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“I don’t think that—” he said, but I shook my head, cutting him off.
“It’s literally the first thing you said to me. And every time you see me, you say something rude about my clothing, like I’m some skank, trying to lure men to me. Entice alphas into my bed.” I laughed bitterly. “Hey, look! I guess I did.”
“I’m sorry. That was wrong of me. Inexcusably rude.” Carefully, he turned me so he could see my face. There were lines of strain on his, like it hurt him not to hold me closer.It did hurt me; a cramp of need blazed through my insides the instant he’d pulled away. I grabbed his hand and placed it on my abdomen for relief.
“Too late now, Grumpy. You’re already lured.” I faked an evil laugh as the cramp subsided.
“That I am,” he replied, his tone still brusque. “Go on. Tell me about your life. The good and the bad, Sunshine. The truth behind all those smiles.”
My breath caught in my throat for a moment. No one except for my very best friends had ever cared to know any more than the surface Soleil I presented to the world. Smiling, happy, optimistic. And yet Giovanni had noticed that my smiles were masks.
So I told him. Everything from growing up spoiled and pampered, to the very day I came home crying in the middle of my senior year of high school. “I perfumed during my final class of the day and was sent home early, with all my things.”
“Were you able to finish your high school education?”
“At home, yes. Of course, an unbonded omega in a high school, even a private one, is clearly dangerous, or so they told me.” I ducked my head, the memories almost as painful as my cramps. “I had a job working for a local animal rescue, but the owner was an unbonded alpha, so that was over, too. I joined the Omega League that week. I hated it at first, but then I met Rain and my other omega friends. Some of them had it so much worse than I did. I couldn’t complain.”
“I would have.”
“Well, sure, but you’re Grumpy Grantham, the man who never smiles. All you do is complain, right?” I craned my neck to look at his face.
“Stop calling me names, brat,” he growled, and the ache in my core started up again. I moaned softly, and he stood, leaving me alone on the bed. His gaze drew lines of fire all over my naked body. “Clothes, now.”He crossed to the chest of drawers, and opened the top drawer, pulling out underwear. “Fuck’s sake, Sunshine. What is this?” He held up a pair of red crotchless panties that had a cupcake printed on the very small scrap of fabric. I didn’t have time to answer, since he was already digging through the rest. “Thursday, Sunday… Today’s Tuesday. None of these are organized in any way. You're a slob, aren't you?” He pulled out a few more pairs of crotchless panties and muttered, “And possibly a closet stripper.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth as he started folding the underwear neatly. He pulled one of the most risqué pairs out—a gold thong that had thin gold chains on the sides and up the butt. They were ridiculous, and the most uncomfortable ones I owned. He tossed them onto the bed, then opened the next drawer down.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to talk to you, and I can’t when you’re naked.” He flung the first t-shirt on the pile. I wriggled into it, and the underwear. Once I was more or less dressed, he sat on the edge of the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Now tell me. Please. What did you want to do with your life before you knew you were an omega?”
“Exactly what I’m doing now, but without all the hiding.” His expression was shuttered, guarded. I went on, hoping he wouldn’t shout, or tell me I was dumb. “I wanted to start a small business, all woman-owned and operated. But the laws about omega guardianship make it almost impossible. We broke some rules, and did it anyway.
“Rain is fabulous with money and websites, and I write great marketing copy. We decided to offer virtual assistant services. But it wasn’t until our friend Candy accepted a weeklong job that she thought was a PA spot, but ended up being a betasitter job, that we started getting requests.”
“Let me guess, all for betasitting?”
“Bingo. An anonymous donor gave us enough grant money in December to afford a few necessary things—scent blockers, heat suppressants for the omegas who can take them. Of course, we had to show a proper business plan, and invest in tax software and other things, so Rain and I haven't been able to pull out any money for ourselves. Not that I would be allowed to keep it if we did.”
“Your parents won’t support you in starting your own business?” he asked, a hint of righteous indignation in his voice. “Do you not have your own money?”
My laughter was bitter. “You have to be kidding. Your own sister is an omega, and you don’t know that we have to have a co-signer on our accounts?”
“My sister doesn’t. She’s fully financially independent.”
“There are exceptions. She had a husband.” I wrapped the blankets tighter. “My mom is a beta, and my dad is an old-fashioned alpha. He’s the softest-natured one you’ll ever meet, but he believes I’ll only be happy with an alpha husband. I asked him to let me have my own bank account. When he refused, I came back with a list of the reasons it would benefit me to have my own money to invest. He told me to stop being hysterical.”
“Your dad sounds like an ass.”
I shrugged, yanking my t-shirt down. “He’s an alpha. Protective, thinks he knows everything, likes to boss other people around.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “Not that all alphas are like that, I’m sure.” I tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “Some are decent.”
“What about your… fiancé? Tarquin Gotto-Cambert? Is he a decent alpha?”
I froze. Had I mentioned Tarquin’s name to Giovanni? “Tarquin’s okay. I’ve known him since I was four. He probably wouldn’t want me running a business, but he would never hurt me.”
“You don’t want to marry him?”
A scream was welling up inside me, a shouted “No!” but I breathed deeply, keeping it inside. “I have to marry someone. He’s kind. He’ll treat me well, and we… we know the same people. We get along.”
“What if you had a bank account of your own? Enough money in it for a year of expenses, say. No, two years.”
