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

Chapter 9

When he said he knew a great coffee shop, Von had assumed he meant that he knew of a place nearby, not twenty minutes away. When he'd shown her to the high-end vehicle in the academy's parking lot, she'd balked. She didn't even have a rule about accepting rides from strangers, because it was something she'd never so much as considered doing. However, nothing he had thus far said or done led her to believe he was a threat to her. Just to be on the safe side, though, she'd informed Tilly that she was leaving with Damian. She certainly had no complaints about the ride, once he'd gotten the engine to turn over that is. His vehicle was plush with a dark leather interior and burnished wooden accents, far nicer than the rideshares Von was accustomed to when she could afford them.

The adorable street café he'd shown her to reminded her of a similar establishment that she'd frequented as a teen. The outdoor seating area was replete with wicker furniture adorned with colorful cushions and pillows. Indoors, the open space was broken up by rustic wooden tables and chairs. Modernist art adorned cream-colored walls. Mellow jazz piped in through a sound system kept the place from being too quiet.

"A double espresso," Damian said, swiping his bank card, "and whatever the lady would like."

It had been years since Von had been able to treat herself to something as frivolous as a flavored coffee at a café. Most weeks, she had more important things to spend her money on, like rent and Metro passes. She perused the menu for all of a nanosecond before landing on her choice. She could almost taste the picture. "That," she indicated, pointing to the photo.

The barista slid a numbered card across the counter, then set to making their order, while Damian walked her to a table for two nearest a large picture window that offered a view of the park across the street.

"How long have you been teaching, Siobhan?" he asked, conversationally.

There he went, again, flattering her by making her the center of the conversation. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have answered that question, but with Rule #2's corpse currently rotting outside Tilly's office, Von saw no reason not to respond. "Von," she corrected. "Ten years. I was hired originally to fill in for a teacher who'd taken medical leave. When he decided not to return, I was offered the position permanently."

Damian boldly examined her from his seat on the other side of the table, that turquoise gaze scrutinizing her like a butterfly under glass. His intense focus made her squirm in her seat.

"And your mate doesn't mind you working?" he asked.

Von paused, a lightning-strike of indignance charging through her. The idea that she needed someone - anyone - to give her permission to live her life irked her to no end. What a typically alpha assumption! Easy, Siobhan. He didn't mean anything by it. "I don't have a mate. Claimed omegas aren't permitted to work."

His eyes widened a bit as his brows raised. "How'd you manage that?"

She knew exactly what he meant. Omegas, especially omegas from prominent families, were often mated before aged twenty-five. She was well past that age. "Manage what?"

"Staying unmated. At your-"

She looked up sharply, daring him to finish that sentence, but he managed to stop himself before he said something regrettable.

"I just mean that, someone as attractive as you are must have had suitors lined up around the block."

She offered him a half-smile in response. Good save, Von thought. The sincerity of that compliment was a little dubious, but was welcome, nonetheless, and with it a giggly kind of girlish delight. She wasn't often in a position to have an alpha call her attractive. "It was definitely not the path my family preferred, but in the end, it was my life, so it was my decision."