Trent dropped the weight with an odd sense of familiarity when it struck the padded ground. He’d been adrift all day, unable to settle. Keeping his distance from Alison hadn’t helped at all. He’d thought if he could just stay away from her for a little while, he’d figure shit out. Except the longer he avoided her, the more uneasy he grew.
Is it the bite? Had he somehow created a bond without meaning to? Had he connected them together?
No, a claiming bite didn’t work like that. It was a physical sign, nothing else. Nothing mystical. He was just an idiot who wanted a woman he couldn’t have.
So, instead of focusing on that, instead of dwelling on it—or at least pretending not to dwell on it—he’d thrown himself into every other task he could think of.
He’d caught up on the news, reorganized the clothing he’d hung in his closet and gone for a swim. Finally, when he’d glanced out the window to find Alison in Daniel’s lap, her lips around Kyle’s cock, he’d decided there was no option besides lifting the heaviest weights he could.
At least when he was doing that, he wasn’t thinking about her, or about how badly he’d wanted to go outside and join in.
But he couldn’t bring himself to.
The wounds between them ran too deep, created too little foundation. Sure, taking her together would have been like old times, but Trent had said goodbye to that life already. He wasn’t a man who liked to lie to himself and he’d accepted that it was over.
“Oh.”
Trent turned to find Alison at the doorway to the gym, a towel over her shoulder, frozen in place. A bandage on her shoulder drew his focus, proof of his loss of control the night before.
He turned away, shame crawling along his nerves. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you wanted to work out. I’ll get going.”
He went to pass her, to leave, but Alison’s small hand closed on his arm. He had to either stop or try to fight her—and for reasons he didn’t understand, he didn’t want to fight her.
“You can’t avoid me forever,” she said.
“I thought you might want some time to yourself.” Meaning without me.
She sighed but didn’t let him go. She probably knew that if she did, he’d keep walking. “I didn’t ask for that, did I?”
“No.” He turned toward her but kept his gaze on her hands, on her cuffs, anything but her face—or worse, the bandage on her shoulder. “But you ran pretty fast that night.”
“You bit me. I am allowed to be a little freaked out.”
He blew out a long, slow breath then met her gaze. He expected fear there. After grinding against her in her sleep, coming on her thighs and leaving a permanent bite on her shoulder, why wouldn’t she be afraid?
He braced for it, but her green eyes lacked any fear. Instead, he found that same strength he’d spotted the first night, that steel that ran through her.
He’d given her every reason to fear him, but she stood there as though the thought had never crossed her mind.
“I’m sorry I bit you,” he said, trying to make his voice as earnest as possible. He needed her to understand he hadn’t crossed the line on purpose, that he would never do something like that without her permission. “I was asleep, and I had no idea what I was doing.”
Alison released him, then nodded. “I know you didn’t mean to.” She slid her hands over her hips as though to put them in her pockets, then frowned when she realized her pants didn’t have any. “We were both asleep. It wasn’t either of our faults. I know this isn’t the most comfortable situation.”
He huffed a sound that was almost a chuckle. Her phrasing was funny—not the situation. “Comfortable, huh? Yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it.” Even with how easily she spoke of what had happened, he struggled to let it go entirely. “I really am sorry. I’m not anywhere close to perfect, but I’m willing to admit it when I’m wrong. It won’t happen again. I need you to know that, to understand that.”
She nodded once, a quick jerk of her head. “I know. We’re good, okay? I don’t think you’ll pass as a slaver if you’re afraid to even look at me.”
Trent lifted his fingers but froze half-way to the bandage. Would she want him to touch her?
Alison didn’t move, and that gave him the confidence to touch the soft bandage that covered the only claiming bite he’d ever given in his life. With her that close, it also let him inhale.
She smelled of Daniel and Kyle. That took him back, like an old taste of home.
Maybe that was fucked up, but it didn’t stop it from being true. He knew that scent, something he’d lived with, something as reassuring as his own.
“You smell like them,” he admitted before his brain could catch up and stop him.
She froze for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. “If you’re going to try and embarrass me—”
He shook his head, cutting her off. “Nothing like that. It just surprised me for a minute.”
She didn’t look away, and her gaze felt far too knowing. “What happened between you three?”
