2. VALIANT

His eyes darted from hers to mine and then narrowed. 

I gave him an innocent smile. He wasn’t stupid, but I also knew that he wasn’t going to do anything at the table that might give John leverage to use against him. The whole purpose of this dinner was for us to find something we could use against him to get our money back. 

But the guy was playing it smart. 

My eyes locked on the omega at my side again. “So?”

“So?” she repeated, acting like she didn’t know what I was talking about. 

“What do you think about his eyes?” 

She stuffed another bite of salad into her mouth and slowly chewed it. When she swallowed, she picked up the same glass I had drank from when I had choked. Something inside me stirred. It wasn’t every day an omega drank from the same glass as an alpha without making a big deal about it. 

“I like it,” she said softly. “His eyes. It’s an unusual colour for a man with his pale skin and black hair.”

“Do you like him?”

Daisy frowned at me. “I don’t know him.”

It still surprised me that someone didn’t know who Alexander Wyatt was. Everybody knew him, and I meant everybody. He was well-known in the business world and the underworld.

“I’m sure you’ve heard something about him,” I pushed. 

Her frown deepened. “I’ve seen him on the news but I don’t pay much attention to it.”

My eyes darted over her face as I nodded. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl to watch the news. I didn’t want to judge her based on her age, but she was only eighteen. If I wanted to keep my pretty face, I needed to step down and stop flirting with her. 

“Tell me, Daisy, are you still in school?” I asked her. 

She shook her head. “I dropped out as soon as I could and took some online classes. I did finish high school if that’s what you’re wondering about.”

“Why did you drop out?”

I could sense the shift in her mood as soon as I asked the question. It made me all the more curious about her. John only talked about his eldest daughter. In fact, we never even knew that Daisy existed until he mentioned her tonight. 

“I hated school,” she said softly. 

“Me too,” I muttered.

She raised her head to look at me. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a gamer,” I lied. “I live in my mother’s basement and test video games for a living.”

Daisy blinked and then smiled. “You’re joking, right?”

“What gave me away?”

For a second her eyes dropped down to my chest. 

“You’re too fit to be a gamer,” she answered. 

“Says who? For all you know, I hit the gym twice a week when I have free time.”

She raised an eyebrow. 

I chuckled. “Fine. You got me. I do go to the gym twice a week though. I’m a lawyer.” 

“That’s…nice.”

I shrugged. “What do you do for a living?” 

Her lips parted but whatever she was about to say was interrupted by her father. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, dinner was delicious, if I must say so myself.” A few chuckled. “Now that it’s over, let’s head to the living room where my daughter Isabella will entertain us before the men join me in my study for a drink.”

I sighed, disappointed. 

Daisy stood and surprisingly turned to face me. “This is the first time I enjoyed one of my father’s dinner parties,” she said softly. “Thank you for making it pleasant.”

“I should thank you.” I leaned closer so the other guest couldn’t hear me as they walked past. “I hate these kind of things, we all do. It was a pleasure to have such a beautiful omega at my side to talk to.”

Colour flooded her cheeks. 

I loved seeing her skin flushed with colour. My eyes dropped to take in the rest of her. I had been too focused on my phone when she arrived to pay much attention. 

Fucking hell, she’s gorgeous.

My eyes lingered on her legs a few seconds longer and then slowly trailed back up her body to her face. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” she hissed. 

“Like I want to spread you across the table and eat you for dessert?” I muttered. 

The colour in her cheeks darkened, but she frowned at me instead of giving me a flirty reply back. I swallowed when I realized that I had said the wrong thing. 

“Look－”

“You don’t know if I’ll taste like desert or not,” she interrupted. 

I blinked at her in surprise. 

A low chuckle came from somewhere behind me a second before a hand gripped my shoulder. Daisy’s eyes instantly darted over to the man who had joined us. 

“You smiled at me,” she muttered. 

“You seemed surprised,” Elias said softly. “Should I have glared at you instead, flower?”

He has barely said a word to her, and he already had a nickname. My lips twitched, a sneer fighting to escape. I didn’t want to scare her because for some reason I liked her. 

“My name is Elias.” He held his hand out towards her. 

Daisy’s teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she stared down at his hand. Just as he was about to drop his hand, she slipped her hand into his. Elias gripped it firmly and raised it to his lips. She shivered when his lips brushed against her skin. 

Interesting. 

“Nice to meet you, Elias,” she said softly. 

“Having an introduction party, are you?” 

I glared at Alex as he approached us from behind Daisy. 

She instantly stiffened. 

I noticed the way he studied her when he thought that nobody was watching him. It was extremely rare for Alex to take any interest in women, especially young omegas. 

“We’re not here to socialize,” he growled, eyes focusing on Elias and then me. 

“I promise you it’s better than the entertainment father had planned,” Daisy said. “Isabella is going to play the piano and sing which she can’t do very well, but father’s friends are crawled up his ass so high that they’ll praise her.”

Elias laughed and even Alex cracked a smile, but I saw the glint in his eyes, and it could only mean trouble. I gave him a slight shake of my head, but he was already moving in. 

“You don’t sound very happy with your father, Daisy,” he drawled.

And she fell right into his trap. 

“He’s an asshole.”

“Daisy dear, why don’t you let me escort you to our entertainment while you tell me all about this asshole father of yours.” He held out his arm for her.

We held our breath as we waited for her to answer. Daisy stared at Alex, pale green eyes darting over every inch of him before they locked on the arm he held out towards her. 

“No thank you, Mr. Wyatt,” she said sweetly. “I’ve had enough of Isabella’s shrill voice to last me a lifetime. But I do hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.” Daisy turned towards Elias and me. “It was nice meeting you. Thank you for…just thank you.”

With that she turned and walked out of the dining room, leaving a stunned Alex behind. 

“I like her,” Elias muttered. “And I know that look on your face, Alex. Don’t involve other people in your games. Especially not omegas.”

“Especially not that omega,” I growled, following Elias out of the room.