Chapter 4 #2
As I slid my hand down his warm skin, his lips parted, enveloping my finger, sucking it and licking it with his tongue.
The sensation sent a jolt of electricity through me, causing my breath to hitch in my throat.
When his teeth grazed my skin, a rush of fear and desire surged within me.
As he released my hand, I stared at the spot where his mouth had been. Torin hadn’t drawn blood.
“I had to bite you and chose your finger rather than your throat,” he said in an apologizing tone, and I just blinked and gaped at him.
I was in so much trouble.
Torin locked the safe room, the fake mirror panel sliding back in its place, and we walked into the living room.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal the book now that I know its location?”
“I put the book on a sensor, so if you lift it, I’ll know.”
So much for stealing my book unless I found a way to disarm the sensor. But there was another possibility—becoming his Luna would give me the authority to take the book. He would have to share everything with me, but it also meant I would have to stay in his pack to do my duties as the Luna.
He gave me a heated look, but then the Alpha furrowed his eyebrows.
Torin headed behind the kitchen countertop and opened the fridge. “Do you want to eat here? I’ll cook whatever you want.”
I sat down on a high stool on the other side and watched him move around in the kitchen. He started making me a grilled cheese sandwich, and I wanted to laugh at his attempt to do human things with me.
“Why won’t you let your housekeepers cook us something fancy?”
“Isn’t this what human men do when they’re courting their women?”
He spoke with his back to me as he pressed the bread against the frying pan. I couldn’t keep my face straight and laughed, which earned me a disapproving glance over his shoulder.
I wouldn’t know what human men did since I’d never accepted any of their offers to go out with them.
After a moment, Torin placed our fruit salad and sandwiches on plates. “Do you want to eat here, on the dining table, or in front of the TV?”
“TV, of course.”
I couldn’t believe this man was doing so-called human things with me. Now I wondered if he had any streaming services on his TV. We settled on his couch, ate my favorite sandwich, and watched an action movie Torin let me pick.
I felt like I was back in my London apartment before supernaturals broke into it. Warmth spread through my veins, a sensation familiar and comforting, and my body relaxed against the soft material of the couch. With Torin beside me, I felt human.
Was it possible for me to truly find a sense of belonging within Torin’s pack, alongside him? The idea tugged at my heart, yet I couldn’t shake off the weight of responsibility toward my other mate.
As the movie neared its end, the pressing need to address my dilemma grew unbearable. My mind swirled with conflicting emotions, torn between loyalty to Hayden and the allure of a new beginning with Torin.
“Torin,” I began.
He turned to look at me.
“Don’t you think that Hayden will tell Dad that I’m here, and the King could storm in at any moment?”
I didn’t want Torin to get in trouble with the King. And I didn’t want to face Dad yet. Staying away from the kingdom was my ticket to freedom, even if I was in Torin’s pack.
“Your bodyguard won’t risk looking bad in front of the King. Otherwise, the King won’t trust him if Hayden tells him you disappeared, and he lost you.” Torin placed his plate on the coffee table in front of him. “Hayden will try to take you away himself first.”
I couldn’t delay speaking with Hayden to dissuade him from taking that course of action.
But I still didn’t have my book back, and I didn’t want a destructive confrontation between Torin and Hayden to reach my dad’s ears. No matter how much I postponed it, it was time to call Hayden and tell him the truth. I swallowed hard as guilt constricted my throat.
“So you think he’ll come to your territory?”
“I don’t like the hopeful notes in your voice, mate.” He gave me his look of displeasure. “He wants you too much not to. The way he watches you with so much obsession scares me.”
His gaze averted to the hardwood floor. I had no idea there was something that frightened this Alpha.
“Besides that you’re beautiful and you turn heads, there is something else that makes him desire you so much. I haven’t figured it out yet.”
I swallowed hard, loud enough for his hearing. Torin’s narrowed eyes flicked to mine.
“And the way you’re watching me is not at all as if you’re the pervert?”
“Anna.” He paused. “I can watch you any way I want. You’re my mate. But Hayden’s fascination with you is beyond admiration. You must keep him away until we figure out what he wants.”
I straightened my legs in front of me and placed one over the other. I knew what Hayden wanted—me. I was his mate, after all.
My behavior toward Hayden, who only supported and protected me, was inexcusable. I should have told him that I didn’t want to fully commit to him the night we were intimate three years ago. I dipped my chin to my chest and sighed. I would ask Torin for his phone so I could call Hayden.
The tough conversation with Hayden didn’t scare me as much as the thought of falling for Torin. It felt easy to guard my heart against Hayden, but I wouldn’t say the same when it came to Torin.
“I couldn’t find much on him,” Torin added out of the blue.
I snapped my gaze to the Alpha. “You investigated him?”
“Of course, especially since he was assigned to be around you.”
When I was fifteen.
Torin’s secret involvement stretched back to when I was a teenager. Unbelievable. How much more was he hiding from me?
Torin stood, picked up our plates from the table, and washed them in the kitchen. Watching him move around in his personal space, relaxed and with ease, showed me another side of him I hadn’t known about.
After all, we could now hold a conversation and stay in the same room long enough without screaming at each other.
“Since it’s too early to sleep, what else do you want to do, Princess?” he asked from behind the countertop.
I attempted to smile, but my lips lifted in a strained way that felt awkward. “Can I please have your phone?”