Rath (The Omega Collective #2) - Mina Carter Page 0,8
wasn’t she? She wasn’t angry or terrified, and she should be both. She was anxious, yes, and irritated with his attitude. But that’s it. Here she was, in an alpha’s lair, in his arms. His very strong arms, cradling her against a massive chest of sculpted muscle...
She pressed her hand to the hard planes of his chest, letting her fingers trace over the fabric of his simple, loose-fitted shirt. The contact felt good, and every breath she took drew more of his scent into her lungs.
She shook her head hard. “What’s wrong with me? Did you drug me again?”
He had to have drugged her with something to take away her fear and make her more compliant. Otherwise, she’d be freaking out and fighting him with everything she had.
His head moved slightly, as though he could actually see her face and was looking at her expression. His lips curved a little. “No, little shar’ai. I have not drugged you. Although if you need more painkillers let me know.”
She huffed. “And what price will I have to pay for those?”
“What would you offer me?”
She winced inwardly. Her mother was always warning her not to speak without thinking first. “You’d want payment to keep me free of pain? Is that how this works? You hurt me and then make me do things to stop the pain?”
He came to a sudden halt just inside a bathing room unlike anything she’d ever seen before. She wanted to look around, but the tension crackling off Rath drew all her attention.
“I am your alpha. I will always take care of you. You may have food, water, and medicine without any payment.” His jaw hardened. “But do not push me, little one, or I might consider charging a price for other things... like clothes. I can keep you safe and comfortable while naked.”
She clamped her jaw shut in case she said something else he could take as a challenge and use it as an excuse to strip her of her clothes. But he is alpha, the little voice in the back of her head whispered. He doesn’t need an excuse.
“Thank you,” she said eventually. “For the medicine and caring for me.”
He stayed utterly still for long moments, the tension still radiating from him and her heart rate began to climb as anxiety set in.
“I am your alpha. It is my duty and my honor to care for you.” His voice was still hard, but some of the edges had softened now. “This will be more pleasant for you if you stop fighting your nature. Nothing is wrong with you. You are an omega, reacting to her alpha. Your body knows the truth. You are mine.”
He took two more steps and then set her down in the exact center of the room. It was large. Too large for a human bathroom. He must have knocked out a wall to make it this big. The walls gleamed like they were made of tile, but there was no grout and it looked the same all the way up to the ceiling. She recognized the purpose of everything there—a sink, an open shower, a toilet, and a tub big enough she could swim in, full of steaming, fragrant water.
It was the most decadent thing she’d ever seen but she couldn’t concentrate on it. Instead, all her attention was on the alpha standing behind her, his hands lightly on her waist. He hadn’t done anything, she realized in amazement. She’d challenged him, snapped at him and he’d done nothing. Not gone into a rage or pinned her down to take her clothes away from her.
She twisted to look up at him. Nor had he removed the blindfold. It was still in place.
His lips quirked again and she tried not to notice how full they were. “Are you going to get undressed, little one, or do I have to do it for you?”
She managed a soft huff that she hoped sounded disdainful and moved away from him. The air was warm and sultry, heavy with steam and the fragrance rising from the water.
Hot water. Clean. Not a hurried scrub with a damp rag or a rare soak in a shallow, public bath. “You won’t peek. Right?”
“I will not. But I will stay. You may need help getting out.” That wicked little smile touched his mouth again. “You are tiny.”
“I’m not. I’m perfectly average… for a human.”
She stripped away her clothes, the grime and stink of them even more apparent now that she was thinking