Chapter 24
My lips were still burning.
The heavy oak doors of the estate slammed shut behind us, locking out the raging thunderstorm, but the tempest inside the foyer was infinitely more dangerous.
My chest heaved as I stood dripping wet on the marble floor.
My mind was completely entirely short-circuiting.
Less than ten minutes ago, General Alexander Reeves-the terrifying, untouchable man I had foolishly fallen in love with-had dragged me into his SUV, kissed me until I couldn't breathe, and growled those three impossible words.
*I want you.*
Now, he was shrugging off his soaked, black military trench coat, his broad shoulders flexing beneath his dark uniform shirt. He threw the heavy coat over a chair without looking at it, his piercing, storm-gray eyes locked entirely on me.
He looked like a predator who had finally stopped pretending he wasn't hungry.
"Alexander, I-" I started, my voice trembling, my carefully built 'cold shoulder' from the past week completely shattered.
Before I could finish, a deafening crack of thunder violently shook the very foundations of the fortress estate. In the exact same second, the massive chandelier above us flickered wildly, hummed, and then completely died.
The entire estate was plunged into pitch-black darkness.
I gasped, instinctively taking a step backward, my heel catching on the edge of the rug. I braced for the hard impact of the marble floor, but I never hit it.
Even in the pitch black, his reflexes were terrifyingly fast.
A massive, incredibly warm arm wrapped around my waist, jerking me flush against a chest as hard as granite. The scent of rain, cedar, and gunpowder enveloped me instantly.
"I've got you," his deep, gravelly voice rumbled right against my ear, sending a full-body shiver down my spine. "I will always catch you, Grace. Do you understand me?"
I nodded against his chest, my courage instantly crumbling into a pathetic, adorable puddle. "Y-yes."
His hand moved up to the back of my neck, his long fingers tangling in my damp hair. In the darkness, devoid of his intimidating visual presence, my other senses went into overdrive. I could feel the rapid, heavy thumping of his heart against my cheek. It matched the frantic pace of my own.
He didn't let me go. Instead, he simply adjusted his grip, pulling me even tighter against him in the dark.
"You terrified me this week," he admitted.
His tone wasn't soft; it was blunt, rigid, and vibrating with a suppressed intensity.
"When you stopped looking at me. When you pulled away. I have faced battalions, Grace. I have walked into war zones. But coming home to you treating me like a stranger..."
He swallowed hard, his chest rising against mine. "It gutted me."
"But... you told me not to wait for you," I whispered, my voice breaking in the dark. "You rejected me at the study. You said-"
"I said what I had to say to keep you alive!"
he snapped, though he immediately tempered his voice, his thumb sweeping gently along my jawline to soothe his harsh tone.
"Do you have any idea who I am, Grace? Do you know how many enemies I have? The moment the world realizes you are not just my contract wife, but my actual heart... you become a target. I tried to push you away to protect you."
Tears pricked my eyes. He hadn't rejected me because he didn't care. He rejected me because he cared *too much*.
"But I failed," Alexander continued, his voice dropping an octave, becoming dangerously dominant, absolutely possessive.
He backed me up slowly until my spine hit the cool wall of the hallway, caging me in with his massive frame.
"I tried to be the honorable soldier. I tried to let you go. But when I saw you freezing me out... I realized I am a selfish bastard. I cannot let you go, Grace. I won't."
Lightning flashed violently outside the massive arched windows, illuminating his face for a split second. His jaw was clenched tight, his hair damp and falling over his forehead, his eyes dark and burning with an intensity that made my knees weak.
Even stripping his soul bare, he was the most imposing man I had ever met.
"Alexander..." I breathed, reaching a trembling hand up to touch his chest. The military medals on his uniform pressed cold against my palm, but the skin beneath was radiating heat.
"You are my wife," he whispered, his face lowering in the dark until I could feel his hot, minty breath fanning across my lips. "Contract be damned. I am going to ruin you for anyone else."
My breath hitched. The air between us was so thick, so heavily charged, it felt like static electricity.
I tilted my chin up, my eyes fluttering shut, craving the devastation of his lips.
He leaned in, his nose brushing against mine.
A millimeter away. The anticipation was absolute agony.
I could feel his lips ghosting over mine, about to completely consume me-
*WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!*
A deafening, mechanical siren shattered the quiet darkness. Flashing red emergency lights suddenly strobed through the hallways, bathing Alexander's face in a harsh crimson glow.
My eyes flew open.
In a fraction of a second, the vulnerable, passionate husband vanished. The switch was instantaneous and terrifying. Alexander's posture locked into rigid, lethal alertness. His jaw turned to steel. He was no longer the man about to kiss me; he was the General of the Armed Forces.
"Perimeter breach," he stated, his voice devoid of all warmth, clipped and strictly professional.
He stepped back from me, instantly drawing the sleek, black sidearm from his hip holster.
"Alexander, what's happening?" I panicked, grabbing the edge of his sleeve.
He didn't look at me. His eyes were scanning the dark corridor, calculating, deadly. He reached to his shoulder, pressing a button on his radio. "Brooks. Report."
*Static.* Then, Ethan's voice cracked through the radio, tense but steady. *"General. Outer gate three is compromised. Armed hostiles on foot. Backup generators have been severed."*
"Understood. Moving to intercept. Secure the inner wings," Alexander barked.
He finally looked down at me, and the sheer authority in his eyes commanded absolute obedience. He grabbed my shoulders, backing me into a small, windowless security alcove in the hallway.
"Listen to me very carefully," he ordered, his voice brooking zero arguments. "Sit down in this alcove. Tuck your knees. You do not make a sound, and you do not move from this spot until I come back for you. Do you understand?"
"Alexander, please, be careful-"
"Grace. *Do you understand?*" he repeated, his military command voice echoing in the small space, demanding submission.
"Yes," I whispered, terrified.
He gave me one curt nod. Without another word, without a look back, General Alexander Reeves chambered a round in his weapon and vanished silently into the flashing red darkness, leaving me utterly alone as the storm raged on.
*************
THE INTERRUPTION!!! ?????? I am literally screaming!
We were ONE millimeter away from the kiss of the century, and the absolute worst timing in the world ruins it!
But can we talk about Alexander's confession in the dark?
*"I am going to ruin you for anyone else."
* I AM DEAD. ?? And the way he instantly switched from vulnerable husband to the terrifying Supreme Commander the second that alarm went off?
! The whiplash is real! He literally parked her in a corner and went to war. ????
**TEASER FOR CHAPTER 25 (The Heartbreak):**
Alexander handles the perimeter breach like the absolute lethal warlord he is, but the real danger isn't outside the gates... it's a phone call from the hospital. Grab your tissues, besties, because Chapter 25 is going to completely break our hearts. ????
**Let's chat in the comments!** ?? *On a scale of 1-10, how mad are you at those mercenaries for interrupting THAT moment?!* ??
*Do you think Alexander is going to let anyone lay a single scratch on him before he gets back to Grace?*
**Don't forget to VOTE ?? and COMMENT your thoughts! See you in Chapter 25! ????**
Mwah