Page 37 of Alpha Ruined

She swallows. “Get out.”

“That’s not very polite,” he purrs, taking a step closer to her. She tries to move back, but she’s frozen, breathing in his scent. “I’m here to pick you up for our date.”

She shakes her head. “We don’t have a date. And earlier you said it wasn’t?—"

“And fortunately for every other man on this earth, you’re an awful liar. So, no one has to die tonight.”

She blinks. Maybe she did pass out on her bed, because there’s no way she heard him correctly.

But before she can question him, he carries on. “You look lovely, by the way,” he murmurs. “That color suits you.”

She clutches the bouquet of roses like a lifeline, desperate to snap out of the trance his scent is pulling her into.

“Have dinner with me,” he whispers, his voice gentle and his eyes soft. “Let me enjoy your company, Breana. Just for tonight.”

“I never told you my name,” she chokes out. “How did you know my name?”

“Bree is short for Breana,” he says tenderly, as if explaining something simple to a child. “Unless I’m wrong?”

No, he’s not wrong, and she was ridiculous for thinking otherwise.

She should just go to dinner with him. Even Darlene thought it was a good idea.

“No one’s ever bought me roses before,” she murmurs. “Especially not white roses.”

He grins in triumph, satisfied that he’s won.

“White roses symbolize new beginnings,” he says. “I thought it was fitting.”

She stares at the flowers in her hand. “A new beginning? What do you mean?”

But he doesn’t answer her. Instead, he takes the bouquet and places it on the end table near the door. “Our reservation is in an hour. Are you ready to go?”

“I don’t have my purse?—”

“You don’t need your purse.”

“Well, I do, because?—”

But Cole reaches out and takes her hand in his, and she stops breathing. His hand is cool, and his fingers intertwine with hers.

It’s intimate, and she stares at their hands, entranced.

“You don’t need your purse,” he murmurs as his eyes burn into hers. “Just come with me.”

Her head is spinning.

Obey Alpha!

It physically hurts to argue with him, and when she nods, she’s rewarding with another one of his charming smiles. She barely registers him grabbing her set of keys and locking the door behind him as he leads her to his car. He opens the passenger door for her, and even helps her inside, like a true gentleman.

It isn’t until the engine has purred to life and they’re down the street that she realizes he used his Alpha Influence on her.

CHAPTER 13

COLE

He probably shouldn’t have donethat.

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