Page 84 of Alpha Chase

Chase reaches forward to turn down the volume. “What are you talking about?” He smirks.

“That day in your room, when you claimed your music was on auto shuffle?” I rush out, gaze pinging between him and the road ahead. “I knew you were listening to it on purpose.”

His smirk deepens, those sexy as fuck dimples sinking into his cheeks. “Of course I was, babe.”

My mouth drops open at his admission. I’m actually fucking speechless- because for one, I’m shocked that he just actually admitted that, and for two, it feels like my heart could explode out of my chest right now. That song.Mysong. All this time, he was listening. All this time, he cared more than he let on.

I’m steering with my left hand, the other resting on my thigh, and he shocks the shit out of me when he reaches over to slide his hand underneath my own, lacing our fingers together. “I couldn’t tell you at the time because I knew you’d fall for me,” he teases. I glance over at him and he waggles his eyebrows, grinning smugly. “Guess it was inevitable.”

I bark out a laugh, rolling my eyes. “Does it count as falling if you tripped me?”

Holy shit. Did I just admit that out loud? My eyes fly wide as the realization slams into me, but when I catch the smile on his face- fuck, I wish I could freeze this moment and hold onto it forever. Because the way he’s smiling at me is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It makes me feel warm and giddy and cherished and safe and…

Terrified.

The last time I let myself fall for someone, it all unraveled when the moon confirmed we weren’t meant for each other- and in hindsight, what I had with Logan was nothing compared to this thing between Chase and me. The full moon is so close. Too close. Will it matter to him if we aren’t fated mates? Would fate really be so cruel as to let me feel what I do for Chase only to rip it all away?

Ha, of course it would.Fate has never been kind to me in the past.

“This is the turn for Summervale,” Chase mumbles, giving my hand a little squeeze and yanking me from my own suffocating thoughts.

“Right,” I breathe, swallowing hard and hitting the brakes before I blow past it, slowing to take the turn toward town. As I roll in, I realize that I have no idea where we’re headed; Chase was deliberately vague when he told me to head this way. “Where are we going?” I question, sliding him a glance.

He grins slyly, tugging his hand out from under mine. “Where’s that tattoo shop you go to?”

A giggle bubbles up my throat and I whip my head around to face him. “Seriously? That’s why we drove here?”

“Yep,” he replies with a curt nod, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I shake my head in disbelief. “A drunken tattoo, could you be any more of a teenage cliché? Isn’t that a little…”

“Crazy?” he finishes.

I laugh. “Exactly!”

“So are you,” he grins, giving me a little nudge. “Of all people, I figured you’d be into this.”

I roll my eyes, scoffing. He’s not wrong, though- I’m with Chase Walker right now, driving a Jeep that he bought for me, and I just basically told him that I’ve fallen for him- so yeah, crazy sounds like an accurate description.

“C’mon,” he urges, his voice velvety smooth. He reaches out to brush the backs of his fingers down my arm, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake. “I need your moral support, Tink. Maybe I’ll even let you help pick it out.”

“Hmm…” I muse, darting him a sideways glance, suddenly on board with this whole idea. “Well in that case, I think you’d look good with a tattoo of a fluffy little kitten. Oh! Or a unicorn!” I slow at a stop sign, turning to face him with a devilish grin. “Or how about my name with a little heart over the letter I? That’d be really rugged and manly.”

He winces. “On second thought, maybe I’ll choose something myself.”

I giggle, turning left to head toward Benji’s tattoo shop. “I don’t even know if he’s open this late,” I murmur, but the words have barely left my lips when his shop comes into view and I’m proven wrong by the light flooding out onto the sidewalk from the storefront window.

Well fuck. Guess this is happening.

I blow out a breath as I whip the Jeep into a parking spot right out front, cutting the engine and unbuckling my seatbelt. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on Chase and searching his own for even the tiniest flicker of indecision.

I don’t find it. He nods his head, completely relaxed as he slips off his seatbelt and climbs out of the Jeep, leaving me to scamper after him as he heads for the front door.

The chime sounds as he pushes it open and Benji immediately pops his head out from a curtain over the doorway to the back room, eyeing Chase warily before his gaze drops to meet mine and his lips slide into an easy grin.

“Vienna!” he greets, stepping out from behind the curtain and making his way toward us. The harsh fluorescent lighting overhead shines off of his bald head, colorful tattoos covering every inch of exposed skin from his neck down. “You finally ready for that back piece you’ve been talking about?”

“Not quite,” I smile, throwing a thumb in Chase’s direction. “Got some virgin skin for you here. Came all the way from Norbury at my recommendation, so I think it’s only fair you knock a little bit off the price of that back piece when the time comes as a finder’s fee. Say ten percent?” I grin, folding my arms over my chest. “And feel free to overcharge Chase here, he can afford it.”

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