The terms of our contract were clear: after she produced a child, we would transfer her the agreed-upon sum via bank transfer. But there was no clause that indicated our relationshipneeded to end at that time. Cameo ensured that. Nothing barred Eva from asking to stay with us.
I wasn't foolish enough to think that with the way Cameo went on, it was likely she’dwantto stay, but she was already sweet on Indigo…friendlywith Joon. It wasn't outside of the realm of possibility that, with a bit of care and romance, she could be persuaded to see us as more than a quick buck.
Certainly, we’d already proved that we were to her taste at the Packtaular, the hairstyle Eva’d chosen for tonight reminding me of the first time I'd laid eyes on her in the middle of that dimly lit room. With her face flushed and skin warm to the touch as she longingly watched the couples around her, I wondered if she asked Joon and Indigo to watch them, if the little fascination she'd discovered with voyeurism had left with her that night, or if she'd closed it tightly somewhere within herself, forgotten.
I had a lot of questions like that about Eva. Discoveries to make, like rewatching a favorite movie to notice a detail for what felt like the first time.
"Earth to Marcus?" Eva called, drawing me back to the present.
"Right, sorry. I'm… A little nervous," I admitted, giving my head a shake as I moved to push her chair in. As I did so, she adjusted in her seat, the hem of her dress lifting to reveal a smattering of thin red lines criss-crossing over her thighs.
Cameo, I thought venomously, irritation at the damage to our sweet omega's skin rising like the tense music before a jumpscare. I'd have words with him later, at least… I’dconsiderit. Since, if the twitch of my traitorous cock was any indication, maybe I was no better than he was. Another depraved alpha who longed to see how beautifully Eva would whimper under treatment even rougher than I'd subjected her to in the mirror maze.
It was easy to be hurtful when the mask was on. The little detachment of reality kept me from feeling the brunt of the emotional repercussions of my actions, like the damage was being done by some other nameless entity entirely removed from myself. But that wasn't the truth, and the alpha who'd had Eva lick the dirty floor in search of scraps wasn't far from the surface.
Still, I didn't know how many times I had to lecture that stupid prick that knives were nottoys, they weretools. And there were plenty of ways to invoke fear that had nothing to do with pain. The stupid bastard just wasn't creative enough to come up with any.
If it was going to be anyone that sent Eva running screaming from us when this arrangement was done, it would be Cameo. I was certain of it… Even if he’d been the one to drop her off at the restaurant coated in his scent.
"Nervous," she echoed. "Why?"
"I haven't brought a date here before."
"Probably for the best," Eva said, leaning forward to offer her hand to me across the table as I took my own seat. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, a smile tugging at her glossy pink lips. "The food can't be very good."
"Oh, it's popular enough." I laughed, her comment from before I'd noticed the cuts finally sinking in. "It's just closed."
"Closed? Then how are we sitting here?"
"Your alpha has some connections, you know?" I said, motioning for Erika, my favorite floater and the only member of my front-of-house staff I'd had to ask before she'd agreed to come in on her day off, to bring us our menus.
For tonight, I'd kept the number of people on hand as minimal as possible. Only my sous chef, Marty, in the back, and Erika out front. It was only Eva and me, so there shouldn't be any need for more than two of them to flawlessly executethe tailored experience that I'd prepared. A bit of a showcase dedicated to the first love of my life, artfully designed to try and impress the woman that I hoped would be the second.
I couldn’t watch another omega walk away from my pack. Not after Mindy. And if I needed to be the one to step up and make sure she stayed… I’d be that.
"You've been here before, then?" Eva asked, brushing one of her pigtails over her shoulder to reveal the perfect line of her unmarked neck.
I wondered, for one deliriously foolish moment, if I would find it even sexier when my silvery teethmarks interrupted her milky skin or if the appeal was in the need to wait.
"Good evening," Erika said cheerfully, handing each of us a menu. "It's lovely to see you on this side of the wall for once, sir."
Understanding dawned on Eva's face, an embarrassed blush creeping up the column of her throat, drawing my attention there again.
Marking hadn't been much of a fantasy of mine, especially not after the incredible failure that was my last attempt to bring an omega into the pack. But with Eva? The desire was never far from the surface.
Maybe this was the power of a scent match. My hindbrain had latched onto my basal attraction to Eva and transformed it into a clawing need that scraped along the back of my mind like the spindly fingers of a tree branch against a window pane.
Even I couldn’t pretend that this was a perfunctory date because she’d asked for it. My interest in the girl revealed itself with every menu item I selected.
I didn’t just want Eva. I wanted her to like me. To want me back.
"This is your restaurant," the omega whispered, looking between me and our server. "And I've beensofucking rude."
"Only a little," I said with a shrug, making Erika laugh. "These are mainly for show. I've requested my sous prepare a few things in advance that I think you'll like. But if there's something that catches your eye, please, let Erika know."
"And if you want to sneak out the window in the bathroom, I'll give you a boost," the beta teased, dark ponytail swaying.
Eva laughed, shaking her head. "I think that I'm right where I want to be."