“Nothing that matters anymore.”
“With the way you three are acting like scorned lovers? It seems like it matters.”
“We had a difference of opinion, had to go in different directions. I’d love to tell you it was some dramatic falling out, but that isn’t the case. I couldn’t live the life they lived anymore, and with some friendships, you’re either close or you aren’t. Still, we can work together, don’t worry.”
She pressed her lips together, the answer no doubt unsatisfying. Get used to disappointment.
“The agent will be here tomorrow. Are you ready?”
Trent ignored the pit in his stomach at the thought of facing them, at the idea of sliding into a role he was not comfortable with.
Being a Dom? Sure. He could do that, and even if it had been a while, he knew where his priorities were. He knew his line.
But even pretending to be a slaver? Having to act like that? It turned his stomach.
He’d gone to sleep each night with his own little pep talk, telling himself he could do this, that he just had to keep moving forward, that it was for the greater good.
Still, he thought about the omegas they had, the ones who would go through hell if he failed, if Alison, Kyle and Daniel failed, and that made him know there was only one answer.
No matter how badly he didn’t want to do this, he didn’t have a choice.
“Yeah, I’ll be ready.”
* * * *
Daniel pulled in a harsh breath when he saw Alison walk down the stairs.
He’d seen her almost entirely naked, but it was nothing compared to this.
She wore the black dress they’d picked out for the meeting, a short one that showed off her toned legs and lean waist. It plunged low enough for a hint of cleavage, and the shoulders went down into long sleeves. The back dropped low, so it appeared she showed a lot of skin while keeping herself covered—and the bite safely tucked away.
“Holy shit,” Kyle said, the man less capable of keeping in his opinions.
Alison faltered on the last step, as though the praise had thrown her. Her hair was down, the curls adding to her allure, framing her too-perfect face. She smoothed the dress as though she could make some change to it that would make her more comfortable.
“Sorry,” Kyle offered. “I just didn’t realize you’d be such a knockout in it.”
“I’m not really a dress-and-heels sort of girl.”
Kyle move in once she stepped off the stairs entirely. He circled her, slowly, his fingers tracing the waist of her dress. “Well, don’t worry about that. As soon as we’re done, I’m more than willing to strip you out of this.”
The pink on Alison’s cheeks only made her look even better, especially with how she pulled in a shaky breath.
“How about we focus on the job?” Trent’s voice came from the top of the stairs as he passed Alison, not looking at her or saying a word about her attire.
The fact that he was right only annoyed Daniel, especially about this topic. “Oh, so you care about completing a job now?”
Trent shook his head and didn’t rise to the barb. “We have backup, but they’re not close. It means we’ll be on our own for the actual meeting. Alison, safe word?”
“Master.” She rolled her shoulders, as if trying to release the tension building up there.
Then again, this was likely the first thing she’d done with them that she was in any way comfortable with. Submitting? Trusting? Those things were beyond her expertise, but from what he’d seen, lying and putting herself in danger were par for the course for her.
And why that made Daniel smile, he wasn’t sure. Maybe because she’d been so unsettled that he was grateful for the chance at something where she could feel in control.
And a little later, when I pull that dress off her, I can take some of that control from her again.
He’d dreamed of her, thankful that she hadn’t been in his bed because he might have just done something they’d both regret later. She hadn’t lifted her boundary of no sex or kissing, but Daniel wasn’t too disappointed in that. They had time, and as he’d proven to her, there was plenty of fun to be had without his dick ever going into her.
The loud roar of an engine outside had all of them coming to a stop, their gazes moving over.
It was time.
Daniel gestured for Alison to go to the pillow in the living room while Trent went to the front door.
Alison knelt, so much more graceful at it now than she had been that first time. She brought her wrists behind her automatically, and Daniel hooked them. He clipped a leash to the ring at the front of her collar, but left it dangling, hanging down over her cleavage. He slipped the blindfold on next, ignoring the way she licked her lips.
He wanted to kiss her, but he settled for pressing one to her forehead as he held the headphones in his hands. “Try to breathe, sweet. We’ll get through this fast, I promise.”
With that, he put her headphones on, leaving the noise cancelling off so she could hear the conversation around her.
