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The room we entered looked like a theater, except nicer than any I’d ever seen. The chairs were black leather, with small glass and chrome tables between them. The walls and carpet were also black, as were the curtains on each side of the deep red stage at the far end of the room. It was fairly small, but it was well lit, and it was easy to see who was standing in the middle of it.
The guard stopped inside the door, giving a nod toward the stage when I peeked up at him. I had to swallow and wipe my hands on my pants before I could move any closer to the stage, instincts urging me to turn and run instead.
Leo watched as I made my way between the seats until I stood on the plush carpet in front of him, staring at his shiny black shoes. His hands were in the pockets of his pants, and when he didn’t say anything, I forced myself to look up.
His face was expressionless as he gazed down at me, not making me feel any better. I couldn’t help fidgeting as I debated over apologizing for being late, when he finally spoke.
“Join me onstage.”
Sucking in a deep breath, his coffee and whiskey scent flooded my lungs as I jerked my eyes around until I spotted the stairs to my right. He didn’t need to use an alpha command on me, it was instinct to do as he said.
Even though the seats behind me were empty, I was still nervous to climb the steps and walk to where Leo stood in the center of the stage. My chest heaved from the strain of anxiety, and I saw his eyes dip to wander over my body once again. I was still in the jeans and shirt I’d worn to the diner, and a flush of embarrassment swamped me at the thought of the type of woman he was probably used to.
“Turn and look around.”
I frowned at his odd request, but once again I did as he said. The room looked larger from the stage than it had as I passed through it, and I was glad we were the only people in here, though I wasn’t sure about being alone with Leo. The guard must have considered his job done and left once he’d brought me to the theater, because the doors were shut, and he was nowhere in sight.
My gaze turned back to Leo, and I forced myself to straighten and meet his gaze as if I didn’t feel like I’d just walked into a trap.
“You said you had a deal for me.”
One side of his lips tipped up as he huffed. It was ridiculous how good he looked with the first few buttons of his light blue dress shirt undone, and his sleeves rolled up to the elbow, showing off muscular, golden forearms.
When did forearms become so…erotic?
Moving around me, Leo placed his hands on my shoulders before I had a chance to react, running his palms down to my upper arms and turning me to face the empty chairs, as if I was the focus of the room.
“I have an opportunity for you. A chance to make enough money to pay back what your brother owes in a single night. Likely more.”
His voice rumbled from behind me, my breath catching in my throat as I shivered from the nearness of him. His heat at my back, almost close enough to lean against, scrambled my brain enough that his words didn’t make sense at first, but I slowly pulled meaning from them.
Nothing that would bring in that much money in a single night could be legal, yet I was out of options, and desperate enough to listen despite knowing better.
I blamed the butterflies in my stomach on the fear of what he was going to suggest, not the urge to lean back and see how he felt against me. I had been so busy trying to keep my family going that I’d never had time for the usual teenage fumblings and exploration. Despite being an omega over twenty, I hadn’t had my first heat yet, and I was still a virgin. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had touched me, even casually, and I was convinced that was what had kept my cycles at bay even though most omegas had their first cycle when they were still teenagers.
My throat worked as I swallowed around the lump there, but I couldn’t force out the questions racing through my mind. Being alone with Leo was messing with my head, his scent luring me away from common sense.
“I’m setting up an event for some of our… business partners. We like to provide entertainment every once in a while to keep our ties strong, and it can be quite lucrative for the people involved in the… amusements.”
His voice was a purr in my ear, his warm breath ghosting across my neck and raising goosebumps along my arms. My nipples tightened as I fought the urge to give in to instinct and whine, begging him for things I shouldn’t want.
“I’m short a girl, and I think you’d fit in perfectly.”
My stomach was roiling, my body quivering between the urge to flee and the desire this alpha stirred. I couldn’t focus on what he was saying, pulled in too many directions at once.
Leo was too much for me.
Too powerful.
Too dangerous.
I didn’t know what I had been thinking to even come here and consider listening to an offer from him.
“I—I need to go.”
My whisper was lost in the emptiness in front of me, the alpha at my back brushing away the words as if they hadn’t been spoken. My feet wouldn’t even move despite a part of my brain yelling for me to go, and go now, while I still could. Leo’s hands remained firm on my arms, thumbs brushing over my skin as he leaned closer to scent along the side of my neck.
“It’s only one night. You’ll stand on this stage and face the audience as they bid on you. You’ll get half the money and can pay off your brother’s debt before it’s too late.”
