Page 61 of Unexpected Alpha's Claim

“You should know that it could potentially kill me, but the point is that there are solutions to pretty much any problem.” She waved a hand between us and the sullenness disappeared from her face as if she was erasing it with the gesture. A knowing glint and her soft smile appeared when she continued speaking. “The real question is, though, and the one you should be asking is this: Do you want Raul as your mate? You answer that first and foremost. Do that and we’ll deal with any future issues when they surface.”

I’d be lying if I said she hadn’t been helpful, though her answers were not to my complete satisfaction, but she had done her best and I had to give her that. But she was right, too: I had to make a decision. It was time.

“I…” I trailed off and she waited silently and patiently. “I was only gone for a matter of hours,” I said, not answering but my thoughts were racing in time with my heart.

“And?” she asked.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About what might… about what I was throwing away the chance at.” Helena nodded encouraging me to continue. I swallowed then took a deep breath. “I have to try, don’t I? How else can I ever know for sure? I don’t want to live my life with regrets.”

“Good,” she said, placing her hand on my arm. We locked eyes and it felt as if she knew everything said and unsaid. “Go to him. I’m going to go back to the bar.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

It was all I could say, and it didn’t feel like enough, but she accepted it and seemed to understand the magnitude of my feelings, at least judging by her knowing smile. She turned and walked off towards town and I turned towards Raul’s and made my way home.

39

MONICA

Ientered the cozy little cabin, its windows not proving much of an obstacle to the ambient noise from the ongoing party at Joe’s. Power chords, drums, and Bryan Johnson’s voice were drifting through with ease. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace but there was no sign of Raul.

I made my way to his partly open bedroom door. When I peeked in the seeds of temptation flared in my core. He was standing in front of his bed naked, giving me a chance to marvel at his sculpted body.

“Hmmm…” I hummed, red heat rising to my cheeks. “That is not helping.”

“Helping what…?” he laughed turning towards me. “You don’t want to…”

“Don’t be silly,” I urged, smiling through my embarrassment. “Sex with you is always amazing. It’s just that we need to be someplace tonight. And if I’m being brutally honest, we’re late. I stole you from the party, that’s at least partly in your honor. I mean, how long have we been gone from the party?”

“Two hours, give or take,” he said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “But you do have a point. I could stand them up a little longer, but you know how sensitive their noses are.”

“Well then,” I said in a raspy voice. “Let me give you a preview of what you can expect once we come back.”

I placed my fingertips against the skin of his lower stomach. I pressed my palms flat, my right hand sliding further down. I drew a circle around the base of his shaft with my index finger, feeling it twitch and lengthen under my touch. Staring into his eyes, I licked my upper lip seductively.

“Oh, you little minx,” he whispered, his gaze darting from my eyes to my mouth.

“I’ll have mercy on you, Mr. Alpha,” I smiled, stepping back. “Now, get dressed. We’re already late.”

A grunt of annoyance served as his response. I would have loved to have taken my clothes off and played with him in bed. I had missed the sensuality and sexual tension between us. Yet, I had to face the facts. Dawson had dressed up for the night in honor of the one who had led them to victory. He and his fellow shifters had risked their lives to defend their homeland. This was their reward. He needed to enjoy it to the fullest and they needed him there too. If we were going to make this work, there would have to be compromises like this, from both of us. Besides, we could have all the fun in bed we wanted to in the future.

Ten minutes later, we were back outside. Holding hands with him as we walked towards the bar, I gazed at the cheer in the street. Three young children were chasing one another, under the watchful eye of their mother, while a group of four men expressed their gratitude to their Alpha. Either by exchanginghugs or high-fiving him. There was no mistaking the respect in their eyes.

“You people are too friendly,” I remarked. “You don’t see that much in New York City, at least not these days.”

“That’s because we’re not afraid of being stabbed in the back,” Raul explained. “We don’t always get along. We might fight a lot, but we never betray one another. Betrayal is a human trait. No offense.”

“None taken,” I assured him. “I think I’m going to like being part of your world. In fact, I already do.”

“Good,” he said, pausing our walk to pull me close and lay a claim on my lips.

I loved the way our bodies melded together as if they were molded to fit. He broke the kiss, and we resumed our walk, but there was no doubt neither of us wanted it to end. My lips tingled with the memory of his as we walked. The closer we got to the bar the louder the revelry became. At the edge of the packed parking lot, he paused and looked down at me.

“I’m not so sure about what you’re going to see in that bar,” he warned, perplexing me.

What in the world was he referring to? Before I could voice my confusion, a loud thud disrupted the relaxed mood of the street. Looking at the adjacent building to Joe’s bar, I was able to see for myself what had transpired. Two, large men were lying on the ground. One of them was banging his arm into the concrete, whereas the other was peering skyward. Both of them were cackling.

“What happened there?” I asked.

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