He pressed one last kiss to her forehead to try to reassure her, then rose.
It was time to get into character.
Trent opened the door when the person knocked.
The man on the front porch didn’t look like much.
That had always struck Trent as unfair. He’d dealt with so many monsters over the years, and yet he was still floored by the fact that they rarely looked like monsters. They often looked like regular people, like ones he might pass when grocery shopping, or like the same exact ones who would come into his gym.
This one was a perfect example.
He didn’t wear a suit, not dressed up the way Daniel, Kyle and Trent were. Instead, he wore a pair of understated black slacks and a white T-shirt, his short hair spiked. He was thirty, at most, though the way he walked and his sports car in the driveway said the man had an ego that made up for his lack of years.
“I’m Galen,” he said, not reaching out to shake hands. “I’m here to check on some merchandise.”
Merchandise. The word tripped Trent’s anger, which was a bad sign.
He’d known the game they were playing, yet somehow a few words in, he struggled with controlling himself.
Maybe this had been a bad idea. He’d hated it from the start, but then he’d accepted it as a necessary evil. Now? Now it wasn’t some faceless omega but Alison who was being referred to as property.
Keep yourself under control.
Trent held the door open and gestured for Galen to enter.
The introductions went fast, with the alphas using their fake names, the ones Gregory had used to recommend them.
“Wow,” Galen said, then let out a low, lewd whistle. “She is a looker. No wonder the other team was so pissed about losing her.”
“They were amateurs,” Daniel said.
Galen laughed. “Well, they’ve brought in more product than any other team around, so I’m not so sure I’d call them that. They wanted to take her back, you know that?”
“They’re welcome to try.” Kyle folded his hands behind his back, standing to the side, his face unreadable. Funny how he could slide into a personality so unlike his real one with such ease.
Kyle had always been good at this sort of thing, though.
“Management already told them to back off. If Gregory is right about you three, we’ll make a far larger commission off her from you than we would from them. They can stake out another location and pull just anyone.” Galen shrugged, then walked closer until he could crouch in front of Alison. “Can she hear us?”
Kyle answered. “No. Our program requires trust building. We only have one meeting where we’re from, since we’ve already established ourselves there. We didn’t want to risk upsetting our work by your presence, so we figured her not being able to hear was the least risky way to do it.”
Galen reached out, as if to touch Alison.
Trent caught his wrist before he made contact.
The fire in Galen’s eyes when he turned his head made it clear he wasn’t used to being told no. Get used to it.
“No touching,” Trent warned, not giving an inch with the steel of his voice. “Like we explained, our training is delicate. I’m not about to risk it so you can play grab ass.”
Galen rose to his feet once Trent released him. “I’m used to getting to try out the merchandise.”
“We aren’t some used car salesmen here,” Trent explained. “She isn’t a compact entry-level car you can go over to the dealership to test drive for fun. Think of her as a one-of-a-kind, specially made luxury item. We don’t let just anyone touch her.”
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then let out a soft snort. “You sure think a lot of yourself.”
Daniel gestured toward the couch and chairs in the living room, all situated with Alison in the center.
Galen took the chair opposite her, which allowed Trent to breathe a little easier. He couldn’t reach her from there, and while he rarely took his gaze from her, the distance helped. “We don’t normally accept new scouts.”
“We aren’t new. We’ve been working on the east coast for years.”
“So I’ve heard.” Galen took out a cigarette, lighting it without asking if anyone cared. “But that doesn’t change that we don’t know you. What are you doing out here?”
Daniel sat on the couch. “As you know, your organization has taken a few hits lately. There’s a chance this will be the last public auction for a while. We thought it worth branching out, finding new clients.”
“You don’t have enough product for many clients.”
“We don’t have repeats, though. Just word of mouth. So when we bring her to the auction, only one person can purchase her, but we’ll likely have others who want to go on a wait list. It seems like the best way to handle it.”
“Any client you find from our auction better end with us getting a cut.”
Daniel nodded. “Naturally.”
Kyle reached for a set of files on the side table, then held them out for Galen.
“What’s this?” Galen opened them, flipping through the pages.
“History. Medical record. Tests. We don’t sell anything that isn’t healthy. She has been thoroughly examined and found with no defects.”
