He sighed and stopped moving. I slicked back his hair from his forehead, then looked at him in the mirror. In his black suit and crisp white shirt, he looked like a spy from a bygone era. I whistled softly in appreciation.
“Molto bello,” I said, brushing down the creases on his shoulders.
He grinned at me. “Likewise.”
I tugged at the lapels of my jacket. Formal attire was not my forte. But if I needed to dress up to support Andrew at yet another fundraising event, this time for the clinic charging him a fortune for treatment, I would. He’d convinced me to let him choose my outfit, and I was already regretting it. He’d put me in a tight maroon suit with a black turtleneck underneath, and I’d definitely stand out in a sea of black and navy.
We’d come to the apartment downtown, an impersonal three-bedroom flat we kept for occasions like this. Andrew had originally bought it when he was most worried about his safety.It came furnished like a hotel room — in grays and blacks — and had none of the warmth of home. But it was comfortable enough for one night.
“You are always objectifying me,” I said in mock complaint. He knew I loved the flattery.
His eyes darkened, and a thread of lust trickled down the bond.
“No, basta! Enough, you feral creature, or we will be late.” I stepped out of his reach.
He smiled. “You know I love it when you run,” he said, still grinning, but then another pang of anxiety spilled down the bond.
“Amore, what is wrong?” I stepped back towards him. He wrapped his hands around my waist. “Are you in pain?”
“No, it’s not that,” he sighed into my hair. He pulled back to look into my eyes. “I’m… thinking about Bridget, whether or not she’ll be there.”
It would make sense for her to be there as an employee of the clinic. But she was also an Omega, which might exclude her. Based on Andrew’s tension, though, his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. “Ah,” I said carefully. “And do you want her to be there?”
He met my eyes, and I saw guilt there. “I do want to see her again.”
I understood then. He was attracted to the little Omega.
I fully expected to feel rage, or at least the jealousy my mother had been such an expert in. Here was my Alpha, lusting after someone else. An Omega, who could fulfill him in ways I never could. A woman perfectly designed to play on my every insecurity.
Surely there was a pang in my chest, but then I thought of little Bridget, the sweet smell of her in my arms, and the overwhelming need I’d felt to protect her. Her brilliant smile andslightly awkward manner. She wasn’t some harpy trying to steal my Alpha. She was a beautiful, delicate creature that I felt drawn to, if in a different way than Andrew.
I’d never been with a woman, though I knew Andrew had. I could appreciate a beautiful woman, but the desire to go any further than a flirtation, or one drunken kiss at a nightclub in Milan, had never struck me.
“I need you to respond before I go insane,” Andrew said, drawing me from my thoughts. His arms were still around my waist. “I’m sorry. I just thought I should be honest.”
“Thank you, amore. For your honesty.” My thoughts were getting tangled in my head, stuck between my native language and English. A bit of my frustration at being unable to express myself must have pulsed down the bond because Andrew gripped me a little tighter, remorse flowing freely. “Non ce l’ho con te, mi amore. I am not angry. I am just… surprised. At not being angry.”
“You’re not?” He tilted my face up to meet my eyes. His green eyes were fierce and sad.
“No,” I said truthfully. “Bridget is lovely. I am not surprised you are attracted to her.”
“I would never act on it.”
I patted his cheek. “Iknowmi amore. Lucky for you, I can feel here how much you love me.” I tapped my finger on my chest. “I admit, I am also drawn to her.”
The bolt of lust from Andrew was so immediate that I had to laugh. “Not like that,” I admonished. “But I do like her. And I worry about her, having no one to protect her.”
“What are you saying?” Andrew asked, a bit of hope in his eyes.
“I am saying…” I tried to find the right words. “I would be happy to get to know her. And maybe something could happen. But you keep your cock to yourself, or I will cut it off.” I grippedhim roughly through his trousers, and he hissed, desire spiking down the bond again.
“Mmmm, I do like it when you’re jealous,” he growled.
I squeezed him tighter, and he sucked in a rough breath. “Quando torniamo a casa, ti scoperó,” I promised darkly. He must have understood the intent, if not the words, by how he hardened in my palm.
I released him with a smile.
We arrived fashionably late at the historic hotel where the gala was being held, far from the rather industrial part of town where the clinic was located. After we checked our coats, we were shown to the glittering ballroom, already full of the city’s wealthiest people.
