Page 32 of Alpha Theo

Theo cracks a smile, pushing off of the door.

He saunters over to the bed and picks up my laptop, holding it up in front of him and squinting at the screen. “Whatcha workin’ on?”

“Careful with that!” I rush over to him and snatch the laptop away. I quickly save my progress and close it, carrying it over to my backpack and bending to slip it inside.

“Jesus, kid,” Theo growls. I glance over my shoulder at him as I straighten, realizing that his eyes are glued to my butt.

This guy’s got one thing on the brain.

I spin around, tugging my shorts down so they sit lower on my hips, cover more of my thighs. “Would you quit it?” I sigh. I feel my cheeks heat in a flush.

“Sorry… I’m only a man,” he chuckles.

Theo rakes a hand through his hair, then brings it down to adjust himself in his athletic shorts.

Oh my gosh- is he hard?!Inviting him in here was a horrible idea.

I stare at him sternly, folding my arms across my chest again. “If you’re just going to harass me you can leave.”

“Aw, c’mon. I’ll be on my best behavior.” Theo plops down on the bed, turning to stretch his legs out in front of him and settling back against the headboard. “Promise.”

I heave a sigh, shaking my head- though I can’t help but crack a smile. I sink down on the foot of the bed on the opposite side, facing Theo but leaving as much distance between us as possible. I’ve still got my guard up around him.

“So what’s up?” I breathe, pulling my legs in to cross them beneath me.

Theo smirks, eyes flickering down to his crotch- I’m expecting him to make a crass joke, but he surprises me when he pivots and starts talking about the Denver hive, instead.

“I was thinking about how high tech the security is here,” he says, bringing his arms up behind his head and reclining back on them. The hem of his shirt rides up and my eyes involuntarily fly to his abs.

“Yeah?” I force myself to look back up at his face, hoping he didn’t catch me stealing an appreciative glance at his body after I chastised him for objectifying mine.

He totally did, though. An amused smile tugs at his lips.

“What about it?” I ask, silently cursing myself for inflating his already oversized ego.

Of course I’m physically attracted to Theo- I mean, who wouldn’t be? The guy’s all hard muscle. Those hazel eyes and that perfect smile are swoon worthy. He’s frickin’ gorgeous. But I’m not the type of girl to give in to her baser urges. Would I like to touch his body, see what the firm curves of his abs feel like underneath my fingertips?Duh. But am I willing to risk it all- my dignity, my integrity, my virginity- for one night with a guy like him?Absolutely not.

Theo crosses his ankles, relaxing back against the headboard. “Well, I was thinking maybe we could try to apply some of that to our own security, bulk it up a little bit.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea,” I smile brightly. “Which aspects are you thinking of implementing?”

He tilts his head, looks up at the ceiling as he thinks. “The border cameras, for one. We could run a lot less patrols, space them out to once a week. Patrol really fucks with your sleep schedule.”

I nod, watching him curiously. This wasn’t the conversation I expected, but I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s taking this kind of initiative. Maybe there’s hope for Theo after all.

“We could juice it up, too. Set booby traps or something.”

Annnnnd he’s back.

I roll my eyes. “Booby traps? What are you, the kid fromHome Alone?”

He laughs, and I can’t help but laugh with him. It feels good, comfortable. Almost like we’re friends.

“I’m not talking swinging paint cans and tarantulas. I mean some sort of automated defense. An electric fence or something. It’d have to be undetectable, though.” He brings a hand to his chin, thinking.

“So like a forcefield,” I tease. “Sure, we’ll just whip one of those up in the IT hub.”

Theo rolls his eyes, that charming smile on his lips. “I’m serious. There’s gotta be something. Like land mines, but not something that’ll blow someone up. Just incapacitate them somehow.”

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