Page 35 of Her Cruel Alpha

“I got that.”

“No, Henrik, I mean like extremely shy. It took her a long time to open up to me, but she’s told me little about her life or growing up. I imagine it’s not easy being a smart person and always being told you’re the odd one out. It just takes time.”

I understood that, but I wanted her to be able to trust me. I wanted us to be able to joke like we used to. We seemed closer before Sam was married to Jay than we were now.

“Have you ever tried doing things that Katie liked?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, maybe date? You guys were forced together, but that doesn’t mean your relationship was built in a day. If you want to get to know her, maybe you should take her on dates and try to get to know her. Try to understand her.”

I felt my shoulder sink, realizing I hadn’t done that. I had skipped right over all of the dating part. Just because we were married didn’t mean that Katie had to give me anything.

I sighed. “I feel like a shitty person.”

“Don’t. You’re a great guy, Henrik. You were both forced into this, and I’m sure it’s uneven terrain for both of you. You guys will figure it out. It takes time. Jay and I certainly had bumps. You just have to give it time.”

I nodded when an idea struck. “Thanks, Sam. I’ll talk to you later. Kiss the baby for me, and enjoy your nap.” I ended the call and headed back into the laboratory, straight up to Katie’s lab. Katie was looking at the whiteboard. She turned when I stepped in.

“Henrik? I thought you were going home.”

“I am, but I came back to ask you to have a date with me tonight.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “A date?”

I nodded. “Yeah, and I won’t leave until you agree.”

She sighed. “Henrik, I have a bunch of stuff I have to get done, and I don’t know when I’ll be getting off. Can we talk about this when I get home?”

“No.” I crossed my arms, fully prepared to wait hours if I had to. “And I can stay here the entire time.”

Katie scowled. “Fine, I’ll go. Now, if you could please go. Liv is going to be back. She’s just going to the bathroom.”

I smiled, pulling myself closer and pulling her towards me. “Great. I’ll see you when you get off.” I gave her a quick kiss before breaking free and leaving. A smile pulled on my lips, and I couldn’t help the eagerness that built up underneath.

Chapter 13 - Katie

I stared at Liv’s math on the whiteboard, but my mind was on Henrik. I kept thinking of how his fingers felt inside me and the way he held me while he did it. I couldn’t get over his kiss and how he looked so sad when he left.

“So, what do you think?” Liv asked, tapping the marker on her chin. “I keep staring at it, and it just doesn’t add up for me. I don’t know where I went wrong.”

I shook my head, reminding myself that I needed to focus. I was at work and needed to keep my head in the game.

“You put a minus in the third line and a double positive on the sixth line. “

Liv looked back at the whiteboard, and her eyes scanned it. I watched her shoulders drop. “You’re right. How did I miss that?”

“It happens,” I explain. It wasn’t the first time someone had brought a math problem to me, asking where they went wrong.

She turned to me. “You’re a genius, you know that.”

I gave her a smile, but my mind wandered to when Henrik said those exact words. Questions quickly filled my head. What was he planning for us to do on this date? Was I supposed to dress up? Did I even have anything to wear? And was he expecting something afterward? He seemed pretty disappointed when I said I didn’t want to go further.

I know we had a wonderful make-out session, and he made me come so quickly. I should be embarrassed, but I wasn’t. But was he expecting something to happen after the date? Was that why he was asking me to go out?

“You still there?” Liv waved the marker at me, and I quickly shook my head.

“Sorry. Just have a lot on my mind.”

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