Page 76 of Why Cruise

Justice

I shoved a hundred-dollar bill at the kazoo player. “Get a drink. Now.” He scampered off, clutching his broken instrument, leaving blessed silence in his wake. I cracked my neck and took a deep breath. My agitation eased. The drunks and the regular music I could deal with. A kazoo was asking too much.

I turned back to the table. Theo was a still spot in the eye of a hurricane, sitting unbothered by the over-excited drunks around him.

Sitting.

Sit.

Sit. Don’t move.

Yes, Sir.

Oh god.

Horror crashed over me. Had I just used my bark on Theo?

Fuck.

Bile immediately rose in my throat. I wanted to throw up. My hands shook as I covered my mouth.

The lack of sleep was getting to me. Endlessly pacing my stateroom like a maniac watching the sun rise over the ocean, desperate for morning when I could wander the ship, hoping to run into Theo and Mackenzie. Every,time I closed my eyes, she fell into that ravine. Snatches of the angry flirting replayed over and over and over. Running didn’t help. I already knew that the rock wall was pointless.

But barking at Theo? Using my alpha aura on him? That was unforgivable. Zero excuses.

He didn’t even look up as I approached the table. Fuck. I carefully pulled our chairs closer together. Angling them to create an illusion of privacy in the restaurant’s chaos. His eyes went wide at the display of alpha strength. But he did not move. Fuck me.

“Theo, I’m sorry,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I shouldn’t have used my bark on you. It’s unforgivable. I’m frustrated and tired and…”

“It wasn’t a bark… Sir.”

Sir.

The word hit me like a physical blow, stealing my breath. Alpha/omega relationships were inherently unbalanced. Every omega submitted. At least in bed. Or heat. Well, maybe not a paragon. Just how it was. My money and status added to the propensity to do exactly what I wanted. No one wanted a pissed off alpha. Or a pissed off CEO. That beta starlet the girls mentioned on the bus? We had dated early in my career. She had enjoyed being on her knees and being told what to do. It hadn’t been an omega fetish, just plain kink. And I had liked it. Too much, maybe. There had been no alpha biology at play, no aura compelling her to obey. It had been choice. Her choice. Whenthathad tried to escape the bedroom, she had put the brakes on. And Theo…

Sir.

Omegas didn’t call their alphas “Sir”.

“Theo, I want to be crystal clear…”

“Iamcrystal clear. It wasn’t a bark.” He tilted his head to drive the point home with a “Sir.”

“Theo…”

“Sir.”

“I need you to…”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I…”

“Sir.”

My breath was shallow and shaky. I leaned back in the chair, elbow on the armrest and pinched my bottom lip. He was still holding the sunglasses, perched on the edge of his chair. He hadn’t moved. At all.

I leaned forward, took the glasses from his hands and put them on the table. I rested my forearms on my knees. I let my head hang for a minute. This was courage. More courage than I had. He was daring me to step up to a line and pull him across it.

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