Page 181 of The Alpha

The next dress she loved, and so did he, and it was declared a winner. This went on for each outfit, and by the time they were done, Pari was exhausted.

Kitty gawked at the piles of clothes Melvale had on the sales counter. “Wow, someone likes to spoil people.”

Melvale gave her a sly smile and a wink and paid for Pari’s new clothes.

Pari could only stare at him like an idiot. Melvale was as far from Bondrah as he could get right now. She liked it, but what happened to the other side of him?

And she wasn’t the only one wondering. She caught Dallan eying him, as was Archer, and the two men spoke in low tones, nodding now and then to each other. Pari couldn’t hear their conversation and wondered if Melvale could.

He seemed oblivious as he happily took the bags the saleswoman was handing him and turned to her. “Ready?”

She clutched her one shopping bag and almost winced. “Ready for what?”

“Shoes, silly!”

She shook her head. “No, absolutely not. I want to go home.”

“I second that,” Archer said. “I’m starving here.”

Melvale gasped. “You’re right! Kitten you must be famished!”

Pari nodded and didn’t dare tell him she thought she might fall over. She was hungry, and had no idea trying on that many clothes could wear her out.

They ate lunch in one of the store’s cafés, then headed home. But not before she had to convince Melvale she was too tired tocontinue shopping. Good grief, the man was a shopping maniac! The only one in the group that could keep up with him was Kitty.

When they finally made it home, Pari trudged up the stairs to her apartment, went straight to her bedroom, and fell onto her bed.

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Melvale chortled as he began to take their purchases out of the bags. He proceeded to hang them up in her closet in the next room, or neatly fold items to put into her dresser. “You still need shoes, but we can tackle that tomorrow.”

Pari moaned into her pillow. “Nooooo.”

He laughed and sat on the edge of the bed. “I had fun! Did you?”

Pari flopped onto her back and realized she had. “Yes, thank you.”

He smiled and brushed her bangs to one side. “You look lovely even when you’re exhausted.” His eyes roamed her face a moment before he bent to her and gently kissed her on the forehead. “Rest now, I’ll be nearby.”

She smiled, unable to help it. “Thank you. No one’s ever done anything like this for me.”

“I know,” he said in all seriousness. “But you deserve to be pampered and spoiled now and then. Everyone does. I’m sorry you’ve never had this before.”

Their eyes locked and deep down she knew he meant every word. “Thank you.”

Melvale smiled, gave her a nod, then left the room.

Pari lay there a few moments, trying to make sense of it all. Melvale was a dream come true, and toogoodto be true. Which of course meant it was only a matter of time before she either woke up from this wild dream, or he’d simply disappeared.

But what about all the talk of her going back to the palace with him and his friends? And if she did, how long would she begone? Pari wished she could speak to Halden and Raina. They made more sense. All of this? Pari still couldn’t wrap her head around it.

She drifted into a deep sleep and dreamed she was in the park with Melvale, walking hand in hand, talking about things two people dating might talk about. It seemed so real, and when she woke up, she thought about their two dates. Yet the sad truth remained. How could she possibly call him a boyfriend when he wasn’t even human? Who dated aliens? And what would happen if they continued to date? What did that even look like?

“Don’t give your heart away,” she recited to herself. Uncle Leo and Uncle Al had said it, and after hearing about her past, Dr. Merrill said it. Heck, she’d even said it! Then she’d gone and done it anyway more than once over the years. And what did it get her? Broken hearted, abused, shunned, and then stuck with that weirdo Jeffrey. Melvale might be odd, but he was more on the eccentric side. Jeffrey was something else entirely. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since the day she was kidnapped, and good riddance as far as she was concerned.

Pari sat up, yawned, and left the bed. She went to the window and looked out. The northbound shuttle train was just pulling into the station across the street, and she watched it a moment before the neighbors in one of the buildings, also across the street, started up a stereo system they’d brought out to the building’s front stoop. From the looks of it, they were having a barbecue. Tables were being brought out to the sidewalk, and something was grilling on a barbeque already. She opened her window so she could listen to the music and smell the meat cooking. These were the sounds of home, and all she wanted was a few friends to share things with.

Pari turned away from the window. Melvale was her friend, and the thought made her smile. He was safe as a friend, anduntil she was sure of what was going to happen next, it was best she kept him where he was.

But what about the others? Halden and Raina, they were friends. And what about Dallan, Shona, Kwaku, Zara, Kitty, and Archer? She didn’t know the latter well, but he was funny. He could also eat a lot. She saw it firsthand at lunch.

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