Page 66 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

She still giggled as she moved her napkin from her lap to the table and reached for her water glass when I lunged forward to place my lips against her ear.

“You’re playing a dangerous game here, Twinkle Toes,” I warned her, my mouth and warm breath making goosebumps appear on her neck.

My fingers on her hip drew small circles, then I pulled her as tight as I could against me without turning her body. Her sweet jasmine scent mixed with the scent of the vanilla whipped cream we just ate, and Goddess help me, she smelled good enough to eat.

She turned her face, and my nose brushed along her cheekbone until her nose touched mine. I lifted my other hand to caress her face as I angled my mouth towards hers. But the clearing of a throat interrupted us, making Haven jump and scoot away from me and out of my arms towards the corner of the booth seat.

“Your check,” the server said with a sly smile.

She was lucky she wasn’t a wolf from my pack because if she was, she’d be getting an earful from me through the mindlink.

I pulled my wallet out and tossed several hundred-dollar bills on the table. Haven’s eyebrows shot up, but she said nothing. I stood from the table and held my hand out to her, and she took it without hesitation and walked with me out of the restaurant.

The early fall air was cooler now that it was dark, so I pulled her into my side and put my arm around her shoulder as we walked back to her apartment building. She tucked her body closer to me, and her arm slid around my waist, her other hand touching my side.

Unlike our walk to the restaurant, our walk back was quiet. But not an uncomfortable quiet. It was a familiar quiet. There wasn’t much that needed to be said at the moment, and we both enjoyed just being with each other.

When we reached her apartment door, my lycan whimpered in my head. He didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to either follow her inside and stay with her or demand she come back to the pack with us.

I was totally on board with either option, but I had to remind myself yet again that she was a human, and we couldn’t rush these things with her. I didn’t want to scare her off by being too forward or moving things too quickly for her.

She seemed reluctant to turn in for the night, too, though. We removed our arms from each other, but she stayed close to me, not even attempting to get her keys from her purse.

“Haven,” I said.

She looked up at me, and before I could stop myself, my hands were on her hips, pulling her body against mine, and her palms rested on my upper arms. I slid one arm around her waist to hold her in place as my other hand moved up into her hair, gripping the strands and tilting her head to the perfect angle for what I wanted to do next.

The split second before my lips touched hers was the most tension-filled moment of my life. Everything that passed between us as our eyes closed said more than any words could.

My mouth met hers in a slow, tender kiss. Her lips were delicate and warm, and her bottom lip slipped between both of mine. I sucked on it a little, my tongue swiping against it, tasting the lingering sweetness from our profiteroles.

A delightful little sound escaped her throat, and she pressed her body closer to mine, her arms wrapping around my neck.

Goddess, she felt so good in my arms, her lips a perfect fit against mine. I wanted to lift her up, wrap her long legs around my waist, carry her into her apartment, throw her on her bed, and cover her body with mine. I wanted to bury myself inside her, to hear those little noises turn into loud moans, to feel her wrapped around me as we came together.

Instead, I pulled my lips away from hers, staying close enough that our breath mixed.

“I had a really good time,” I murmured to her.

“Me too,” she replied.

She leaned forward and gave me another gentle kiss, her hand stroking the back of my neck. My lycan purred again—it seemed it was becoming a habit of his around her—and I held in a shudder from her light touches.

“Good night, Wesley,” she said as she pulled away.

I forced myself to stay where I was as she unlocked her door and stepped inside, even though I wanted to chase after her and stay with her all night. I waited until I heard the door lock and her footsteps fade away, unable to leave without knowing she was safe and sound inside her apartment for the night.

I was on cloud nine and didn’t even remember the drive home. I practically waltzed into my house, humming a little to myself as I dropped my wallet and keys in the little dish in my entry.

But a voice popped my happy little bubble. “Dude. Are you humming the Sugar Plum Fairy music?”

CHAPTER 24

WESLEY

I choked on my spit and glared at Reid, who was standing in a T-shirt and his boxers. In my kitchen. Holding a bag of Cheetos.

“How does everyone keep breaking into my house?” I asked.

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