Page 6 of The Wrong Bond (Wolf Billionaire #4)
CHAPTER 6
SHAWN
T he stale-beer air of Mark’s Bar felt like second skin by now in a gross, terrible way. Three visits in a week was pushing it, but I didn’t really care.
Ethan had decided to pass tonight because he was sick of the beer that was served downtown. I understood his frustration because I was also sick of it, which was why I’d decided to have a cocktail this time.
I walked in, and my gaze swept across the room for the familiar raven-black hair. I saw Arlene attending to a table, and sat at the barstool waiting for her, drumming my fingers impatiently against the worn wood.
My near-disaster with Dad still sent shivers down my spine. But Ethan and I had done some spur-of-the-moment acting to distract him from it, and it had worked surprisingly well.
“You’re back!” Arlene said, a small smile on her face.
“You look happy that I’m back.”
She rolled her eyes, which was her signature move whenever I was around. “Sure. What can I get you?”
“A cocktail this time. I think if I have any more of the beer here, I’ll need dialysis in a couple of months.”
“Dialysis for an alpha? That’s a first.”
I raised my hand in mock humility. “What can I say? I come from a line of very weak wolves.”
She threw her head back and laughed, sending a warm feeling all over my body.
Don’t get too sucked in. Don’t get too sucked in. I repeated the words in my head like a mantra. The more surface-level I kept this, whatever this was, the easier it would be for me to cut it off when I was ready.
Arlene leaned closer, completely oblivious to my inner battle., her black hair shining under the light. “So do you want me to surprise you, or…?” she trailed off.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “Surprise me.”
“This is my favorite,” she said, mixing liquors.
From the corner of the bar, Connor spoke out. “Are you trying to take my job, Ally?”
“I’m just making one cocktail, relax,” she responded, chuckling.
“Should I be worried I’ll get poisoned, Connor?” I asked.
“Definitely,” Connor said.
“Make one for yourself, too,” I told her.
“What are we toasting to?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.
“To our friendship,” I replied.
“Friendship?” Ally echoed. “Shawn, let’s not play coy. We both know why you’ve been coming to the bar almost every day for a week and a half now.”
“We do?” I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Yes, we do.”
“Then what do you think I want?” I leaned in.
She leaned closer, the scent of her perfume making me go crazy. “You want me.”
It took everything in me not to take her there and then on this table, in front of everyone in the bar. The things she did to me were unexplainable.
“So what do you suggest I do about that?”
“I think there’s a way for both of us to get what we want.”
“Oh,” was all I could say. I hadn’t expected it to be this easy, but it seemed like she was doing all the work for me.
“You want me; I want your money. I’ve heard about all your mistresses uptown.”
I chuckled. “I’ve not had a mistress in weeks.”
“And why’s that?” she asked.
“Because I’m trying to abstain.”
“And how is that going for you?” Her voice was sultry and seductive, and it took everything in me to rein myself in.
“Terribly. A wolf has needs.”
“Especially an alpha,” she finished for me.
“Especially an alpha.”
She cleared her throat, and then I saw her falter, as if she was holding herself back from saying whatever she wanted to. “What I’m proposing is an arrangement. A business agreement, if you will.”
A business agreement? That should have sounded transactional, but her voice made the words appealing.
“A business agreement?” I repeated, my voice husky.
“Yes. I become your mistress, and you take care of all my mistress-y needs.”
I chuckled, unable to hold back.
“What?” she asked, her tone low and accusatory.
“It’s so obvious that you’ve never done this before.”
“Is it?” she asked.
“Painfully so. But I agree with the arrangement.”
She frowned. “We’ve not spoken about the terms yet.”
“I don’t care about the terms.”
“For a businessman, that sounds like a very risky decision to make.”
I smiled at her. “You’re worth the risk.”