Page 120 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

Darian seems to understand. After getting to his feet, he picks me up in his arms.

“What’re you doing?!” I demand, flustered.

“Taking you to bed.”

“I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah. No hanky-panky, I swear. On my life,” he vows.

I give him a suspicious look. “I’m just saying, if you try anything, I’m not above suffocating you. I’ve raised Mira as a single parent for many years. I don’t mind continuing to do that.”

He grins at me. “That’s dark. It shouldn’t turn me on, but it does. Talk dirty to me.”

He has dumped me on the bed and is leaning over, clearly teasing me. I laugh, my hand on his face. “Stop!”

“Go on! Say something else that’s mean!”

Hysterical laughter bubbles out of me. “No! I don’t want to! Get away from me, you perv!”

“We’re mates now,” he informs me with that wicked grin of his. The one that has butterflies in my stomach fluttering. “You’re stuck with me for life. There’s no going back now.”

He kisses me. It’s a chaste kiss, but the warmth in my chest overflows. As he gathers me into his arms, I don’t know what this is, this feeling of safety, comfort, and happiness.

Could it be love?

I’m simply not sure anymore, but I like it.

Chapter 24

Alice

Darian keeps his word. While he’s determined not to sleep apart from me, aside from holding me at night, he keeps his hands to himself.

Mira is the happiest of us all. It’s cute, but I didn’t realize she would transform so quickly into a daddy’s girl. She wants him to do everything with her. As I lean against the door jamb of her bedroom, I shake my head, wondering whether I should be amused or jealous. My daughter is sitting in front of her small vanity while Darian runs a brush through her hair, looking terrified.

“If you can’t do it, just let me know,” I offer to him.

“No! Daddy has to do this!” Mira protests, and my lips curve. “Go ahead, Daddy.”

He beams with pride, his previous fear all but forgotten. “It’s just braiding hair. How hard can it be?”

“I sure wish I had your level of confidence,” I snicker.

Watching him try to braid Mira’s hair is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Darian hasn’t the first clue which section of hair goes where, but he’s determined to try.

I can hear the kettle whistling on the stove. Before I leave them alone, I ask, “Mira, honey, are you sure?”

“Daddy’s doing a good job.” Mira doesn’t sound very certain as she looks in the mirror at her normally silky hair standing up on end.

I don’t know how Darian went from “Dad” to “Daddy” within the span of a week, but he’s on cloud nine and so is Mira. It’s a strange adjustment for me to have another person living in my home, one with whom I have to share my daughter.

“Alright, then.” I shrug. “I’m going to get breakfast started.”

“Wait, Mom?” Mira shoots me a pleading look now, clearly horrified by whatever Darian has done to her.

“I think it looks good,” Darian says in satisfaction.

Taking pity on my daughter, I enter the room and nudge him aside. “Don’t quit your day job. Go start the eggs. I’ll”—I study the unnatural way in which Mira’s hair is sticking out—“do something about whatever this is.”

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