Page 36 of Brutal Alpha Beast
I don’t dare to look at him directly, but out of the corner of my eye, I can see his large chest rising and falling and the cool expression of his stoic eyes.
Part of me wants him to fall asleep so that I’m alone, and another part is so comforted by him being beside me, I almost feel safe. I almost feel like I want to stay up talking to him all night.
I think I’m becoming delirious.
“You did a good job, Danielle,” he says.
That makes me feel more excited than I should be.
I sigh, shuffling a little. “You didn’t do so bad yourself.”
He laughs, and then we lay in a silence filled by the forest.
Eventually, I decide to close my eyes and try to sleep.
I think I doze off a little at one point, but I keep coming back, so painfully awake and conscious. I don’t want to check if Ellis is awake, but his breathing is slow and steady, and hearing the way he sounds alone is putting me on edge.
We’re so close to one another, inches away from touching. We have to be prepared in case we need to escape, but it ties my stomach into knots.
And then the cold. When we were moving around, setting traps, doing magic—I forgot about the cool night’s breeze and my damp clothes.
Now I feel it. I feel everything.
My teeth are chattering again, and goosebumps break out all over my body like hives. For a second, I think about doing a spell, but I can’t risk it.
I huff a little in frustration.
Ellis moves.
One large arm wraps itself around me and brings me toward his chest. A suffocated, strange noise escapes my throat from the shock.
“What are you doing?” I hiss. Is he asleep? But God, his chest issowarm, like a heater, which immediately makes my eyes heavy and soothes my body.
Despite that, I try to pull away. He doesn’t let me. I gaze up at him and realize he’s awake and grinning. Arrogant shit.
“Relax, would you, Danielle? You’re obviously cold.”
Frustratedly, I rest my head back on his chest. I have little choice.
“I’m fine,” I say. “I don’t need to be manhandled.”
But my body is buzzing, excited, insatiable, as well as frustrated. The warmth that spreads across me very quickly turns hot.
“Do you ever let your walls down?” He murmurs.
His forearm is resting against my back.No, Ellis, I do not. At least not anymore.
“It’s not that,” I complain. “It’s your chest. Well... It isn’t comfortable. It’s too hard, and not to mention your horriblewolfsmell.”
It’s haunting, actually.
Without saying anything else, he takes hold of me, and pulls me up. Now we’re side by side, his arms still around me, but we’re at eye level. He’s so much bigger than me, so much stronger—he can move me wherever he wants.
His eyes open, and those burgundy pools watch me with an expression I immediately recognize. I feel a heat between my legs, and my throat burns.
Move away, Danielle, my intuition warns. But I can’t, my body has taken over, and suddenly I’m staring at a man who’s the only person I’ve ever loved.
“Better?” He asks.
