Page 11 of Alpha's Baby Girl
“It’s complicated,” she said quickly. “And here isn’t really the time to get into it.” She shifted so her hair spilled over one shoulder as she looked at me. “If I win the next trial, will you send me away again, too?”
I half wanted to laugh—that she had a right to ask and be worried. But part of me was angry that nobody was giving me the chance to prove myself a changed man. Nobody wanted to hear my reasons for turning Thalia away, for turning Shiba away tonight.
“If you’re worried about rejection, why did you enter?” I asked.
“So youwillreject me?”
“You’re part of the Mating Games against six other women,” I reminded her. “Any six of you will have to be okay with rejection.”
Her lips twisted as if she hadn’t truly considered that. Or as if she was so intent on winning that another rejection from me wasn’t something she planned to experience.
“Do youwantto win the next trial?” I asked her.
She was silent for a few moments, biting her lower lip. I wanted to pull it free, kiss it, try to kissheragain.
“Maybe,” she answered coyly. Finally, a smile broke through. It was a secretive one, a new smile that I hadn’t known her to have three years before. “Will you be disappointed if I don’t?”
“Maybe,” I teased her back. I sighed. “But, at the end of the day, thisisa competition. At some point, you’ll have to admit to yourself that you’ve entered because you want to be my Luna.”
Something danced across her face, almost making me question what I’d just said. Thatwasthe reason she’d entered, surely? Otherwise, it would be a waste of her and my time.
“Me being your Luna was never a problem for me,” she said softly. Her voice betrayed the confidence she’d exhibited so far. It spoke of a deeper hurt she’d healed from but still acknowledged. “It was only everyourissue.”
“So, you’ve come to win me back?” I challenged, still keeping my tone light.
“Maybe.” She hummed playfully. “Maybe you’ll find you’re the one wanting to win me back. After all, I wasn’t the one who rejected us.” She leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to my closed lips. I wanted to hold her there, elongate it, but she pulled away. “Remember that.”
Then she walked away into the dark garden, back to the hotel, and I couldn’t help but want to follow her. How was it I always felt like she was the one walking away from me now?
I couldn’t let her do it again. As I watched her walk away, I knew I had to make a move. We’d had so many close calls; I knew she wanted me. I wanted her. I sure as hell had always wanted her. But this felt likemore. She had signed up for the Mating Games to give me a chance to redeem myself, so why wasn’t she letting me?
“Why are you so insistent on being angry with me all the time?” I called after her. Halfway across the garden, surrounded by shadows, Thalia paused.
“Excuse me?” she called.
“You want me,” I said. “So why do you let your anger win over everything else?”
She hesitated and turned her head to glare at me over her shoulder. “Why do you think?”
I approached her, slipped my fingers through hers, to pull her close to me. Again, she didn’t pull away. She loved to stay close untilshewas ready to walk away. I would keep her with me this time.
“I turned Shiba away because I wantedyou,” I confessed.
Tears shined in her eyes as she tilted her head to look at me. The back of my hand brushed down the length of her face.
“I need my anger,” she whispered. “Because what you did to me hurt too much. I can’t let myself want you without complications. Because if it becomes simple, Fenrys, then I—”
“Let yourself,” I murmured, my thumb stroking over her jaw. Her eyes slipped closed as I held her face, cupping her with my other hand. With her eyes closed, I could ignore the war that always flickered in her eyes. I could also let myself believe that this could happen, if it was just once. She could leave, she could be eliminated, and I doubted I’d ever get a third chance to do this.
Or she could win, a small voice in my head said.
And that was the thing that had me nudging forward to press my mouth to hers, and her gasp had her lips parting beneath mine. I pulled back after that chaste, sweet thing. “Again?” My voice was so low, and her eyes were so heavy as she gazed up at me. Finally, she let the lust win out.
“Please,” she whispered, and waited.
I gave her a small smile. “How about you come to me this time.” Perhaps it was unfair but she shivered at the soft question. And she did. She closed the space between us, her fingers sliding into my hair. We had so much to talk through and work out, I couldn’t ignore that, but all I needed to think about now was her kissing me. I swept my tongue over her lower lip, drawing a soft sigh from her. Her fingers tightened in my hair, keeping me close.Don’t pull away again, I thought.Let me redeem myself.Give me another chance.
Her teeth snagged my lower lip and a quiet snarl rumbled from her throat, either a warning or pleasure, I didn’t care. I’d take both. I would take her anger, even, if it kept her kissing me. My hands dropped to her waist, running up and down her sides as she opened beneath my mouth. Her defenses loosened as I kissed her slowly and deeply.
