Page 67 of Follow the Rhythm
“Poor Ellis. So desperate for a fairytale ending, even when he knows he doesn’t deserve it. Do you think Michael would have wanted to fuck the Omega, too?” Bea asked, blinking innocently at me from the mirror.
Grief and guilt hollowed out my stomach. But the self-loathing put me over the edge.
“Just go if you want to fight. I’m not participating,” I made a valiant effort to keep my voice calm.
Bea pretended to think. “No, I think I’ll stay.”
“Then I’ll leave.” I stood carefully, trying to keep myself steady. How had this waking nightmare become my life?
“I’m running out of patience for this, you know.”
“You and me both.” The pattern of being kicked out of my hotel room was getting tiresome.
“I thought you wanted to keep me happy,” she said with a fake pout. “Imagine the stories I could tell the press. It’s one thing to be the ‘bad boy,’ but I don’t think the fans would forgive you if they knew the nasty truth.”
“Tell the press whatever you want. I’m not playing this game anymore.”
She blocked my path. “Are you sure about that?”
Her beautiful face was cold and full of hatred. Whatever had once been between us was long gone, and it seemed so pointless to continue the charade.
“Yes. Now either get the fuck out of my room or get out of my way.” I gritted my teeth against my bark.
Bea’s smile was poisonous. “I could ruin you, Ellis Fox.”
“Then, please god, fucking do it already!”
She crossed her arms. “Fifty grand.”
“What?”
“Fifty grand and I won’t go to the press.” Her eyes had a new, desperate quality I didn’t recognize.
“Fuck off, Bea, your trust fund is ten times my bank account,” I said derisively.
She grimaced. “If you must know, Daddy’s recently run into some financial trouble.”
I considered this through the whiskey haze. She had been booking more brand deals, sponsored posts, and appearances lately. “What a shame. But also not my fucking problem.”
Bea let out a scream of frustration. “It’s the least you owe me for all the work I’ve done! No one would give a fuck about you if not for me.”
“MOVE!”
The word came out as a bark, and Bea flinched away, her body instinctively obeying the command. I regretted it immediately. I never used my Alpha bark. The look of betrayalin her eyes was almost enough to make me apologize, but I just yanked the door open.
“You’re going to regret this,” she promised from behind me.
I just laughed and closed the door.
There was no hotel bar, so I contented myself with the minibar in my new hotel room, booked by the poor night clerk at the front desk, whom I tried my best to be polite to. I couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t just the fight with Bea keeping me up, but the dread of what the morning might bring. The sight of Jess in Kieran’s arms, perfuming for him, had settled over my brain like a thick fog. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them.
They deserve to be happy, I reminded myself.You don’t.
I didn’t. I didn’t deserve to even look at Jess, let alone touch her.
My body disagreed. I was hard at the memory of her perfume, which just added to my self-loathing. I considered seeking Charlie out. He’d used me to handle his frustration over Jess; maybe I could return the favor.
But no, I didn’t deserve Charlie either. I wouldn’t drag him down with me.
