Niko is the calm I need, and I think this is what my heart has been trying to tell me all along.
I just need to get the rest of me on board so I can keep him. Otherwise I’m going to fuck this up and I don’t think I can handle anymore loss.
CHAPTER 9
LEON
SIR PSYCHO SEXY - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Well, what do we have here?
I smirk behind my glass as I watch Dimitri in the mirror, the alpha lumbering through the strip club completely unfazed. Like he’s impervious to the abundance of pheromones being thrown around him. It’s like he can’t even see the naked omegas in the cages and on stage, or the topless ones walking around serving drinks.
Then again, he’s the only one I’m interested in at the moment so I guess I don’t really have any room to talk.
But it’s interesting that absolutely nothing in this room has moved his meter in any way. I bet his pulse is as steady as a corpse. And since I’m in this room, I’m offended that I can lump myself in with thenothingpiquing his curiosity.
I glance to my left as he heads that way, weaving through the tables as he gets closer to thestaff onlystock room. Dimitri stops at the end of the bar closest to it, leaning against it as he speaks quietly to the bouncer standing there like a statue.
I knew when my tracker showed him sitting in the parking lot of Knotted Obsessions, Dimitri wasn’t here to get his rocks off. He doesn’t strike me as the type. At least, not someone whowould care much about the strip club portion of things. The sex club, maybe, but he isn’t waiting by that door. If he’s into red rooms and voyeurism, now isn’t the time for it, judging by his current activity.
Which is the real mystery.
I sip my bourbon and keep tabs on Dimitri while I scan the room, making note of the exits and security, counting the number of patrons and performers, then doing a quick run through of various worst-case scenarios if something were to go down.
I’m a planner.
A real doomsday thinker.
Granted, I’m usually in a situation that’s full of weapons and ends in murder, so I think it’s pretty warranted.
But my lovely little mark knows something I don’t about this club, and I’m going to take a shot in the dark and figure being prepared to get us both out of here as quickly as possible isn’t a terrible idea.
“What’re you drinking, love?”
I arch a brow and slowly drag my gaze away from one delicious deviant only to find another staring at me.
With a grin that the mirror confirms is as predatory as it feels, I down the liquor in my glass and let my eyes move over my new distraction from head to toe.
Rust red hair shaved on one side of his head while the rest falls to his shoulders in shaggy layers. Smoky gray eyes with little flecks of a blue so dark it looks black scattered around the pupil.
Expressive brows, dark red five o’clock shadow, septum ring. Fair skin, pretty lips, and a scent that makes my mouth water.
Good lord, and the freckles.
He has themall overand I have never wanted to play connect the dots with my tongue more than I do right now. Especiallysince I can tell they keep going well beyond what I can see, most likely covering the entirety of his lean, muscled body.
A beta, judging by his build and overall vibe, but a scrappy one. Probably puts up a good fight based on that alone, but the touch of cauliflower ear and crooked line of his nose means he can take a hit just as well.
I like that.
“What can I get you?” He grins, not at all miffed by my lack of response.
He doesn’t flinch when I lean forward, using the rungs of my stool to somewhat stand, looking over the bar at his shitkickers, worn-out jeans, and the way his black t-shirt clings to his body.
He chuckles and arches a brow as he watches me. “What are you having, love?”
“You,” I blurt as I settle back onto my stool, internally cringing at my lack of filter. I don’t let it slow me down, though. As long as he doesn’t punch me, I might as well run with it. “Extra dirty, and on my rocks.”
