Hannah waved her hand, dismissing the idea. "There's no point in that. Alphas can hear everything. You should have met me over the boundary if you wanted privacy."
Fair enough.
Cassidy pulled two hundred-dollar bills from her purse and the interview questions out of her notebook.
"Ready to get started?"
* * *
By ten o'clock, Cassidy's mind was spinning.
She felt as though she'd been through an interview speed round. In a little over an hour, she'd sat down with three subjects—two alphas and one beta prostitute. She'd fired off questions about intimate relations and furiously scribbled down answers.
But just as she feared, each of her interviewees had wanted to cut the discussion short. They had other, far more pleasurable—or lucrative—things to get to.
Not that Cassidy had anything to complain about. Even though the discussions had been brief, they'd been incredibly useful. She'd filled three pages with notes and made arrangements to speak more in-depth with each of the subjects in the future.
As research trips went, this one was a stunning win.
And it wasn't over yet. Cassidy still had plenty of time—almost four hours—to observe the rest of the social interactions that would take place that evening.
"Are you having a productive night?" a deep voice asked from behind the bar.
Cassidy glanced up to see Mia's mate Ty addressing her, and immediately tilted her gaze back down again. Even though she knew the alpha and would characterize her relationship with him as friendly, it still wasn't wise to meet an alpha's gaze for more than a second or two.
"Yes, definitely," she said. "Thank you again for the invitation. I'm in your debt."
"No debt," Ty said simply. "Your friendship makes Mia happy. That's all the payment I need."
Cassidy couldn't help but smile. That was just the kind of sentiment she wished that the rest of the beta world could hear—evidence of the real and mutually supportive love between an alpha and his omega.
"Do you want a drink?" Ty asked.
Want? Yes.
Would she have one? Hell no.
"Unfortunately, I shouldn't while I'm working," she said.
"If you're worried about your babysitter," Ty said, "he's already left with one of the girls."
Cassidy's head snapped up. "What?"
"About ten minutes ago, while you were busy talking to Zeke. I saw him hand over a wad of cash to Nicky and slip out the side door with a girl."
That little shit.
Cassidy had been on her best behavior from the moment she'd set foot in Evander's tonight. She knew Ian was scrutinizing everything she did and said, on the lookout for any little slip-up. The bastard was hungry for anything he could use to discredit Cassidy and her work when they got back to the university. But while she had been drinking soda water in an attempt to keep her head clear and her reputation pristine, Ian was literally fucking around with their subjects.
Hypocrite.
She scribbled the last note so hard the tip of her pencil broke.
"Want to rethink that drink?" Ty asked, grinning.
Yes, she did.
"I guess a shot of something wouldn't kill me."
"Anything in particular?"
"Whatever's best for keeping homicidal thoughts at bay."
A second later, Ty thumped a bottle down on the bar in front of her. "I've always found this to do the trick."
A shiver ran up her spine at his serious tone. Sometimes it was easy to forget that alphas didn't joke around.
Cassidy took the brimming shot glass he pushed in front of her, the contents sloshing over the side.
She did her best not to shudder as she swallowed the liquor down, but dear God, it burned. Like holy fire—harsh and searing and full of fury. Cassidy had never tasted anything so strong.
"Thank you." She managed to choke the words out as she slid the empty glass back to Ty. She reached into her purse to grab a few bills, but Ty stopped her with a wave of his hand.
"It's on the house."
"I appreciate that," Cassidy said, knowing that she'd only insult him if she protested. Instead, she looked around the bar. "Have you seen Samson?"
She figured now was a good a time as any to see if he could help her out with some of those unanswered interview questions.
"He left a while ago."
Cassidy's stomach dropped.
She didn't ask if Samson had left in the company of one of the girls too. She was certain Ty would be able to detect the disappointment in her voice if he had. Disappointment she knew she had no right to feel.
Samson was a man. An alpha. And it was Friday night.
He'd come in search of company. Not to see her.
Cassidy wondered who he'd left with. Maybe Hannah, the woman she'd interviewed. The one who said that being with an alpha for hours on end was exciting but exhausting.
Cassidy flipped back a page in her notebook and looked down at the exact words the woman had spoken.
They ride you so hard that you end up sleeping the whole next day just to recover.
Was that what Samson was doing to Hannah now?
Cassidy didn't want to think about it, but the image refused to leave her mind. Samson's naked body glistening with exertion under the light of the full moon, hammering into Hannah's voluptuous body. His hands cupping her full breasts. Her moans filling the air.
Shit.
Why the hell was she allowing her mind to take her down this path? Cassidy knew it would only make her feel worse, but she didn't know how to stop.
Well, that wasn't exactly true.
She did know one way.
Cassidy pushed the empty glass in front of her forward an inch.
"Any chance I could get another taste of that magic potion?"
Ty splashed another measure into the glass without hesitation.
"Be careful," he said. "It's more potent than it seems."
Cassidy couldn't imagine how that was possible. She downed the second drink just as quickly, and it burned just as hot.
But as she already knew, alphas didn't lie.
Within a minute, her head was starting to spin. All of her angry impulses toward that prick Ian were gone… though, unfortunately, all her thoughts of Samson remained.
If
