That’s fine. As long as you wear the third dress
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop my smile. My friends were endearingly aggravating.
I looked out the window, my heart racing when I saw a fancy black SUV pull up to the curb. That had to be King. I did one last check of my hair in the mirror. I hadn’t had time to put it up, so I’d added some loose curls and hoped that would be good enough. I tossed my makeup bag into my small duffel so I could finish getting ready in the car. Before I could second-guess myself, I grabbed the garment bag with the black dress and the one with the completed tux and half hopped downstairs, putting as much weight as I could on the banister.
King got out right as I locked the door, and I couldn’t stop the thrill of pleasure that went through me when strode toward me. He immediately took my bags and held out his free arm for me to grab for balance.
Why was that so hot? The only reason my perfume didn’t fill the air was that I had reluctantly applied No-NonScent Deodorant to mute my scent and lessen my embarrassment when spending several hours in the car with King. Besides, it was encouraged that omegas wear de-scenter at large events so we weren’t adistraction. Which,eww, but I’d had enough of unwanted alpha attention in my life that I was perfectly fine avoiding more at this event.
There was only one alpha whose attention I wanted tonight.
My steps stuttered when King opened the passenger-side door for me. One time, I’d asked my exes why they never held doors open for me, and they told me if my arms were too weak to open doors, I needed to hit the gym. They’d made me feel ashamed for even hinting that I wanted some chivalry, and here was King doing it automatically when this wasn’t even a date.
He even waited until I was settled in the luxurious leather seat before softly closing the door. I slumped back and fanned my face. It was a two-and-a-half-hour drive to Boston and I already had the urge to climb this man like a tree. This was going to be a loooong night.
Good thing I’d brought extra panties.
King got in, quickly glancing my way before smoothly pulling away from the curb.
I fiddled with the radio, and he arched an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“Putting on my road trip playlist.”
He muttered something under his breath and I grinned. It was going to be fun to get under this grumpy alpha’s skin.
17
King
I was in a hotelroom with an omega, and my dick was about to punch a hole through my new pants.
I paced around the suite, as if that would help me burn off the electric energy coursing through my veins. Why did Lucy set me off like this? She’d talked the entire drive, alternating between singing along to her playlist, asking me what my favorite color was—something I hadn’t thought about in a couple decades—and giving me in-depth descriptions of the outfits she had planned for the upcoming town festivals. By the time I pulled up to the Boston hotel near the gala venue, I knew more about sewing than I’d ever wanted to.
And I was utterly obsessed.
I hated small talk. And meeting new people. But Lucy was sweet, charming, and fucking funny. My cheeks actually hurt from smiling. For all my working out, my cheek muscles were apparently underused. I would have blamed my strong reaction to her as my alpha getting worked up because I was trapped in a small, contained space filled with her scent, but she must have put on some sort of scent blocker because no matter how hard I breathed in, there was no hint of her floral sweetness in the air. And that made me irrationally irritated.
Now I was a frantic, pacing mess as I waited for Lucy to get dressed in the bathroom because I didn’t want her out of my sight.
The door opened and I quickly arranged my face into what I hoped was a neutral, almost bored expression. Better she didn’t know how much she affected my alpha.
But then she walked into the living room and the earth stood still. The top of the dress was low cut and covered in lace.See-throughlace. Her long, blond hair brushed the perfect curves of her breasts, and witheach step she took toward me, the skirt’s high slit exposed her bare leg. My mouth watered. I wanted to run my hand along her skin and bite her inner thigh, marking her so everyone knew who she belonged to.
Lucy exaggeratingly cleared her throat. “My face is up here.”
“Zoned out for a second.” Not sure who I was trying to fool because Lucy’s smirk told me I was full of shit. “You look…”Like the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. Like I want to throw you down on this bed and ravage you. Like I don’t want a single other person to lay eyes on you.“Nice.”
“Nice, huh?” She ran her hands along her hips. “I hope I fit in. I wasn’t sure what the proper attire was for a fake date auction winner.”
Hearing her say “fake date” left a sour taste in my mouth, especially since this event would be filled with rich, powerful alphas. Alphas who would love nothing more to steal her away from me. “The dress looks fine.” My voice was harsh, and her expression fell.
Shit.
“I mean, it looks good. Great. You’ll fit in fine.”
What the fuck was happening to me? I might not like people, but I’d never been such a bumbling fool.
Lucy gave me a tight smile and I groaned internally.
