Page 30 of The Anti-Bachelorette (The Anti-Bachelorette 1)

Chapter 9

Icould feel Alaric’s eyes on me all throughout dinner. Every time I glanced over to his table, he was staring back at me. Of course, just like everything else he does, he is so intense about this too. His date doesn’t even seem to notice. She just keeps talking nonstop, but Alaric barely acknowledges her. I wonder where he found her anyway.

Every time Marco makes me laugh, I see him scowl over at me. I know I shouldn’t, but I push his buttons further by placing gentle touches on Marco’s arm or hand every once in a while. Marco is happy to go along with it. Every now and then, he’ll lean in close and whisper some nonsense in my ear to look like he is saying something intimate. Just a second ago it was, “Do you like tacos or ice cream better?” I give him a seductive smile then lean over and whisper back in his ear. “I can’t choose.”

He pulls back and laughs. “I think I need to ease off. That man looks like he is going to murder me.”

I grab my glass of wine and take another sip. “Oh don’t worry. He looks at me that way every single day. So far I’m still alive.”

Marco takes a bite of his food and then suddenly opens his eyes wide at me. “Oh my God. Remember Choco Tacos? Ice cream and tacos. Can’t go wrong there.”

I throw my head back and laugh, but before I can respond, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head up at whoever is touching me. “Come help me with dessert.” Alaric doesn’t ask. He just commands.

Marco stands. “Oh, I can help!”

Alaric glares back over at him. “We’re good.” He clips.

Before I can apologize for Alaric’s behavior, he grabs my hand and pulls me up and starts walking away, dragging me with him. I shout over my shoulder to Marco. “I’ll be right back.”

I try to pull my hand away from Alaric, but he holds it tighter. “Let go!”

He finally stops and looks at me and lets go of my hand immediately. “What?”

I just stare back at him. “What? What do you mean what? What are you doing? And did you have to be such an ass to Marco? He’s a nice guy you know.”

We walk into the back kitchen where the caterers are handling the dessert. Alaric looks at me confused. “I wasn’t mean to him.”

I just laugh out. “You really need to learn how to interact with other humans.” I spin around and head over to the birthday cake. I glance back at Alaric. “What did they need help with?”

Alaric’s stern face never changes. “Nothing.”

I whip back around to face him fully. “Then what are we doing here?”

He steps closer to me. “Why are you torturing me?" He brushes my hair behind my ear and leans his head down closer to me. The gesture is so gentle and unlike him that it throws me off for a minute. I want to stand strong and give him some snarky remark, but after that and the way he is looking down at me while we’re so close together, I can’t. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I breathe out.

He steps back and gives me another stern look. “Tell Marco it’s time to leave.”

I open my mouth at him. “We didn’t even get birthday cake yet.”

Alaric seeths. “Get your damn cake, give your grandpa a kiss, and then get the hell out of here.”

I clench my hands at my side. “Don’t tell me what to do. Maybe I changed my mind about meeting you tonight.” I cock an eyebrow and place a hand on my hip.

He just smirks at me. “You aren’t going to change your mind.”

I roll my eyes at him, but he’s right. I feel like I’m dying waiting to have his hands on me again. I turn to leave, but before I do, Alaric stops me. “Emory.” His deep tone sends shivers down my spine. I turn to look at him, and he is holding out two plates of cake. I glance down at the plates and then back up at him. “We can’t even wait for the servers to bring us the cake?”

Alaric doesn’t smile. “Just take the damn cake.”

I grab the plates and sneer back at him. “I hate you.”

I turn around, but his hand stops me before I go. He presses right up against my back, and his lips hover right under my ear. "I’ll fuck that out of you.”

My whole body freezes up. I can feel my heartbeat pounding in my head. My face feels like it is on fire. “I-...I-....”

Alaric doesn’t let me say anything. He just nods and then walks out of the backroom without saying anything else. I just stand there staring at the door that he just walked through. I can feel sweat starting to drip down the back of my neck. What in the world am I doing?

I finally get a grip and head back to my table with the cake. I set the piece down in front of Marco. “Sorry about that.”

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