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“I’m not doing anything,” I snap, though I know my omega scent is probably perfuming the air. I haven’t taken another dose of the drug that hides who I am; there didn’t seem to be much point, now that the cat’s out of the bag.
Maybe that was a mistake.
We reach the landing, and I drop my duffel in front of the doorway, reaching into my pocket for the keys. “I haven’t been here in a while,” I warn him. “Working on the show.”
Reese grunts acknowledgement as he reaches down and picks up my bag, shouldering it like it’s nothing. That’s when I realize he doesn’t have anything of his own besides a small backpack.
Of course he doesn’t, I think to myself, irritated. Reese went to prison when he was a young teenager; anything he owned back then wouldn’t fit his alpha frame anymore. He probably has two changes of clothes to his name, and it’s all my fault.
I clear my throat, trying to stop the rush of emotions from overwhelming me. I unlock the door and step inside, holding the door for Reese to follow me through. He steps over the threshold and closes it behind him, his dark eyes scanning the room. I look around with him, wincing inwardly at the state of the place. There’s a camp bed in the corner, a pile of dirty laundry nearby. I have a beach chair that sits in front of an old-style tv, complete with useless rabbit ears. There’s one window, but it’s been broken since I moved in, so there’s a blue plastic tarp covering the top half of it. The bottom half looks out on a brick wall, facing another building. There’s no bathroom in the apartment itself; I share one with three other apartments on this floor. I mean, it’s bad, there’s no question. But I’ve gotten so used to it that I hadn’t considered how horrible it would seem to someone who wasn’t me.
Apparently Reese agrees, because as he looks around the room, he says in a dangerously calm voice, “The fuck is this, Arlo?”
“I know it’s not great, but—”
“It’s unlivable.” He turns to face me, those black eyes stormy. “This is where you’ve been staying? For how long?”
I shrug because I don’t want to tell him the answer: years. Years of living like this because I was trying to save every penny I could.
“Arlo,” Reeese growls, moving closer, his body imposing in the small space. He reaches out and grasps my throat in a light hold, not to scare me, just to remind me that he’s an alpha and I’m… well, I’m not. He doesn’t need to bother. Just the sound of my name on his lips is enough to send a thrill through me; it’s enough to make me want to do whatever he asks. “Explain this to me,” he orders.
“I was trying to save money,” I say carefully.
Reese looks around the room again. “For what?” he asks dangerously.
“Do I need a reason?” I ask, trying to be coy.
“You’re an omega. Omegas need warm, comforting spaces. Places that feel safe. This?” Reese glances around. “This isn’t the home of an omega. So either you have another place you’re not telling me about, or you were trying to punish yourself.”
“Punish myself?” I scoff as if it’s completely outside the realm of possibility, even though he couldn’t be more right. “What would I be…?” I trail off as Reese’s eyes turn hard.
“Don’t lie to me, Arlo,” he says in that low, commanding alpha tone.
I close my eyes for a moment, letting that voice slide over me. I had no idea how thrilling it could be to give up control like this. It’s selfish of me to give in, really. I should resist; I should lie. But then he pushes me back against the wall and leans closer. The delicious scent of Reese overwhelms me.
He presses his nose into my neck and takes a deep breath. “Arlo,” he says, his voice compelling and dark.
“I-I needed the money.”
“Did you get into trouble?” His voice is sharper now, more concerned.
“No…youwere in trouble.” I open my eyes and raise them to his, struggling against the intensity of his expression.
“The fuck does that mean, Arlo?” Reese growls.
I clench my teeth. “Did you really think I would just let it go? Let you waste away in there forever? I’ve been fighting, Reese. Getting the money together for a lawyer. A case.”
Reese stares at me hard, as if he doesn’t know how to respond. And that’s fair; I didn’t work hard enough. Fast enough. He had already been in there for so long.
“When the opportunity came up to get you out early, I took it, but I wasn’t sure if it would last. I couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t send you back.”
Reese lets go of my neck and backs away, looking around the room as if he doesn’t know what to think.
“I know it’s pretty bad. We don’t have to stay here long. And I’ll take the floor. You don’t have to share a bed with me or anything—”
“Fuck, Arlo, that’s not the problem. You’ve been living like this for… foryears? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Without thinking, I lunge toward him and shove him hard. He’s surprised, and although he’s much bigger than me, the force of my push makes him stagger back a step.
