Page 141 of Alpha Theo

“Theo…” I whisper, eyes alight. I whirl around to look at him, reaching up to cup his jaw. “You did all this?”

He chuckles, tucking my hair behind my ears. “Figured if I was going to repeat a date, I needed to take it to the next level.”

He slides his hands down my arms and takes both of my hands, urging me forward. “C’mon.”

I’m still stunned. I walk with him over to where the blanket it set up, following his lead and sinking down onto it on my knees. I watch as he grabs for the cooler, opening it up and reaching inside. He starts pulling things out- a little bag with cubes of cheese, a package of crackers, two paper cups and a bottle of wine.

“I know you’re a vodka soda girl,” he mumbles, holding up the bottle of wine, “but wine’s supposed to be romantic, right? Have you ever had…” he trails off, squinting at the label. “Moscato?”

He totally botches the pronunciation, and I can’t help but giggle. “Yeah, it’s delicious.”

I half expect to watch him struggle with a corkscrew, but the bottle has a twist-off cap. He opens it with one twist of his wrist, and I watch as he pours the wine into the two paper cups before screwing the top back on and setting the bottle back in the cooler. Then he gives a little flick of his head to beckon me closer, handing me one of the cups.

“Cheers,” he says, lifting his paper cup and touching it to mine.

I bring it to my lips, taking a sip. The wine is sweet- just like Theo.Ugh, I can’t believe he did all this!

“You hungry?” he asks, eyeing the cheese and crackers.

“I’m good for now,” I breathe, leaning sideways against his broad chest. “This is amazing, Theo. I still can’t believe you did this.”

He brings his cup to his lips, downing the rest of the wine in one gulp and setting the cup on the blanket next to him. Then he grabs me by the waist, arranging me on his lap so I’m facing him.

“Listen, Brooke,” he says gently, reaching up to stroke a stray strand of hair out of my face.

I’m struck by how wide and earnest his eyes are, how stoic his expression is. His adams apple bob as he swallows hard.

“Ever since I met you… well, nevermind, I met you a long time ago. But I didn’t really know you back then. Ever since I got to know you, then… er… over these past couple months, I guess. Or like six weeks? I don’t know if we were technically hanging out before we came here the first time…”

The way he’s babbling is so endearing that I can’t help but giggle. I reach a hand up to touch his stubbly jaw, leaning my face closer to his. “I know what you mean. Since we’ve been hanging out.”

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Since we’ve been hanging out.” He draws a breath, looping his arms around my waist. “Ever since we’ve been hanging out, you’ve completely changed my life. My perspective. Everything. I feel like I can’t even remember what life was like before you. You’re the most important thing in my world, and I never wanna lose you, I never want this to end.”

I feel like my heart could explode. I’m clutching the paper cup in front of me with both hands, my heart racing.

“I feel the same way,” I whisper.

Theo’s lips tip up into a smile. “You do?”

“Of course I do!” I laugh.

I hold up my cup of wine, looking around for somewhere to set it down. Theo unwinds his arms from my waist and takes it from me, leaning over to set it in the cooler beside the bottle. Then I adjust my position so I’m straddling his lap, looping my arms around his neck.

Theo looks into my eyes, stroking my cheek with the pad of his thumb. His expression conveys everything, but his lips part to speak again. “Iloveyou, Brooke. Honestly. You’re my entire world. I love youso much. And you don’t have to say it back, but I just want you to know, because…”

I cut him off by leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. “I love you, Theo,” I murmur against his lips. Then I kiss him hard, like my life depends on it. Like it’s the last thing I’ll ever do. I can taste the sweet wine on his tongue as it twines with mine and he buries a hand in my hair, pulling me closer like he wants to devour me.

His hands move to my thighs as he continues ravaging my mouth with his kiss, dragging my dress up to bunch around my waist. Liquid heat floods my core as he grabs my butt cheeks, squeezing, and the next thing I know I’m being tipped backwards, set gently on the blanket as Theo hovers over me.

He breaks the kiss to pull back and stare down at me, balanced on his arms on either side of my head.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he growls, leaning back in to nip my lower lip.

I can feel the bulge in his pants pressing insistently against my belly from his position between my legs and I wriggle my hips against him, urging him on. I want him to touch me, take me, claim me. I want him so badly right now that I feel like my whole body’s on fire.

Theo tips back so he’s resting on his knees, trailing his hands down both of my thighs. He moves them to the apex of my thighs, right where I want them, then slowly starts stroking them back the other way, driving me absolutely wild with need.

“Please,” I pant, wiggling my hips.

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