While the omega sat uncomfortably perched on the edge of his chair, hands folded in front of him, I walked over to the patio refrigerator and filled a fresh glass and mine with sparkling water and crystal-clear ice. I took the time to reach inside the house for a bag of chips as well. “Here we go. I hope sparkling is all right?”
“Yes, it’s fine.” He brought the cup to his mouth and sipped. His lips turned up at the corners. “It’s really fine.”
“I’m a fan of the bubbles, too.” I tore open the bag of chips and pushed them toward him. “You know, I could call room service if you’re hungry.”
I paused with a handful of chips midair. “Oh, don’t do that. They will be shorthanded without me. This is great.”
My wolf was having a fit, demanding we feed our omega. “I am going to break the number one rule of travel.” The snacksI’d given him were actually complimentary, but there was still… “Let’s visit the honor bar.”
He paled, but I grabbed his free hand and tugged him to his feet. “Come on. I’ve always wanted to do this.”
“Why don’t you?” Ches followed me in. “If you can afford this villa, you can for sure afford a bottle of beer from the honor bar.”
“Have you seen the price list?” But I was laughing. Reluctantly releasing his hand, I threw open the refrigerator door. “What’ll it be?”
He still held back, but I filled his arms then mine with overpriced nuts and candy and beverages and anything else the management thought the customers might want late at night. We poured it out onto the table and sat down to tear into it. To be honest, all those tiny packages probably added up to less than a half-pound of actual food, and there were only so many Diet Cokes and orange juices we could put away. But I would never have expected after my disappointing business meeting and the trauma this omega had gone through just a little while ago that we’d be sitting on the pool patio eating and drinking and having the best time I could ever remember.
Mate.
I know you think so…
Is so.
After we finished as much as we wanted, we sat back in silence. “When I buy a hotel, the honor bar will be free.”
“To free Mashuga Nuts!” He held up an empty wrapper. “I saw them on TV once and had no idea they were real.”
“It seems they are. What were they?”
“Cinnamon nuts. So good.” He gave me a shy smile. “Alpha, thank you for making the worst night of my life one of the best. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you.”
“Me too. Would you like to stay here? I know you said you wanted to leave before, but you could stay in the other bedroom.”
“What if I wanted to stay in yours?”
“Then I’d have to say that’s not the kind of conversation we can have tonight. I’m incredibly flattered, but you have been through a lot.”
“Then I’d better go home.”
I hated him leaving and my wolf hated it even more, but it was the right thing to do. It was just very hard.
Chapter Seven
Ches
I didn’t want to leave Grant in his room but there was no other choice. I couldn’t just stay with an alpha for the night because I’d had a hiccup in a guest’s room.
Maybe I was downplaying it too much.
It was a way to cope with the fact that I was almost raped or kidnapped or trafficked.
I shook my head and closed the door behind me to the room I shared with Alias.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, and I almost jumped out of my skin and into another dimension. I was already on edge but there was no way he could know that.
“You scared the fuck out of me.”
That earned me a chuckle. “You know we share a room, right? Did you expect someone else? Wait, really, are you okay?”
