Waiting in the airport for Riley, I felt strange. Something odd had happened in that meeting, from the moment I’d locked eyes on the omega — who was fucking beautiful in person, of course, because the universe hated me.

Even at the very end, when our fingers brushed, I’d felt an itch beneath my skin, compelling me to pull him closer. I wanted to breathe him in, to learn his scent. I wanted to study every angle of his gorgeous face.

There had been one terrifying moment when I’d felt the overwhelming urge to rub myself all over the omega, like that was a totally normal fucking thing to do.

My mind kept wandering to how I could pin him down and rut against him, maybe smear him in my cum just to warn other alpha wolves away from my mate. What would my wolf side want next, peeing in a circle around him?

I was usually much more in control of the primitive side of being a shifter; it came out during sex, sure, but not like this. Not standing around in a busy airport.

I had already checked my luggage, but I was waiting by the airline counter, keeping an eye out for Riley’s dirty-blond head. I had to get my own head in the game.

I was headed into the vipers’ nest—aka the “loving” embrace of my father’s and stepmom’s hospitality—and I needed to pull my shit together. Riley was so damn distracting. What if this had been a terrible idea, after all?

I sensed Riley before I saw him, which was fucking disconcerting. Was this what it was like to be around omegas? I wasn’t sure I liked it.

Around humans, I could keep my cool, remain in control. Riley flooded my senses with mating pheromones. I felt like a feral dog.

He smirked at me from the baggage-check lineup, sending me an adorable little wave, and I felt my stomach flip over. I’d have to sit next to this stunning omega for a full two-hour flight.

That was going to be damn uncomfortable. I should have thought that through, but it was too late.

It felt like it took hours for him to check his baggage, but it only took a few minutes according to my Rolex. I wanted to wrap my arm around him like we were already dating, but it was for show, so I thought it better to wait until we were in front of my family to risk touching him.

We decided to kill time by grabbing coffee at a little café near the front of the airport. Bright sunshine poured in through the windows, but summer only brought a mild dread for me.

Most of the time, I managed to avoid my father, but this weekend was mandatory if I wanted to keep my father from disowning me, which, unfortunately, I still did. Perhaps Riley’s equally-bright smile would be able to cheer me up, keep me distracted. Most importantly, he’d be a buffer between me and whatever rich little omega my father had picked out for me.

I would certainly be paying for Riley’s coffee this time. “How do you take it?”

Riley looked up at me, ocean-blue eyes and thick lashes and a painfully gorgeous little smirk, his dimples making me think of anything but coffee. “Sweet and creamy.”

I gave him a look, and he laughed, obviously pleased that I couldn’t stand his seductive purr. This was exactly why I didn’t spend time around omegas.

“Two coffees, one black, one cream and sugar. Are you hungry?”

He shook his head, and bit his lip, head tilted like he was studying me. It made me uncomfortable. Especially in my pants.

“You don’t have to act like this right now.”

“Like what?”

I wanted to punish him, somehow, for that faux-innocence. Over my knee, perhaps. All I had in my arsenal at that moment was a terrifying alpha stare, and it seemed to work. He cleared his throat and took his coffee from my hand.

“I know I don’t have to flirt,” he admitted. “But it’s sort of my thing. I’m not actually used to this.”

I forced myself to focus. I couldn’t get attached to the very adorable omega, so I needed to bring the conversation back to business. “Let’s go over a few things you should already know about me,” I said. The last thing I needed was someone seeing through our hoax.

Riley turned to me, and either he was genuinely interested, or he was an incredible actor, because it seemed like he truly wanted to know.

“My best friend’s name is Carla,” I started. “My favorite dish is beef stroganoff. I eat my steak rare. I drink wine, and most liquor, but never beer or gin.”

Riley nodded, staring at me intently. “What about your home life? Anything I should know about mister and missus?”

I sighed, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. I suppose anyone who dated me would have at least heard about my family.

“My father is exactly what you would expect. Cold, calculating. A businessman, an alpha. My stepmother is his equal for cold and calculating, but mostly a gold digger, if you ask me. My father shipped me off to boarding school in England for most of my youth.”

“That explains the accent,” Riley noted, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I suppose it does.” I sipped from my coffee, fidgeting a little with the cup.

Riley got to me. He had me opening up, and it occurred to me that maybe I hadn’t planned this very well. A cover story involved real facts, real vulnerability.

I didn’t think about having an accent very much, but it was my father’s fault that I didn’t sound American anymore. If he had just raised me here, maybe I would have an easier time finding a mate of my own, and maybe I would have had some actual guidance on being an alpha. Maybe I would have felt worthy of an omega of my own.

But no. It was more important that I sound slightly British.

Over the public announcement system, our flight was called for boarding, and I nodded toward our gates. “We’d better go. The flight isn’t long, only two hours.”

