Page 29 of Kidnapped By the Alpha

“You were gone awhile,” she explained. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I shook my head, unable to speak. My breath was coming in spurts, and I was becoming light-headed from lack of oxygen. Pretty soon, I was going to black out, leaving me unconscious inthe home of an enemy alpha. There was nothing I could do to prevent it.

I’m going to die here, I thought.

April knelt in front of me, placing her hands on my shoulders and forcing me to look into her eyes. A wrinkle of concern creased the space between her eyebrows as she analyzed my posture.

“Look at me,” she said calmly. “You’re having a panic attack, but you’re totally safe. I’m here, and I’m going to help you breathe through it.”

She took a deep breath in, indicating that I should do the same, and then breathed out. I shook my head at her again, removing her hands from my shoulders. If I had the strength to get her out of the room, I’d do it, but all I could manage to do was focus on not losing consciousness.

“Stop being so stubborn,” she whispered.

She remained seated in front of me, continuing to take deep breaths in and out to show what I should be doing. After a few minutes of struggling, I gave in, allowing her to lead me through her breathing exercises.

When I regained control, I put my head in my hands, ashamed of my reaction to our current situation. “I’m sorry,” I said. “This isn’t how an alpha should act.”

“Jasper, stop that. You’re being too hard on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you—people have panic attacks all the time,” she replied.

I looked into her eyes, and I almost believed her.

“Why did you help me?” I asked. “How are you so… so…goodall of the time?”

She smiled at me encouragingly and placed a hand on the side of my face without answering. Staring into her eyes, I suddenly desired her more in this moment than I ever had before. This strange woman, forced to be my mate, was overcoming every obstacle in her path. Her strength and compassion were matched only by her beauty.

With her hand still on my face, we leaned toward each other, our lips meeting softly. I stood, pulling her to her feet without breaking our kiss. Her hands were entwined in my hair now while I explored her soft curves before setting her on the counter next to the sink.

I pulled down the collar of her shirt, trailing kisses down her neck as far as the fabric would allow me. She moaned when I reached the top of her breast, and I felt my blood rush down to my groin. I returned my amorous attention to her lips. I felt drawn to her, needing more than anything to taste her tongue and feel her sweet breath across my face.

When I began to unbutton my pants, she seemed to come out of a trance. She placed her hands on my own, stilling them.

“Wait,” she said breathlessly. “I can’t sleep with you.”

“I wasn’t intending to sleep,” I joked.

“I’m serious,” April said. “After what happened yesterday, I can’t have sex with you again. Not until you realize that I’m not trying to take advantage of you or hurt you. When you realize that I have meant everything I’ve ever said to you, then maybe it can happen again, but right now…”

Her voice trailed off, and we both stood awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed.

“We should go,” I said, breaking the tense silence.

I helped her down from her place on the counter and led her back out to where Nile sat waiting for us.

“Everything alright?” the man asked, genuine concern coloring his tone.

“Yes, just fine,” I replied. “In fact, our friends said they’ll meet us just down the street and take us back to our cabin, so we’ll be heading out now.”

“Thank you so much for your hospitality,” April added.

“Of course, it was no trouble,” Nile said with a smile. “Feel free to stop by anytime. I’m always pleased to have the company.”

We thanked him again and left on foot, heading for the car that I knew would be waiting for us. They were sure to have questions when I came back with April instead of Penelope—questions that I didn’t really have answers for.

The fact of the matter was that I was more confused than ever.

Chapter 16 - April

Nothing had changed, but as the sun rose the following morning, it felt like everything had.

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