THEO
Theo
“Quick, say something smart about art.” Justice grabbed my phone and nudged me forward with his shoulder.
“What?”
“You can’t leave me alone with them. They are talking about designer dresses for Casino Night now, and I just can’t.”
“Did you know,” I said, pitching my voice to carry just enough, “that the architect specifically designed this building to represent the inherent duality of modern existence?”
Rose was staring daggers at me. Not going to lie, it scared me.
“Ah, duality.” Justice said as he pulled the door open and stepped back for me, and then more softly, “To the right. We’re ditching the tour.” His fingers were on my back, guiding me. I had to suppress a shiver.
This portion of the gallery was laid out so one room flowed into the other. The rooms were fairly small and lined with paintings.
Justice looked over his shoulder and blew out a breath that we weren’t being followed. “What is the inherent duality of modern existence?”
“I completely made that up,” I admitted. “I probably read it somewhere in reference to alpha and omega relationships.” Justice nodded and took on that ‘art gallery walk,’ a slow stroll with your eyes going everywhere. “Which always kind of pissed me off because betas exist. They’re the majority of the population.”
“Don’t I know it.”
He offered nothing else. I chewed on my lip, trying to come up with a topic of conversation. He looked at me sideways like he was nervous.
“It was a professional thing,” his voice was hesitant.
“What was?”
“Aria.”
I frowned, not understanding.
“She’s a paragon. Dating is her job.” He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
Well, duh. I wasn’t actually going to say that out loud, though. My mind spun, trying to figure out where this conversation was going.
“Okay, look, I was a little bit of a player at the beginning of my career. Being seen with beautiful, important omegas creates good press and opens a lot of doors for you.”
I put my hand to my chest and gasped. “Justice Twill is a fuck boy?”
“Was. I said was.”
“I don’t know, Mr. Twill. Your behavior thus far would say otherwise.”
“Yeah, okay, she fucks like a rock star, but the business connections were even better,” he said defensively, but then narrowed his eyes. “Are you… teasing me?”
I tried to smother a laugh but I couldn’t.
“Great,” Justice threw up his hands dramatically, “I’m stranded with beautiful omegas and all they want to do is tease me.”
I sucked in a breath and turned away from Justice like I was examining a painting. Beautiful? Did he think I was beautiful? No.
“I just, well, not everyone approves of the paragon system. I didn’t want you to think there’s something there that’s not there.”
No, it’s cool, and it’s not like I could ever be as important and desirable as Aria. The words scrolled out in my head and then stopped dead before they reached my mouth.
“I’d really rather you not diminish yourself in front of me.”
That hadn’t been a command or a bark. Justice probably didn’t even remember he said it. But I couldn’t make myself violate it, regardless.
I swallowed hard and licked my lips. At light speed, my brain sorted through a billion different things to say and settled on something boring and safe. “Aria is fascinating. I’d love to go to Sanctum one day.”
“Oh,” he said in surprise. “When we get back to Port Haven, I’ll take you. It’s luxurious for sure, but it is just a bar.”
Did Justice fucking Twill just ask me out on a date? Heat flashed through my body. Oh, no no no. Get a hold of your omega hormones, Theo Evergreen. You cannot walk through a museum with Justice Twill and a hard-on.
We drifted through the galleries, finally stopping in front of a massive still life. Fruit and flowers arranged just so, everything perfectly positioned to show off the artist’s skill with light and shadow. Justice and I tilted our heads at the same angle, studying it.
“Not a fan.”
“I don’t really like classical art,” we said in unison, then turned to stare at each other before breaking into matching grins.
“What do you like, Theo?”
The way he said my name made it really hard to breathe.
“I could show you?” The words tumbled out before I could second-guess them.
His lips curved into a smile that made me wonder if we were still talking about art.
“Please.” The word went straight to my dick. Alphas didn’t ask “please.”
I led him back to the room we were just in and stopped in front of a massive canvas of bold colors and sweeping lines.
“Classical art always feels like looking at someone’s PackSpace feed,” I said. “All filtered and posed. You’re just supposed to look at it. You’re not actually part of it.”
“What else are you supposed to do with art but look at it?” Justice asked, but his tone was curious rather than dismissive.
I stepped closer to the canvas. “See how the colors pop right here? The artist wants you to look here first. And then she pulls your eye across the canvas, with the blues and greens swirling together like waves. The color creates movement. It’s like…” I searched for the right words. “It’s like a dance with the viewer. You don’t just look at it, you experience it. You are part of the art.”
Justice was quiet for a long moment, his eyes tracking the patterns I’d pointed out.
“This painting is the reason I wanted to come here. Genevieve Toile is a controversial figure. She refuses to let her art hang in any of the major museums. She wants you to work for it, travel, get out of your comfort zone to see it. She also refuses to appear in public, believing that knowing her designation would change your perception of her work.”
Noise like twittering birds erupted in the gallery. The tour had finally caught up to us.
“And you walked right by it?”
“Well, Justice Twill, tech mogul and former fuck boy, is very distracting,” I said softly.
Justice searched my face, almost like he was angry. And then he turned and stalked across the polished wood floors. He held his hand out to the docent. “Justice Twill. What can you tell us about Genevieve Toile’s work?” The weight of his name pulled the docent away from the tour group.
The docent practically tripped over herself to explain the piece and the acquisition process. Justice stood slightly behind me, creating a little bubble that excluded Rose and the rest of the tour group. He used his body and smart questions to make this feel intimate and private, an experience just for me. I leaned back a little to selfishly feel more of his aura and he put his hand on my hip, like it belonged there.