The nickname came from nowhere, but that’s what she is. Trouble.
It’s hardly been a day, and I’ve already lost all common sense. I’m doing things I know I shouldn’t. That have nothing to do with protecting her staff. My priorities have turned to dust.
Her brows furrow a little. “Do you want me to cut it?” She’s already reaching for the shears in her leather side pouch.
I hiss in a breath through my teeth. “Not sure I can trust you with those.”
She stills, frowning. But when I smirk, she lets out a long exhale that edges on a laugh. “Did Rue show you the CCTV?”
“He’s very proud of you,” I confirm.
Her eyes roll in a flash of green.
“I think he’s shown everyone at Nexus.”
She gasps. “You’re kidding?” When she realises I’m not, she slumps back in her chair. “He’s so embarrassing…”
“But what I don’t understand—” I rest my arms over the small plastic table, leaning in close enough to see the freckles clustered around her nose. “—is how you managed to get an alpha like that down… and keep him down.”
She wets her lips, and I lock onto the small action. When she speaks again, her voice is a little lower. “You know my brother, Rue, served. Well, so did my older brother, and all my dads.”
I know all this. Sylvan does deep background checks on all our prospective hires. Kaiden served with Rowan on a tour in the Middle East. Her dads are decorated soldiers with decades of experience. A few years ago, all of them left the military at the same time. Including her brothers. After that, they disappear from anything official.
“From a young age, I’ve been taught how to fight, how to lead with a tactical mind. It helps that they never treated me like an omega. I actually always thought I’d be an alpha…”
My gaze darts to hers, then drops. Physically, she’s the ideal omega. Small but curvy, soft in all the right places, with just enough stomach and thigh to make my teeth ache…
She laughs, breaking my thoughts. “I know, I’m too small to be an alpha. But when I was younger, you couldn’t really tell. I did everything my brothers did, but when I hit puberty, and my scent came in, I was… devastated.”
She looks away, staring at the bits of hair on the ground.
“I just wanted to be like my big brothers,” she murmurs. “But I knew that dream was over. You can’t join the military without 20-20 vision, and you can’t join if you’re an omega. Too many risks. Still unfair, but… whatever.”
“Still doesn’t explain how you got a guy like that to stay down.” When she looks at me, I smirk. “I’d pay good money to know how.”
She smiles back. “How much, huh?”
I shrug a shoulder. “Enough.”
She laughs, a small giggle that’s ridiculously attractive for just a sound. “You’re very persuasive, Valentin.” Her voice dips on my name, and I’m leaning even closer. “Maybe I’ll show you… one day.”
My alpha’s purring, the rumble deep enough to feel but not enough to be audible. Because her words,one day, mean we’ll see her again.
Shewantsto see us again. Not just today.
But I’m not good at waiting.
“Show me now.” It’s not a request, and I put some of that rumbling grit into my words. Her body straightens, eyes wide as they snap to me, and her omega peers out, locking onto the alpha in mine.
That’s right, little omega.Look at your alpha.
What thefuck?
The door to the back of the conference room opens with a bang that echoes, and my gaze darts to my brother, tray in hand, heading towards us.
Thank fuck, because I was about to do something stupid.
She really is trouble.
