Page 10 of Alpha Chained
And then, just as abruptly, he turns away, the spell broken. I sag a little, my chest heaving as he strides to the bunk and lowers himself onto it. His back is to me, broad shoulders blocking me from view as effectively as if I don’t exist at all.
Holy freaking hell!
I open my mouth, then close it, still reeling from the aftershocks of…whatever that was. My legs are shaking, and I take a wobbly step back, and then another, until I feel the bunk bump against the back of my knees. I sit heavily on the thin pallet, hugging my knees to my chest.
What just happened?
One minute, I was plotting escape, and the next…
I sneak a peek through the bars at my new neighbor’s cell. Part of me wants to call out to him, to demand to know what the hell that was all about. But another part is almost afraid to draw his attention again, to have those pale eyes piercing into me once more. I worry my lower lip, indecision churning in my gut.
He hasn’t moved, keeping that impassive pose with his back to me. Like our…encounter, or whatever you want to call it, meant absolutely nothing.
It’s as if I don’t exist.
Chapter 5
Riot
I stalk through the cell door, seething with rage. The metallic clang echoes through the cell block as the guards shove me inside. Their faces twist with disgust, but I can smell the acrid stench of their fear.
Good.
They should be afraid. I’m a monster – a cold-blooded killer. The image of the Moscow Mule’s lifeless body flashes before my eyes, and I feel sick.
Parker’s smirking features shimmer on the edges of my vision, too.
I had no choice.
The stakes are too high. The thought of how much he holds over me tightens the knot in my chest. He knows I can’t defy him, no matter how much it destroys what’s left of my soul.
I whirl to snarl at the guards, my lip curling away from my teeth, which are still sharp and extended. I’d like nothing more than to take out one of their throats, too, right now – these blindly obedient minions of my master. But something stops me short. A scent…coming from the cell beside mine. It’s intoxicating, like moonlight and wildflowers.
Against my will, I turn. The cell next to mine is no longer empty. Normally, I don’t pay much attention to who comes and goes in this place. There’s no sense in forming attachments or even showing any interest in those around me. But today is different. Today, a woman stands there, staring at me with wide eyes.
Fuck!
Time seems to stop as our gazes lock. Her eyes are a warm, honeyed chestnut, fringed with thick lashes. Long, red-gold hair tumbles over her shoulders in untamed waves. Her full lips are parted slightly as if she’s as stunned by this strange connection as I am.
My heart stalls and then picks up speed. The air feels electric. It crackles over my skin, raising the hairs on my arms. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It’s as if an invisible tether is drawing me to her, overriding thought and reason.
God help me!
She is quite possibly the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. High cheekbones, a pert nose, flawless skin aside from the faintest smattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose…as if the sun took the time to kiss her there. But it’s more than that. And for the life of me, I can’t say what.
Questions race through my mind.
Who is she? Why is she here?
I want to ask, but I won’t. I never ask questions. I never speak to anyone here. So, I simply stare, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. The guards forgotten, I stay like that…staring…staring for a moment that seems to last a lifetime. The pull is even stronger now, a living thing winding around us both. I ache to reach through the bars and touch her. To see if her skin is as soft as it looks.
Skin…
The feeling of skin beneath my fingertips… I can’t remember what that’s like – aside from those moments in the ring where I have a grip on an opponent. But the thought of touching someone I’m not about to kill-
I swallow hard.
I don’t want to think about that right now.