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But none of that matters. I know who she is to me. To us. And all I want is to protect her. And maybe mate with her.
My nostrils flare.
Definitely mate with her.
I caused this head-on collision we’d gotten in, skewing the mask on her face on impact. With a smile, I gently, carefully, right the mask and step back from her, keeping a respectable distance between us. Unlike my stupid brothers who can’t read a room to save their lives.
“Hello, there.” I playfully rub my chest where her face had planted. “I’ll need to not watch where I’m going more often, if I’ll be running into beautiful women like you.”
After a small pause, she huffs a laugh, head shaking. “Do you use that line often?”
“All the time.” I wave my hand about nonchalantly. “I’ve always got my nose in an electronic device or a book, always running into gorgeous Omegas…” Another grin. “The line never works, but I’m hoping it will tonight.”
She blinks up at me, lids fluttering quickly before letting out a nervous laugh this time. “You don’t want it to work on me, I assure you.”
Instead of questioning, pressing for answers, I keep our gazes locked then gesture to the ballroom door. “Why don’t we go into the lobby where it’s nice and quiet so we can talk, and you let me decide for myself?”
I feel her desire to refuse before she opens her mouth, but I raise my hands defensively and interrupt whatever she’s going to say. “No pressure at all. Look.” I take an even bigger step back from her. “I’ll keep a good distance between us. You can flee anytime.”
I can almost see the thoughts cycling through her mind before she flattens her lips and gives me a nod. My smile makes my face ache as I open one of the doors, squinting at the brightness beyond the ballroom, letting Sindella pass through first. She chooses a chair at the table closest to the ballroom, facing the doors, and I sit across from her with a gentle sigh, pulling off my mask and running my fingers through my unruly curls.
“Is this okay?”
She nods silently, making hesitant movements to remove her mask, unveiling a face to gorgeous, I forget to breathe. Her skin is smooth and porcelain, her eyes stark and bright, if a bit frightened, framed by dark eye makeup that really accentuates them.
“I hope you don’t mind my saying that you are gorgeous.”
“So are you,” she breathes. “And you smell delicious.”
A hearty laugh escapes me when she slaps her hand over her lips, expression horrified. “I-I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m so sorry.”
“You smell delicious, too. To me, anyway.”
She swallows hard, eyes darting around.
“What’s your name?”
I know damned well what her name is, but I also know better than to let her know that.
“Sin.” Her voice is small when she says it.
“Sin. I’m Cade. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“May I ask you a question?”
A silent, affirmative nod.
“How did you get here?”
She blinks. “To New York?”
“New York, this party…”
Her lips purse. “I was invited. By… my fiance.” The fingers of her left hand tap along her knee, calling attention to the four-carat princess-cut diamond on her finger.
“I see.” I lean back in the chair, lift one ankle to rest on the other knee. “Mikhail Petrov, right?”
