Page 65 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

She chuckled a little. “I can agree with you on that,” she said. “I broke up with him because of that.”

“Let me guess. He didn’t like you dancing?”

“Nope,” she said.

“Jackass,” I repeated. “He asked you to stop?”

“Wanted me to be Susie Homemaker for him,” she said. “Never mind that I’m barely in my twenties. He wanted me to quit so we could get married, and I could get pregnant right away.”

I grimaced at that. Partially because fuck, what a bastard to force her to quit something she loved just to be a baby-maker. And partially because at the mention of her being pregnant, I imagined just that. Imagined her pregnant with my pup, looking radiant and happy, and I didn’t want her to notice how much that thought excited me.

Because I wouldn’t be like that ex of hers, some immature and insecure ass who dimmed her light to make himself feel more important and powerful.

And I realized now she wasn’t being defiant towards me just for fun. She was being herself and, in her own way, showing me she trusted me. Showing me I made her feel safe, and knew I might tease her for her “disobedience” but would never lash out at her for being independent and sassy.

Because she was independent, and that was part of what drew me to her. She could live her dream of being a ballerina for as long as she wanted before we started a family. Hell, if she never wanted pups, I would be fine with that, too.

Oh, Goddess, I was turning into one of THOSE males. The males who got all gooey and swoony for their woman. And the worst—or maybe best?—part was, I didn’t even mind in the slightest. And my lycan was right there with me, making mushy faces and sighing at Haven in my mind.

Thankfully, the server brought our dessert just then, so she saved me from my sappy thoughts and swooning lycan.

Haven’s eyes lit up as the server set the plate in front of us. I turned towards the table but lowered my left arm so it wrapped around her and rested on her hip. I’m not sure if she realized she did it, but she scooted closer to me as she dug into the cream-filled pastries, making our thighs touch under the table.

I pressed mine closer to hers, my arm holding her a little tighter, my hand rubbing her hip.

Only three profiteroles were on the plate, so we each ate one and then began arguing over who should get the third one.

“You should take it,” Haven said, pushing the plate towards me.

“I want you to have it,” I told her, pushing it back.

“Seriously, Wes, just eat it.”

“Rock paper scissors?” I asked.

She blew out air through her nose. “Fine. I win, you eat it. You win, I eat it.”

“Deal,” I said, smiling.

We lifted our right hands above the table, played one round, and we both picked paper. I made a face at her, and we played again, and both picked rock. She laughed, and we did a third round, only to both get scissors.

“How about we split it?” I suggested, since our rock paper scissors plan was going nowhere. “We’ll be at it all night at this rate,” I added with a chuckle.

She nodded through her own laughter, and I picked up the dessert, lifting it to my mouth and taking the smallest bite I could manage, leaving most of the treat for her. She rolled her eyes when she saw how tiny of a bite I took.

“Here,” I said after I swallowed, holding it out to her, just in front of her mouth.

She locked her eyes on mine as she wrapped her mouth around the dessert to take a bite, her lips brushing my fingers as she did. I didn’t look or pull away from her, but I had to grit my teeth to prevent myself from groaning at her touch and the teasing glint in her eyes. My dick hardened in my pants, and I forced myself to not reach down and adjust it.

She took the rest of the pastry from my hand so she could finish it, a little moan of delight escaping from her as she chewed. I finally had to close my eyes because that one noise conjured many naughty ideas in my mind, ideas I knew she wasn’t ready for. Not yet, anyway.She’s human, I reminded myself.We have to go slow.

When I looked back at her, she still had that little sparkle in her eyes, and I knew she’d done it on purpose. I smirked at her, then reached forward to wipe off the small amount of whipped cream that ended up on her nose from when I fed her the dessert.

“Sorry,” I chuckled.

I wanted to lick it off my thumb, but before I could, she grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand back to her face. Without pausing, she stuck my thumb in her mouth and swirled her tongue around the tip as she sucked the whipped cream off.

My lycan purred, my knee jerked upwards and hit the table, making the dishes and flatware rattle, and Haven released my thumb with a popping sound as she laughed.

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