Page 5 of The Alpha's Bargain
“Look, I know Sage told you what’s going on. I’m sorry that she put that on you, but I don’t need any help. My family and I will work this out. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t say anything to anyoneaboutit.”
Luca sucked his lips between his teeth then released them with a small pop. He gripped the side of the desk. Everything about this was cool and calm. “You got yourself into a mess, itseems.”
“And I’ll get us out of it,” I snapped a bit too harshly, because his alpha waves hit me fiercely, but I kept my shoulders straight and stared him in the eye. This was mine and my pack’slivelihoodhere.
I’d been around alphas all my life, including my brother. Yes, he could give off massive waves, but that didn’t mean I’d put up with his shit. Learning how to handle them had become a must inmylife.
“And how are you going to do that?” he challenged with a gleam inhiseye.
That knowing gleam had been there once before when we were kids and he told me worms in human form were just as good as in wolf. Having the crush of a lifetime on him, I had believed him. He’d been deadwrong.
“Luca, don’t play with me. I don’t know yet. The answers haven’t presented themselves, buttheywill.”
“What if I could erase all the debt and give your family cash, would you be up for it?” He rubbed his chin as he focused his attentions on me, breathing in and outslowly.
A laugh billowed up from low in my chest. “Right. Are you going to head out back to the money tree? Because I can tell you, those don’texist.”
His smile made my breath catch in my throat. “Yes, as a matteroffact.”
“Luca, did you bumpyourhead?”
His laugh was deep and sexy rough, one that I’d missed since avoiding him over the years, yet this one was deeper. “Quite a few times, but it has nothing to dowiththis.”
“Okay. So, say you give me all this money, what is it that you want in return?” There was no way Luca would do this out of the kindness of his heart. We might have known each other for years, but that didn’t constitute shelling out this kind of cash to bailusout.
“That’s thebestpart.”
Something in his tone had my backstraightening.
“You.”
My hand flew to my neck as a reflexive gesture. Over the years, it had been a gesture that only made its appearance when the situation made me seriously shocked orsurprised.
“Me? Whataboutme?”
“I pay the debt, give your pack the money it needs to get afloat, and the payback is you coming to live here with me for sixmonths.”
“You’re not serious. You want me to sleep with you? Like aprostitute?”
Luca had never shown any interest in me that way. Sure, we had the catty back and forth, but never sexually on his end. Yes,Ihad a few fantasies, but him, never. Not even a look that would suggest it. This was so far out of the blue, it was in anotheruniverse.
He rose from the desk and stalked toward me, eyes intent and jaw set in a hard line. “You would never be a prostitute.” He placed his hands on my arms, sending shards of tingles down them. “This is a mutual agreement between two consentingadults.”
“But why? Why me? I don’t understand, Luca.” And I didn’t. Luca could and had had every woman around these parts, except for me. Maybe that’s what this was—a chase or something he thought as unattainable. He just wanted to notch me off hisbedpost.
He moved his rough hands up and down my arms, sending more tingles in their wake. “Time will tell this. But the bargain stands.” The pause between us was seconds yet felt like hours. “I want this,Caleigh.”
Luca dipped his head down, his beard brushing my face and kissed me intensely, rough, and with so much passion inside of it I felt lost. So lost I gripped his shirt to hold myself down to earth before I floated away to another universe as I kissedhimback.
He tasted of mint and chocolate, just like my favorite ice cream. Our tongues did a little dance together, each movement almost choreographed, like we’d been doing this forever and not for the first time. Luca sucked the air from my lungs, and my heart beat so fast I thought for sure it would leap from mychest.
He pulled away from me and only then did I slowly openmyeyes.
My lips felt as if they were stung by bees, leaving behind a tingle. When I looked up, Luca’s eyes were molten, showing more of the golden rim, telling me he had felt that passionate kiss just as much asIhad.
“Wow,” I whispered more to myselfthanhim.
He smiled at hearing mybreathlessness.
