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"I should."

"But you won't."

She swallows hard. "I won't."

I cup her face in my hands and crush my mouth on hers. She responds immediately, opening for me, her hands fisting in my shirt to pull me closer. She tastes like coffee and desire, and I deepen the kiss, backing her toward the bed.

We fall onto the mattress, and I brace myself above her, breaking the kiss to look down at her flushed face. Her lips are swollen, her eyes dark with want. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

But there's a lingering scent that doesn't belong to her. The detective and someone else.

I freeze, suddenly aware of what I'm doing.

"What's wrong?" she asks, her voice husky.

I roll off her, sitting on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. "I can't do this."

"Can't do what?"

"Share you." The words scrape my throat raw. "I don't share, Dahlia. Not ever."

She sits up and smooths her clothes. "I'm not yours to share or keep."

"Fuck… I know."

I'm about to leave when my phone rings. It's an unknown number. I almost ignore it, but something makes me answer.

"Blackthorn speaking."

"Hello, Evan." The voice is distorted, and unrecognizable. "Enjoying your time with the Omega?"

I stiffen, turning away from Dahlia. "Who is this?"

"Someone who knows your secret."

My blood runs cold. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" A low laugh. "Because if I remember clearly, you know exactly what I am talking about."

"What do you want?"

"Stop the research and shut it down. Or every news outlet in the country will know exactly what Blackthorn Biotech was doing three years ago... and what you really are."

The call ends, leaving me staring at my phone. Who the fuck was that?

"Evan?" Dahlia's voice seems to come from far away. "What's wrong? Who was that?"

I turn to her. "No one," I lie. "Just business."

Her eyes narrow. "You're lying."

Chapter 11 - Dahlia

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" I mutter to myself as Evan storms out of my room.

I sink onto the edge of the bed. The nerve of that man! First, he slut-shames me, then kisses me like his life depends on it, and then gets a mysterious call and bolts. What the actual hell?

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to see missed calls from Onyx. Great. I hit redial and wait for it to ring.