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He leads me to the appetizer table, and I load a tiny plate with donut holes and cheese. Saint eyes the plate and shakes his head. Ignoring his judgment of my choices, I head to a tall table and pop a cinnamon and sugar donut hole into my mouth. I hum around the sugary goodness, closing my eyes with pleasure.
“So good,” I say, pressing my fingers to my lips.
Saint chuckles and shakes his head. “You keep making those noises. I’ll give you a lifetime supply of those things.”
I follow with a cube of cheese, which isn’t a normal accompaniment of donuts but isn’t horrible either. The burst of cheddar on my tongue is so sharp compared to the sugary mess I just had. It would pair well with the bubbly. I search the room for waiters, and as one comes close, I snag another glass. And I’m right. It is amazing.
I am the embodiment of distracted. My plan to steal the painting that wasn’t really much of a plan slips slowly away. Austin will understand. Right?
After a while of the crowd watching, Felix appears next to me, and I throw my arms around him and give him a very public kiss before he can say a word. He laughs as he pulls away, his eyes going to Saint.
“Is now the time to play out your fantasy?” I stage-whisper as he smiles down at me.
“Did you drug her?”
“Champagne lightweight, apparently. She only had three glasses.” There is a pause, and then he adds, “I need to use the bathroom. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
I bite my lip as I gaze up at Felix. His piercings and hair are at odds with his suit, the combination surprisingly sexy. Or maybe he is just sexy.
“Did you enjoy flirting with other people?” I ask.
“No. I never do.” He tucks me under his arm, and we start the circle around the room again.
“Good.”
“Jealous, little rabbit?”
I snort loudly, drawing attention to us. “Rabbit? And no.”
“I’ll find some kind of nickname.”
“You really don’t need to.” I laugh, enjoying his determination.
He grins down at me before changing the subject. As we circle the room, he points out different people, telling me about them. Or at least telling me the gossip about them. We spend the next half hour like that, in our own little world, taking in all the guests.
Then my eyes land on a tall, lanky man from behind. My breath shudders in my chest as I catch sight of Jason. Even from behind, his frame is hard to miss. Involuntarily, my fingers tighten into Felix’s biceps. He’s instantly on alert, scanning the crowd for the danger. Seeing my worst nightmare in the flesh, breathing the same air as me, cements my heels to the ground and sobers me up in less than three seconds.
“Are you okay?” Felix’s voice drops low with concern as he scans the party goers again.
I don’t know why I thought I could face Jason and use him to steal the painting. Seeing the back of him in that restaurant with Saint had only been a tiny taste of the negative effects he brought to my body. As it is, my whole body trembles as a clammy sort of sweat breaks out on my hands and neck. My heart feels like someone has a vise around it as fear rises to choke me. I rapidly blink, faced with him ten feet away.
Then he turns, and he’s not wearing a mask. He might be tall and lanky, but his face is handsome in a way a monster shouldn’t be. But as much as I used to think that, it does nothing that it used to do to me. Now it is a shot of terror straight into my bloodstream, as I imagine him making me beg for his mark to save my brother. Not that it was good enough, he still cut Sin open and took who he was as an omega from him.
His cruel laughter crosses the space between us as he laughs at something the man next to him says, cutting straight through me. My perfume sours as I inhale through my nose.
The next thing I know, Felix has my face in his hands, blocking the view of Jason. And I can breathe again. He grounds me, and I realize my face is damp beneath the mask, but I can’t take it off, not out here.
“Are you okay?” he repeats, dipping his head to catch my eyes with his.
Time starts again, and my pulse, although still rapid, no longer feels like my heart is going to explode.
“I–” I say and then swallow before clearing my throat. “Jason Vanross,” I barely whisper, afraid it will bring him to us. What if he scents me? Breathing through my nose again, I take calming breaths. I can do this.
Felix swears and looks over his shoulder, catching sight of him. “We can leave. Austin will understand.”
I shake my head. “No, after tonight I won’t have to worry about this ever again. Right?” I attempt a smile, but it feels brittle and fake on my lips.
“If Saint or Austin sees your reaction to him, you won’t have to worry about it in two seconds,” he mutters.
