Chapter 14

Panic rushes through me, and I reach out to take his hand. "Please believe that I never aimed to entrap you."

His stern expression cracks, and he lifts my hand to kiss my knuckles. "I know that, sweet boy. You don't have the acting skills to pull off a seduction, and you never once approached me at the club with anything but professionalism."

Offended, I purse my lips. "I can be seductive."

"I look forward to your efforts later." The amusement fades from his face. "No changing the subject. Answer my question."

I knew my past wouldn't stay hidden forever, but I had allowed myself to hope. As long as I was locked up in this room, away from the real world, Gino was no longer a threat to my life.

It's why I haven't fought my confinement, why I so readily embraced doing everything online with my next job and returning to university.

Right now, Nolan sees me as a victim that he saved from Rich. Once he finds out that my presence by his side puts him in danger from Gino's gang, what will he do?

What if Gino someday tries to use me to extort money from him? I could become a problem for his business.

At the realization that I could bring harm to Leo and his family, my eyes sting, and my nose burns. I take a shaky breath, trying to let Nolan's pheromones calm me, but the tears spill over, anyway. I want nothing more than to crawl back into Nolan's lap, but he pushed me away.

He wants to hear what I have to say without his interference, and he deserves that.

I wipe my cheeks with my sleeves. "I owe money to some bad people. They introduced me to Tony to make money and start paying them back, but the hours I had to work affected my ability to keep my grades up. I lost my scholarship and had to move out of the dorms. Tony helped me find my apartment. After that, everything just kept getting worse."

His eyes narrow. "What did you need a loan for? Your family?"

A bitter laugh escapes me. "You could say that. My brother co-signed me as a guarantor and then left town with the money, leaving me to pay it back."

Nolan shifts to sit sideways on the couch and rests his elbow on the back. "Were you aware he was using your name?"

"No." I sniffle and wipe my cheeks again. "Foley is seven years older than I am. Our mom cut him off the first time he went to jail for car theft. I haven't seen him since I was eight. I don't know where he lived after he served his time, but I heard he immediately returned to stealing things to buy drugs. Then the rumors stopped, and part of me suspected he died."

Shame fills me that I never looked into it more, but my brother represented everything I hated. "Sometimes, I forgot Foley even existed. I was going through my own issues at home, cycling in and out of foster care every time my mom landed in county lockup or was forced into rehab. She'd come back sober and promise to change, and then fall back down the bottle."

I curl up on my cushion. "Between my mom and my brother, I never wanted to touch drugs or alcohol, which was easy to uphold when my life was heading in a good direction. But hitting rock bottom really put a new perspective on things."

Understanding softens his features. "How did you get to the point of agreeing to move to the back rooms?"

"With the tips and hourly pay combined, I was just barely able to afford rent and the bi-weekly payments to the gang Foley borrowed money from." I hug one of the throw pillows to have something to hold on to. "Some nights, it was a choice of whether to buy suppressants or food."

"Why didn't you go to the Omega Outreach Program in the beginning?" His brow knits. "They would have helped."

"They require an address, and I don't think the apartment I rent is legal for occupancy. I couldn't risk losing that room. As ugly as it was, it was all that I could afford and better than the streets." The reason sounds flimsy now, surrounded by luxury, but living on the street scared me more than not having suppressants.

"The day before my Heat started, my loan collector, Gino, made a surprise visit. He did it sometimes, to make sure I wasn't spending unnecessary money that should go toward paying my debt." Tears threaten again, and I dig my nails into my palm to stop them. "He took my suppressants and what I had saved for rent."

Nolan's hand curls into a fist. "Is that how you got the bruise on your face?"

"Yes." My hand lifts to my cheek, but the tenderness has faded. "I had nothing left to buy new suppressants, but Phoenix, one of the strippers, was nice and gave me a couple of pills. They were only the six-hour ones, though, and wore off before the end of my shift."

Rage flashes through Nolan's eyes. "Making you susceptible when Rich attacked you."

"Yes." Nausea rises at the memory. "Rich brought a lot of money to the club, so losing him as a client would hurt Tony. And then I missed work for multiple days during my Heat without calling in."

I rock on the cushion. "When I came back, Tony had already replaced me. Rent was coming due, and Gino was going to return expecting his regular payment. Tony offered to move me to the back rooms again, promising I'd make more in one night than I'd been making in an entire month."

Sympathy and anger war on Nolan's face. "And you were desperate."

