Dragon's Omega Bride (Shifter Marriage Service 3)

“Come on. Let’s get our places for dinner. I’ve sat you between myself and Kevin, my competition. Be gracious, but know he is the enemy. Don’t flirt with him. He eats that up from women. Be polite, but not gregarious. Save that for others.”

“Got it,” she replied.

As they sat down at the table, Aileen noted the chair to her right was empty. So, Kevin either wasn’t there yet or was still milling about with other guests. The table was a long banquet style arrangement, beginning to slowly populate with the people who had been chatting with one another as they had arrived and continued to make their rounds. She was struck by how very different this clan was from her own. Everything here seemed very much formal and almost political in nature. Her clan, for all their faults, was much more laid back.

“I believe this is my seat,” a voice said from beside her.

She turned her head and looked up, only to find herself looking into a pair of bright blue eyes framed by tussled dirty blonde hair and the whitest smile she’d ever seen. He was beautiful. There was no other word that could describe the perfection that stood beside her. His presence was so overwhelming that she found herself unable to speak for a moment. Yakov stepped in.

“Kevin, so nice of you to finally join us. This is my girlfriend, Aileen. Aileen, this is Kevin Williamson.”

“Nice to meet you, Kevin,” she replied, forcing herself to look back at Yakov and then down at her plate rather than continuing to gawk at him.

“You, as well. I had no idea that Yakov had a girlfriend. How long have the two of you been seeing one another?”

Aileen had been well versed on the answer to this question prior to their arrival and already well practiced on answering it to at least a dozen people as they made their introductions.

“We met at a charity event a few weeks ago and just clicked,” she replied, smiling and reaching back to squeeze Yakov’s hand in her own.

“I see. Well, congratulations. I hope things continue to go well for the two of you.”

“Thanks,” she replied, almost in unison with Yakov.

Their eyes met in understanding that they were both well aware that he didn’t mean it. He wasn’t even a good actor, his tone revealing much more than he even realized about his true feelings. Despite her instant attraction to his looks, there was an almost psychological aftertaste. He was handsome, but there was something about him that seemed dark, sinister. Even with the few words they had exchanged, she had picked up on it.

Aileen considered that, perhaps, Yakov’s reasons for not wanting him to take over as Alpha were not as selfish as she had originally thought. Perhaps, there were other reasons he wanted Kevin Williamson to remain in the lower ranks.CHAPTER SIX“You did well. I am very pleased with how things are going so far,” Yakov told her on the way home.

“Good,” she replied, not sure of what else to say.

“Everyone was talking about you, looking at you. Even that old busybody Pam seemed smitten with you and that is highly unusual. She usually only sees the bad in everyone.”

Aileen changed the subject, not really comfortable with discussing herself as some sort of commodity.

“I will pack the dress and such up and return them to you,” she told him.

“What? No. Nonsense. That dress seems destined for your curves. It is yours to keep.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

Had he just complimented her? It wasn’t a traditional comment but seemed to be one anyway.

“Here we are, my home. I’ve sent all the servants home for the day, so there will be no one to reveal anything that happens behind these four walls tonight,” he said.

Aileen felt a little panic rising up at the thought of there being no one there but the two of them but tried to push it down. He must have noted the stiffness that seemed to permeate through her body, though, and added to his statement.

“I don’t mean anything by that. I just don’t want them mentioning that you slept in a separate bedroom on a different floor prior to people seeing you leave in the morning. Things need to appear a certain way.”

“Of course. It is all about appearances, I suppose.”

“Yes, it is. If I don’t pull this off, I stand to lose a fortune, but I also would be turning over the well-being of this clan to someone who is vile and selfish in a way that will only bring harm to all of us.”

“I understand. I’m not here to question you. I know what my part of all this is to be.”

“Good. Let’s get you inside and settled then,” he said.

He was completely no nonsense as he took her on a quick tour of the kitchen, in case she needed a drink or snack during the night, and then up to the room she would be sleeping in. It was nicer than some of the exclusive hotels she had stayed in on vacations with her family before everything had fallen apart. Not only was there an oversized king bed, but also a full dressing table, large dresser and a massive writing desk situated by a window. To one side of the desk were French doors that led out onto the balcony overlooking a side garden. A connecting room opened up into a large bathroom with a large oval garden tub and a separate glass walled shower.