Page 29 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

I exhaled slowly. Trust had never come easy for me. When it came to trusting Sarah, I supposed only time would tell.

10

SARAH

As I finished pre-party drink number two, there was a soft knock on my bedroom door. “Who is it?”

“You know who it is,” came Reese’s deep rumbling response.

Swallowing hard, I searched the room for my other empty Solo cup and found it on the floor by the end of the bed.

Since returning from the abandoned cabin that morning, I’d been trying to play it cool—especially in front of Reese’s sister Melanie, whom I could tell was still making up her mind about me. But my it’s-no-big-deal-I-slept-with-a-mountain-lion attitude was all an act, and reality was catching up with me.

I was nothing but a nervous ball of energy with a raging libido. Reese and I may not be truly mated, but apparently his animal nature rubbed off easily.Tooeasily. I didn’t even feel like myself.

And while the speedy party preparations had been a welcome distraction, they hadn’t been enough. In fact, the more time I spent thinking about my night with Reese, the more I was freaking out.

Hence, the two glasses of liquid encouragement on a woefully empty stomach.

I grabbed the empty cup off the floor and tossed it, along with the other one, into the trash. I could justify the pre-party imbibing as quality-control research because the specialty cocktails I’d created for the party needed testing.

I opened my door to find Reese leaning against the wall, looking like sex incarnate. His green eyes were sharp and penetrating. His thick, dark hair held the perfect wave, and he’d trimmed his beard with a razor-sharp edge.

On top of that, his charcoal suit jacket fit his broad frame perfectly, and the first two buttons of his dress shirt were undone, showing just enough skin to make my toes curl in my shoes.

“Hey,” I said, playing it cool but failing miserably.

“Hey, yourself.” His gaze raked over my body, starting with my eyes and working its way down. He pushed off the wall, striding confidently into my room. He closed the door behind him. “Glad to see this dress didn’t go to waste.”

I was wearing a black sheath with a deep V neckline—the same one I’d put on for the Maddox party before realizing I couldn’t in good conscience risk being photographed or seen by the wrong person.

Ultimately, I’d spent that evening in a dark hoodie and jeans, sitting on a bluff with Reese, watching the northern lights flash green and purple across the night sky.

“Still can’t get it zipped all the way up by myself,” I said.

His lips twitched. “That’s why I’m here.”

“You knew?”

“I’dhoped.”

He turned me around, then slowly swept my hair to the side and over my shoulder. That simple act had goosebumps dancing down my bare arms and made my head feel as light as a balloon. Or maybe that was the rum?

No. It was totally him because when he tugged the fabric taut at my waist while slowly raising the zipper, I found the metallic sound strangely erotic.

I imagined it would have been even more so had the zipper been moving in the opposite direction. Maybe later tonight?

We’d been back at the lodge for less than twelve hours, and we hadn’t spoken about our sleeping arrangements. On the one hand, I couldn’t imagine sleeping alone after sharing just one night with him.

On the other hand, this was my place of employment. Maybe Reese thought there were appearances to keep up.

But then…the way he’d kissed me in the cafeteria…. None of the other employees had been around at that point, but someone certainly could have walked in.

The zipper reached the top, and he turned me in his arms. “What do you have planned for us tonight?”

“Planned?” I squeaked, ultra-conscious of the bed beside us.

“The party,” he clarified.

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