I look away from him. "I was facing eviction, and if I didn't make my loan payment, Gino would force me into prostitution, or worse. At least at Velvet Oasis, the clients are vetted and there's a daily limit on the number of customers serviced. I thought I'd do it once, make my payments, and start looking for a different job."

I drop my head to my knees. "Tony didn't even have me sign a new employment contract. He just sent me straight to the madam as soon as I agreed." My pant legs muffle my laugh. "God, he could have refused to pay me. There was nothing in writing."

My head lifts. "Was Rich charged?"

Nolan's expression turns grim.

"No…" Tears fall down my cheeks. "Tony planned to give me as a freebie to the man who tried to rape me?"

"Oh, my sweet boy." Nolan opens his arms. "Come here."

I scramble across the cushions into his embrace, clutching the front of his shirt as I sob on his shoulder. The woody scent of his cologne and pheromones fill my lungs, offering a second layer of comfort while the warmth of his body sinks into me, easing the hurt inside.

"You've been through so much. Handling everything alone." He strokes my back. "No more, though. Let me take care of you, okay? I'll keep you safe from all the bad people."

"Gino will come after me," I choke out. "I don't want you to get caught up in it."

His fingers push into my hair. "I'll deal with Gino."

My hold on him tightens. "He's dangerous."

"I'm dangerous." Lips graze my temple. "I'll put him in the same hole I dropped Rich into."

A shudder goes through me knowing Rich's fate for sure. If I were a better person, knowing that Nolan got rid of Rich for me would be terrifying. Instead, knowing that this powerful Alpha has already killed for me fills me with a rush of desire.

With a gasp, I turn my head to catch his mouth with mine, and our tongues tangle together. The fabric of his shirt crinkles beneath my hands before I flatten my palms to explore the hard ridges of his chest. My heart flutters, erratic and quick, like it wants to escape my body and go into Nolan's.

Shifting, I straddle his thighs and reach between us to wrap my hand around his cock, stroking him to full hardness.

"Leo," he moans against my lips, his voice a low thrum that vibrates through me.

He cups my waist and rocks his hips into my touch.

Our mouths meet again, urgency driving me in a clash of lips and breath. For once, Nolan lets me take the lead, accepting my tongue into his mouth and allowing my hands to explore him without taking control.

With every burning kiss, the harsh reality of my life blurs, the stress I've lived with since Gino showed up at my dorm slipping away.

Releasing his hard cock, I work on the buttons on his dress shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine. His grip tightens on my waist before he stills, tension humming through his body.

Breaths quick, I lean back to meet his green eyes, the softness there sending a jolt through me. Despite the power his status affords him, both as an Alpha and a Rockford, he's willing to let me take what I want.

Need tingles through me, and I reach for his belt, working it open with a skill he taught me.

As I go for his zipper, a playful knock sounds on the door.

I flinch and look toward the entrance. In the entire time I've been here, no one has ever knocked on that door. Even when our meals arrive, Nolan receives some silent notification to go out into the hall and bring in our tray.

"Ignore it, and they'll go away." Nolan pulls my head back around, his lips red and enticing. "You're seducing me right now, remember?"

My body clenches, and my hands return to his waist, popping the button on his slacks.

Then the click of the lock opening pierces the air, and the door cracks open.

One of the twins sticks his head inside, dark brown eyes sparkling with amusement as they land on us on the couch. "Oh, am I interrupting something? This looks fun."

"Dammit, Caleb!" Nolan growls. "Get the hell out of our room."

"But I brought a welcome to the family gift." The door swings farther open, and he holds an extra-large pizza box aloft. "I thought we could have a little party and get to know each other better. Don't you have a meeting starting in an hour that you need to leave for?"

The scent of pepperoni reaches me, and drool floods my mouth.

Caleb smiles at my expression and walks inside, tilting the box from side-to-side enticingly. "Smell something you want, sweetie?"

Focus on the pizza, I lick my lips.

With a growl, Nolan dumps me off his lap and strides across the room, shoving a laughing Caleb and his pizza back out into the hall.

Slamming the door, he turns back to me. "Pack your clothes. We're moving to the townhouse."

My eyes dart from the closed door to his half-open pants. "Right now?"

"Move that sweet ass, Leo," Nolan barks. "If you're not packed in the next five minutes, I'm buying you a brand-new wardrobe."

I jump from the settee and run for my drawers in the dresser to grab my meager belongings.