Page 23 of Why Cruise

All knotted up?Had he really said that?

“So, what do you cook, Bob?” The way Ren said Bob was sure to piss the alpha off.

“What do I cook?” Bob sat back in his seat, mostly out of my sight.

Ren whispered the sentence again while counting the words off on his fingers. “It was just six words, Bob. Was that hard for you, too?”

“No, I understood the question but, what do you mean? I don’t cook. I have an omega. We’re actually here to find a second…”

“A second cook?”

“No, a second omega.”

“Ah, I see, so you’re that incompetent. You can’t provide for yourself and need a servant.”

Theo stared straight at me, keeping his face carefully neutral. I desperately wanted to reach under the table and hold his hand. The air sizzled around us with Ren’s temper.

“Servant? No, of course not. You see, our omega is pregnant again, and she needs help with the work…”

“The work. Hmmm. Is spreading her legs for you part of the job description too?”

Theo and I both gasped.

“You misconstrue…”

“Really? Do I? You haven’t asked these two lovely creatures a thing about who they are and what they are passionate about, just if they can do yourjob.”

There was a ripple in the air around us, like sliding into a warm bath. Theo must have felt it, too. He turned slightly to watch Aria, the paragon, stop next to our table.

“No, baby, this is your table for tonight. Have fun.” She tugged on the tie of the alpha with her, pulling him down for a rather professional kiss on the lips, before spinning him to face the table.

His eyes immediately connected with mine. He was a little disheveled, but in that stylish way. Tall and thin, like he’d been too busy and just forgot to eat for the past three months. His scent was woodsy and natural, like if you bottled a walk in the park on a bright spring day. Color bloomed into his face, his lips turning up into a smile.

And then his gaze slid left.

Justice

“The Knightbridge brothers are vicious, darling, but Star has always had more finesse. More than he knows.” Aria’s arm was soothing against mine as we wound through the dining room. “Winston was practically beside himself that he wasn’t there for the fight. But the Pax? I wouldn’t be caught dead.”

I hummed noncommittally, scanning the room. The Crystal Room lived up to its name, all sparkling chandeliers and ocean views. Ship designers clearly thought “elegant dining” meant “more glass.” It made the ceilings seem taller, thank fuck. There was even a little dais of clear Plexi which must be the captain’s table.

“You’re not even listening to me.” Aria plucked a card the server was trying to hand her, glanced at it and then used it to shoo him away.

“I heard you. Star’s a bastard with better PR. The press is going to love him.” I caught another whiff of orange blossom and coconut. It was probably my imagination, though. Theirscents had been haunting me all day, teasing at the edges of my awareness. Aria tugged my arm.

The Knightbridges owned half of Port Haven, and that wasn’t hyperbole. The eldest brother, Win, had been an angel investor in my first company. So had Aria, come to think of it. Most people thought paragons made their money selling their heats to the highest bidder, but it was the stock tips they got from those looking to impress.

“The press loves a redemption story, even when it’s bullshit.”

“Speaking of redemption stories…” Aria’s perfectly manicured nails dug into my arm as she steered me toward a table.

“I thought we were sitting…” I nodded to the head table where the captain was.

“No, baby, this is your table for tonight. Have fun.” Aria wrapped a hand around my tie and gave me a peck on the lips before she sauntered away with extra hip swing.

The omega from breakfast. My breath caught on her citrus scent. She was even more stunning up close, her dark waves tumbling past bare shoulders, a sun burn creeping across her nose and cheeks, instantly wiping all memory of Aria’s lips and hips.

But when I tried to focus, to actually look at her, my gaze slid left and collided with a ghost.

---