it meets her shoulder. The most popular place for alphas to bite their mates. “I cannot be what you need, Omega. If I claim you, that’s it. You would be mine, and mine alone. I. Do. Not. Share.”
Her eyes roam over my face before she glances away, hesitating at the serious tone of my voice. I let my fingers trail across her skin as I step back. Now she understands. If I allow myself to bond her, I will hurt her when I take away her ability to bond the other mates she has found. It is better for us both if the distance between us grows.
I grab my phone and keys from the island and open the door, holding it for her. “Whenever you are ready, Miss Powell.”