Chapter Sixteen
Roderic
She wanted to argue about the ride, but she didn’t. It was written all over her face, but at least she was smart enough to realize it was what was best.
The car was silent as I drove us out of downtown to the apartments where I’d found her.
I could have tried to make small talk, but that was something I’d never been good at, and she didn’t seem like she’d welcome it.
She’d grown more withdrawn as time passed since the last time I’d knotted her, and it made me want to toss her into the back of my SUV and put a look of bliss back on her face.
Patience.
It was something I’d cultivated over the years working for the Galleons, but waiting for the right time to strike someone down was easier than waiting to have Paige where I wanted her again.
As I pulled into the spot I’d parked in the last time I’d been there, Paige perked up. She looked more relieved than happy, which made sense if she suspected I wasn’t being totally upfront with her, but at least she didn’t seem eager to be away from me.
“Thank you for… everything. I do appreciate it. And I promise my lips are sealed. No one will ever know I was with you.”
The growl that filled the inside of the vehicle burst out before I could control it. She’d turned to look at me as she reached for her seatbelt, and I could see the way her pupils exploded as the scent of fear drenched her natural pear and jasmine.
Lips parted, she panted as she stared, barely letting her hand move as she retracted the seatbelt, as if I was a predator about to pounce. The comparison was accurate, because that was how I felt, and she was my sweet prey.
“You’re talking about what happened as if it was a transaction, Sweetheart, and not the most intimate experience an alpha and omega ever has. Even the centers treat it better than that.”
A tremor ran through her, and I stared at her tongue as it slipped out to wet her lips. Her pupils flexed as if she was fighting against the instincts telling her to submit to the angry alpha, but it took her a few more breaths before she spoke.
“I didn’t want to presume.”
It was a diplomatic answer. Not what I wanted, but better than nothing. I couldn’t expect her to feel the way I did and fling herself at me, begging me to bite her. She was being smart.
Reigning in the growl, I sucked in a deep breath and let the tension drain out of me. If I let my alpha side take control now, I’d scare her and make the job of wooing her even harder. I had to be smart too.
“B—But thank you.”
I couldn’t let her get out of the car still trembling like the frail omega alphas usually wanted. The weak, meek ones, who truly were prey to anyone willing to take them. My Sweetheart was still unclaimed, meaning she was smarter than most, and willing to protect her freedom.
I moved slowly as I reached for her, making sure she saw the motion and had a chance to pull away before I touched her. It was difficult to restrain myself to only brushing her hair out of her eyes and not taking her by the back of her neck to kiss her until she was panting for a different reason.
“There’s nothing to thank me for. It was an honor to help you through your heat, and I hope I made it one you’ll never forget.”
Her soft huff was enough to let me know her nerves had eased, and I let a grin stretch across my face.
“My services will always be available to you.”
Her face froze, the expression in her eyes changing, and I wanted to curse myself. I didn’t understand what was wrong with what I’d said, but she hadn’t taken it the way I’d intended.
I was out of the car and around to her door in seconds, yanking it open.
I barely stopped myself from wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to my chest, the need to purr and ask forgiveness for whatever it was riding me, but I reminded myself she wouldn’t welcome it.
I’d already messed things up enough, I had to step back and let her go.
For the moment.
“I’ll remain here until you’re in your car and drive out to the road, Sweetheart. Be safe.”
It killed me to watch her slide off the seat and step away.
We maintained eye contact as I shut the door, but she finally dropped her gaze to the ground before swinging her attention up to the third floor.
One day I’d get her to tell me why she’d been there and who was in that first apartment, but the way her shoulders slumped told me it wasn’t the time to ask.
“You’re a good alpha, Roderic. I’m glad you found me when you did.”
She said the words as if they were goodbye.
My heart clenched as warmth spread through my chest. I was sure she’d heard enough to know what I’d done before I found her, but somehow she still called me good.
If I hadn’t known she was meant to be mine, that alone would have made me want to keep her.
“So am I.”
I’d never spoken truer words.
I walked beside her as we rounded my car and paused where we had to part.
My hands twitched with the need to hold her, the dejection radiating off her making me wonder what she was thinking, but the parking lot was too public to face the backlash when she realized I wasn’t leaving her, even if I’d allowed her to leave my apartment.
“Go straight home. You still smell too good to be out.”
She smelled too good to be anything other than naked, spread on my bed, but I feared that was something that would never fade.
Her head dipped in a nod before she peeked up at me again, her lips twitching into the semblance of a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes, but I returned it, standing resolute as she turned away and crossed to the row of cars parked along the front of the building.
She looked back again as she stopped beside an older, red Explorer, her shoulders rising as if she had struggled to walk away as hard as I fought to let her. I could only hope she felt something, or the next phase of my plan was going to be rough for both of us.
She looked tiny as she slipped inside the vehicle, almost completely blocked from view by the seat.
I waited until it cranked to back towards my own door, unwilling to take my eyes off her.
There was no one else outside, but that didn’t mean I could relax when I’d already had to deal with five people in the building who hadn’t deserved to continue drawing breath.
It was tempting to go up the stairs and make sure the three alphas who had attacked her would never get the chance again, but that would mean leaving Paige unprotected for too long.
I’d have to call one of our tech people to find her address once they figured out her full name, and that process took time.
Time I didn’t want to spend separated from her.
I slid behind the wheel as she backed out of her parking spot, then waited until she stopped at the exit to the road to begin creeping forward.
Keeping her from noticing I was tailing her wouldn’t be hard when I’d followed probably a hundred people over the years, but she felt like the most important target, and I’d scared her enough already.
I didn’t want to cause more anxiety until I was there to talk her through it.
Grinning to myself, I waited a breath before easing up to the empty exit. I’d always enjoyed the chase, and as the last one, it was bound to be the most rewarding.