Page 15 of Impregnated By the Alpha

“Ha!” A laugh came unbidden from my mouth, but I wouldn’t take it back if I could. We stood facing each other, so I took a step toward her and placed both hands on her face, forcing her to look up into my eyes. I heard the sharp intake of her breath as our skin touched. Desire coursed through me as I smelled her lilac perfume and felt the smoothness of her skin.

“No one knows more than I do just how impossible our situation is,” I said in a low voice. “You have no idea how difficult it has been to give you space—to allow you to have your own room when all I want is to wrap you up in my arms and never let you go.”

Her eyes were unreadable, but I couldn’t take the anticipation a moment longer. I bent my head down to kiss her passionately and with abandon when a small voice at my side interrupted my plans.

“Daddy?”

I dropped my hands to my sides and turned to find Penelope standing next to me. Violet breathed out a sigh—of relief or regret, I couldn’t tell.

“Yes, Penny? Are you okay?” I asked.

“Can we go home?” she asked. “I’m tired.”

Chapter 7 - Violet

The drive home was quiet as Nile and I simmered from our fight at the carnival. Our unspoken agreement was that we would never fight in front of Penny, but since neither of us could think of anything respectful to say, we chose to remain silent.

I was relieved when we finally pulled up to the house. Although the drive had been less than ten minutes, Penny had managed to fall asleep in the backseat of Nile’s car. He unbuckled her gently, trying not to disturb her as he lifted the sleeping girl out of the car and carried her into the house.

Even in the dim light of the moon, I could see Nile’s arm muscles bulging as he carried the small child. He was strong and powerful, and I briefly wondered what it might feel like to be carried by him.

I reached around him to turn on the light so that he wouldn’t stumble over the rugs in the hallway, but the sudden illumination caused Penny to begin waking up.

“Shh, baby,” Nile soothed her. “We’re home. I’m just going to take you upstairs and tuck you in.”

“No, I want Violet to do it,” Penny argued.

“Violet doesn’t—” Nile began.

“It’s okay,” I assured him quietly. “I’ll come with your dad to tuck you in, sweetheart.”

Penny nestled into his arms, and I imagined that she must feel incredibly safe and protected with him. I admired his dedication to his daughter, even if I’d been let down by him in the past. It was clear to anyone who had met Nile that he loved and cared for his daughter, but seeing how tenderly he treated her made it even more obvious.

He walked up to Penny’s room on the top floor with me a few steps behind him. When we got to her room, he laid her gently on the bed while I removed her shoes and socks. Together, we pulled the blanket up to her chin.

“Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Violet,” she said sleepily.

“Sleep well, Penny,” Nile said as he kissed her on the head.

“We’ll see you in the morning, sweetheart,” I told her, squeezing her little hand.

We snuck out of the room, careful not to trip over any of the dolls, books, and other toys that lay littered about the room.

When we reached the landing, I put my hand out to open my bedroom door when Nile suddenly thrust his arm in front of me and leaned against the door frame.

“I’m not done with our discussion,” he said in a low growl.

“You mean where you think that just because I agreed to be your fake mate, you get ownership of my body whenever we’re out in public?” I shot back. “Yeah, I’m done with that conversation.”

I grabbed his arm to push it out of the way, but instead of allowing me to pass, he pressed me up against the closed door. His body towered over me, and I felt heat roll off his skin, enveloping me in his scent.

A tingle went up my spine at his proximity, and my anger faltered. It seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t escape my attraction to him. The longer we lived together, the more intense it became. I had tried being aloof and unconcerned, and now I had attempted to cover it up with anger. Nothing seemed to work.

“We agreed,” he whispered quietly, “that we would pretend to be mates for the good of the packs. We can’t do that if you’re pushing me away.”

“I wouldn’t be pushing you away if you weren’t so… so…” My words seemed to fail me as I tried to rebut his claim.

“So what?”

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