Page 43 of Lilacs and Leather

I sigh and set down the clipboard before turning back to face him. “As he tells it, you’re his best friend. I shouldn’t have to tell you how… intense Rhett can be,” I say, choosing my words thoughtfully.

Mateo lets out another full body laugh. “‘Intense’ is a funny way of spelling ‘overbearing,’” he says through his laughter.

I roll my eyes. I want to deny it, but Rhett’s protective nature has revealed itself to be a double-edged sword. I enjoy feeling doted upon and cared for, but after spending two days under the full force of his attention, I didn’t mind admitting that the break apart was nice. I was starting to miss him, but I’d spent so much of the last few years alone that I’d had to learn how to adapt and care for myself. Rhett and I still had to figure out how’d we work together that would accommodate his need to be a caretaker and still allow me to be independent. I didn’t want to give Rhett a reason to think that I couldn’t handle myself. And, based on how he reacted to finding out a small part of what my past held, I really did not want him to learn that incidents like the one with Davis weren’t all that uncommon.

“If it comes up, I’ll tell him. But I don’t think it’s worth mentioning. It happened, and you handled it,” I say with a shrug.

“You are not what I expected, Miss Lydia,” Mateo chuckles.

“And what exactly were you expecting, Mr. Hutchenson?” I throw back, smirking.

He’s about to answer when he stops and pulls out his phone. He looks down at it, a groan of disappointment falling from his lips a moment later.

“So, I know I said I wasn’t going to ask you out, but have you ever been to a drag show? My friend had something come up and he can’t go anymore,” he asks, looking up at me with an eager smile.

I blink a little at the conversational whiplash but purse my lips in confusion. “Like with cars?” I ask slowly.

He lets out a pitying noise that has my cheeks heating. “Please tell me you aren’t doing anything tonight,” he begs, standing up straight.

“I mean…” I start, biting my lip. My only plans tonight involved calling Rhett, watching trash reality TV, and going to sleep early.

“Excellent! We’re taking you to Freddy’s, and I’m popping your drag show cherry. It’s been so long since I’ve brought someone new,” Mateo rambles, moving a step toward me.

I frown, a nagging in the back of my head. Rhett and I never settled on being exclusive, and considering that he was still openly involved with Lucas, I shouldn’t be worried about accepting. But I still hesitate.

“Rhett isn’t going to be back in town until tomorrow, right? So go out with me, please. It’ll be fun,” Mateo begs with a playful pout.

“Will he be mad?” I ask softly.

“That I took you out on the town and showed you a good time? No way. And if he has something to say, I’ll handle him. He’s got more bark than bite.” Mateo laughs, waving a hand.

“This club… is it safe? Because I’m… well, an omega?” I ask, blushing at how small my voice is. I’m running out of excuses, even as I find I don’t want to make them.

Mateo’s eagerness cools for a moment as he looks at me. The smile he gives me is soft and reassuring, and he crosses to me in a few strides of his long legs. He holds up a fist with his pinky extended. “I won’t let anything happen. Pinky promise.”

And it’s that openness in his face, the absolute honesty in his warm brown eyes that allows me to relax, wrap my pinky around his, and agree.

Seventeen

Mateo

“And then I found them at the end of their shifts before they could post up outside of Grandmother Wila’s and told them that their services were no longer required,” I finish, holding my phone to my ear with my shoulder as I flick through my wardrobe.

“How did tha’ go?” Rhett says through gritted teeth, his tone dangerous.

“Oh, you know. Davis tried to call Lydia a liar, saying that she was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. Tried to appeal to my alpha nature, saying that I had to admit that even if she wasn’t a California 10, she was still an omega. Like that’s a valid reason to harass someone,” I spit, feeling my blood heat as I recount the conversation.

“What a fucking prick. Make sure him, his entire crew, an’ the agency we got t’em from are moved onto the blacklist. That’s the kind o’ knothead they’re going ta send us, then they can fucking pound sand,” Rhett snarls, his accent more pronounced in his anger.

“Already done, brother. Lex is fucking livid and is going to sue them for not properly vetting their hires. One guy on that crew has a felony DV conviction on his record that they failed to mention. She’s going to have them served next week.”

“Good.”

I smile in savage satisfaction at the violence in Rhett’s voice. I find a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top to wear and pull them out before moving back into my bedroom.

“Davis must have been dropped as an infant, though,” I mention, setting my clothes on my bed.

“What clued you in? His utter lack of respect or something else?” Rhett deadpans at me.