For Marcus, it wasn’t the victory that was so alluring, but the hunt—the stolen glances, the uncertainty, and the excitement. A heated conversation meant nothing. Lucian had been running from him, turning him down in one sentence and inviting Marcus to chase him with the next. Now it was time Marcus tested Lucian’sintentions.
Tonight, Marcus would see if Lucian could becaught.
Light shifted across the pavement as The Shepherd’s door opened, drawing Marcus’ eye. Lucian stood there, arm extended to hold the door open. In the early morning shadows, his eyesgleamed.
Marcussmiled.
“Marcus?” Lucian asked uncertainly, as though he thought Marcus might be an illusion. “What are youdoing?”
“Looking forstars.”
Lucian glanced up. Light pollution from downtown Aurora drowned out the night sky, masking it in shifting hues of warm gray. Not even the moon was clear—it blurred around the edges, drowned out by the brilliance of their smallmetropolis.
“But I’m not interested in stars anymore,” Marcus continued. He slipped his hands into his pockets. “There are other things that draw my eye closertohome.”
Lucian’s lips thinned, and he looked back into The Shepherd with worry. Whatever he saw didn’t lighten hisexpression.
“Let’s walk,” Lucian said as he closed the door. He took Marcus’ hand, grip surprisingly strong for someone of his stature. There was nothing insecure about a grip like that. “We need to talk, but I don’t want to dothathere.”
“Then lead me,” Marcus implored. “I’llfollow.”
The Shepherd was situated between buildings, its side doors accessible through narrow, unlit alleyways. With the overhang from other buildings blotting out the moonlight, the alleys were secluded and seldom used. Lucian, whether by familiarity or instinct, led Marcus down one of those alleyways, then took a detour into a narrow, dead end passage that Marcus would have walked right by withoutnoticing.
Lucian stopped there, partially bathed in shadow. He turned to face Marcus, and Marcus waited for him to speakhismind.
“You’re not supposed to do this,” Lucian said at last. He met Marcus’ eyes, challenge gleaming in his gaze. It wasn’t the kind of reception Marcus anticipated from an omega, but the strength in Lucian’s declaration drew him in. There was no second-guessing himself, no hemming or hawing—Lucian knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to let it be known. “Staff is off-limits.”
“We didn’t speak once while you were at work. I don’t know what you’re talkingabout.”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.” Lucian’s eyes narrowed. He kept his voice down, but every now and then, he glanced back toward The Shepherd like he was afraid they were being watched. “You keptlookingat me the othernight.”
“I didn’t realize that was acrime.”
“It’s…” He balled his fists, and Marcus had to fight to keep the smile off his face. “It’s not! But you’re saying things with your eyes when you look at me that aren’t appropriate, and ignoring me to makemenoticeyou? That’s not any better. We’rebothbound by the rules. If I get caught, I could getfired.”
“And if I get caught, I’ll be expelled from the club.” Marcus let his eyes sweep down Lucian’s body. The way he held his hips and kept his posture open led him to believe that anger wasn’t Lucian’s only driving force. Marcus read his body language fluently. Lucian wasn’t only irritated—he was aroused. “It didn’t stop you from taking my number home. It didn’t stop you from reaching out to methroughtext.”
“Listen.” Lucian took a few steps closer to the wall, likely trying to better conceal himself within the shadows. “I wasinheat.”
“You’re not inheatnow.”
“But Iwasin heat then. You can’t blame me for making irrationaldecisions.”
“Then how are we going to explain away tonight’s irrational choice?” Marcus lifted a brow, meeting Lucian’s eye. “You could have walked away from me. You could have pretended you didn’t see me standing by the door, waiting. I left you alone all night long and you almost fell apart at the seams. I’m not buying that you called me back here to tell me no. If you wanted to do that, you could have said it directly to my face on your way outthedoor.”
Lucian’s eyes shimmered, but didn’t lose any of their fire. “When we’re inside The Shepherd, you need to stay thehellawayfromme.”
Marcus kept his expression unaffected, but on the inside, his soul was stretched wide with a grin that would have made hischeeksache.
“And when we’re outside The Shepherd?” Marcus asked in little more than awhisper.
Lucian’s fists trembled. A beat passed between them as their chemistry thickened and choked the air. Marcus held Lucian’s gaze, watching Lucian’s eyes flicker with untamed emotion. The sight woke goosebumps that ran the length of Marcus’ arms. He hadn’t even touched Lucian, but he felt the electricity between them regardless of Lucian’s distance. It arced across his skin and jolted him back to life, inescapable, urging him to make his claim now, no matter how forbiddenitwas.
Marcusendured.
But Lucianbroke.
Their lips met savagely. Lucian’s fingers curled into Marcus’ shirt, anchoring them together. He pushed Marcus against the alley wall, taking control that didn’t belongtohim.
