Page 7 of Tempted By the Alpha Outlaw

Peaches pauses, her big brown eyes flicking to mine, and the smile she gives me is so familiar that I wonder if she already knows exactly what I’ve been thinking about.

She’s like that—always looking at people like she knows their hearts.

“So,” she says, “what did you think of the new guy?”

I freeze, gripping the back of the chair a little too tightly. “What new guy?”

Peaches raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “The one Reyes introduced at dinner. Colt? Tall, blond, tattoos for days? You know, the one who couldn’t stop starin’ at you.”

My cheeks flush so fast I swear I feel the heat rise. “He wasn’t staring at me.”

Peaches grins, that knowing sparkle in her eyes. “Oh, honey, he was. And let me tell you, that man looks like trouble wrapped in leather and bad decisions.”

I try to laugh it off, busying myself with stacking the last few chairs. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” Peaches leans on her rag, folding it neatly as she tilts her head. “Because I saw the way you looked at him too. Like he was the last slice of pie at the table.”

“Peaches,” I groan, hiding my face in my hands.

“I’m just sayin’,” she teases, “a little pie never hurt anyone.”

Her words tug at something inside me—curiosity, embarrassment, and that strange, magnetic pull I felt the moment Colt’s eyes met mine. I glance toward the door, half-expecting to see him still lingering in the shadows, but the hall is empty.

“He’s an alpha,” I murmur, half to myself. “And a stranger, at that. You know my parents wouldn’t approve.”

Peaches snorts, tossing her rag onto the table. “Since when do your parents approve of anything remotely fun? You’re twenty-four, Maggie. Flirt a little. It won’t kill you.”

I press my lips together, a laugh slipping out despite myself. “You sound like Kate.”

“Yeah, well, your sister has a point.” Peaches winks. “And this one? He’s got the whole pack buzzing. Mystery man, tattoos, a broody attitude—it’s practically a romance novel.”

My cheeks heat as I pick up a stray napkin and tuck it into the trash bin. “It’s not like that.”

“Not yet,” she says, her dimpled smile playful. “But it could be.”

I shake my head, trying to laugh it off, but my wolf stirs uneasily. “I don’t know, Peaches. There’s just…something about him.”

“Of course there is!” Peaches leans her hip against the table, her curls bouncing as she gestures dramatically. “He’s got that ‘I’ve seen some things’ vibe. You know—like a tragic backstory just waiting to be uncovered.”

I let out a soft laugh. “You really think it’s all that dramatic?”

Peaches shrugs, her grin wide. “If it isn’t, I’ll make it that way in my head. Come on, Maggie, don’t you ever just…want something wild? Something out of the ordinary?”

Well…I guess I don’t know. My life has been anything but wild, every moment spent trying to be what the pack needs, what my family expects. I keep my hands busy wiping down a chair, the ache in my chest tightening as her question lingers.

“I’m not sure I’d know what to do with wild,” I admit quietly.

Peaches tilts her head. “Maybe it’s not about knowing. Maybe it’s about letting it find you.”

She turns back to the table, humming to herself as she folds the rag in her hands. I stay rooted to the spot, my fingers curling and uncurling against the back of the chair. The scent from earlier still lingers faintly in the air, smoky and sharp, threading through the musk of the den. It prickles at the edge of my senses, a pull I can’t explain.

I glance toward the door, half-expecting to see him standing there. Of course, the doorway is empty, and I shake my head, trying to shove the thought aside.

But no matter how much I try, I can’t stop thinking about him.

Colt Morgan.

And when I lie awake tonight, staring at the ceiling, I know it’s his eyes I’ll see.

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