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“I paid three thousand for the night, but that’s not the point.”

Of course, Dom was lying about my percentage cut. If he’s charging three thousand for eight hours, that means I’m getting closer to 25% of the money he’s getting, not 30%. I’ll get mad at him later, though.

“My point is I can enjoy your time without you having to use your body.” His expression softens to something I can’t mistake for anything but kindness. It’s jarring. That’s not the sort of expression I expect to see on an alpha that’s coming to a place like this. “I want to take care of you, at least the best I can in a place like this.”

Pretty words. Coming from a pretty person. But that’s all they are.

Words.

Not real.

Or at least, that’s what I tell myself, as I lay my head back down on his chest. I can’t let myself believe bullshit like that. This isn’t the first time I’ve had an alpha say pretty things, tell me about the lives I could have with them as their pretty, young, little omega plaything. But this is the first time it’s come from someone I can remotely believe.

I must be off my game. First Obsidian and now Theo. Two alphas who’ve popped into my life just to shake up the careful balance I have.

Theo’s arm comes down and rests against my back. He starts drawing little shapes on the curve of my waist. It makes a shiver run down my spine.

My eyes start to drift closed again. The adrenaline I first felt when he came into the room is starting to fade and my fever and headache makes my head feel fuzzy. Goosebumps start to rise along my skin as I start to feel the chill of no longer having my robe. Even though my robe was thin, it was better than nothing.

“This is nice,” I breathe out.

“It is,” he murmurs.

“I’ve never done this before, you know.”

“Really? Well, I guess I’m glad to be your first,” he chuckles. “I want to get to know you. Can I ask you some questions?”

“Hm? Sure.” I shift my body so I’m pressed closer to him, my body craving the warmth of his skin.

He leans over, tugging up the corner of the flat silk sheet, and tugs it up and over my body. It’s a sweet gesture. The omega inside of me almost wants to start purring.

“What are your normal shifts here like?”

I peek up at him, gauging whether he actually wants to hear the answer. Some alphas who’ve come to see me in the past get territorial about the fact that I see other clients.

His expression is open and curious, not judgmental, so I decide I’m safe enough to answer.

“Well, most alphas don’t come in here wanting to cuddle, that’s for sure.”

“Is it mostly alphas that come and see you?”

“Most of the time, yeah, though I’ll have the occasional beta here and there. But it is mainly alphas.”

Which makes sense, considering betas don’t have that same biological urge to seek out omega partners. Most of the betas I see are here because they want the status symbol of having fucked an omega and this is the easiest way to get that.

Theo continues to draw shapes into the skin on my back. All it does is make me aware of his touch. Of him. Of where our bodies meet.

“Why do you do this? Work at a place that’ll make you work when you’re sick?”

“Why does anyone work a job? Money mostly. Plus, it has good hours, most of the time. I only work Saturday nights here.” I pause, debating how much to tell him.

I never do nearly this much talking with my other clients, but Theo is different than all my other clients on nearly every metric. There’s a part of my brain that tells me he’s different. That I can trust him. At least, as much as an omega whore can trust her John.

“I’ve—I’ve got younger siblings to take care of. So it helps that I can work nights here and at The Warehouse, the other place I work at during the week. I can take care of them while my parents work during the day.”

Theo nods understandingly. “I have a brother. It’s…admirable you’re doing this for your family.”

“I’ve never had someone say doingthisis admirable,” I say, letting out a bitter laugh. “It puts food on the table and that’s what’s important.”