I wasn’t sure whether he was looking at Amir or checking in with one of our guards, but I wasn’t worried about tonight. Now that Antonio knew I was no longer an easy target, that not only did I have a pack who would burn the world for me but that I was no longer the same broken and subservient beta he’d tried to break, there was no chance in hell he would make another appearance here.

He was a typical bully. He wouldn’t attempt anything knowing my alphas were here, knowing so many sets of eyes were on me, knowing that he couldn’t win. People like him went for soft targets, they threw sucker punches and attacked from the shadows.

“Dance or people watch for a while?” Amir asked, his glass of beer in one hand as he settled the other on my lower back.

I lifted my martini glass to my lips and downed it in two swallows before turning and setting the empty glass on the bar. “I’m ready to dance.”

As Amir held up his glass to get Aryn’s attention before setting it on the bar for her to put away until we returned, Abdel turned and looked at me over his shoulder. “Alpha Enzo told me to tell you to slow down.”

My brows puckered before I looked around. I couldn’t see him so he must have watched me through one of the cameras. I had no idea which one he was watching, so I looked at the closest one and stuck out my tongue.

For the first time since I’d met Abdel, the corners of his lips twitched in what could almost be considered a smile.

“We’re going to dance. Join us.”

“I don’t dance, but I’ll be out there with you,” he said, his serious expression back in place.

Of course, he didn’t dance. Even if he was an expert at breakdancing, he wouldn’t do anything that might divert his attention from any threat that might be in the crowd.

I wondered how Amir and I looked to the crowd as our littleentourage followed us through the throng of people and kept a barrier between us and anyone who might get too close.

No point in dwelling on that. I couldn’t control the situation, nor could I control other people’s opinions.

Amir’s hands landed on my hips and dragged me closer until we were pressed as close as we could be with our clothes still on. His erection pressed against my stomach.

I smiled up at him. I swore my omega was always ready for a little play, always ready to make love to me no matter where we were or what we were doing.

As promised, Abdel stood sentry without so much as swaying to the beat. We’d taken a place close enough to the stage to see Ax dance without hindering our view of the others. Sure, Ax tended to steal a majority of our attention, but the others were so damn talented, and I’d gotten to know a few of them fairly well during my time serving tables here. They were sweet and respectful, and a few of them were actively seeking either a pack or an omega.

I glanced at Abdel, over my shoulder at Oscar, then to the men flanking the floor like a group of…bodyguards. Because that’s exactly what they were. I couldn’t help but wonder if the people giving them a wide berth and watching from the corner of their eye knew how much firepower was in the club.

Were my two regular guards single? I could always play matchmaker and try to set them up with one or more of the dancers. And a few of the dancers were betas so all the better.

Ax and his male dance review put on an amazing show as usual. Amir was pulled on stage this time for some extra attention from Ax and his crew – much to the delight of the crowd – and I danced with my omega until sweat trickled down my back and between my boobs.

The two of us did enough shots to earn ourselves a healthy buzz before Enzo announced it was time for us to head back to the pack house when he caught us trying to sneak away from our guards to replay the first time we met in Cyrus’s office.

“That was so much fun,” I slurred, leaning heavily against Amir’s shoulder as Oscar drove us home.

“I’m surprised you remember much,” Oscar muttered from the driver’s seat.

“Hey! I’m not that drunk,” I whined.

Amir huffed a laugh. “You’re pretty toasty, beautiful.”

I turned my head to look up into his face and giggled when it took my eyes a second to focus on only one Amir instead of the double that my alcohol hazed vision tried to show me.

“Okay. I’m a little drunk.” I held up my hand, putting my forefinger and thumb an inch apart.

So I wasa lotdrunk. And tired. And my feet ached.

But I didn’t regret a single moment of the night. For the first time since that disaster of a night, I didn’t feel as though I was suffocating, as though my world had once again been turned on its head by an asshole alpha.

The smile on my face stayed there even when my eyes fell closed, when the door opened beside me, and when I was hoisted into strong arms and carried inside while being cocooned by the sweetest perfume in the world.

CHAPTER 43

Amir