44. Callisto
Chapter forty-four
Callisto
Out in the Center car park, Director Yun plants his hands on his hips. “Does that satisfy you, Red?”
The gorgeous omega grins. “Yes, sir! That was perfect.” She steps to his side and kisses his cheek.
“Right then,” he grumbles, his alpha scent flaring. “I expect you at work bright and early Monday. It’s only a reading, but I do hope you’re memorizing your lines.”
Rickon chimes in. “We’re working on it.”
“I won’t let you down,” Red adds, still beaming.
I’ve no idea why that little display back there was so important to her, but the smile on her face does things to my heart. I stare at her lips, longing to taste what her happiness tastes like. I catch my dangerous thoughts and lock them away. I’ve no right to lust after a woman I rejected.
“Ready to go home?” I ask.
Red’s eyes light up even more. “Yes. Lead the way.”
Director Yun says goodbye and heads over to his sleek white BMW, and I grab the suitcase Red brought with her from the Center and lead the way to my car. It’s always been easier for me to use a driving service rather than worry about fueling up so this car doesn’t get much use but that might change, now an omega will be living with us.
My heart pangs as I hold the door for them to get in the back, and Red immediately throws herself at her alpha. Her nutty scent mingles with my friend’s vanilla, filling the car like a baklava shop. I settle into the driver’s seat and glance back to find Red straddling Ricky’s lap, kissing him thoroughly. My mouth waters, and my cock sits up. Dammit.
“I’m going to have to ask you to put seat belts on,” I warn.
Red giggles and kisses her alpha a few more times. The scene reminds me of Red and her conversation about knots with the nurse at the Center. If she hasn’t had Ricky for nearly two weeks, I bet she’s real hungry.
My cock agrees, which is none of its damn business. Fuck!
Rickon slides the omega off his lap and buckles her in before reaching for his own seat belt. The mirror shows the grin on his face, and it’s a look of pure joy I’ve never seen before. My breath catches.
“Well, are we going or not, driver?” Red asks, shifting to cross one leg over Rickon’s knee in a tiny act of defiance. Or maybe she just can’t bear not to be in contact.
I chuckle and switch on the engine. Never in my life have I been a third wheel. All through college it was Rickon I invited to come with me when I had dates. Was it this bittersweet for him?
“Did you see the look on their faces?” Red says with another giggle. “That’ll teach them for thinking I was making it up.”
“Making what up exactly?” I ask, easing out through the gated checkpoint. In the rearview mirror, I see Rickon take her hand and lace their fingers together.
Red grins and rests her chin on her fist, staring out the window. “I’ve told them for years my alphas were coming for me.”
Shock runs through me, and I touch the brake pedal by accident, jolting us. The woman at the center of my criminal cases, this sweet omega, rotted away on her own in an abusive omega trading hub, waiting for her alphas to come rescue her, but they didn’t come. She had to go to them. And after all that, I ran for the hills. I must be the world’s biggest asshole.
I grip the steering wheel tight and apologize for the jolt. Asshole or not, I still need to have a career, so it’s not like I could have just dropped everything. But from the sounds of it, Red might have accepted even the smallest sacrifice on my part. If I hadn’t so royally screwed up, I could be in the back seat now, holding her. My stomach churns.
Regret sells no apples, as Dad used to say. But it sure stings. Burns me the whole drive back to my place, even as Red and Ricky chatter excitedly in the background, mostly talking about the upcoming film.
I park the car in my space under the building and grab Red’s suitcase, leading Red and Rickon to the elevator. We switch elevators in the lobby since all traffic goes through the ground floor, and then I swipe my card on the residents’ elevator.
“We’re on the top floor,” I tell Red as I push the button with a ten on it. “I’ve got a keycard for you upstairs.”
Her thousand-watt smile gives me an instant tan. “Exciting!” She looks around the polished interior and bumps her shoulder against Ricky’s. “Bit different from your front steps.”
Ricky snorts with amusement. “Understatement of the year. Callisto already had money before he became a lawyer. Now he’s just stupid wealthy.”
“So don’t mock my interior design skills, or I’ll sue you,” I joke.
Red slides a sultry look from me to her lover. “So now we just spend all his money while he works his ass off?”
Ricky loses it, leaning against the handrail to laugh. “Sounds good to me.”
I snort. “Says the man who rarely lets me pay for our beers.” I catch Red’s eye and grin. “But go ahead and spend it, if you can.” I wink at her. So far she’s refused to accept even free legal help from me, so it would be great if she did spend my money. Then I could feel like I was doing something useful for her.
The elevator grinds to a halt and the doors slide open. We step across the narrow foyer and a flutter of nerves explodes in my belly as I consider that I’m bringing an omega into my house. I’ve never felt nervous with any woman I’ve brought here before.
“Home, sweet home,” I say, unlocking the double doors and throwing them wide open.
Rickon bends down, grunting with effort as he scoops Red up. When he sways, I brace his arms. He’s a lightweight guy, after all. Red laughs and clings to his neck as he carries her just across the threshold, and then staggers. I leap forward but miss, and they go down in a tangle of limbs.
“Shit!” Rickon cries, reaching for her head. “You okay?”
Red flops on her back, laughing.
The parrot in his cage in the corner shrieks. “Bastard! Fuck off!”
“Yeah, I deserved that,” Ricky says with a groan.
The omega presses her hands to her mouth as peals of laughter erupt. “Good timing, Ozzie,” she gasps.
Chuckling, I reach down and offer them both a hand up. “I’m not sure if the floor got christened or you guys did, but welcome either way.”
Red gets smoothly to her feet and looks around, taking in the spacious open plan centered around a staircase that doubles back on itself. “Nice.”
“Rooms are up.” I point to the ceiling and take her suitcase.
Red strolls through the open area, admiring the cascading pendant lights hanging from the high ceilings, the modern black-and-chrome kitchen, and grayscale living area with low couches. It’s all fashionable, but now that I look at it with the omega in the center with her red hair ablaze, it all seems a bit lifeless.
Red pauses beside a closed door.
“That’s the library,” Rickon volunteers, bending around her to open the door. She giggles as he kisses her neck, and then his gaze lifts to me. “Callisto’s always been buried in books,” he says with a warm smile.
I shrug. “That’s where the knowledge is,” I offer as I head for the stairs, easily lifting her bag. Can’t be much inside to weigh this little. I make a mental note to order Red a debit card of her own so she can get the things she needs. “Come on. Come see the bedrooms,” I call. “Mine’s first on the right, but the ones you’ll be interested are all to the left.”
Red follows me up the stairs. I set her suitcase down on the landing so I can show her the nest. “Check this out,” I declare, throwing the door open.
Red freezes.