Page 9 of Queen of Spades

I scan my badge and aim for the security room to grab my stuff. The clicking of my heels on the stairs fills the air.

I shove open the door and take three steps inside before tattooed hands land on my hips.

“Hey, baby.” Grady’s sultry southern accent vibrates against my ear as his long hair tickles my neck. “How was your night?”

My nostrils flare, breathing in his citrusy-beachy scent. I’ve never smelled a scent like his before. It’s like lemons and the beach. It doesn’t make any sense when I try to describe it in words, but my system lights up every time I catch a whiff of him.

“It was fine. Jimmy called me in early,” I pout, spinning around to face him. My heart beats erratically as he grins down at me with a lopsided smile. “How about you?”

He chuckles, biting his lower lip.

Grady and I have had a thing since a few months after I was hired at the club.

After the incident with Marco Andretti—I only learned which brother I killed when I saw a news broadcast—I spent the next three months bouncing around the country, never staying in one place. It was exhausting and scary, and it didn’t take long to recognize exactly how insulated my old life had been.

When I stopped in Texas, it was the first time I stayed put for a couple of months. It wasn’t really my style, so I tried California for a month before finally settling in Las Vegas.

“Boring as fuck, but things are starting to look up,” he growls.

“That they are,” I agree, stretching to meet his mouth.

“Damn, you’re sweet tonight.” He shoves his tongue into my mouth as his fingers dance up my thigh.

He’s almost ten years older than I am, but we haven’t had any major issues pop up because of the age difference, except maybe that I’ve continually put off labeling us. He’s handled it as well as I could expect, but let’s be real. He was my first everything. I’m not quite ready to completely settle down, but I do care about him a lot.

It’s stressful.

I come with enemies he knows nothing about. Yeah, he was in the military, and I have no doubt that he could defend himself against any normal threat, but the Andrettis aren’t exactly run-of-the-mill bad guys. He’s fully capable of providing security here at the club, and he always manages to make me feel safe, but the world I ran from is filled with a different level of violence.

He nips at my lower lip and pulls back, grinning so deeply his dimples pop in his thick blond stubble. “You know, you’re only ever sweet and cuddly when your heat starts creeping up.”

I frown so deeply that I can feel my own forehead wrinkle.

Grady pulls me closer with the hand on my ass as I stare at the wall.

I think I should have three weeks left.

His calloused fingers meet my chin, tilting my face back to his.

His deep blue eyes study me as the long hair on top of his head falls over his face. The sides are shaved close, but the top is obnoxiously long. That blond hair on top of his head always falls over his face and into his eyes, unless it’s pulled up in a bun. He’s one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen. Two years later, he still manages to make my knees weak.

“It’s about time we dig back through the file, don’t you think?” he asks, running his tattooed fingers over my cheek.

My shoulders bounce.

I used to think being an omega would be a gift. After all, I presented later than most omegas, at a few months shy of twenty. I never reached the danger zone of not presenting, but I almost wish I had. It’s complicated because I don’t think I’d worry half as much if I were a beta. Then again, if I was, Grady and I might never have happened.

Without an omega, some alphas end up feral. They lean into the alpha stereotype of being hyper-aggressive and more prone to violence and outbursts. Having contact with an omega soothes their system, much like being exposed to alpha pheromones soothes an omega.

Nature designed that compatibility perfectly. Except, it’s nearly impossible for one alpha to meet the sexual needs of an omega in heat.

We tried during my first heat because it started out of nowhere. It was a nightmare. I begged and begged and wore him completely out. I felt terrible, and the next time it came around, he made sure to have backup assistance available.

I know the exact file he’s talking about. It has pictures and information on alphas willing to volunteer to ride out my heat.

“Remember Jordan from last time?” he asks, nuzzling his nose to mine. “You really seemed to like his cock.”

I snort, smiling against his lips when he doesn’t pull back. “He was so boring that I fell asleep listening to him talk about his 401(k). In the middle of a wave of heat. While we were locked together.”

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