Page 47 of Beta and the Beast
"I'm fine if that's what you're trying to figure out." I push at his purple-sweatered chest to tell him to stop fussing.
He sniffs me again, something seeming to settle over him as he gives me a quick nod.
"We're leaving," he calls out over his shoulder, his arm wrapping around my waist as he hoists me off my feet and starts heading around the house to the cars. I'm surprised he hasn't thrown me over his shoulder, but then again, he might think that will somehow hurt me, and he wouldn't want that.
"You're staying with us tonight," Janie says to Jace as we round the corner of the house. I would've said goodbye to everyone, but my mate seems to have other plans.
"Jace is staying here?" Romulus asks me. When I tell him yes, his lips pull up in a way too charming smile. "I get you all to myself tonight?"
"Did you think you wouldn't?"
"I was ready to cuddle you on the couch all night," Romulus purrs, opening the passenger door and buckling me in.
"We can still cuddle," I tell him, trying to keep my voice innocent as I flutter my lashes at him.
He grabs my chin, tilting my head close to his, his lips brushing across mine as he speaks. "When we're done fucking I'll cuddle you, beta."
20
Sarah
Romulus's hand is on my thigh the entire drive. When we get there, he carries me up the stairs, leading me to his apartment, and makes it abundantly clear how he's been all in on this working out between us since he first moved in.
I look around the small space, which is warm and cozy. The living area has a couch with multiple blankets thrown over the back and a plethora of pillows. Flowers sit in a vase on the coffee table, and another vase is filled on the kitchen counter. His pantry is open, showing a whole bunch of snacks and food I enjoy eating. I'm sure if I were to open the fridge, there would be my favorite drinks in there, along with more food I commonly make at my place.
Romulus is too interested in getting me into the bedroom, so the quick look I get at the living space is brief, and I don't have achance to comment on any of it before he's nudging the bedroom door open with his foot and closing it behind him.
"What is this?" I ask, my eyes wide, when Romulus sets me on a mattress so large it takes up most of the space in the small bedroom.
I scramble back on the bed as he prowls around the end. He doesn't hop on top of me, doesn't grab my ankle and pull me back to him. No, if anything, he's watching my reaction to his bedroom, the bed, and the soft blankets on it. Oh wow, he outdid himself because I feel like I'm on a cloud. I close my eyes and stretch out, my lips parting with a soft moan.
"Do you want to nest?" Romulus asks, causing my relaxed state to become a little frazzled. He watches me intently, his eyes darting to the side of the room where there's a pile of more blankets, pillows, and soft things that I'm sure an omega would've loved.
I push myself up onto my forearms and give him a small smile. "I'm not an omega, Romulus."
"Alpha." He bites his teeth at me, his tone so different than the almost bashful beast standing at the end of the bed in a lavender sweater.
"I'm not an omega, alpha," I tell him, my smile curling a little more wickedly when his eyes flash. "This bed is nice, though. I like it a lot."
Romulus narrows his eyes like he thinks I'm just trying to placate him. "If it's not perfect, I'll get you a different one."
I snort. I can't help it. Alphas and their weird behavior. "You'll buy me a whole new bed just for your apartment if it's not perfect?"
"Yes."
"Romulus," I start, but I'm cut off by his growling again.
"Careful, beta, I told Henry I was going to be gentle with you," he warns, and the threat in his words licks at my skin and has me curling my toes in the softness of the bed. For as worried about me as he was earlier, he's just as determined to be with me now. As much as he'll try to fight it, he's still a beast, and beasts do things a certain way.
"You're not even in bed yet." I roll my eyes, trying to be as bratty as possible to get Romulus to react. If we had done this part first, I don't think he'd be treating me as soft, but because he hurt me earlier, he's trying to be gentle, even though that's not him and not what I expect him to be. "I think you're all talk at this point."
And yep, that does the trick. Romulus grabs the back of his sweater, tugging it over his head along with the white cotton undershirt, and kicks off his shoes while unbuckling his belt. I can't stop staring as this man undresses for me.
Like every alpha out there, he's tall and muscled. He's thicker than the others, softer in some areas, but no less able to protect me. No less sexy, that's for sure. My gaze doesn't know where to land. On his biceps, flexing and huge. On his stomach, where his abs are padded with a little extra. On his hands, tugging at the zipper on his jeans and pulling them down his legs.
Oh, oh fuck, he's going to split me in half.
My mouth pops open, and I don't even attempt to close it as I ogle him in his full naked glory. He stands at the end of the bed, hands wrapped around the bottom bed posts, leaning over me. Somehow, he's even more commanding like this than any other time before. A wicked smile plays on his lips as he watches me take him in. My face is burning when I'm finally able to lift my eyes from his cock back up to his face.
