Page 87 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
“Oh my Goddess,” she breathed out. “That makes so much sense.”
I nodded, then spun around to face the young woman from the coffee cart.
“Who put you up to this?” I demanded in my Alpha voice.
Immediately, her face crumpled, and tears formed in her eyes. “Iswear, I don’t know! They hired me online. I’m so sorry! I’m just really desperate for money right now!”
I motioned for two of my guards to take her away to the pack prison. I would call Flynn to have her questioned extensively.
With my heart slamming in my chest at that close call, I scanned the lobby, wondering how many enemies we had out there.
Chapter 33
Superstar
Ivy
Shock flowed through me as I watched Asher’s guards take away the young woman who had tried to poison us.
The startling realization that Asher had been drugged seven years ago made so much sense. He couldn’t remember our stolen night together because someone had put something in his drink. The thought that someone wanted to hurt him even back then was terrifying, but a small part of me was relieved to finally have the answer as to why Asher didn’t remember our night together.
Back then, when I thought that Asher was simply pretending like our night together didn’t happen, it had crushed me. Then, when Asher and I reconnected, I believed that he hadn’t remembered sleeping with me because he was too drunk. That possibility still hurt my feelings, though.
But now that he’d figured out the truth, the walls around my heart shattered. My pulse raced as I looked back at all of my memories, seeing them in a new light.
It wasn’t Asher’s fault that he didn’t remember our night together.
When Asher turned back to Damian and me, his face was drawnwith worry from the attempted poisoning. That same anxiety was making my stomach turn, but when I looked at him, all I could feel was gratitude.
And attraction. A frightening amount of attraction, actually.
Looking at Asher’s fitted black suit that strained against his muscles made desire shoot down my spine. His maroon tie made fantasies about being tied to a bed post as he made love to me jump into my head.
Asher pushed away a stray piece of brown hair from his forehead, and my mouth went dry. “We need to be more careful going forward,” he told Damian and me. “The investigations of my team came back clean, so I’m going to double our security and put two of my guards in the hotel kitchen so they can monitor everything that gets put into our food. We can’t take any chances. After this presentation, we’re going to have to be on a complete lockdown.”
Damian nodded. “I agree. I already hired a team of guards for my wife and son back home. Just in case. I’d go back to protect them, but I don’t want to lead whoever is after you guys back there.”
“Good idea,” Asher said. “Until whoever is after is caught. It’s better if you stay in Sun Fire.”
As they spoke, all I could do was stare at Asher. After our shattering discovery, I was seeing him in a completely different way.
He truly was my protector. Just like when he purposely followed me into the woods on my twentieth birthday. That was what Asher did for the people in his life. He protected them.
“You saved us,” I said to Asher in an awed voice.
My strange tone surprised him, and he turned to me.
“Of course,” he said and looked at me questioningly. “I’ll always save you…and if your brother is in danger, I’ll save him, too.” A small smile played on the corners of his lips.
“Yeah, yeah. My hero,” Damian said sarcastically and walked away, giving us a moment alone.
I stepped toward Asher at the same time that he reached for me. My heart pounded against my rib cage as I stared into his hazel eyes and cupped his face.
Asher drew me into his warm embrace, putting hislips right next to my ear. “I’m always going to save you, baby. From now on, I’ll always be here to protect you and our son. You guys are the most important people in my life.” Asher paused, and when he pulled away, the intense emotion brimming in his eyes made me gasp.
Our mating bond vibrated between us as if it were a living thing that was connecting our two souls. I glanced down at my left hand, and my scar from the mating ceremony was more pronounced than it had ever been.
My heart pounded as our gazes locked together. His strong hands were gripping me, and I never wanted him to let me go. In the back of my mind, I registered a few mutters at our embrace, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