Galen closed the paperwork as if it didn’t matter, snorting. “You are crazy, you know that? Our best sellers are the wild omegas, the ones clients want to break. How the fuck do you think having all of this helps? Who would pay a bundle when one hole is as good as another? I mean, yeah, she’s pretty, but they don’t typically stay pretty that long with our customers.”
Trent cracked his knuckles, but when the other two didn’t speak up, he jumped in. He had to hold it together. “Those aren’t the clients we’re looking for. Anyone can beat a woman, can break one. That’s easy. Why spend money on a slave if you could get the same thing picking up a girl anywhere? We don’t just sell omegas.”
“So what do you sell?”
“Mates.”
Galen snorted. “Who the fuck wants a mate?”
Trent reached over and toyed with Alison’s hair, using it as a way to keep himself focused on his goal. “Our training program is second to none. We fetch a high price, but in exchange for that, our clients get a fully trained submissive omega who can be trusted without chains or threats. Our clients can take our products out with them anywhere, and they obey without question. We even file the paperwork to ensure our merchandise is on the delinquent omega registry, which means they have additional legal protections and autonomy when dealing with them. Who wants to spend so much on something they have to keep chained up in a room? That limits the usefulness. Picture an omega who is entirely devoted to you, who will do anything you say at any time. It’s all the benefits of a slave without the downsides or risks.”
Galen pursed his lips, then stared at Alison as if trying to picture it. “Well, that’s new, I’ll give you that. I didn’t want to let you in, honestly. I don’t like new people, and this whole training thing? Not my bag. Management sees things differently.”
“Then management understands how lucrative this is. Our products typically start the bidding at five times the next highest at any auction. By the time bidding is over? We often make more than people who sold six or seven different omegas.”
“Yeah, well, management has a different idea of what’s best than I do. I think he’s more interested in seeing your product than he is in the money. Let’s just say he’s got a similar idea as you.”
Trent moved his fingers to the nape of Alison’s neck, rubbing over where the collar sat. Tense muscles stood out, and while he doubted he’d be able to relax her, he offered what little reassurance he could. For her, being still was likely the hardest thing.
“So, explain to me the training. How does it work?”
“It isn’t that much different from how you train a dog. It isn’t about fear—a fearful beast is one that’s likely to eventually bite you. Instead, you use positive reinforcement. We don’t hit our products, we don’t scar them. That gives unreliable results.”
“So what do you do?”
“We take everything away from them, break them down with that, then offer them little bits of kindness. They start to rely on us for everything good. This leads them to associating their masters with good things. Eventually, they end up entirely reliant on their masters for everything, and that gives the loyalty and trust people get from our products. It isn’t an easy process, but our work speaks for itself.”
Galen’s expression said he didn’t believe it—or, rather, didn’t believe it to be worth it. “And they’re happy when they go off to someone else?”
“We do the handover, and we’re available to come for additional adjustments when needed. However, we also offer complete guarantees. If a product doesn’t live up to what we promise, we will replace it.”
“How many have you had to replace?”
“Three. Two because of illness we couldn’t have anticipated and one because of infertility.”
“What did you do with the ones you took back?”
“The ill ones we disposed of.”
Galen sat up, surprise on his features. Could he actually have a heart? “You could have made good money selling them off cheap.”
Nope, no heart.
Kyle chimed in, giving Trent a moment to swallow down the bile that threatened to crawl up his throat. “If we sold sub-par product, it could endanger our reputation. Sometimes there are costs of doing business, and we expect that. It was less risky to just euthanize the ill omegas.”
“And the infertile one?”
“That one we did resell. While many of our clients want offspring, not all do. She was perfectly trained, so she went to a gentleman who saw the defect as a benefit.”
Galen tapped his finger on the armrest of the chair. “All right. I can see the upside. There’s only one more thing.”
The way he said it made Trent close his hand into a fist. “And what’s that?”
“Omega check.”
“You have her medical records.”
Galen waved off the response. “Those are easy to fake. We’ve had people try to pass off betas as omegas before. We don’t consider the first check official until I’m sure she’s an omega. Normally, that’s part of test driving. I know it’s an omega when I knot them.” He lifted an eyebrow as though waiting.
