Page 28 of Alpha Chase

Chase scowls as he finds his footing, bewildered eyes coming to mine. “Fuckin’ cocktease,” he grumbles, raking one hand through his hair and reaching down with the other to blatantly adjust himself in his jeans.

“Manwhore,” I snap back, turning on a heel and running out of there like the room’s on fire. My heart slams against my ribs as I flee, half-expecting him to rage out and come after me. He doesn’t though, and by the time I make it to the bottom of the stairs, I grip the railing and try to catch my breath, my face hot, pulse pounding in my ears.

I should feel more triumphant, after dancing with the devil and beating him at his own game, but instead I’m flustered, all hot and bothered. I hate the effect that Chase has on me. The sight of his half-naked body is now seared in my memory and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to look at him the same now that I know what’s underneath that hoodie.

“There you are!” Fallon exclaims, and it startles me so much that I practically jump out of my skin. In my periphery I spot her rounding the corner from the wing that houses the offices and I grit my teeth, willing my heart to stop banging around so wildly in my chest. “You ready to go? Serena’s already waiting out front.”

Shit.I slowly swing around to face her, desperately trying to hide the stain of embarrassment that I’m sure is all over my face. “Yeah,” I breathe, running a hand through my hair, doing my best to come off as the picture of cool, calm, and collected. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Vienna

“Howaboutthisone?”Fallon asks, pausing as she thumbs through a clothing rack to pull out a particularly risqué little black dress.

We’re at a cute little boutique in Goldenleaf, surrounded by overflowing racks of clothes for every occasion. Many of them boast designer labels and have the price tags to match. It’s the type of place that Fallon and Serena can shop at without batting an eye, while I doubt there’s anything in here that I can afford. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just along for the ride today, here for the girl talk and gossip rather than the intention of actually buying anything.

Serena dubiously eyes the garment in Fallon’s hands. “Not unless you want Reid to haul me out of there within the first half hour.”

Fallon chuckles, sliding the strappy dress back onto the rack. “Fair point. And your man has the self-control of a saint! I doubt Gray would last ten minutes if I showed up in that dress.” She winks and the two of them exchange devious, knowing glances before resuming their search through the racks.

It’s no secret that these girls have incredibly fulfilling sex lives with their Alpha mates- hell, whenever they’re around them, they can’t keep their hands off of one another. Meanwhile, the most action I’ve gotten in the last few months was touching Chase’s chest this afternoon.But hot damn- what a chest. My fingers are still twitchy remembering how firm and muscular and warm it felt beneath them.

I pull a green silk dress from the rack, thrusting it toward Serena. “How about this one?” It looks more like lingerie than an actual dress, but her eyes light up when she sees it.

“That’s gorgeous,” she gushes as she steps over to take the dress from me, holding it up to get a better look before slinging it over her arm with the others she’s selected. She has so many on her arm at this point that they’ve got to be getting heavy. “Definitely trying it on.”

“Ooh, Vee!” Fallon squeals from the other side of the rack, a lacy little red number dangling from a hanger in her hand. “This has your name written all over it.”

My eyes fall down the dress to the price tag hanging off the side- it’s more than I make in a week. “I don’t know…” I mumble, running a hand through my hair absently. “Looks a little fancy for the Stillwater Tap.”

“Psh, it’s a special occasion!” She steps around the rack and shoves the dress toward me. “At least try it on.”

Fallon’s not the type of girl who takes no for an answer, so I just nod and take it from her, folding it over my arm.

“This one, too.” She reaches into the rack again and pulls a champagne-colored dress with delicate straps and a plunging back, tossing it onto my arm with the red dress. I run my fingers over the soft fabric, admiring the strands of glittery thread woven in. It really is a beautiful dress- so beautiful that I don’t even want to look at the price tag.

“Okay, I’m ready to try some of these on,” Serena says, shifting the heaping pile of dresses in her arms.

The salesgirl must be eavesdropping because she immediately pops over, ushering us toward the fitting rooms in the back of the store. She takes the dresses from our arms and arranges them on a rack, then leaves us to it. We each select one to try on first, slipping into separate changing stalls and pulling the curtains closed to get undressed.

“I can’t wait to see that red dress on you, Vee,” Fallon comments from the stall beside me as I hear the rustle of her clothes falling to the floor.

I step out of my jeans and tug my shirt off overhead, trying not to cringe when I reach for the red dress and the price tag flutters into view again. I don’t want my friends to know how rough things have gotten- that I drained the last of my savings when my car needed repairs a couple months ago and buying a dress like this would mean I’d have to go another month with shoddy brakes. It’s bad enough to have Nessa offering to lend me money constantly, I don’t need my other friends treating me like a charity case.

I run my fingers over the delicate lace of the dress reverently as I remove it from the hanger and slip it on, sweeping my long hair over a shoulder so I can reach behind my back to zip it up. It’s snug- I struggle with the zipper quite a bit before I manage to get it fastened. Suffice to say this dress is definitelynotmeant for someone with boobs. They’re crushed together inside the garment, spilling over the top.

“I don’t know about this one…” I hear Serena say, followed by the whoosh of her curtain opening.

I turn and tug the curtain of my own stall back, stepping out to see Serena standing in front of the large three-panel mirror, assessing herself. The girl is stunning- I’m pretty sure she’d look amazing in anything she tried on- but from the look on her face, she isn’t into the clingy black dress she’s currently wearing.

“Oh my gosh,” Serena giggles, her blue eyes meeting mine in the mirror. “Your boobs look like they’re suffocating!”

I laugh, coming up beside her and throwing my hands on my hips, taking in my own reflection. The top of the dress is ridiculously tight, my boobs muffin-topping over the neckline.

“Wait, I’ve gotta see this!” Fallon calls. Her curtain slides open and she struts out in a pretty light blue dress, coming over to join us at the mirror. Her eyes widen when they land on my ample cleavage, a laugh bursting from her throat. “Jesus, that’s borderline pornographic!”

All three of us giggle and I turn away from Fallon, sweeping my hair over my shoulder again. “Okay, help me get out of this thing.” I hold the front of the dress tight to my chest and wait for her to reach out and slide the zipper down, freeing my breasts from their temporary prison.

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