by Bonnar King
“Nathan shouldn’t be our measure—”
“But that doesn’t mean we’re going to look like nerds tonight. I want us both to rock.”
Kevin did have a point.
“Fine,” I conceded. “Maybe something a little risqué, then.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up, making me realize he was just waiting for me to say that. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You already brought something, didn’t you?”
Kevin nodded. “Yeah. I was just giving you time to brace yourself.” Then he grinned, and I could have sworn there was a triumphant gleam in his gaze. “Now, come on. I have the perfect suit for you and you’re going to love it.”
I had a very bad feeling about this.
I tugged at my suit’s jacket and tried not to stare like a child in awe at the launching venue—but really, I couldn’t help it, because the organizers had gone above and beyond to make everything look astoundingly elegant. The launch was being held in one of the city’s biggest and most expensive hotels, and the hall had a grand staircase leading down to the party area.
I was standing right on top, surveying the scene below critically.
The area itself was a wide square place with red carpeting, crystal chandeliers and a tasteful decorative combination of silver and gold. It looked like they didn’t spare any expense as I saw the glistening tables, the free-flowing wine and finger food, made of caviar and truffles and beautiful desserts laid out in a table of gold.
This had all been Caden’s and my idea, and now that it was all laid out in front of me…wow. I didn’t realize it would look this good.
A surge of pride entered me to have been a part of the planning. I looked around, noting down that it was already pretty crowded. Most of the board members were already there, mingling with the businessmen and their partners. I spotted Nathan, looking positively vibrant in a maroon suit, which hugged his body like a lover would. I grinned when I saw Kevin on the other corner, wearing a navy-blue tuxedo that he rocked perfectly and made him look absolutely gorgeous. Heck, there was already a cute alpha flirting with him, and Kevin seemed to be blushing at the attention.
It was when I was looking around that I felt eyes on me, making me suddenly conscious. I refused to tug on my jacket again, knowing that would wrinkle it. Instead, I straightened and looked around some more, spotting Nathan’s eyes trained on me. His brow was raised in surprise, and I stared back without blinking until he finally looked away.
My spine tingled, and I turned my head to the right. The tingle spread when I saw Caden.
I remembered how he looked during the weekend, when he’d taken off his shirt at the lake and dove in. It had been a sight that would last me a lifetime, all that broadness and hardness in his suits finally in full display for me to gaze upon. He had muscles that went on for days, a shoulder that tapered down to a hard stomach and further down to a sinewy line that disappeared beneath his swimming trunks, making my hands itch. Now, despite all those glorious abs being covered by a tuxedo, it didn’t detract from his attractiveness at all.
My mouth went dry, making it difficult to even gulp in air. I wondered if I was having a heart failure, or I was about to have a stroke. My gaze trailed up from Caden’s body, settling on the long, elegant fingers wrapped around the stem of a glass of wine. A flash of my dreams came back to life, those fingers pleasuring me obscenely.
Then I trailed my gaze further up, and froze.
Caden was looking right back at me. In this distance, with the crowd and the music between us, I could feel the heat of it wrap around me like a vice. I should have choked on it.
Instead, I reveled in it.
Slowly, I placed my hand on the staircase railing, making my way down. I repeated a mantra in my head not to trip on my dress shoes, because that would end up with a broken neck and public humiliation. All the while, I never took my gaze off Caden, watching the admiration and surprise in his, mixed with something else. Something intoxicating and deeply sensual.
Just as I reached the last step down, a shadow blocked Caden from my vision. I looked up in surprise at the figure standing in front of me and found none other than Mr. Wong. He was looking pretty elegant, too, and he took me in warmly. Appreciatively.
“Mr. Arthur. You look like a vision,” he said.
Mr. Wong held out his hand. I resisted the urge to look at Caden, who was most likely standing a few feet away from us. Caden didn’t come closer. He didn’t even so much as say a word.
Stifling my odd rise of disappointment, I placed my hand in Mr. Wong’s. I thought something had formed between us in the mountains—a friendship, perhaps. But maybe I was wrong. I should have stopped thinking about it.
I was going to make the most out of this launch in terms of socialization.
And I was going to enjoy myself if it was the last thing I did.
15
Caden
Everyone wanted Tony’s attention, and I couldn’t exactly blame them.
Everything else took a step back as I focused on him in his dreamlike state, walking down the stairs like he had all the time in the world. I knew him enough to know he was nervous underneath the calm demeanor, and a part of me wanted to reach out and tell him he looked amazing.
“Who’s that?”
The voice disrupted my thoughts. I faced the client I was speaking with again, realizing that I’d stopped mid-sentence.
“That’s my personal assistant,” I replied calmly—except it wasn’t the complete truth because Tony was more than that.
“Just an assistant, hey?” My client said admiringly. He began to pull me back into conversation, and I forced myself to listen, even though every fiber of my being was aware of Tony just close by. When I glanced back, Mr. Wong was charming the hell out of Tony.
I frowned, not entirely sure what the investor was planning. It looked like a friendly chat.
