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Chapter Three

Emma

M y well-scripted plans were thwarted by the arrival of another alpha.

“Ryder, I need a word,” he said, barely sparing a glance at me.

Ryder… I tested out how it sounded and decided it suited him.

Ryder and the interrupter continued on in a steadily more heated conversation, talking in low rumbles that I couldn’t hope to hear over the music.

“Fine, then,” Ryder said before turning back to me. “Gotta go do some work, baby. Enjoy your birthday party. Try not to get up to any mischief.”

And with a wink, he was striding off, following the other man to a destination unknown.

I glanced to my left, where Art, the cheerful barman, gave me a grin and a shrug as he unloaded a stack of clean glasses from the rinser. “Want another cocktail, love?” he called.

Smiling back, I lean in closer to the bar. “Who’s paying for it? Ryder said the drinks were free?”

Art chuckled. “They are. Jace said everything is on his tab, so to speak.”

“Jace?” I asked. “Is that the alpha with my sister?”

Art nodded. “Yeah, that’s Jace. Hard to miss all seven feet of him.”

“He must have a lot of money.” Some people considered me too nosy. I preferred to think of myself as forthright.

“He owns the place,” he replied, closing the door to the glass rinser, and turned to me. “With Ryder and Dane, the alpha who just came to talk to him.”

“So, Ryder? Was that the alpha I was talking to?”

Art nodded again slowly. “Trust me, they can afford your party. Want that drink now?”

My smile bloomed. “Give me your best cocktail, then.”

“Best cocktail in the house, coming up.” He grabbed a shaker from the shelf behind him, along with a couple of liquor bottles.

I watched the whole process. It was quite a work of art.

Done with the mixing, he selected a martini glass, poured out a cloudy liquid, dropped in a sprig of something green and a slice of apple, then slid it over the bar toward me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Try it and see. If you don’t like it, I’ll make you another one.”

I took a cautious sip. Sweet, like toffee apples, but with a kick. “Yum!”

He grinned and moved on to serve the next person.

“Hey, Em!” A tipsy Jewels threw her arm around my neck and planted a kiss on my cheek.

“Em!” Sandra and Lexi chanted.

“Oh, what’s that?” Lexi asked, eyeing my cocktail with open envy.

“Here, try it.” I handed it over before thumbing in the direction of the bartender. “Art made it.”

Her eyes rolled back as she took a sip. “Bloody amazing. Let’s all get one!”

As Lexi batted her lashes at Art, I scanned the crowd, looking for Jude.

Jewels and Jude were my besties. The rest were more acquaintances from my design class at college.

Once they’d heard where we were going, friends invited friends.

Before I knew it, my twenty-second birthday had turned into the perfect excuse to party in Desparion.

The room was now crowded. Not only my friends, but a fine selection of hot alphas and betas we had been partying with before our relocation to the private room.

“Where did the hot alpha go?” Jewels reached up to straighten my cat ears. “When I saw you talking to him, I thought that was the last we’d see of you tonight.”

Great! Was I talking to him with wonky cat ears?

No wonder he jumped at the chance to escape an awkward conversation.

Likely, the reason he’d avoided looking at me was that my damn headband had slipped and he thought I was a twit.

He owned a bar, for goodness’ sake…with his partners.

Either way, a place like this didn’t run without a good businessman running the show.

“His partner came over and called him away for some business. He’s the owner of the place.” I didn’t bother to hide my pout. “Along with two other alphas. Sloane is with one of them now.”

Jewel’s mouth popped open on a gasp. “What the fuck? Go team Sloane! It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch.”

I laughed as she high-fived me. “Yeah, I’m totally jelly. I was a bit worried when I saw her leaving, but you know Sloane. If she was comfortable heading off with a guy, she’d have already uploaded his ID to the Play Safe app.”

“I can’t believe she made us hand over our cellphones to check we’d installed it properly!”

“I can,” I said dryly, and we both laughed at that.

“Okay, Em. Time for some more dancing, but first, I’m going to grab some water” —she threw a look over her shoulder— “when Sandra and Lexi stop hogging the barman.”

“I’m going to find Jude. Drag him to the dance floor as well.”

“Good plan! I’ll come to find you both.”

Heading for the dance floor, I scanned the crowd, looking for Jude, and spotted him sandwiched between two alpha men.

