This is the high I chase. Making a man, an alpha no less, unravel. I want him to throw me against a wall and fuck me until I forget my name. I want to watch his face crumple as he loses control and ruins me. I want to be wanted.
My phone vibrates in the clutch, startling both of us. We break apart, and I gasp for air, holding his heated gaze. The buzzing stops, but the moment is ruined. An upbeat song blasts through the club, and we continue dancing. His large hand holds me against him, but I don’t mind. We edge closer, lips brushing until my phone rings again.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling my hand away from his neck. The vibrator on this damn device is super-powered. I shoot him an apologetic smile and grab it, frowning at the screen.
Two missed calls from my mother. I haven’t talked to her in almost three years. I start to shove the phone back in my tiny purse, but it lights up again, her name flashing over the screen.
Asher leans to talk in my ear. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
“Come back to me?” he asks, eyes lit with hope.
I grin and nod. I’m definitely coming back to him. We may not be able to fuck without my nature being revealed, but he’s fun and distracting. Exactly what I wanted.
“Hello?” I answer the call, shifting through the crowd to try to find a hallway or quiet corner.
My mother’s voice mumbles through the line, too incoherent to understand with the music.
“What?” I shout, slipping into a narrow hallway. The wall blocks some of the sound from the club.
“—she’s dead.”
“Who?” My stomach bottoms out, and my chest clenches. There’s only one reason she’d call me. I know before she even says her name.
Granny.
The only person in the world I give a damn about.
I suck in a sharp breath, searching the crowd for Lindsey. Asher waves, but I ignore him as tears well in my eyes.
Mother hangs up on me, and I listen to the dead air. Granny is gone? Heat crawls up my neck, and my throat grows thick, a scream clogging my airways. The club is suddenly too loud, too crowded, too much. I press my hand against the wall when I stumble slightly, my knees weakening as I process.
“Hey, are you okay?” Asher asks.
I shake my head. “I need to leave.”
“I can take you home if you want. Do you need water?”
He’s being so nice. A tear slips down my cheek. A shudder racks my body, and I sag against the wall, resting my forehead against it.
“I have to go.”
“Okay. I hear you, are you with me? Can I take you home?”
Nodding, I stand straight and look at him. Every ounce of desire I felt before is gone, replaced with a numb and cold nothingness.
His brow furrows, noticing the change and tears. “Come on.” He grabs my hand and tugs me through the club. I spare one last glance to find Lindsey. She’s coiled around a man. There’s no reason to ruin her night. I face forward and leave the club with a stranger. Except this time there’s no happy ending.
I couldn’t tell you the make or model of his car, only that it drove and he put the temperature at seventy, the perfect mix of hot and cold. He pulls up outside my apartment, turning the car off.
“You live here?” he asks, voice filled with panic.
“Yeah.” I glance at him through bleary eyes.
“Are you an omega?”
A dangerous question.
“No, my sister is. Thanks for the ride.” I climb out, not bothering to wait for his response. I’ll never see him again.
My hand trembles when I reach for the door, body shaking with sorrow, but I manage to hold myself mostly together until I get to my apartment. Once the door is locked, I fall apart.
