Page 128 of Rut Bar

“Oh.” My heart cracks in my chest and the lump in my throat is back. It was stupid to push, to hope that because she marked Anthony, I could ask and she’d do it. He’s perfect. Of course she wants him in her pack.

Just because he and I are dating doesn’t mean I get an automatic in. I thought she liked me the way I was, but maybe she wants her pack alphas to be more like Brendan. Calm, confident, and in charge.

After her rough childhood, she probably wants that stability. Craves it. Maybe if I ask him… I know he’d help me. He’s nice. I like Brendan. Having a plan makes me feel better. Looking at the floor, I nod so she won’t see the tears in my eyes. “Okay.”

She still wants to own me,I remind myself.But I haven’t earned my mark yet. I’ll have to try harder. Be more like a real alpha.

“I’m glad you understand. You’re part of the group number tonight and you have a solo. It would be too short notice to replace you.”

I nod, but then I frown. “Why would you need to replace me?” Will I really not be allowed to dance if she marks me? I love dancing at Rut. It’s easy money, and I get to see Vee every day, and the cardio keeps me fit. But if she wants me to quit… Well, I’ve offered before.

She runs her fingers through my hair, and I clutch her leg to my chest like a lifeline. “None of the dancers have claiming marks.”

I blink and the silence stretches as I try to figure out if that’s true or not and why it would matter. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Most omegas don’t mark their alpha anyway, but not having a visible claiming bite is part of Rut’s contract for the dancers. A mating bite ruins the illusion that you’re attainable to the customers.”

“Oh. Is that the only reason you won’t bite me?” I ask, hopeful again. I brush the tears from my eyelashes and prop my chin on her leg so I can gaze up at her.

“I’m a coward, remember? I’m not looking forward to breaking that news to Nate. You’re the crowd favorite. He’s gonna strangle me with one of Darlene’s feather boas. I’m working up the courage.”

Suddenly everything’s okay again. She wants me. Wants me badly enough that she’s going to risk making Nate angry. He’s so loud when he yells. I hate it when people are angry. Why can’t they chill? It all works out in the end.

I think about what she said. How she’d mark me, but everyone will see it and Nate will get mad and yell. I don’t want Vee to get yelled at. Sometimes they scream at each other in the office and you can hear them from downstairs, even with the door closed. I always plug my ears when that happens.

“What if they couldn’t see it?” I ask.

Vee raises her eyebrows. “When you’re on stage, there’s not a lot of you they can’t see, remember? You’d be able to get away with it if I bit you where the waiter uniform could hide it, but then you wouldn’t be able to dance. Most of the money is in dance solos and the customers will see the scars when they get up close and personal to tip you. It’s okay. We just need more time to hire a new dancer to replace you.”

“But I don’t want to stop dancing.”

“Oh,” Vee says in an exhale. Her face goes blank in a way that makes me uneasy, although I can’t quite explain why. “I should have asked instead of assuming.”

“I want you to claim me, but I don’t want to stop dancing.”

“Jamie, there’s only one place I’d be able to bite you that…” Vee hesitates. “That they couldn’t see when you dance.”

“Yes.” I’ll do it. I don’t care where my mark is, so long as it triggers the bond. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Vee. “I want it there.”

The skin between her brows knits together, and she stares off into the room like she does when she’s thinking hard. “I don’t know if it would work. I’d have to research it. Make sure it’s safe.”

“I trust you,” I say. And I mean it. Vee takes care of the things and people she claims as hers. I want to be one of those, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.

Vee pats me on the head and smiles, then drags in a deep breath, sighs, and nods. “I know you do. Okay, I have work to do and everyone else will be here soon. You should go get cleaned up while I straighten out the mess we made of this desk.” When I stand, her eyes drop to the cage on my cock. “Do you need that off tonight to dance?” Her fingers skim over the key that rests against her breastbone.

“I’d like to keep it on.” The weight of it is comforting. It’s a reminder that I’m good enough. I’m wanted. Owned. Soon I’ll be fully claimed.

Vee reaches for me and taps a nail against the metal, then teases me with light strokes through the gaps until pre-cum drips through the hole in the cage. “I love my present. Thank you. I’ll give Anthony and Brendan their keys.” She pulls me down for a kiss, then releases me. “Now be a good boy and go get cleaned up before everyone smells how naughty we were.”

Her orders excite me. My cock swells to the confines of its cage and the pressure changes from a hug to a denial. I can’t get hard, no matter how much my body is trying. I’m powerless against a basic bodily function—and I like it. I love the simplicity of taking orders. Of obeying and doing a good job. Of not having to think. Of knowing I’m pleasing her.

“Yes, Ma’am.” I gather up my clothes and dress while Vee tidies up her desk, and then, by the time I get downstairs, a few of the new dancers have shown up for extra practice time in front of the mirror wall. I wave and decline their invite to hang, then rush to the bathroom to deal with the problem of my constantly dripping cock. The task isn’t simple when I can’t touch a lot of my skin. I use the sink and a fistful of paper towels to wash the scent of her delicious pheromones off me, then spray myself down with the nullifier we keep there for anyone to use.

The rest of the night is a sweet form of torture. Getting used to the weight of the cage and how it makes things shift while I’m dancing won’t happen overnight.

After practice, I take a break and accept water from Anthony at the bar while the other dancers head out back for smokes and tacos from the truck two blocks down. He hands me the towel he keeps aside for me and I use it to mop up the worst of the sweat while I suck down half of the water.

“How’d it go?” Anthony asks.

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