Lucky Jude! I sipped my drink, finding a spot on the balcony overlooking the main club.

The music was louder here, and the bass vibrated through my body.

My hips swayed in time with the beat as I watched the strobe lights pan across the sea of bodies.

His scent hit me before I turned—alpha, but not Ryder.

How I knew this, I had no idea. I glanced up and found a handsome blond alpha, not much older than me.

“You look lonely,” he said.

“Just me and my cocktail,” I replied, holding up the drink.

I could tell him that it was my birthday and I knew plenty of people here, and if I wanted to, I could easily find somebody to talk or dance with.

While I was officially waiting for Jewels, what I was actually doing was hoping an alpha would come along.

Only not this one, because the one I wanted had darker hair and stormy blue eyes.

The track transitioned into a dark, sensual thrum that made me itch from the effort of standing still.

“You want to go somewhere quieter?” the alpha asked, leaning in under the pretense of talking to me over the music.

I mentally rolled my eyes. Really? He was going straight for the kill, not even attempting a little getting to know you before getting down to it.

I didn’t need to put on my drunk party girl act to know this one was an asshole, yet his scent still wafted over me.

I swayed a little, but covered it up by taking a sip of my drink as though thinking his offer over.

I was about to politely decline when a big, broad hand cupped the back of his neck. I wouldn’t claim to be gifted in the art of lipreading, but I distinctly saw Ryder mouth, ‘ Fuck off ,' as he leaned in close to the younger man.

Which was all kinds of hot and brought an almost painful clench to my pussy.

And all kinds of confusing at the same time, because I’d never been into possessive men. I dated guys for fun, and if it wasn’t fun, I didn’t date them anymore. The minute one showed signs of getting clingy, it was over.

The blond alpha turned a sickly shade of gray, pivoted, and stalked off.

“I thought I told you not to get up to any mischief?” Ryder said, his eyes narrowing on my cocktail, which was almost gone.

“Thank you,” I said, gesturing toward him with the glass before draining it.

He took the empty glass and passed it, without looking, into the hands of Art, who was doing the rounds, collecting empties.

His subsequent stillness was a little unnerving.

There was something about the way Ryder stared at me, the intensity in his stormy blue-gray eyes, that made the rest of the world fade away.

It sounded cliché when you read about it in books.

Yet there was only the two of us, a small, easily covered distance, and the thumping, sensual music making my hips sway.

Surrounding us was a party, my friends, and among them Jude and Jewels, whom I loved dearly, but my eyes only saw the man before me.

No, not a man, the alpha who’d locked gazes with me.

His eyes lowered to my swaying hips, and the air charged with an electric feel.

“My name is Emma. It’s my birthday,” I said. “And now, I’d like my present.”

He raised one brow before smirking, and that smile was enough to weaken my knees. “And what do you want for a present, Emma?”

His voice curled around my name, low, a little husky, and a lot sexy. No false expectations existed. No confusion, because I didn’t care if he thought my cat ears were stupid. He was interested, and so was I.

“You.”

He didn’t answer. I’d never been shy, but I felt insignificant before this towering male whom I’d boldly requested as my birthday present.

“What are you going to do with your present?” he asked, playing along.

“It’s more about what my present can do for me.”

He laughed, his whole face transforming, shoulders shaking. Even over the music, I could hear the timbre, and it was sexy as hell. Then his laughter faded. He threw a look over his shoulder and then back at me before holding out his hand.

I’d never felt anything more significant in my life than when I placed my hand in his, watching his larger one swallow my smaller one. His skin was warm and a little calloused. My skin tingled where we touched, and it flowed all the way up my arm.

My heart rate jacked up as the enormity of what I’d just done hit me.

Looking back toward the dance floor, I found Jude dancing with Jewels. They were both grinning. I smiled back.

“Ready, baby?”

The man holding my hand drew my focus back to him. Damn, he was so freaking big.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

His business partner, the one Art had called Dane, was standing by the elevator.

Ryder stabbed the button, ignoring the pointed glare Dane sent his way.

“The fuck?” Dane muttered. “We’ve only just come back.”

Ryder placed his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Going to be busy for a little while. You’re it. Make sure Jace’s guests don’t get up to any trouble. It’s your balls on the line.”