Why the hell did I care? I was the one who wanted to distance myself.
My client kept conversing and flirting, but I was only half-listening. My gaze kept straying towards Tony, even when he disappeared from sight to mingle with the guests. I didn’t want to be a possessive ass, not when tonight was his time to shine and charm people…but I also wanted to spend time with him.
The opportunity presented itself when I found Tony standing just a few steps away, talking to Kevin. I excused myself from the person I was speaking with and went over to him. Smoothly, Kevin excused himself and was gone before I knew it, and Tony and I were face-to-face.
I drank in the sight of him.
“Hi,” Tony said softly, eyeing me back.
“Hey,” I murmured. A stray hair was out of place in what was otherwise an immaculate hairstyle, and my hand was suddenly there, sliding it back in place. There was intimacy in the movement, and I watched Tony’s green eyes darken before he smiled.
“Nervous?” Tony asked, referring to my upcoming speech.
I scoffed. He laughed.
“Right. Nothing makes you nervous,” Tony teased.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked.
“No. But I know you always take things in stride,” Tony said. His confidence in me was staggering—and jarring.
I changed the topic. We made small conversation, but the sexual tension in the air was so thick that we both barely navigated it. My hands itched to touch Tony, and I ended up moving closer until my arm was practically brushing his.
“Caden, there you are!”
An unwelcome voice interrupted the moment. I looked up and found my client earlier, Shawn, making a beeline towards me. He tugged on my tuxedo playfully, telling me in a teasing tone that he needed to have at least one dance with me.
“You don’t mind, do you?” Shawn asked Tony.
“I don’t mind,” Tony replied, giving a polite smile.
Reluctantly, I let myself get dragged off, placing my arms around the omega for the dance and wishing it was Tony instead. When I looked back, Tony was gone.
&nb
sp; I forced myself to get my head in the game. This night was important to the company, and I shouldn’t forget it.
I was doing fine with that mindset. In fact, I was firm on it and hadn’t glanced in Tony’s direction at all—until I saw a flash of white beside him. There was only one alpha who’d worn a white tuxedo to stand out in the event.
Sure enough, I found said alpha beside Tony—with his arm brushing Tony’s and his body close. Dan McCord—one of our most high profile clients.
And one who seduced a different omega to his bed every week.
Intense jealousy coursed through me. I was already taking a step forward before I knew it, leaving my dance partner behind and ignoring my name being called from behind. Then I heard my name again as the announcer onstage called it out louder.
I turned to look at Tony once more. He heard my name being called, and our eyes met.
He smiled.
Reluctantly, I stepped back and walked over to the stage.
16
Tony
Caden was really, really basking in the attention of the successful launch—most particularly the omegas, who didn’t stop coming at him with praises and suggestive words as soon as the audience cheered after his speech.
Caden was really a charismatic alpha, and he obviously knew it. He entertained everyone who approached him, that smile tugging up whenever he found something amusing. It was difficult to look away, and I had to remind myself to mingle and stop looking at him so much.
It was also difficult not to resent the way he was with the other omegas.
There was an ugly, jealous monster inside of me, on the verge of coming out. I didn’t like this, and considered it a weakness, because never once in my life had I ever let an alpha dictate my feelings. Why was I starting now, and with an alpha I wasn’t even sure how I was feeling about?
Caden wasn’t even made for commitment. And here I was agonizing over him.
I needed to get over it.
“Have you tried the chocolates? They’re very mouthwatering.”
The voice jolted me out of my thoughts, reminding me that Dan was still beside me. The alpha had been beside me since that omega interrupted my conversation with Caden, taking him away. I forced a smile on my face, shaking my head.
“No, I haven’t tried them yet.”
The thing was, Dan was a classically handsome alpha—blond hair, light blue eyes and a dimple on his right cheek when he smiled. I bet that was a classic omega-melting move, and he used it as much as he could on me. He seemed nice, too, asking me questions about myself and obviously interested in getting to know me.
But I wasn’t feeling it—or rather, there was something off about him that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Well, I’m not quite a fan of chocolates myself, unless they come from Belgium,” he said. “Have you tried it? It’s very delicious. Quite expensive, too.”
There was something in his tone, I realized. Something…
Humblebrag, my mind supplied.
Dan kept on talking about his travels and the things he purchased, maintaining an almost sheepish tone. I didn’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner when it was so obvious now. He was trying to impress me by making himself out to be so rich, dropping hints here and there of his business successes and achievements.
It jolted me to realize as well that Caden had never once bragged about anything related to his wealth.
Irritation flickered that my mind was back on Caden. I pushed thoughts of him away and kept the smile pasted on my face.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have.
Dan’s eyes lit up in response to my smile. What was he even talking about last? Darn it.
An over-the-top omega laugh floated in the air, loud and obviously exaggerated to make the nearby alphas feel better about themselves. I automatically glanced in that direction and saw an omega in a killer black tuxedo with his hand on Caden’s arm. He was practically purring as he sidled closer, just a step away from rubbing himself all over Caden. Caden was smiling at him. I swallowed the scowl and dragged my attention back to Dan.
