Page 3 of Mafia Heir's Alpha
The Ferrini family’s largest casino was a twenty-minute drive across the river. Since the families had merged when Jeremiah and Felik married, I’d been spending more and more time on the Ferrini properties. This was actually one of my favorite places to work. People watching didn’t get any more interesting than at a casino.
I parked in the staff lot and took a quick scan of the exterior. Nothing looked out of place, so I slipped inside through a back entrance.
The noise of the gaming floor was always a shock when I entered the building. There were bells and shouts and a constant thrum of chaos. I went straight to the bar when I saw Knox at a stool, nursing a whiskey and eyefucking anything with a pulse.
Knox looked up when he saw me and cocked an eyebrow. “You look like you lost a bet.”
I scoffed. He wasn’t too far off. “It’s more that I’ve lostabout a hundred hours of sleep this month. What’s your excuse?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got solid coping mechanisms. Namely, drinking and questionable life choices.” He tipped his glass. “Sit with me and have a drink.”
I took a seat and exhaled loudly, committing to this relaxation thing for at least a few minutes.
A glass was dropped in front of Knox, and he poured me two fingers from his private bottle before sliding the glass in front of me. “So, you here to work or relax?”
“The boss is making me relax.” I grabbed the glass and took a gulp. The whiskey was good and immediately warmed me up. For a second, I almost forgot about the sharp tang of omega pheromones lingering in every corner. The kind of pheromones that made my dick hard and my temper short until I found an omega to service me.
“Good. You need to chill now and then, dude. You’re all work all the time, and that shit ain’t healthy. A man has needs, and if you’re not meeting those needs, it’s gonna start rolling over into all aspects of your life.”
“What Ineedis to do my job. The rest is a distraction.” I downed the rest of my drink and waited for Knox to refill it. “You think you’ve got me pegged, but you’re wrong.”
“Am I?” Knox leaned in, and the bourbon on his own breath was slightly sexy, not gonna lie. “It’s not a sin to want a partner, Rosco. It’s biological. You can have fun and still do your job. If you ask me, I’m better at my job after a hard fuck. More focused.”
I laughed and took another sip. “Maybe.”
Knox glanced around us and then spoke in a low voice. “Cord and Andro are still good? No big power conflicts between them?”
“Nah, they’re good.” I wouldn’t rat on either of them if they weren’t, but so far, the merging of families seemed to be the best thing for everyone. Well, everyone in the families. People outside our bubble were fucked. “I’ve been working special projects for them and no issues so far.”
“Good to hear.” He grinned and nodded toward my glass. “Finish up. A bunch of us are heading up to the VIP floor tonight. They’ve been recruiting omegas for the night, if you’re looking for company.”
I chuckled. “It’s tempting.”
He clapped me on the back and stood up with his half-empty bottle in hand. “Then let’s finish this conversation upstairs. Preferably with a cute omega or two sucking our dicks.”
We moved up to the VIP floor, where the lights were softer and the noise dropped by half. The air was thicker here, a battle between expensive cologne and horny omega. Only unmated alphas and omegas attended these parties, so every eye was on us as we walked into the lounge where most people were mingling.
A slim, silver-haired omega worked the room near the baccarat table. As I scanned the space, I felt his eyes following me, so I glanced at him and smiled. Not exactly my type but hot and obviously interested. Maybe a quickie wasn’t a bad idea after all.
Knox caught my eye and gestured with his chin. “Go for it.”
I sighed and wasn’t gonna go, but the omega glanced my way again, so I headed in his direction. The man’s lips parted in an almost imperceptible invitation as I approached. The man wasn’t just confident, he wascocky. And that was as much of a turn-off as it was a turn-on.
“Evening.” I stopped a few feet in front of him and slipped my hands into my pockets.
“Good evening, alpha.” His eyes were bright with victory that his eye-fucking had worked. “You’re one of Menetti’s bulldogs, aren’t you?”
Well, fuck. He knew who I was, which meant he probably wanted me for that reason alone. Game over, dude. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
He laughed, but it wasn’t in an unkind way. “You know, you scare the hell out of most people in this room.”
I ducked my chin in a nod and grabbed a glass of champagne from a tray that was passing by. “That’s the point.”
The omega leaned in, and I caught the hint of something spicy. Not the usual cloying pheromones that seeped out at these events. He was trying to control his scent, maybe even dosing. It should have been a relief, but it put me further on alert.
“You want to take a walk, bulldog? Maybe I can show you my room,” he whispered.
I exhaled and put on my best fake smile. “Thanks, but I’m on the clock at the moment. Have a good night.” Before he could say anything else, I turned and walked away. I wanted to get laid, but I wasn’t feeling it yet. Was it too much to ask for an omega to pursue me because of me and not my job and connections?
