Hitting my heat while I was with them might not be a bad idea. They could satiate my urges . . . something I hadn’t ever had from Alphas.
“This would have been unnecessary if you didn’t keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” His seductive voice fluttered the hair at my temples. A thrill traveled through my gut. I liked getting a rise out of him.
“Who is going to oust corruption if not me?” I retorted, eyeing him pointedly. “They weren’t lies. You just have the money to hide it.”
I’d written the article because of my informant. She’d been the one who told me they were behind all sorts of shady shit. “Plus, it was online for less than an hour, as you know, since you probably paid someone to scrub it from the internet.” I found myself bending forward while Elias leaned away. Was he trying to get away from me?
His nostrils flared.
I rolled my lips between my teeth.
He was sniffing me.
I straightened, letting the blanket fall onto the couch, and stayed wrapped in the towel. Elias took a step back quickly . . . Was he running away from me?
Just the thought made a smile curve my lips. He wasn’t as unflappable as he acted.
As if catching himself, he snarled and grabbed the back of my neck, leaning down to get in my face.
This position—how he grabbed me—caused slick to dampen the spot between my thighs, and it was only increasing.
He had a pale complexion, but somehow, he went even lighter, and he buried his nose into my neck, right where my scent excreted most potently.
“You’re no longer half-dead, you’re fine to take care of yourself.” He turned on his expensive leather loafers, practically running.
“I need a favor,” I blurted.
He stiffened, his hand on the doorknob. I took his silence as an answer.
“Find out where Alice Lane is.” Leading up to all of this, she hadn’t gotten back to me. It was going on the second month of her going no-contact. “I think she might be able to help clear my name.”
I didn’t let go of Elias’ gaze, gritting my teeth against the urge to look away—to submit.
“Anything else, princess.” The sneer that crossed his lips should have sent me into hiding, but it made me want to poke at him even more.
“No thanks,” I retorted, allowing my smile to bloom. My stomach rolled with anticipation.
He was definitely running from me.
Chapter 9
Isat beside the window, looking out into the busy club, taking in every inch. Elias had run from me yesterday; I had no doubt about it. And I couldn’t shake off the giddiness.
I tugged the edge of the blanket to smooth it out on the slate-toned wood floor. I had to give it to them; every nook and cranny was kept spotless.
One of the girls on stage finished their set, strutting around for the patrons to slide bills into her thong. Cigarette smoke plumed from one of the men; he had to be an Alpha based on his sheer size.
A cig sounded amazing right about now.
It was a bad idea, logically. I knew I shouldn’t smoke, but the addiction wasn’t easy for me to kick, in fact, this was the longest I’d gone without a drag.
I tapped my fingers on my thigh. If I wasn’t only wearing the towel, I’d be down there right now, trying to filch one.
The brunette stripper strutted away from the platform, and she spared a look up at the glass. No one could see me from the club; the window was a one-way mirror, but I still tensed, nonetheless. She frowned and exited through the curtain leading to the back. After sitting here for the last few hours, watching the same dances, new patrons, I was getting the rhythm of how the nights looked.
Even sitting up here, trapped and unable to leave, was worth it, because at least I had a roof over my head that wasn’t my car.
I’d taken all of it for granted. I went from having the safety of my apartment to having cops knocking on the window ordering me to ‘move it along’ because there was no loitering. Gone from a warm home to having to use public showers at the gym.
