Chapter 6 #2
So I didn’t date alphas. Never been with one. I had two boyfriends growing up, and they were both betas. Betas were safe. There were no bond bites, no forevers, and no chance of getting my heart broken.
Even though it left a hollow feeling there.
Kaelen didn’t appear to have the same reservations. He wasn’t bonded, but he didn’t seem averse to the idea. Based on how he looked at me, his alpha may already be charmed with me. My omega harbored similar feelings that I squashed as far down as I could.
No alphas.
Especially not gorgeous, dreamy-eyed Irish ones who may or may not be in the mafia.
Who may or may not be my scent match.
It was like a bad Lifetime movie waiting to happen. And I would not be the dumb omega all alone at the end.
I made a mental note to Google him the minute I had a phone again. Consequences be damned.
“Don’t be. They’re together again, like I’m sure they wanted.”
Instead of waiting for me to decide what I wanted, Kaelen dug in, pulling out bowls and mixing a bunch of ingredients together. After pouring flour into the bowl, he undid the cuffs on his sleeves, rolling them up and exposing his toned, tattooed forearms.
Words in a language I didn’t understand mingled with Celtic knots and a patchwork of flowers and vines. Shifting, I nibbled my lip, desperate to trace my fingers along the lines of art on his muscled arms.
I shoved aside the inappropriate thoughts.
“I would like to meet my friend, Samantha, for lunch in a few days. If that’s allowed. We usually get together on the last Saturday of every month. And I know I was out for a few days, but I think that’s soon, and she’ll worry if I don’t show up. It would be for an hour.”
Samantha was the kind of omega everyone adored. Kind, bubbly, outgoing, and naturally submissive. Alphas followed her down the street with big puppy dog eyes. She had her pick, yet she refused to settle down, always finding something wrong before the third date.
She’d struggle to put her finger on it, but it always came back to needing more. While she didn’t tell me the details, I thought it had to do with her ex. She moved here from South Carolina after they ended things, keeping tight lipped about her past.
The oven timer beeped as he tossed in whatever he had made before closing the distance between us. Despite sitting on the counter, we were still eye level. I wondered how soft his beard was. If it would be silky or coarse when I ran my fingers through it.
“You ramble when you’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.
“It’s cute.”
My mouth went dry, suddenly feeling far too crowded by him. No one called me cute or pretty or anything like that. The walls I had spent years building were slowly crumbling.
“You don’t need permission to see your friends. You are not a prisoner here. My only rule is that whenever you leave the grounds, you take Torin with you.”
I snorted. Pretty things didn’t make this place any less of a prison.
“I thought I was not allowed to leave. Those were the terms. Is ‘prisoner’ too harsh a word for you? Does it affect your delicate sensibilities? How about ‘captive’ or ‘inmate’ instead?”
Anger bubbled to the surface. I palmed his chest, shoving him. The brick building of a man didn’t move an inch. Frustrated, I threw my hands into my lap. How dare he smell so good and act so nice.
“My only rule is this,” he said, his voice dropping in a menacing whisper. “You can leave. Do as you like, as long as you come home every night and take Torin with you.”
“Home?”
My heart did this funny flutter thing as too many emotions vied for dominance at once, making it hard to breathe.
“Yes. This is your home now. I want you here every night where I can protect you.”
Every instinct told me to run away. Alarm bells rang in my head.
I was so tired.
Ever since I presented seven years ago, when I turned eighteen, I shut myself away. Afraid that I would end up with an alpha like my dad. Kaelen was dangerous. The way he made my omega act couldn’t be trusted. I had no idea how long I could resist him.
In the throes of my heat, I hadn’t been able to.
If he had been any other alpha, he could have taken that as consent and bitten me. I could have woken up bound and mated. A wave of his scent hit me, and I relaxed. It was too much. I focused on something else, needing a distraction.
“Can I use your phone to text Sam?”
“Yours not good enough for you?” he asked, removing his cell from his pocket and handing it to me without a second thought.
Most men didn’t hand over their phones easily, especially men in powerful positions. Dad freaked out the one time I picked up his cell.
There were over 10,000 unread notifications hovering over his email icon. I almost passed out, my eyes nearly bugging out of my head. I opened his texts, ignoring an unread message from someone named Liam, and quickly typed out Sam’s number from memory before sending off a note about lunch.
“You really need to hire a secretary or something,” I mumbled. “Your emails are atrocious. What if there is something important in those unread messages?”
“It’s junk. I handled the necessary ones. You volunteering, sweetheart? I think I like the idea of seeing your pretty arse nestled behind my desk.”
“I don’t think you could pay me enough.”
“We’ll see about that.” He smirked.
I had a feeling I had poked a very competitive bear who didn’t like to be challenged. Quickly, I changed the subject.
“I don’t have my phone,” I said, answering his question from earlier. “I left it in my dad’s car that day.” I handed his cell back to him.
“I’ll get you a new one.”
Before I could interrupt, the stove beeped, and Kaelen removed the most delicious thing I have ever seen. Faint hints of vanilla mixed with apples, making my mouth water. He cut a massive piece of what looked like coffee cake, but not quite, onto a plate. He passed it to me, handing me a fork.
A small moan left my lips as I took a tentative bite. He winked, sliding an iced coffee toward me. Whatever worries I had from a few moments ago vanished as I devoured the apple cake and coffee. Once we both finished, he popped our dishes into the dishwasher, returning to my side.
“I have a bit of a sweet tooth,” he confessed, and I stowed away that information for later. “Don’t tell Aileen I made apple cake for breakfast, or we’ll have to deal with her scolding us for eating dessert before noon.”
The warning bells from earlier slipped into the background. He planted a hand on either side of my hips, caging me in. Warmth spread over me, soothing the tension in my muscles.
Being brave, I closed my fingers around one of his forearms, tracing the lines of Celtic crosses and knots woven with thorny roses.
He didn’t pull away, content to let me explore to my heart’s content. A phrase was hidden among the roses: Tá sé scríofa.
Gentle lips brushed against my cheek. “It’s Gaelic for ‘it is fated.’”