Page 105 of Rut Bar

He’s seen too many gangster movies. I smirk and level him with the panty melter, tipping my chin so the overhead lights catch my eyes just right. I arch one eyebrow. “How do you know I’m not? What if I was lying, so I didn’t freak Vee out?”

I can’t help but tease him. He’s cute when his eyes widen. “I’m kidding. Untwist your panties, fed.”

He snorts. “I’m not a fed anymore, remember?”

I grin and stand upright, then focus on wiping down the bar. “My family is an offshoot of the main family. This is California, not New York. Do you get what I’m saying?”

He nods, so I continue, “When I turned twenty-one, they introduced me to my bride. A pretty little beta from a good family. She was eighteen, but still in high school. It was an arranged thing. We didn’t know or love each other, but I still took her to church and canna and held her hand at family dinners. I was more interested in her older brother. Her family caught him and me fooling around and the wedding got called off.”

Phantom pain makes my ribs ache with the memory of it. I took quite the ass kicking from her other brothers for it. “So my family decided it was time I saw what life was like out in the real world without them and their money. Guess they didn’t think I’d like it. Jokes on them because I liked it fine. I see them on Easter Sunday and Christmas, I kiss my mama and nonna on the cheek, drink a beer with my siblings and the cousins and watch a game on the TV while the omegas cook. Then I go back to my life. Everyone’s happy. Or they will be once I finally give my mama a grandbaby to spoil rotten.”

“Does Veronica want kids?” Brendan asks, perking up. “After hearing the story about her parents, I wasn’t sure.”

Typical alpha. They’ve all got a massive breeding kink.

“Not now, but in the future. Do you?”

We probably should have asked him that first before bringing him into her nest.

He picks up the knife and an orange and goes back to chopping while he thinks. The sound of his knife thumping into the cutting board is rhythmic. “If she wanted them, yeah. But I think I could be happy without them, too, if she didn’t.”

“Good. Because I’m definitely gonna knock that omega up the minute she lets me.” I stare at him and wait for any sign of jealousy. Of alpha posturing.

Brendan nods, his knife coming down on the cutting board with a heavy thunk as he makes more perfect orange wedges.

“Until then, I don’t mind practicing,” I say. “I want to go first.”

“What does Jamie think about that?” Brendan asks.

My grin widens. “He’s into it. He’s got a cuckold fetish.”

Brendan laughs under his breath and reaches for another orange. “Got it. Well, I can think of a few ties to put him in that’ll keep him controllable when he’s in a rut.”

“Excellent.”Look at us being all agreeable and shit. This pack dynamic thing’s not as hard as most people make it out to be.

Movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. It’s Vee stretching her arms above her head to work out the kinks in her neck from bending over her computer. Her body blots out the blinding glow of the computer screen through the floor to ceiling windows that make up her office in the loft. She always does this when she needs a break. She’s too stubborn to take one without prompting.

I grab the carbonated wine from the chiller and set out everything I need to make another Pink Slip, then get to work mixing. “Let’s go see Vee and Jamie.”

He leaves his orange wedges and follows me up the stairs, where we barge in on her with only a cursory knock. Her hair is already frizzy from how many times she’s run her fingers through it.

Jamie smiles at us without getting up from his chair. He’s on his phone and I glance at his screen and see he’s shopping for women’s wetsuits. The mental image of Vee in a tight neoprene suit that hugs all of her glorious curves is a delight.

“Today’s drink,” I announce, handing it to her. Our fingers brush and I enjoy the slide of her skin against mine.

Vee drains half the glass before the bubbles finally make her stop.Stubborn omega.“It’s decent. A little bitter underneath the sweetness. What’s it called?”

“The Pink Slip. Thought it was appropriate for today, all things considered.” I give Brendan the side-eye.

Her face scrunches in confusion before she gets it, her attention sliding to him. “Oh, Brendan. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says before she can get too upset. “I’m fine. To be honest, I hated that job. I only took it because of the benefits. But it was miserable. I never quit because of inertia, I guess.”

“Who’s that?” Jamie asks, looking up from his phone.

The room goes silent for a beat. “What?” I ask, swiveling to face him.

“Who’s inertia?” Jamie asks.

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