Page 20 of Excess

She hummed in agreement. “I mean, if you aren’t begging to have your champagne pussy ruined, have you really even lost your virginity?”

I choked on my own saliva, awkwardly coughing for a moment while Inika smiled coyly up at me, dark eyes sparkling with amusement beneath thick, curled lashes.

“Yes, well, we don’t do anything by halves,” I managed to rasp out eventually. “Was that what you hoped it would be? You didn’t use your safe word.”

“It was better. What about you? Are you happy—freak-out aside?”

“Yes,” I replied gruffly. How could I not be after sex that phenomenal with an omega that beautiful? And she had a sense of humour.

Inika was… likeable in a way I’d never expected her to be.

“Good, because I’d really like to do that again.” She paused for a moment, looking up at me with a wicked smirk playing around her lips. “Of course, you can say no and I’ll just resume riding my toys in my nest each morning—”

I cut her off with a growl, thrusting just enough to set off another orgasm. “You can fuck the toys if you like, but you’re fucking me too, omega.”

Obviously, it was only temporary. I was an unmated alpha, and I was convenient, and once the project was done and I wasn’t in her space anymore, this would end. But that was fine. I’d enjoy this arrangement for as long as Inika was offering it.

“Not to get super deep and personal,” Inika began, panting slightly as she came down from her orgasm. “But why aren’t you mated already? It seems crazy to me that you’re single.”

I frowned down at her guileless face. Was she being serious? “It seems crazy that I’m single? You’re a wealthy, beautiful, and presumably very in-demand heiress. Where’s your mate?”

If Inika was the least bit bothered by the question, she didn’t show it. “I haven’t found anyone I liked enough to commit to yet. I am a very in-demand heiress in some respects, but it’s not me they want. Anyone born into my situation would receive the same treatment.”

I made a vague sound of agreement, feeling oddly disturbed by the idea of Inika being replaceable in her own life. There were plenty of things money could solve in mine, but that wasn’t a particular problem I’d ever encountered before.

“So, you’re not opposed to the idea of finding a mate? You just haven’t found one yet?” I asked.

She shrugged against my chest. “It’s complicated, and everyone has so many opinions on it that sometimes I think I’d be better off just opting out of it altogether. What about you?”

“Taking a mate isn’t a possibility for me.” I didn’t want to go into the details of Leo’s situation, but I felt like I had to give Inika a little more to go on considering how much she’d shared with me. “My family needs my full attention. It wouldn’t be fair on an omega to deal with… all of that.”

Inika hummed, looking thoughtful, but I was glad she didn’t speak those thoughts out loud. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear them. Not when the afternoon had been so unusually perfect. I didn’t want anything to ruin it now.

“There’s a fight tonight,” Leo whispered the moment I walked through the door. I tensed, waiting for him to scent Inika on me even though I’d scrubbed myself clean with an indulgent amount of Om-Guard body wash before I’d left. She had Om-Guard to spare. I didn’t feel bad about it.

I’d even changed into the spare clothes I kept in the van, which didn’t have a trace of omega perfume on them. But the phantom scent of her still followed me around, and I was slightly irrational at the thought of Leo picking up even the vaguest hint of it.

“What did you say?” I asked, realising I hadn’t responded to his question. I couldn’t even remember what it was.

“There’s a fight tonight,” Leo repeated, giving me a sideways look.

“Oh, right.” I sighed heavily, kicking off my boots before their presence beyond the entry mat summoned Freya. “Your left eye is still swollen shut.”

“I could beat those motherfuckers with both eyes closed.”

“Don’t swear, Daddy,” Freya said serenely, skipping out of her bedroom and into the living room opposite. I gave Leo a filthy look, and he grimaced.

“She needs new ballet shoes,” he murmured, leaning in close so he wouldn’t be overheard. “I don’t know what the fuck they make them out of, but they’re expensive, Blake. She’s outgrown her whole kit. That stretchy thing she wears and the skirt bit. I don’t know. I need to win some fights.”

I closed my eyes, exhaling heavily. Managing alpha pride was a fine line to walk. I paid all the bills and bought all the groceries, and that was fine with Leo and Dad, so long as no one ever mentioned it. But if I ever offered either of them cash directly, they’d kick off about it.

“You need to get a proper job, Leo. Come back and work with me. I could take on double the amount of work if I had a reliable second pair of hands.”

The business had always been more my baby than his, but the plan right from the start had been for Leo to be part of it.

“Because you’re doing so well,” he scoffed, already stomping away. “No thanks. I’d rather fight a couple of nights a week and get to spend the daytime with my daughter.”

A vein in my forehead throbbed. I had a specialised skill, and I charged market-appropriate rates. If I wasn’t supporting a kid and two grown alphas, I’d be doing just fine. But Dad couldn’t work any longer—and I’d never expect him to—and Freya was a kid. I didn’t begrudge her upkeep, even if she wasn’t my child.

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