her here.
"What did this omega look like?"
"Um…tall, pretty, pink hair."
The alpha's expression shifted slightly. "Zeke's woman. You thought you were on his property?"
"I'm…not?"
The alpha slowly shook his head, never taking his eyes off hers.
"No, Jo," he said sternly. "You've trespassed onto my land."
Trespassed. Jocelyn didn't like the way he said that word at all.
"I'm sorry," she blurted. "I didn't mean to. I must have gotten turned around last night. I've made a terrible mistake." She started to crawl across the mattress toward the door, holding on to her bag for dear life. "I'll leave right now."
But she didn't even make it off the bed before the alpha was up out of his seat and blocking her.
"No, you won't. Do you know what it means to trespass on an alpha's property, Jo?"
Jocelyn scuttled back to her spot at the headboard. The alpha loomed much too large, even in the spacious room. There was no way to get away from him.
"I told you it was a mistake. An accident. I didn't mean any harm."
Her protests didn't appear to move him. In fact, his expression suggested that trespassing was a hell of a lot more serious crime in the Boundarylands than it was back in the city.
"Do you know what happens to anyone who trespasses on an alpha's land?" he continued as if she hadn't spoken, his voice a lazy rumble.
Jocelyn shook her head, too terrified to even risk a guess.
His predatory smirk widened as he slowly and deliberately slid his gaze up and down the entire length of her body, leaving no doubt in her mind about what he was thinking.
"Anything the alpha wants."
Chapter Six
Aric watched Jo crawl across the mattress to the other side of the bed, holding her big, shapeless leather bag like a shield. He supposed she was trying to get to the door, but she tripped over the chair he'd dragged in and went down hard on the braided rug.
Up until now, the emotions layered through her scent had been relatively mild. Though she was worried, concerned, and confused, none of these were enough to add up to alarm.
But now fear was the top note to the complex scent. Her eyes flashed with it; her blood simmered with it.
She was finally coming to understand the magnitude of the line she'd crossed by trespassing on his land, breaking into his home, and passing out on his bed.
It was true that her crime hadn't been intentional. Aric was even slightly amused by her mistake, even though he found it pretty hard to believe that Zeke had consented to one of Nicky's girls spending the night on his property. Sure, Zeke's omega did seem a little wilder than most—but not threesome-with-a-beta-whore wild.
Then again, what did he know about their personal life? It was none of his business.
At least it hadn't been until now, when their Friday night plans had become his Saturday morning breakfast.
"There has been a big mistake," Jo said. She was trying to project confidence, but her quavering voice gave her away.
Aric crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What you call a mistake, I call a crime."
"I'm not talking about that," she protested, reddening. "I'm trying to tell you I'm not a prostitute."
"Yeah, probably not anymore," Aric agreed. "I know Nicky can be forgiving, but even she must have a rule against breaking into clients' homes and passing out on their beds."
"Please, just listen to me," Jo pleaded. "I've never met Nicky. I'm not a prostitute. I'm—I'm just a bookkeeper from San Francisco."
Aric snorted with laughter at the lame excuse. "You expect me to believe that you don't know Nicky when you arrived in a car full of her girls last night?"
"Yes!" The fear and frustration in Jo's scent crowded out nearly everything else. The porcelain skin that contrasted so nicely with her jet-black hair and bright amber-brown eyes had taken on a blush of rosy pink, making Aric wonder if it matched her nipples. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but—"
"They all knew your name," he pointed out.
"Not really. Not my real name, but—"
"And you didn't mention anything about bookkeeping last night when I tried to hire you."
"Would you have listened to me if I had?"
Finally—a spark of defiance. Aric's cock took note, stirring awake at the prospect of a sweet tussle with a willing firebrand.
But as to her question—no. Aric wouldn't have believed she was a bookkeeper last night because it was a ridiculous story.
But that didn't mean it was a lie.
Sorting through the overwhelming emotions