Page 23 of Kidnapped By the Alpha

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

April pinched the bridge of her nose, as if to contain her emotions. “You have been ignoring me for days,” she said. “Then you brought me to this party, didn’t come dance with me, and are upset that someone else wanted to? We both know you want nothing to do with me, so what’s the big deal? It’s not like I slept with him.”

“Seems like you would have, if you had the opportunity,” I grumbled.

“Just because you don’t want to sleep with me doesn’t mean no one else does,” she said with a shrug. She moved closer, drawing her hands up to rest on my chest. “Isn’t that true? That you hate it when I’m near you?”

My heart beat faster as she began to caress me. She looked up at me from under her eyelashes, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Are you trying to seduce me?” I asked in a low voice.

She laughed lightly. “Is there any point in seducing you when I have no chance of opening your heart?”

Her answer shook me, especially because of how forthrightly she’d said it. There was no way I could open my heart to her, but I couldn’t deny that I wanted to explore her body—and allow her to explore mine.

“My heart will never be a part of the equation,” I said coldly. “I will never have an emotional relationship. However, I would be open to a physical one, if you’re open to it.”

“Hmm,” she said, pursing her lips together as she considered my proposal. She began to run her fingers through my hair, and I felt myself growing tense with desire. “I might be open to that.”

Chapter 12 - April

After trying for so long to fight my attraction to Jasper, I knew I was at the tail end of a losing battle. I wasn’t under the assumption that he was in love with me, but at the moment, I couldn’t bring myself to care. He may not have been the Prince Charming I had always dreamed of, but the urge to allow him access to my body had become too great for me to deny. He was my mate, for better or worse, and right now, I wanted to experience some of what that title had to offer.

“How open to the idea are you?” Jasper asked. “If I wanted to take you right now, would you let me?”

Something about the way Jasper had intervened when that other man approached me had made my desire for him even more apparent. I had never been one to fall into the trope of the jealous lover, but tonight, it was definitely working for me.

Add to that the fact that I was still trying to convince Jasper that not all women would treat him poorly, and all my reasons not to sleep with him had gone out the window.

His eyes roved over my body, hidden beneath a thin layer of blue fabric. I had chosen it because the color matched his eyes—the same stormy, blue eyes that were undressing me as we spoke.

“Pretty open,” I admitted. “Why don’t you undress me, and we’ll see what happens?”

Jasper shook his head at my suggestion. “The dress stays on,” he commanded. “But take off your panties.”

“As you wish,” I replied.

I hooked my thumbs underneath the hem of my skirt and pulled them off, dropping them to the floor between us.

“Now it’s your turn,” I said, stepping forward and moving my hands to undo the belt around his waist. I tilted my head up and leaned in to kiss him, but he stepped back to prevent it.

The confusion and hurt I felt must have been evident on my face.

“I told you, it’s just sex,” Jasper explained uncomfortably. “No kissing. If you want to change your mind, I would understand.”

“I’m not going to change my mind. I know exactly what I want to happen,” I said.

I could manage this without the kissing. Somehow, some way, I would find the secret to breaking through his icy exterior. Underneath it all was a man worthy of healing, and I was determined to unlock the door to him.

He finished unbuckling his belt and moved on to the button and zipper. “And what exactly do you want to happen?”

“I want you to know me. All of me,” I said honestly. “And I want to know you deeper, too.”

“We’ll know each other deeper in just a minute,” Jasper said, smirking at my double entendre. “But first, I want you to remember your promise to obey my commands.” He looked at me seriously, waiting for an answer to his unasked question.

“Yes, Alpha,” I responded demurely.

He stepped forward and placed one hand on my waist, moving the other under my dress so he could feel between my legs. My body reacted almost instantly to his touch, becoming aroused as he stroked me with his fingertips.

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