Page 77 of Gold Sector

“And what changed your mind?”

“Hearing her talking to Bella,” he replies.

“About Kuanos Quarter?” I ask, confused as hell.

“No. It was… her tone.” He frowns. “I can’t explain it. There was just a genuine curiosity in her voice that can’t be faked. I also spent a few extra minutes threatening Keegan after you left, and all he asked was that we spare his daughter.” He pauses, then adds, “I don’t need to be a lie detector to know he meant it.”

“So you don’t think she knew about any of this,” I say, confirming where my brother stands.

“No, and I think you already know she didn’t,” he tells me. “Her scent might have been manufactured to attract you, but she’s not trying to ensnare you. Hell, she didn’t even know you were the Gold Sector Prince until tonight.”

“The only one playing tricks here appears to be Riordan,” I growl.

“Which I’ve already said I’ll handle,” my brotherreiterates. “So go to your nesting Omega and let me play my role as Second.”

His words have my heart skipping a beat. “She’s nesting?”

“That’s what Bella told me, yes. Hence the reason I said your Omega needs?—”

I’ve already ashed before he can finish speaking, my mind on Taliana nesting.In my suite.

Her scent hits me the moment I materialize beside my bed.

Then the sight of her nearly brings me to my knees.

She’s waiting on her knees in the center of a pillowed safe haven made of familiar sheets and clothes.

A nest.

“Oros,” she breathes, her starry eyes widening at the sight of me. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” I tell her, already unclasping my cloak to let it float to the ground in my wake. “And you areverynaked.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

TALIANA

My cheeks warmat Oros’s obvious approval, his eyes roaming over me with stark interest as he prowls toward the bed. “I want you to knot me,” I blurt out, causing his gaze to snap up to mine.

I wince.

“That… that didn’t come out…” I bite my tongue, irritated at my faltering. I want to be confident. Sexy.Seductive. Not babbling. Yet I also don’t want to lose my nerve. Which means it’s imperative that I say everything I want to say as fast as possible. “You’re the Gold Sector Prince.”

He unfastens the top button of his black pants. His torso is already bare, thanks to his penchant for only wearing cloaks.

I very much like his wardrobe choices.

“Yes, I am,” he confirms. “Does that bother you?”

I considered that very question while sitting in my nest. And I realized there was really only one aspect that upset me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oros holds my gaze as he replies, “Because I wanted you to trust me.”

“By omitting the truth?” I ask, frowning. “That seems like a poor way to gain trust.”

He nods. “You’re right. And I almost told you my identity when you asked if I was Onyx’s Second. But then you told me you could never be worthy of a prince, and my priorities shifted.”

My frown deepens. “What do you mean? What priorities?”