Not a fucking chance.
Daniel spoke up. “We’ve already made that clear. If we allowed you to do that, it would erode all the work we’ve done.”
“Fine,” Galen said with an exaggerated sigh. “Then there’s one other option.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a vial of a clear liquid.
“What’s that? I am not about to have our product risked by ingesting something that we have no idea what it is,” Daniel said.
“This is a special drug. If an omega smells it, their scent changes slightly. She won’t need to drink it, just smell it.”
Fuck. Trent had heard of it—most people had. The drug was used to identify omegas, and had been used by a killer a while back who targeted omegas.
Worse? Enough of it could force an omega into a heat…
Still, Trent had no idea how to get out of it. If they didn’t prove she was an omega, the entire job was over.
“I understand it also forces them into a heat. That wouldn’t be ideal,” Kyle said.
“Too much can force a heat, but a quick whiff shouldn’t be a problem. This is non-negotiable, gentlemen. Either you prove she is what you say she is, or I walk away and you find your own way to sell her.”
Trent pressed his lips together, no other option coming to mind.
Thankfully, he didn’t need to answer. He wasn’t sure he could say yes. Daniel did that, rising to his feet. “Fine.”
Alison shifted, and Trent cursed the entire situation.
“She’ll need to really breathe it in. It’s an odd scent, so they tend to turn their heads away. Usually I’d hold them, but I know how touchy you are.” Galen said the words like a joke, as if they were finicky about a prized piece of décor in their house.
Trent was closest, so he helped Alison to her feet. She’d likely feel better that way, rather than on her knees. He took her headphones off but left the blindfold on. “You’re going to need to smell something. Do you understand me?”
She gulped, the sound loud. “What is it?”
He slid his fingers into her hair, gripping it tightly. “Nothing harmful. Will you behave?”
She licked her lips, and the nervous energy coursing through her said she didn’t care for the idea any more than he did. She tried to nod, but his grip kept her still. “Yes, sir.”
Sir. Not master. That meant she hadn’t safe worded.
What would I do if she did?
Again, he was reminded that she was far tougher than he was.
Galen came up and popped open the top on the vial. He brought it toward her, and thankfully didn’t try to touch her at all.
Trent inhaled a small bit of the scent coming from the vial—something that seemed off, chemically, but he wasn’t an omega.
Alison tried to turn her head, her nose wrinkled.
Trent tightened his grip in her hair, his other hand going to the front of her throat, to her collar. He didn’t touch her chin, but his hold was enough to keep her from turning away from the vial.
A thin whine left her, and it sounded far too real.
Trent’s heart pounded, his stomach rolling and forcing him to swallow to not throw up. His fingers, wrapped in her hair, trembled.
Still, he kept his face clear, swore to himself he wouldn’t fail, wouldn’t have the deaths of those omegas on his shoulders.
Galen closed the bottle after about thirty seconds, then put it in his pocket again.
He leaned in, still not touching, and inhaled.
His groan was low and lecherous, making it perfectly clear how he felt about whatever the vial had done to her scent. “Omega,” he growled out.
“As we said,” Daniel answered.
Which Trent was thankful for, because he doubted he could have spoken right then.
“You did. Alright. Expect another call for a meeting in about a week before the auction. We’ll make sure you still have her—sometimes the less-controlled scouts can lose an omega or two before the actual date. The day of the auction, you’ll get the exact time and location.”
Kyle and Daniel walked Galen out, giving Trent the chance to release Alison’s hair and pull in a shaky breath.
He couldn’t seem to feel his fingers. His feet felt heavy, clumsy. Nothing seemed right.
When the door shut, Alison pulled at her cuffs, hands struggling to undo them herself.
Trent unclipped them, and she tore the blindfold off.
She sniffed hard, then blew air from her nose as if she could dislodge the remaining scent of the drug.
Trent watched, stepping backward, his heart racing and his breath short. He couldn’t seem to pull in a full breath.
He turned his gaze to Daniel, who nodded, as if he understood and expected the reaction.
Trent fled, like a coward, leaving Alison to Kyle and Daniel.
They could take care of her, because if he didn’t get out of there, he’d either throw up or pass out.
