The Arrangement (Omegas of Hunter's Point Book 1)

Chapter 5

Buzzing hard, Damian set his wallet and keys down on the golden oak table that served as the centerpiece of his flat's marble-floored entrance hall. He rubbed at bleary eyes and dropped a heavy sigh.

What a dismal failure this night had been, an absolutely baffling and dismal failure, which was made all the stranger by the fact that it had started off so well. He'd arrived at the club around 10p.m. It hadn't taken much talking to get himself a private booth on the second floor in the VIP section. From his perch, he had a clear line to the door, the dance floor, and the bar. He hadn't been sure what exactly he was looking for, but he was confident he'd know when he saw it. He was just getting comfortable when he spotted her.

She'd come in about thirty minutes after he had, trailing a perky-breasted blonde beta who wore far too much makeup. The blonde had had potential, but the first thing she'd done was melt into the crowd on the dance floor where she'd been promptly co-opted by those who shared his opinion of her. No big loss. He knew the type. She'd have likely gone home with him, proven to be a fun roll in silk sheets, then gone off on her merry way come morning.

Nope. That was no good. Nothing would scuttle the plan like a party-girl "mate" who'd conveniently forget she wasn't single the second she entered a place like this. Gossip rags would be all over that, and his scheme would be exposed.

Damian drifted into the kitchen and got himself a beer, easily twisting the cap off and tossing it into the sink for the three-pointer. Taking a long drink, he leaned against the counter.

The blonde was a social chameleon. Drop her anywhere in the world, in any situation, and through no fault of her own, she'd monopolize all available attention. The friend, on the other hand... The friend had been something else entirely.

Sara

He rolled her name around in his mouth, tasting it, testing the edges. It didn't fit her, much like that tacky dress she'd been poured into. The damn thing had looked very much like it had been cutting off her circulation. But it was the way she carried herself. Sara, or whatever her real name was, had entered absent the bouncy enthusiasm of her blonde beta friend. She'd almost slunk in, as if hoping to avoid notice, like she'd expected to be pounced on the moment she was spotted. Everything about her look said 'rich girl looking not to get caught' like she'd snuck out and would never hear the end of it if Daddy found out.

From what Damian could see, she'd had no reason to be so unsure of herself. While not exactly a classic beauty, Sara wasn't at all unpleasant to look at. She was fine-boned for a beta and average height, but curvy, much curvier than the blonde, who gave off the impression that she skipped meals to maintain her figure. The only saving grace of that tasteless pink dress was that it had hugged Sara's every hill and valley like it had been painted on. Her shiny nut-brown hair had been swept away from her barely made-up, heart-shaped face and secured in a simple chignon, a quietly classy style so much the antithesis of the glorified saran wrap hugging her figure that he found himself growing more intrigued the longer she held his attention.

What had really struck him was her aloofness. She'd been so – what was the word? – disinterested. It had been his experience that when a woman put as much effort into her appearance as Sara had to show up to a club (especially a night spot as trendy as N-V), she was there for a reason: to drink, to dance, to socialize, or to be seen. Well, being seen was definitely not on her agenda. She'd breezed right past the dance floor, so that wasn't her aim, either, and she'd dithered at the bar, endlessly perusing the menu.

She was a unicorn at a public pool. He wasn't sure where she'd come from or how she'd gotten there, but the longer he watched her, the more his curiosity began to eat him alive, and it wouldn't be satiated until he discovered this mysterious creature's origins. He'd checked his breath, run quick fingers through his hair, and made his way to the bar. Just his luck, a seat had opened up next to her.