“Hello?”
There was a pause.
“Who is this?” A female voice snapped.
“Um, Nina,” I answered hesitantly. “Can I take a message?”
“This is Samuel’s private phone. Why are you answering it?”
I scowled. Not liking her using his name.
“Because he’s not near the phone. Can I take a message?” My tone held an edge of anger. The woman scoffed and hung up. Whatever. I set the phone down and finished drying myself with jerking motions. I pulled the robe on and let my damp hair down to go find Samuel. I climbed the stairs to his office to hand his phone to him, but hesitated outside as I didn’t want to interrupt him.
He paced in the room, talking fast on his office phone. I gently closed the door and went back down to the kitchen, and set the phone on the island. Grabbing a glass, I poured water inside then chugged it down.
A knock echoed on the front door. I peeked up the stairs, then hurried to open it. I gripped the top of the robe closed with one hand and peeked out.
A tall, beautiful woman stood there. Her hair was perfectly hanging around her shoulders. Her gaze dropped to me and she narrowed those strikingly blue eyes. She pushed the door openthe rest of the way, making me stumble back a few steps, her Omega scent filling my nose.
Why was she here at eleven at night?
Chapter Eight
“Nina, I presume?” Her tone was cold. Her gaze dropped to my chest and slowly went down—derisively. I shakily pulled the silk robe tight, shuffling my pink fuzzy slippers closer together. “Why are you inmySamuel’s home?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. A sharp tingle spread down my limbs. Was she his wife? Had he claimed another Omega? Nausea rose in my throat. I hadn’t seen any reports of him being married.
“Yours?”
“Yes, mine,” she murmured, stepping forward again, forcing me back a few steps. I looked up at her, eyes wide. She was much taller than me. Not a strand of her hair rustled from its place. Elegance bled from her very posture.
“Is he your husband?” I croaked. She couldn’t be her Scent Match when he believed that I was . . . or had he lied to me?
Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve known Samuel since college. We’ve seen each other on and off. We’re bound to make it official eventually. Just because he got a young thing to fuck doesn’t make you special.”
Nausea turned in my belly. I hugged myself. I was sostupid.
“He-he didn’t mention you.” Tears flooded my eyes.
She shook her head.
“Don’t tell me you went and fell for him?” The words struck my heart. Her heels clicked as she moved past me, her cloying perfume wafting to my nose. She settled her purse on the counter and turned with her arms crossed.
“He doesn’t like needy, and you seep clinginess.”
My lip trembled. It was true, I needed him like oxygen, clinging to him like a barnacle.
“I . . .” I struggled with what to say. Shame washed over me.
“Don’t embarrass yourself any more than you have. Collect your things and leave before you reek this place up with your desperation.” A single tear trekked down my cheek. I stumbled back, tripping over the threshold sill of the kitchen entrance and falling flat on my butt. That would bruise tomorrow, but it wouldn’t hold a candle to the pain in my chest.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Samuel stormed down the stairs, and he stared at me on the floor, stunned. A moment suspended in the air. “Get up.”
I flinched at the aggression in his tone. I must have been too slow for him because he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
“What is this, Samuel?” She waved a hand at me. “It can’t have been more than a month since we last fucked.”
I sucked in a breath and yanked at my arm to get free of him, but he didn’t let go.
