I don’t miss the lingering or coy looks, from Betas and Omegas alike.
I bristle.
Icarus is loved by every staff member.
Does he realize?
Icarus reaches a large, mahogany door with a brass plaque that reads:
Mr. Sinner
General Manager
He swings open the door and gestures me inside.
I hunch my shoulders and shuffle into his office.
Well, this is going to suck.
Icarus’ office is actually part of Icarus’ suite of rooms that he shares with his brother, Ollie. They have two bedrooms at the back, and a small separate kitchen and bathroom to the rest of the staff, which has been useful for caring for Zoe.
A large, battered mahogany desk stands at the back of the room, which is covered in neat ranks of papers. The room itself gleams with how clean it is; nothing is out of place.
A rickety bookcase that is filled with old books stands against the far wall. On the opposite side, sits a sagging couch that Icarus has done his best with by adding cushions.
Ollie embroidered the cushions himself with white feathers against a blue that reminds me of his brother’s eyes.
The plain walls are plastered with beautiful paintings by Ollie of the sun, and ones that are just as beautiful to me because they’re Zoe’s: smeared finger paintings, scribbles in crayon, and her tiny handprints on creased paper.
Zoe’s pictures are as proudly displayed as if they’re the priceless paintings that are hung in the presidential suite.
Icarus slams shut the door, and I flinch.
He takes a deep breath, before turning to me.
I lick my dry lips. He made me promise not to risk going into that forbidden passageway again.
But hey, what can I say? I’m drawn to the forbidden.
Instantly, Icarus’ mask vanishes, as it always does, and the love that shines in his eyes floors me.
It’s all-encompassing.
Possessive and protective.
Yet it’s not something that I can return yet. He knows that I struggle with Alphas after my trauma. And we can at least have…whatever this is, right?
“I want to grab you by the shoulders…” Icarus’ voice is low and rumbling. It makes me shiver, “…andkissyou until you know just how frightened you made me for you.”
“I dare you to do it.”
Icarus growls, snatching me by the shoulders and slamming me against the door.
He towers over me.
He is so much larger than me that he could break me. But I trust that he never will, physically. I’m just not quite there emotionally yet.
His grip tightens.
