Page 54 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

Chapter 11

Charlotte Sanguinite

Ever since my night with Robert, my dreams have returned with a vengeance. I’ve tried to ignore them. I’ve tried everything I possibly could not to let them affect my daily life, but that’s easier said than done. The problem is that the man I always see in my dreams—the faceless man who doted on me, who loved me, who made me feel special and important and everything else in between—now has a face.

He has Robert’s face.

And somehow, it hurts even more.

Angie left that day with a warning, telling me to be careful. She was certain Robert was not done with me. But I knew he was. He had to be. Why else would he avoid me like that? And even though I kept telling myself that this was for the best, it didn’t negate the hurt and the sliver of humiliation I felt.

Every waking moment, all I could think was that Robert used me, manipulated me into his bed, and then vanished the moment he got what he wanted. Yet in my dreams, he treats me like I am the most precious being in his whole world. The way my heart has been breaking in every manner has left me exhausted.

However, I never expected to see him walk into the cafe, in the early morning, before we’re even open, in a dress shirt that looks wrinkled and torn from the shoulder and pants that have a large red stain on them. My first instinct isn’t anger. It’s fear. Fear for him.

He looks like hell.

“Will you let me take you out on a date?”

Of all the things for him to say, this is not what I would have imagined.

“What?” I gape at him, my heart pounding.

“A date, Charlotte,” he repeats. “I would like to take you out on one.”

I’m trying to process what he’s saying.

“Why do you look like this?” I grab him by the collar without thinking. “You had me concerned you were involved in some sort of fight!”

Suddenly angry, both at myself for overreacting and at him for treating me so callously, I shove him backward.

“Were you worried about me?” He has that boyish grin on his face, the one that never fails to make me melt, but I’m still mad.

“No.”

“Pity.” Robert gives me a sad look. “Now, about that date.”

“The answer is no.” I turn around on my heel, ready to storm off somewhere, but he captures my wrist and pulls me back around with considerable ease.

“You didn’t even think about it,” he persists, looking up at me beseechingly.

“I don’t have to think about it!” I try to pull my hand away, but his grip is strong.

I’m pissed off. Right now, there is no other rationale moving through my head aside from the fact that he hasn’t bothered to contact me even once since our night together.

“Charlotte—” Robert begins, and I cut him off, hissing.

“You made me feel like a tramp. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am, huh? You got what you wanted. Now you can go brag about how you managed to screw the defective vampire! Just leave me alone!”

When his eyes widen in shock, I take advantage of it and yank my hand free. I storm off, but Robert is not far behind.

“That’s not how it was! I would never—Look, I know you’re mad…Charlotte, look at me.” He grabs my face in his hands, forcing me to stare at him. “That is not the case at all. I was just busy—”

“Busy avoiding me, clearly.” My upper lip curls in anger. “Look, I don’t want to see you. In fact, I would say I’ve been very vocal about us keeping our distance from each other. Don’t drag me into your world. Just let me live my life.”

I shove him and try to walk away, but the man is persistent to a fault.

“I can’t do that. I know you’re mad. If you’d just hear me out—”

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