“Two hours next to you?” Riley asked sarcastically. “How will I survive?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. At least my companion for the weekend had a sense of humor—and he didn’t seem to mind my company, either.

That made him even more dangerous. That smile could get me into bed even faster than his hot body or flirtatious attitude.

We spent the entire two-hour flight going over our cover story. We’d met four months ago at a work function, I decided. Just enough to seem like it might be serious.

Riley was a freelance photographer doing some work for my magazine. We’d dated for a while, and become official just recently.

The omega was remarkably easy to talk to. He had a relaxed, open personality, and I found myself falling into it. As our imagined relationship took on more detail, it was as if I could see the life we might have had together. The cover story was almost too plausible.

That itch under my skin burned hotter and hotter the longer I sat by him, and once again I found myself distracted by his face. I spent the whole flight memorizing the exact ocean-blue shade of his eyes. It was deep sea, I decided, but close to the surface, maybe the shade found in a coral reef.

I counted every deep brown freckle on his golden, tanned skin; I knew the pattern they formed over the bridge of his adorable, narrow little nose. His handsome jaw and full pout made my mind wander to what he would look like with his mouth stuffed full, his full, kissable lips wide around my cock.

“Chase,” he said, snapping me out of a vivid daydream. “We’re landing.”

There was no one around when we made it to my family’s summer home. The huge, white, manor-style house was more of a mansion than a summer cabin, and Riley’s eyes were everywhere, but I barely noticed anymore.

A few members of the staff were busily setting things up for my father’s party, but of course he hadn’t come to greet us, and God only knew where Gloria was, so I set off to find Richard.

Our butler was in the running for my favorite person in the entire world. Richard was the closest thing to a real father figure I’d ever had.

I found him near the kitchen, instructing one of the maids, and cleared my throat. He raised his gray head, and his smile when he saw me was genuine, the sort of thing I couldn’t expect to see from my father or his new wife.

I made the introductions. “Richard, this is Riley, my boyfriend. Riley, this is Richard, our butler. He raised me.”

I felt a twinge of guilt, lying to Richard about Riley; but as a beta, Richard was compelled not to lie to his alpha, my father. I didn’t want to put him in an awkward position with Dad.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Richard greeted Riley, shaking his hand, but there was something strange about the way he looked at us. He was happy to see me, as friendly as ever, but quiet, as he observed us, a fond twinkle in his eye. A knowing twinkle.

It put me on edge a little—had Richard already seen through my ruse? The thought was interrupted as Gloria swept in from behind us.

A chill from her presence sent a shiver down my spine. Gloria was an icy woman, possessing a hard beauty and a superior grace. Despite her youth, I could already picture her as a mean grandmother.

Her white-blonde hair always coiffed into a bun, she wore tailored skirt-suits and hose and chose purses for their brand. She was too thin, her neck too long, like she’d done far too much ballet as a girl.

Her nose was already turned up, just looking at Riley next to me. I was more annoyance than stepson to her, it seemed.

“Your father has someone he wants you to meet this weekend,” she reminded me, anger simmering just below the surface. She was clearly trying to hide it, with an almost polite smile, but I could see through it to the hatred glimmering in her eyes.

I got a sweet satisfaction knowing I was messing up my father’s plans. Clearly, she and Dad needed me to stay sweet with this mystery omega. Well, too bad.

“Unfortunately, Gloria, I’m already seeing someone,” I said, gesturing toward Riley. “This is Riley, my boyfriend.”

Riley stepped in, as if on cue, and immediately began to earn that fat paycheck, laying on the charm. He gripped my hand and beamed at my chilly stepmom, completely ignoring her aura of disdain, and instead radiating his own warmth and loveliness.

It was honestly impressive. Dimples showing, white teeth bared, he even maintained a slightly submissive, omega wolf posture toward her. It was exactly what I needed if I was going to make it through the next seventy-two hours.

“I’m so excited to meet Chase’s family. I just can’t wait to learn more about his life. It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Cartwright.”

He looked so genuinely happy to be there in my company that even Gloria, who was naturally suspicious of everyone, failed to see the lie in his words. He offered his hand, but she sniffed with disdain, ignoring it. That was remarkably rude, even for her, and not at all well-bred. I was shocked.

“Gloria,” I chastised, but she turned her back to us.

“Richard, back to work,” she snapped, and swept away as quickly as she entered.

Relief, and shame, flooded over me. How could she act like that to a guest in her own house? It went against how I’d been raised, and the culture I’d learned in that expensive boarding school.

Sure, Americans could be ruder than Brits, but it still wasn’t usual for those who considered themselves upper class to be so blatantly unwelcoming to a guest. “God, Riley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize she’d be that bad.”

Riley waved me off with a laugh. “I was expecting it,” he assured me.

It took me a second to realize we were still holding hands.