Useless.
Alison couldn’t remove the wretched scent from her nose, from where it had crept into her sinuses. It burned into her, and no matter how much she rubbed at her nose, she couldn’t get rid of it.
“You okay?” Kyle caught her cheeks in his hands, forcing her face to his.
A face that was already so familiar and more calming than it should have been.
“Yeah,” she answered, rubbing again at her nose. “That drug just smells wrong. I can’t even explain why it does, but my brain just keeps telling me it’s wrong.”
“I know. It should go away in a few minutes.”
Alison let the warmth of Kyle’s palms sink into her, taking that bit of comfort from him.
Listening to them talk about her had been the worst. She’d known people saw omegas like that, but to have to stay still, to hear the vile words, to not be able to react, that had been a more difficult struggle than she’d expected.
She twisted, looking for Trent, only to find him gone.
“He left,” Daniel explained.
“Why?” That didn’t seem like Trent at all. He was difficult, closed off often, but he also was unfailingly protective. He blamed himself for things he didn’t need to. He wouldn’t have just walked away before he checked on her.
Hurt settled in her chest even as she told herself it was stupid to feel that way. He didn’t owe her anything, yet the fact he’d done that made her question everything about him.
“Don’t be like that,” Kyle told her.
“Like what?” Alison crossed her arms, going to her go to defensiveness.
Kyle’s gaze darted up the stairs toward Trent’s room. “He didn’t leave until he knew we were here to make sure you were fine.”
“Right.”
Daniel sighed, then shuffled his foot on the ground. “Trent is a bastard in a lot of ways, but he’s also got a few sore spots. I think the conversation with Galen dug into a few of them.”
Alison frowned. She’d never considered doing that might have been difficult for them. “Is he okay?”
“He will be. He’s tough. I think he just needed to go collect himself. We all honestly need that. For tonight, I’m going to let you make the choice on where you sleep. If you need a night to yourself, you can use your room, or you can pick one of ours if you’d rather,” Daniel said.
Alison bit at her bottom lip. Normally she’d have jumped at the chance for her own bed again, but then she recalled the tremble of Trent’s fingers in her hair and she knew the answer.
* * * *
Trent’s room was dark when Alison entered. She’d gotten out of the dress and into her pajamas, feeling more like herself as soon as she did.
A lingering remnant of the drug remained, a ghost scent she’d pick up from time to time, but otherwise? She’d bounced back.
The truth was that while she didn’t want to do that again, it wasn’t as bad as she’d imagined. Though, she did plan to kill Galen. No matter what happened, she wanted to gut him for everything she knew he’d done, everything he’d said, all the omegas he’d referenced as though they meant nothing.
Just thinking that helped her not focus on the meeting, to unload the weight of it.
Heaving made her pause. The uncomfortable sound of retching came from the bathroom, followed by a flushing toilet, then water from the sink. Brushing his teeth?
A moment later, the door opened, and Trent’s form was lit up from the bathroom. He froze as his gaze landed on her.
He didn’t speak for a long moment, though after a loud gulp, his hand still on the handle, he asked softly, “You okay?”
Alison nodded, unsure how to deal with this.
She was good at fighting, at taking care of problems, but helping people?
That wasn’t something she knew much about.
Yet, despite that, she needed to help. Something inside her wouldn’t let her walk away, wouldn’t let her forget about him.
“You left,” she explained, cringing as her words wounded almost like an admonishment.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Trent left the bathroom light on and sat on his bed, his back to her. “I needed a bit of space. Figured you’d be fine with Daniel and Kyle.”
“I am fine,” she assured him.
He leaned forward, his elbows going to his knees and a violent shudder running through him. “You’re tougher than I am. Already knew that, but here’s the proof.”
Alison came over to stand before him. He didn’t look at her, didn’t move, just stayed in that position, looking as though a weight on his shoulders had crushed him.
She wasn’t sure how to help, but slid to her knees before him. It let him lift his gaze just a hair to find hers.
“What can I do?”
His lip curled into a sad smile, one that held no humor. “I didn’t care for talking about you like that, for playing that part.”
Alison slid her fingers around his calves “It wasn’t you—I know that. We all had a part to play.”
