Music thumped through the hazy bar, and I sipped on my Tequila Sunrise. Nobody from Roman’s pack was here, at least not yet. Not even that fucking bitch.
Alphas walked through the crowd in the Night Raider’s Café-gone-nightclub. People parted their way for them to walk; others gazed up at them—some with looks of respect or with looks of lust. I clenched my jaw and grasped the mate’s necklace in my pocket. I hadn’t worn it, but I brought it with me so I could thrust it in his stupid face and tell him I was done.
Out of all the alphas that couldn’t be here, he had to stay at home. Probably fucking Vanessa in place of me. It should’ve been me he was loving. Me.Me. Not her.
My wolf growled in the back of my mind, but I hushed her. Whether this was all some fabricated lie or whether it was the truth, I had to think clearly for this mission. It was my first solo with Raj, and I couldn’t fuck it up.
Raj curled an arm around my waist and leaned down. “You ready, Killer?” he asked against my ear. Lights flashed upon his face, bounced off of his eyes, making him look so much more attractive tonight. His soft brown hair, the dark lustful expression in his eyes. I brushed my fingers against my neck—where my necklace should’ve been.
Without it on, I didn’t feel bound to Roman. And I didn’t know how to feel about it.
Raj’s hands glided against my hips as he pulled me onto the dance floor between sweaty bodies. Pressing himself against my backside, he leaned down so his lips grazed against my ear, making me shiver. “You remember the plan?”
“Yes.”
“Well, start acting like it.”
I painted a smirk on my face and turned in his embrace, my fingers crawling up his chest. He didn’t have to tell me twice. His muscles felt so taut underneath his thin button-up. So rigid. So big. I pulled him down closer to me and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, resting my forehead against his.
He smelt like butterscotch. Such a sweet and inviting scent.
After wrapping his arms around my waist, he pressed his fingers against my lower back. I spun us slightly and looked up from his shoulder to see the group of rogues in the corner of the room, watching us.
One, in particular, with glowing hazel eyes stared at me. From the scar on his right cheek to his lips curled into a dangerous smirk, everything about him screamed bad boy. And we all knew who loved bad boys. Isabella did for tonight.
After giving him a flirty smile behind Raj’s back, I gazed at Raj and blushed. He pulled me closer, our bodies pressed hard against each other. Why did he smell so goddamn good?
I moved my hips with his, not wanting to get too close but close enough. My wolf purred inside of me, and for a moment I thought Roman was here. She had never purred like that for anyone else but him.
But when I looked around, I realized that Roman wasn’t here. My eye caught that rogue’s again and this time I kept my eyes on him as Raj and I danced together. I could only imagine that Raj was doing the same thing with another one of the rogues, somewhere in the club.
I whispered something into Raj’s ear and took off toward the bar, placing my glass on the counter. For a brief moment, I gazed back at the group of rogues and noticed thathewasn’t there.
“Looking for something?” the rogue said.
One arm resting on the bar, the other holding his drink, I smiled at him and fingered his collar. His sleeves were rolled up his forearms, and I tried my hardest to keep calm. But my heart was racing, and my wolf was quiet.
“For someone,” I said.
He brushed his thumb against my lips and smirked. “What would your boyfriend say?” he asked, gazing at Raj who had his back turned to us—just like we had decided he would.
I placed a finger against his chin and turned his head, so he was facing me. “Like you really care what he would say. Guys like you just take what they want, don’t they?”
He chuckled and stepped closer, and suddenly my wolf was purring again. Just like she was with Raj, just like she almost did with Ryker earlier today before I had to scold her. I licked my lips.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said in my ear.
I pretended to think about it for a moment. When he brushed his fingers up my abdomen, I was terrified that he would see me as way too muscular for an average wolf, that he would know that something was up. But he didn’t. So, I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him closer, so my lips were grazing against his. “Show me the way.”
He took my hand and led me to the exit. I barely had enough time to look back at Raj to make sure he knew I was leaving to find this hideout. A few of the other rogues from the corner of the room watched us leave, and the rogue with me threw his hand up into the air, like I was a fucking victory prize for him.
But something about it was so sexy.
We walked out of the bar, and even before the door of the bar closed, the rogue had me pressed against the side of the building and had his lips on my neck, sucking harshly. My heart was racing, yet—for some reason—I couldn’t even push him off of me. He moved his lips up my neck, nibbling even more roughly on it and leaving a red mark.
Jane’s car pulled into an empty spot in the parking lot thirty feet away, its headlights blazing in our direction. I tugged him closer to me, so she wouldn’t see me working. I didn’t need any rumors spreading that I turned into a whore after I left the pack.
The rogue moved his lips closer to mine, but I leaned away from him, shielding my face with my hair. This wasn’t time to play. This was work. Work that I had to do. Work that Ryker assigned to me because he believed in me.
