Daniel gestured for Alison to go to the pillow in the living room while Trent went to the front door.
Alison knelt, so much more graceful at it now than she had been that first time. She brought her wrists behind her automatically, and Daniel hooked them. He clipped a leash to the ring at the front of her collar, but left it dangling, hanging down over her cleavage. He slipped the blindfold on next, ignoring the way she licked her lips.
He wanted to kiss her, but he settled for pressing one to her forehead as he held the headphones in his hands. “Try to breathe, sweet. We’ll get through this fast, I promise.”
With that, he put her headphones on, leaving the noise cancelling off so she could hear the conversation around her.
He pressed one last kiss to her forehead to try to reassure her, then rose.
It was time to get into character.
Trent opened the door when the person knocked.
The man on the front porch didn’t look like much.
That had always struck Trent as unfair. He’d dealt with so many monsters over the years, and yet he was still floored by the fact that they rarelylookedlike monsters. They often looked like regular people, like ones he might pass when grocery shopping, or like the same exact ones who would come into his gym.
This one was a perfect example.
He didn’t wear a suit, not dressed up the way Daniel, Kyle and Trent were. Instead, he wore a pair of understated black slacks and a white T-shirt, his short hair spiked. He was thirty, at most, though the way he walked and his sports car in the driveway said the man had an ego that made up for his lack of years.
“I’m Galen,” he said, not reaching out to shake hands. “I’m here to check on some merchandise.”
Merchandise.The word tripped Trent’s anger, which was a bad sign.
He’d known the game they were playing, yet somehow a few words in, he struggled with controlling himself.
Maybe this had been a bad idea. He’d hated it from the start, but then he’d accepted it as a necessary evil. Now? Now it wasn’t some faceless omega but Alison who was being referred to as property.
Keep yourself under control.
Trent held the door open and gestured for Galen to enter.
The introductions went fast, with the alphas using their fake names, the ones Gregory had used to recommend them.
“Wow,” Galen said, then let out a low, lewd whistle. “Sheisa looker. No wonder the other team was so pissed about losing her.”
“They were amateurs,” Daniel said.
Galen laughed. “Well, they’ve brought in more product than any other team around, so I’m not so sure I’d call them that. They wanted to take her back, you know that?”
“They’re welcome to try.” Kyle folded his hands behind his back, standing to the side, his face unreadable. Funny how he could slide into a personality so unlike his real one with such ease.
Kyle had always been good at this sort of thing, though.
“Management already told them to back off. If Gregory is right about you three, we’ll make afarlarger commission off her from you than we would from them. They can stake out another location and pull just anyone.” Galen shrugged, then walked closer until he could crouch in front of Alison. “Can she hear us?”
Kyle answered. “No. Our program requires trust building. We only have one meeting where we’re from, since we’ve already established ourselves there. We didn’t want to risk upsetting our work by your presence, so we figured her not being able to hear was the least risky way to do it.”
Galen reached out, as if to touch Alison.
Trent caught his wrist before he made contact.
The fire in Galen’s eyes when he turned his head made it clear he wasn’t used to being told no.Get used to it.
“No touching,” Trent warned, not giving an inch with the steel of his voice. “Like we explained, our training is delicate. I’m not about to risk it so you can play grab ass.”
Galen rose to his feet once Trent released him. “I’m used to getting to try out the merchandise.”
