“I have some self-control,” I protested. “I just also know what I like.”
“Someday, baby, I’ll wake you up every morning with a treat.”
My chest ached at the thought. He called me baby so easily. Nik had slipped up a few times before as well.
I wasn’t sure what we were, but I had a feeling we were pack, even if neither of us was brave enough to suggest it yet.
When I couldn’t avoid facing my life any longer, I finally pulled myself out of his arms and looked up into the pretty, hazel eyes he hid behind wire-rimmed glasses that he hated.
I adored them. It was probably the only reason he hadn’t gotten rid of them yet. I had a feeling someday, when we had money, he wouldn’t hesitate to switch to contacts.
“Promise me we’re going to get out of here.”
“Yeah, baby. It’s you and me,” he promised.
God, I wanted to believe him, to trust that we’d get out, so I did the only thing I could think to do in that moment. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.
He made a low rumbling sound in his throat before he deepened it, one hand sliding into my hair, holding my head steady as his mouth teased against mine.
A low whine echoed out of me, my body coming alive for this man.
The moment broke as my watch alarm went off, reminding me that I had to leave now if I didn’t want to be late. He rested his forehead against mine, breathing me in for a moment.
“Give me a few hours and we’ll leave. Then, I want to do a whole lot more of that,” he said, his eyes serious as he stared at me, imploring me to believe him. “You’re mine, Aries. You know that, right? And I always protect what’s mine.”
I bit back a smile because I loved the sound of the promises that he made.
Nikolai
I watched my omega walk away from me, knowing full well that we were mates. I loved Aries, scent matches or not. I had vowedlong ago that she would be mine.
It took everything in me to let her go. She belonged by my side, where I could protect her. Yet, I knew the diner was the only safe place for her to be at the moment.
When she walked around the corner of the diner, I started making plans.
I had far more saved up than she realized. I just could never tell her the kind of work that I did to earn it. I ran errands for the wrong kind of people, and my silence paid plenty, but I wanted more than this life for her.
Aries deserved the world, and I’d do anything I could to give it to her.
I opened my phone, pulling up one of my usual contacts.
“Hey, Nikolai. Are you ready for another fight?” Dimitri asked, his Russian accent thick. How the hell he ended up out here was beyond me.
“Maybe. Once I’m settled. I’ve got me an omega, and we need a place to lay low. I was wondering if you could hook me up with something that’s not here.”
His answer was a grunt, which I took as affirmation. Remaining silent, I heard his keyboard click.
“I’ve got something, but it doesn’t come free. I want you to start fighting regularly. Two fights a week.”
“And that comes with?” I prompted, needing more than his simple promise.
“I’ve got a safe house out there. You can have it for as long as you’re fighting for me. The day you tell me to take you off the roster is the day it returns to me. You’ll get a cut for each fight, of course. You and your omega will be safe.”
“We need to leave tonight. I’ll agree, but I need at least two weeks to get her settled. She just designated today.”
He was quiet long enough that I thought he might reject the request.
“Fine. Two weeks. And the first week you do three fights to make up for it.”
