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“Eh, they’re nothing but an annoyance. I’ll explain once I know more, but keep your eye out.”
I couldn’t decide if he was only saying that to push me toward doing what he wanted, and I decided to take a look into Dimitri’s activities myself. He might have been our partner for a long time, but that didn’t mean anything. If there was something going on that was a real threat to us, I wanted to know. Maybe it would give me something to convince my father that having me marry Tasia would be a terrible idea.
“I will.”
He hung up without a goodbye, but I didn’t care. I had arrangements to make.
***
I headed out to the alley slightly before Cadence usually arrived. I could have had one of my men walk her in, but I didn’t even want any ofthemnear her. With her heat over and her scent now advertising that she was an unclaimed, mature omega, my instincts had me wanting to keep every other alpha away from her.
Her brows rose when I opened her door after she parked, but she gave me a smile as she took my hand. I immediately buried my nose in her neck, inhaling her sweetness, my cock instantly stiffening.
“Everything okay?”
I pulled back to look down at her, tangling my fingers in her hair. Having her against me was both soothing and maddening, but I tried to reign in the more possessive thoughts.
“I missed you.”
Her brow quirked like she didn’t believe me, and I smirked, taking her hand and tugging her toward the stairs. I waited until the door shut behind us, cutting us off from the guard standing on the landing, before I said anything else.
“How did things go? Was everything okay?”
My people kept an eye on her place, and I would have known if anything drastic had happened, but there was no way to know what went on inside the house. Her mother and brother hadn’t left during the time she was with me, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been any problems.
“Yeah, Michael said nothing happened.”
That didn’t tell me how her return had gone, but I wouldn’t push her. I had to give her the space she wanted, even if I burned with the need to take care of everything for her. If she’d had problems over being gone during her heat, she’d tell me when, and if, she wanted to.
She asked if anything important happened while I was distracted, and I assured her there was nothing more important than being with her when she’d needed me. Even if the club had burned down during her heat, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere but with her. She didn’t understand the driving need I had to care for her.
To claim her.
I’d hoped the desire to sink my teeth into her would ease once the intensity of her heat passed, but my mouth still watered every time I caught her scent. It was distracting, and I needed something else to hold my attention and keep my hands busy before we ended up putting on another show for the patrons.
My chest vibrated with the beginning of a growl at the thought. It had been fun to do it once, but there wouldn’t be any more exhibitionism until Cadence was safely bonded to me.
“What are we doing tonight?” she asked as we walked through the doors onto the balcony.
Cadence used to just follow me around and wait for direction, but as she’d grown comfortable here, with me, it had become routine for her to ask what my plans were for the night, that way if I was meeting anyone, she would be prepared for the interruption.
I glanced around. It probably would have been a good night to skip the club and meet her at my place since I knew she was likely still tired, but she was also probably sore, and being alone with her within reach of a bed would have made having her again too irresistible.
Spotting Madame sitting at one of the poker tables, my lips curled as the perfect distraction presented itself.
“How about we play poker?”
Cadence’s head tipped, confusion crossing her face. We’d never gone into the gaming area since it was usually too crowded with alphas, but Madame was at a table near the edge of the space, and with her as backup, I figured it would be a safe way to keep myself focused on something other than Cadence.
“Umm, okay?”
I gave her hand a tug as I strode over to where Madame sat, cards in hand. I didn’t see any of her pets with her tonight, which was probably why she was at the table instead of one of the couches.
“Mind if we join you?”
Madame’s eyes flicked up to me before settling on Cadence, her expression softening. I knew she had a soft spot for my omega, but instead of making me want to keep our distance from her, it helped soothe some of my instincts. Female alphas didn’t have quite the same drive and aggressive tendencies as males, though they were more likely to collect harems instead of bonding with one omega.
“By all means. Is your Blossom the prize we’re betting on, or will I continue taking money from the house?”
