Page 21 of The Alpha King’s Rejected Mate

“I’ll see you in a couple of days, Dutch. Take care of things around here, will you? I probably won’t have my phone with me most of the time.” If he was going to mess with me, then I was going to mess with him. I could see it in his eyes that he was less than thrilled about this whole arrangement.

As we were pulling away, Snow turned to me. “Was all that really necessary?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, all innocent.

She scoffed., “You did that on purpose.”

“I’m starting to wonder if you and Dutch have something going on. You know workplace romances rarely work out.”

She sighed and turned to look out her window.

It was a reminder to myself as well. But I ran this place, and if anybody got to fight against the rules, it was me. I made them, so I could bend or break them if I wanted to.

* * *

The truthof the matter was we spent most of our time actually working and very little of it getting cozy with each other. I found that the most upsetting because I knew that she was my mate.

By the second day we were on the road together, we were finishing each other’s sentences, but our moment just hadn’t come. It was then that I realized it didn’t have to come. I didn’t have to have her in my arms to know she was supposed to be there.

On the third night, Snow asked me if she was going back to Pullers ranch the next day.

“Are you still thinking about Dutch?” I asked, not even trying to hide the bitterness I felt. What did he have that I didn’t? He was my second, and meant I was better, so why in the hell did she want him? It didn’t make any sense to me.

“I am just thinking about the horses and all the work I have to do. I have no problem doing what you need from me, but you said a couple of days, and I still have responsibilities at Pullers. I can do both, but I have to go back.”

Even if all of it was because of Dutch, it wasn’t like she was going to tell me. She was being careful with her words, I could hear it in her tone.

“What is it between you two?” I needed to know, even if I wasn’t sure I was prepared for the answer.

“Dutch has been there for me ever since I got here. He’s my best friend.”

“He is my second in command, he is not your best friend,” I shot back at her. I would have rather heard her say that he was her lover. Friendships were next to impossible to break.

“Why are you yelling at me? What does it matter to you what I am to Dutch?” Snow yelled back at me just as loud as I had yelled at her. Any other woman, hell, any other person, would have shrunk down when I got loud, but Snow just puffed up and got bigger. How could she not be for me?

I was so turned on in that moment that I kissed her the way I had been wanting to. I’d been waiting for what felt like forever to get my lips and hands on her. Now that I had, I was going to make the best of the situation.

My fingertips dug into her soft flesh as I held her close nipped at her bottom lip. I heard her whimper of submission and wanted to claim her.

When I told her as much, Snow shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

I was offended. “How can you tell me what’s possible and what’s not?”

“I can’t be your mate. I’m not part of your pack. There is a lot that I don’t remember about myself, but I am sure I don’t come from here.”

I felt like she was leaving something out, but I didn’t pry. I didn’t need to. She could deny it and say what she wanted, but it didn’t matter. I felt like we were making progress. When we were together, when she was in my arms like she was now, there was no other option but being together.

I was about to kiss her again, fix any thoughts she had about how we weren’t supposed to be together, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned and saw Onyx standing, half hidden, under a tree, leaning against the bark and looking our way. He had seen our kiss, maybe even heard our words. I was really starting to wonder about this guy. I had hired him, so I wanted it to work out, especially since he was a good worker, but damn if I knew what was going through that dude’s mind. Why was he watching Snow again? What did I have to do to get him to leave her alone?

15

DUTCH

Iwas lost without Snow at the ranch. We had pretty much been together, working side by side, since the day she got here, so not having her there was really weird. Whatever Sterling was doing with her, I wished he would just bring her back.

I’d been Sterling’s second for the last ten years. I thought that one day I would become alpha because my bloodline almost guaranteed it, but when it was time to choose a new alpha, it was my best friend Sterling who pushed hard for the spot, and I let it go. He didn’t know how much I’d worked for it. What was I going to do, fight to the death with my best friend?

Now, I felt this growing distance between my best friend and me. That distance had probably started when Snow came to the ranch. She had been vulnerable and scared, and I made sure she knew everything was going to be okay. I fell in love with her at some point, and now everything was too complicated to even think about.

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