Page 4 of Royal Omega

“Bobby,” Carissa is saying, “I know what you think you want to ask me, but I promise you, you’re wrong.”

“How can you know what I’m going to say, Carissa?” Kaplan replies, his voice smooth and even. I hear him shuffle his feet, and I imagine that he’s reaching for her, but her heels click against the stone of the veranda’s floor, as if she’s backed away from him.

“Bobby, this is a bad idea.”

“The second I met you, Carissa Castle, I knew I wanted you to be mine. Alexis and Harold agree — you’re the one for us. Will you do us the honor of being your —?”

“Bobby, I can read lips,” Carissa interrupts.

I let out a snort of surprise and hurry to cover my mouth lest I blow my cover.

“You can... what?”

“I can read lips. I know everything you said to Alexis and Harold on the phone. I know your business is in trouble.”

My stomach sours. Here it comes: the fucking Castle family shakedown. She’s going to go right for the throat, just like her parents would. Just like they did when they took out my family all those years ago. My mind fills with all the awful hoops she’s going to make this poor man jump through; all the shame she’s going to dole out here and in that ballroom. I’m not sure what I expected when I followed her tonight, but I didn’t realize I would be getting so close to the miserable antics of the Castle family.

But then Carissa speaks.

“I understand what you need to save your company, Bobby, but this isn’t the way to get it.” Her voice is soft and kind, and her heels click as if she’s walked toward him. I imagine her putting her hand on his shoulder, or pressing her palms to his chest.

“If you know what’s happening, then you know why I need you, though, Carissa,” Bobby says hoarsely. “The connection with your family—”

“You don’t want to get into bed with my family, Bobby,” Carissa interrupts. “Trust me.”

There’s a moment of quiet as Bobby contemplates this. My mind is reeling as I try to put this conversation into context with what I know about Carissa and the Castles. She shouldn’t be kind. She shouldn’t be thoughtful or sympathetic. For fuck’s sake, she’s a spoiled little omega. The Castles are the closest thing we have to royalty in America, and they raised her in luxury.

It’s another trick, it must be. She’s just far more graceful at it now. Far more careful. Instead of pretending she’s in love with Bobby Kaplan, she’s making it seem like a favor that she won’t be his. I don’t know what her endgame is here, but a Castle never does anything unless it serves their agenda. I learned that the hard way.

Carissa adds, “I’m going to put you in touch with my friend Chris. He’s running this start-up that invests in companies that are trying to expand their eco footprint.”

“We’re not trying to—”

“But you could be,” Carissa interrupts. “And if you were, then Chris would be interested in helping you. I texted him tonight, and he says he’ll meet with you tomorrow as a personal favor to me.”

“But—”

“His name is Christophe Huang. He’s kind of a big deal in the business world right now. The Herald did a piece on him last month. Do you know him?”

“I’ve heard of him, but—”

“Trust me, Bobby,” Carissa whispers. “This is for the best. Let me help you, ok?”

Bobby is quiet for a moment before he sighs and says, “All right, Carissa. But I still think it would have been better if you’d just joined our pack. All of us were very much looking forward to it, you know.”

Carissa chuckles in a low, demure tone that sends a buzzing sort of arousal through my whole body. I can’t even imagine how easily she’s making that fool Bobby melt, her eyes shining as she looks up at him through her lashes. Fuck, imagining her like that is getting me hard. What a hypocrite I am, calling Bobby a fool when I’m the biggest fool in the damned world, wanting her after everything she’s put me through.

“Come on,” she says to Bobby. “Dance with me one more time before I go home.”

As they go back inside, I close my eyes and lean into the railing. She’s probably getting some kind of kickback from this Chris person for every idiot she brings his way. Or maybe she and Chris are having an affair, and this is her way of getting rid of possible alpha suitors.

I try to ignore the way my muscles tighten at the thought of Carissa fucking someone, because it’s ridiculous. I hope sheishaving an affair with Christophe-whatever-his-name-is. When I expose her, a slutty little scandal will make the reveal all the sweeter.

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