“I guess I didn’t realize just how much I’d hate to play it. I don’t think it would have bothered me so much if I didn’t know damn well there were people out there who really think that, people who believed that. Felt like I let one of them crawl inside me, like I’ve got this slime clinging to my insides now.”
She slid forward and rested her cheek against his knee, nuzzling softly. “You’re not like that.”
He lifted one hand and ran it through her hair, the touch so much gentler than it had been when he’d held it earlier, as though trying to make up for that with sweetness now. “Do you know why I left the FBI? It was a final-straw moment for me. There was this young girl, an omega, who everyone knew was being trafficked. She was taken as a mate to an informant, an important one. I talked to everyone who would listen about helping her, about getting her out of there, but I got nothing but brick walls. No one cared because the informant was helping on big cases. I was ready to step in, ready to give it all up to get her out of there.”
A sinking sensation in Alison’s stomach preceded her asking, “What happened?”
“We found her body tossed in front of a hospital like trash. I handed in my badge that day. She was dead because my bosses decided the case was more important than the people and I couldn’t do it anymore. Danial and Kyle, they didn’t get it. They saw the big picture, saw the folks we were helping, but me? I saw her. Today, when I had to say that shit, I saw her again. I remembered doing shit because I thought it was right even though it felt fucking wrong.”
Alison wished she had some perfect thing to say. She wanted to be able to tell him it was okay, that it would all work out. Instead, she nuzzled against where he ran his fingers through her hair.
He offered her a strained smile. “You don’t need to stay, pet. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself. I’m sure tonight wasn’t easy on you either, and I know for a fact Kyle and Daniel would be more than happy to dote on you all you could want.”
Alison heard the out he was giving her, but she didn’t have to even consider it. No matter how uncomfortable this was, no matter how out of her element she might be, she wasn’t going to leave him.
Hearing the pain in his voice, that loneliness, that struggle to do what was right, it all felt like a glimpse into him, one deeper than anything she’d had before. He wasn’t just an alpha right then. He wasn’t the jerk who gave her lists of expectations and made her kneel for him. Instead, he was a man with a scarred past, one who so desperately wanted to be a good man no matter how much he felt like he was failing.
So rather than walk out, she straightened up and did the thing she’d sworn she wouldn’t, the thing that was so dangerous she wasn’t sure how she could be stupid enough to do it.
She brushed her lips to his and kissed him.
The warmth of Alison’s kiss thawed the places inside Trent that were frozen from the meeting, the areas where the jagged edges of ice pierced him.
He didn’t move, didn’t return the kiss, unwilling to participate but unable to stop her, either.
She slid her hands up his chest until she cupped his cheeks. Those full lips he’d imagined far too many times felt better than he could ever have thought. His fantasies had done them no justice, and when her soft, hot tongue brushed his lips, he groaned.
“You said no kissing,” he whispered to remind her. “I don’t want you doing anything out of pity.”
She pulled back far enough to see him but kept her hands on his cheeks. “It’s not pity. I’m…” She sighed softly, as though searching for the right words. “I need this. I need you tonight, and I think you need this, too.”
Fuck it all, I do.
Right then, the only thing he could think of that might help him get through the night was Alison. It was her scent, her strength, the warmth she had that he needed so badly. He had to reassure himself that he wasn’t the person he’d had to pretend to be, that she was safe and not afraid of him.
He grasped her by her nape and pulled her closer. She responded by crawling into his lap, her seeking hands grasping him.
He rolled them so she was in the bed beside him, both on their sides, as he took sweet kiss after sweet kiss. They weren’t rushed, weren’t frantic. She traced her hand over his side, slipping beneath the fabric of his shirt, feeling his overheated skin.
The kisses tapered off, slowing, until Trent ran his fingers through her hair, staring at her. He’d never felt this way before, and it created a ball of anxiety in his stomach that made a mockery of what he’d felt before.
How many women had he helped get back on their feet? How many had he trained? Built up? And how many had he lost?
He’d seen them torn apart, seen them lose the fight either to the world or themselves, and as he stared at her, as she curled against his chest to fall asleep, he felt a fear he’d never known before.
He wasn’t sure if he could survive losing her like that.