Chapter 5
Five
RYLAN
I stand back as I watch Violet work her way through the finger foods, loading up her plate until there’s not an empty spot remaining. She adjusts her hold on everything as she grabs a glass and tries to pour herself some of the water that has cucumbers and strawberries floating in it. I’m closing the distance before I can stop myself, intent on helping her keep from spilling the food or dropping the glass. Her hold juggles a bit, and she mutters a curse.
“Let me get that for you,” I say, grabbing the full plate of food from her hands as she bobbles it again.
Her gaze whips to mine, her grip tightening on the plate, before her eyes widen and her shoulders relax.
“Oh,” she whispers. She glances around us, like she’s making sure no one is paying attention, and then relinquishes the plate into my hold.
Why is she so concerned if people notice us interacting?
I bite back the question. It’s not like it really matters. Nothing can happen between us, so her motivations aren’t my problem.
“Bold dress,” I say into the lengthening silence.
Her lip quirks, curling up at the corner, and a flash of amusement crosses her eyes before a careful neutrality settles back over her.
“You think so?” She turns around once, the draping skirt moving like water around her curves. My dick stirs, but I do my best to ignore it. “It felt like a pretty safe option, all things considered.”
I raise an eyebrow, and she grins.
“I could have picked something with a plunging neckline or pieces cut out of it. Or maybe something sheer. My mother would freaking lose it if she saw photos surface of me in something sheer.”
I toss my head back and laugh.
“I can’t imagine what you’d do to the Alphas here if you showed up in a sheer dress,” I say, still chuckling. “Guarantee half of them are sporting hard-ons just with this one.” Me included.
Her cheeks bloom a gorgeous deep red, and I grin.
“So you’re Rylan, right?” she asks, sidestepping my comment.
Nerves clench my stomach. Why am I suddenly so unsure how to interact? I’ve been going to stuffy functions like this for literal years as part of the philharmonic.
You didn’t know how to interact with Jasper either, you idiot .
True. But, again, it’s not like this can end similarly to how everything shook out with him. So why do I care if I make a wrong move now?
Clearing my throat, I hand her the plate of finger foods and take the still-empty cup from her hands, turning to fill it from the large pitchers unobtrusively guarded by two waitstaff.
“Wasn’t aware Omegas worried about the names of the Alphas,” I say, handing off the water.
She shrugs and glances away. “Maybe I’m not like other Omegas.” She grimaces, her nose scrunching. “Oh, disgusting. That makes me sound like a freaking ‘pick me’ girl. Not what I meant.”
Tucking my hands into my pockets, I gently lead her away from the food and toward the nearest table, pulling a chair and dropping into it. She leans against the edge, cocking her hip and messing up the tablecloth. The damn dress moves over her again, highlighting the very real fact that she’s a goddamn bombshell and I want to fuck her into next week.
I glance around the ballroom, trying to tell if the guys are back from Jasper calming down Dominic.
Except thinking about the ways Jasper enjoys calming down Dominic the most just has my dick going from half-hard to fully aching. I spread my legs a bit and lean back in the seat, trying to take some of the pressure off without making it noticeable.
“I made sure to know your name so I could request you again,” she admits in a fast rush of air. Before I can respond, she looks back toward the dance floor and then shoves a small pastry into her mouth. Whole.
Fuck, why does she have to be so fucking alluring? I shouldn’t have sought her out. I should have just let Dominic stay in a bad mood and keep us sequestered in the far corner like his plan clearly had been. What the hell could even happen? Absolutely nothing but the sad state of my dick.
“Couldn’t they just look up your file?” My voice has dropped an octave. I stretch my neck and clear my throat.
She shrugs and focuses back on me. Her throat ripples with her swallow. “Assuming I get there in time to still be reasonably with it. And then assuming they pull the right Alpha. I’m not one to leave that many variables to chance.”
That’s only two variables. They’re significant, sure, but still… I bite back the question. The last thing I want is to sour this one final interaction with my own curiosity that ultimately will mean nothing.
She traces the edge of the plate and crosses her ankles. Her gaze flicks across the room, like she’s looking for someone. The movement has the light catching on a long silver bar in her ear, simple and understated.
“You didn’t have that piercing,” I offer instead of calling out her nervous fidgeting.
