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He snorts derisively. “I don’t want that man-child.”
“He’s an Omega,” I whisper as I lean more of my weight on Roman. “Rich family.”
“So why are you interested in him?” He nods to a couple guests while shifting to block their view of me.
It’s a level of consideration I never expected from him, and it makes me answer truthfully. “We’re broke. My mother arranged it.”
I feel his eyes on me as he stops at the elevator. “And that’s the guy she chose for you?”
“Katheryn gets the prestigious spouse, I get the one willing to pay the most.” A bitter laugh escapes me. “Marry for the family or get kicked out.”
The elevator arrives, and he shifts me into the mirror-lined box, holding me close as he presses the button for the twelfth floor. “What about your tea shop? Surely that can support you?”
“Owned by my family. I was about to start paying it back next month; I had a five-year plan, but now it doesn’t matter.” Every breath I take fills my lungs with his cologne, and it makes thinking difficult. I groan against his neck. “Forget I said all this. I’m delirious. I’ll go home as soon as I take some medicine.”
“We’ll see,” he growls, and the vibration travels through my body, soothing some of the burn.
“That feels good.” I press closer. “Do that again.”
The rumble comes again as he cups the back of my neck. “You’re going to be the death of me, Heardst.”
“You can go back to hating me tomorrow,” I moan into his neck. “For now, just keep talking.”
He grips my neck tightens. “I don’t hate you.”
“Liar.”
The elevator comes to a stop, and his hold on me shifts. “Can you walk? Or do I need to carry you?”
“We’re almost the same size,” I protest, though I don’t want to peel myself off him. The burn in my skin feels better when we’re close. “You can’t carry me.”
In response, he bends, one arm scooping behind my knees, and he hoists me off my feet with ease.
As he carries me from the elevator, my head falls back, and I groan. “Is there anything you’re bad at?”
“Apparently, there’s one thing I’m very bad at.” He hoists me a little higher, and my head lands on his shoulder. “Hush. We’re almost there.”
When he stops talking, the rush of heat returns, crawling under my skin. His cologne makes it better and worse at the same time, both easing my fever and ratcheting it higher. “What brand do you wear?”
“What?” he asks, distracted as he stops in front of a door and tries to pull his key card from his pocket without dropping me.
“Your cologne.” I loop my arms around his neck and snuggle in to drag the scent into my lungs. “What brand?”
“I don’t wear cologne.” He fumbles the card into the reader by feel and the lock pops open. “Why did you come tonight without taking your pills?”
Is he talking about cold medicine? I hadn’t been sure I was sick when I left for the party. “I wasn’t sure I needed them yet.”
“Stupid risk to take,” he mutters, dropping me onto the bed as if I’m burning him, and maybe I am. “You’re lucky I came into the bathroom when I did.”
“You’re the stupid one.” I tug at the tie around my neck, desperate to escape the noose. “I left Herold wide open for your advances all night, and you never took the bait.”
“I already told you I wasn’t interested in him.” He pauses next to the phone to stare at me. “He wasn’t the type of guy you usually go for, either.”
I give up on getting my tie off, leaving it loose around my neck. “What kind of guy do I usually go for?”
“Taller, closer to your own size.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “Auburn-haired and blue-eyed.”
The way the lights in the room catch in the red strands of his hair distract me before the heat in my body reminds me of my original goal.
