Page 12 of Coupled (Alphas Forever 3)

“Getting you relaxed,” I tell her. I lock the door and pull her to me.

“Ethan, I don’t know if we should—“

“Take off your panties, Samantha.”

Her face turns warm.

“Ethan, I—” She swallows. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Shit. This doesn’t sound good. “What?”

“We have to stop this. We can’t see each other any more. I was going to wait and tell you after the wedding was over, but—”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve had a great time with you. Really great. But I need to put an end to this before it goes on too long. I’m really sorry, but I don’t do relationships.”

“What? Why?”

Her eyes drop. “I just don’t.”

I can’t believe what she’s saying to me. “You’ve been hurt,” I say. It’s just a guess, but by the way she looks at me, I can tell I’m right.

“I won’t hurt you,” I tell her.

“You can’t promise that.”

“Yes, I can. Samantha—” I take her hands into mine. “I’m in love with you.”

“Ethan, that’s crazy.”

“Crazy or not, it’s true.”

Her face softens. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just give me a chance.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she says. And then there’s a knock at the door, and someone’s yelling out, “Ethan? You in there? It’s time for the dance!”

“Be right out!” I bark. I turn to Samantha. “Think about it, okay?”

Samantha nods. I take her hand and we head back out into the reception. The rest of the wedding party is waiting on us. I give the DJ a nod and he starts playing our song. The surprise dance starts. When the guests realize what’s happening, they all go crazy, cheering us on.

And at first, everything goes perfectly—everyone, including Samantha, has the moves down. But then I see Samantha waver. And she freezes. Literally, she freezes, right in the middle of the song. I can see her face go red, her eyes panic. Shit. She’s forgotten all of the rest of the steps.

So I improvise. I draw attention away from her by drawing attention to me. I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing, but it’s working. This freestyling is entertaining the hell out of everyone.

I finish up with a flourish, and everyone cheers and whistles. I rush over to Samantha and twirl her around and dip her. She looks at me with intensely grateful eyes.

“Thank you for doing that,” she says.

“I’d do anything for you,” I say. “I’d certainly do a lot more than that.”

She bites her lip. “It’s really sweet of you. I…” She drifts off.

“You what?”

“About our conversation earlier. I want to give you a chance. I do have these crazy strong feelings for you. But…I’m just scared, I guess.”

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