Just in time, too.
To my surprise, Dan was only inches away from me. He’d moved when I wasn’t looking, and there was an admiring look in his gaze that wasn’t really there earlier. It was coupled with something else, something darker.
Oh, no.
“You know, I have booked a suite for the night,” he said lightly. His hand drifted up to my waist, and I was so shocked at the come-on that I remained speechless as he kept talking. “Perhaps if the event is done, you’d like to come up and have a little wine. I don’t usually do this with all omegas, but…there’s something special about you.”
I saw through the lie right away. Dan was so different with Caden in the sense that he lured omegas by telling them what they wanted to hear. It was slick—and sleazy.
Caden? Everyone knew the deal with him. And he never hid who he was.
God. I should stop comparing.
I took a step back, prepared to reject him. But Dan’s hand dug in.
“Come on, now,” he said, his breath in my ear. I shuddered, but not in pleasure.
“I don’t think so—”
“He said no, McCord.”
Caden’s voice had me freezing, but it wasn’t the nearness this time—it was the deadly tone in it. His gaze was a laser point on the hand Dan had on my waist, and he looked like he was about to wrench it off any time now.
“You don’t own him,” Dan said, a slight sneer on his face now. The niceguy alpha act had dropped.
I stepped away before the situation could elevate, forcing myself to appear pleasant. “Caden, perhaps we should discuss—”
“No, you’re coming with me,” Caden bit off, before dragging me with him. Shock rippled inside me, and I glanced at Dan and watched his displeased stare. Then I happened to look around, and several stares were already trained on us and how Caden was…man-handling me.
Suddenly I was furious. Embarrassed, too. I wrenched my arm from his hold and stalked off, already on the verge of yelling at him right there and then. I heard Caden following me and calling out my name, but I ignored him. My cheeks were burning, and all I knew was that I just had to get away.
My new shoes made sounds that echoed in my ears as I left the main hall and went through a small hallway, which I knew led to an elevator. Footsteps sounded behind me.
“Now just wait a damn minute—”
I turned around and glared at Caden furiously.
“I could have handled that,” I said icily.
“You were letting him harass you,” he pointed out.
“I was being polite—”
“By allowing him to seduce you—”
“Don’t interrupt me!” I snapped. “You always do that.”
Caden’s mouth snapped shut. His jaw was rigid and tense, but I didn’t care. I let him have it.
“I’m capable of taking care of myself, Caden, and you should stop getting in my business. I was about to reject him when you interrupted like a damn caveman.”
“He had his hands on you,” Caden said, firmly.
“Maybe I wanted his hands on me,” I shot back. Then I turned around and prepared to leave.
But Caden stopped me with a hand on my wrist. It wasn’t a forceful move, and I could have yanked his hand away easily. But I didn’t.
“Is that true?” he asked. The tenderness in his voice was still there, but there was an urgency there, too. He was honestly waiting for my answer.
I turned back and looked him in the eyes.
“No,” I said softly. “I didn’t want his hands on me.”
I gently removed my hand from Caden’s grasp, and he let go. The sound of my shoes started up again, but this time, there were no following footsteps as I got in the elevator.
Well, this was a sour end to an otherwise good night.
I pushed the button to the ground floor, then leaned on the center wall and closed my eyes.
He pushed the close button.
My eyes widened. “You can’t—”
But he was already pressing me against the wall, practically lifting me up. Then his mouth was covering mine.
And it was the most glorious kiss in the world.
I would have liked to believe I fought him, but that would have been a lie. Maybe I did for the first few seconds—but by the time his tongue had slid in, I was already putty in his arms and clutching at his shoulders, kissing him back with a fervor that I didn’t know existed inside me. His kisses were like a drug, addictive and so good. His tongue was hot and wet, colliding with mine and giving me a taste of what was to come.
His body was hard and strong, lifting me with ease and grinding against me repeatedly. I felt his hard bulge move from my stomach as he eased me higher. Then it was in between my legs, throbbing insistently. He ground up, once, at the same time he bit my lower lip.
Pleasure spiked through me, so intense and delicious. A moan escaped my lips, and he swallowed the sound before his mouth cruised lower.
“You’re delicious,” he muttered, his breathing ragged. He spread my legs and pressed even closer. His hands caressed my ass with one hand while lifting my shirt up with his other hand, to reveal my erect nipples, exposed to the cool air.
He rubbed my chest with his hand, and I pressed against him and moaned for more.
Never have I felt passion and hunger like this, and I wanted more. I was blind with the need running inside me. I clutched on as his mouth captured my nipple and sucked.
And then the elevator dinged.
17
Caden
Tony felt like heaven and tasted like sin.
It was an intoxicating combination, and I damned it all to hell and took what I could, nipping his mouth and sliding my tongue in before he could stop me. Tony kissed me back, and it only fueled the fire that was already burning inside me until my body was consumed by it.