Who was she looking for? Maybe that girl she’d been chatting with? Or was there someone else she was hoping to find?
Something very similar to jealousy lodges in my stomach.
She shakes her head. “I took them all out so I didn’t risk them ripping out.”
There’s another long pause.
“I guess this explains why they said you weren’t available last month.”
My chest absolutely does not twist under the thread of melancholy weaving through her voice.
“It’s a noncompete type thing,” I say, trying to ease the sting of not being with her for a second heat. I’m happy with Jasper, damn it. Dominic is convinced we can make this work without an Omega. There’s no way I’m going to jeopardize our dynamic now when we’re so close to being on his father’s good side. I offer a quick explanation. “Once you’re registered as a pack, they don’t allow you to work at the Haven.”
She tilts her head, her lips pursing. “I suppose that makes sense.”
Her eyes widen, her hands stilling. Before I can say anything, she’s ducking away, her food forgotten on the table. I’m two seconds away from going after her when a hand lands on my shoulder. I twist around, finding myself nearly nose to nose with Jasper. His eyes are wide, his mouth set in a firm line.
“I thought you were getting food,” he says.
I glance behind him, but Dominic’s nowhere to be seen.
“I was,” I say, shrugging off his hand and standing. “And then I got to chatting with someone I recognized. What’s wrong?”
Jasper sucks in a breath, his countenance going from concerned to betrayed to damn near wild in the span of a heartbeat. He moves the chair from between us, taking up every single inch of space until our noses are almost touching. He’s shorter than me by a couple inches, and he doesn’t carry that presence that Alphas have, but it still takes my entire control to not concede any ground.
Goddamn, he’s been taking lessons from Dominic.
“How the fuck do you know Violet?” His voice is low and dangerous.
I’ve never heard him like this. How in the hell does he know Violet?
“How do you know who she is?”
Jasper shakes his head. “Don’t fucking deflect right now, Rylan. How do you know her?”
I shrug and force nonchalance. “Just ran into her once in LA.”
Not technically a lie. I ran into her all right. And then fucked her into oblivion multiple times over the course of 48 hours. My dick pulses at the memory. Bergamot bleeds out from me. Jasper’s breathing turns ragged.
“Shit, Rylan, did you fuck her?”
This time, I take a half-step away from him, using the small space to fix my jacket and bowtie.
“I love you, but it was before we started dating,” I mutter, keeping my anger leashed. Enough, at least. An acrid note bleeds into the bergamot, but I ignore it. “It’s not really your business, Jasper.”
He snarls and closes the gap again.
“Stay the fuck away from her, Rylan. You know we can’t match with anyone here.”
I cock an eyebrow and shove my hands into my slacks.
As if we haven’t been hashing out exactly how to approach this whole mess for the last six months. Register as a pack and attend a single gala so that Dominic can access his trust fund. The moment we’re notified we weren’t selected for an Omega, deactivate with the Council and move on as our little trio.
Dominic will kill me—literally, probably—if I end up being the reason we’re matched with someone. Not even a male Omega would be enough to keep his rage from landing directly on my head. And Dominic’s level of lethality is not something I want focused on me. He was trained by the goddamn Italian mafia, after all. He’s the precision knife of his father when his enforcer brother fucks up too much. At least he is until we get back from this whole event.
Anger over nearly having Violet again and having her snatched from in front of me makes me shorter than I’ve ever been with my lover. The itch to smoke rises up. Fuck me, I haven’t wanted to smoke in literal years at this point. Resentment festers low in my stomach.
“I’m well aware, Jasper,” I whisper, letting that intrinsic part of me out to play just a bit.
His throat ripples with a swallow, but he doesn’t back down.
“Matching with Violet is the absolute worst thing that can happen.” He presses a finger into my chest with each word. “Stay. Away. From. Her.”
I take his hand and lace our fingers together. “All right,” I whisper, kissing the back of his hand. “I won’t talk to her any more tonight.”
And it’s absolutely not regret that’s twisting through my stomach at realizing I won’t get to see her again. That I won’t get to smell her honeysuckle.
Dominic comes up behind Jasper, his eyes shrewd.
“We’ve been here for the minimum requirement. Let’s get out of here.”
Yeah, definitely not regret. That weightless sensation has to be relief.
Fuck, I want a cigarette.