Page 34 of Resisted
“Alpha.” His voice shook the surrounding walls.
“What?”
“It’s Alpha. Say it.”
His hand that was tangled in my hair had traveled to the back of my neck, and my mind grew fuzzy as his thumb gently stroked against my skin. He was such a fucking contradiction. So damn confusing. How could one man caress my skin so gently, while his voice shook the space around us? Despite the harsh demeanor, my body melted into his touch, relaxing with pleasure as he brushed against my skin.
I inhaled, taking in the surrounding scent, a mixture of arousal, lust, anger, confusion, and with three men so close, I couldn’t tell where each scent was coming from. I let out my breath slowly before nodding my head. “You are in charge, Alpha. You command this pack.”
His body relaxed against mine as I spoke the words, and when he swallowed, his whole throat bobbed. “Belladonna, you are the poison to my soul.”
Before I could process his words, his teeth snagged my lip and he bit down, then he sighed and pushed away, using the wall as leverage to propel him backwards. He didn’t bother looking at either of the other men as he stalked out, heading for his office and slamming the door closed.
“That was…” Vincent began but never finished.
Infuriating. Sexy. Crazy. Hot.My body thrummed from his touch, even as my mind warned me that Silas had lost his fucking mind. He’d gone mad. Jumped off the deep end at full speed. I turned to Vincent and Boyce. “What the hell did you do to him today?”
“Nothing.” Vincent shrugged, trying to act innocent, which automatically confirmed he most definitely had something to do with this. “Just some paintball.”
Boyce’s brow rose, and he cleaned his throat. “Yeah, just some paintball. You look like you could use a kiss.”
A kiss. After whatever the hell had just happened, I could use a lot more than a kiss. A cold shower? A good fucking? Nothing a kiss would solve. But I was stopped from voicing those facts when Boyce’s hand opened and a little foiled covered chocolate rested in his palm. Chocolate. It never solved world problems, but it was the closest I would get. I reached for the candy. “Thanks.”
“Chocolate? After that?” Vince muttered. “I’m going to need a couple of shots and a good long shower.”
He walked toward the kitchen, and damnit, I followed because what chocolate couldn’t cure, shots most definitely would. And if shots couldn’t dull the ache I was suddenly feeling deep inside my core, that nice, long shower would definitely do the trick.
“I could definitely use a few shots,” Boyce chimed in behind us as we all headed to get drunk.
Chapter 14
SILAS
What the hellwas I doing? What the hell was I thinking? Why the hell was this so damn complicated? I didn’t want a fight, didn’t want the conflict. I just wanted to find a way to get Bella off our radar and where she belonged.
Which wasn’t here.
A fact I had to repeatedly remind myself of. She didn’t belong here, not with us. Gone were the days when I could enjoy having those peaceful moments with her, because in place of that child was a foulmouthed girl—no, woman. She was all woman now, and it was wrong. Fate was wrong.
But how could it be wrong when facing off with her sassy mouth felt so damn right? Her lips snagged between my teeth, my forehead resting on hers. I shouldn’t have done that. I knew from the moment I took a step toward her that this very act would be momentous in protecting my heart, and yet I refused to listen in my fury. I let her defiance infiltrate me and snag a chunk of my soul in the process.
The laugher from the kitchen made my already shit mood sour further. I was well aware it was my fault, but I hated they were in there having fun, enjoying themselves, living it up, while I was in here, knowing what my heart and soul wanted and denying it all the same.
I clicked on the email tab, pulling it up and refreshing it. Nothing. Nothing of importance, at least. Nothing to assist in my quest to find her family. Nothing that would stop this cruel joke of fate. I closed my eyes, the dead form of Bella’s mother seared into my eyelids. We didn’t even know her name, and maybe that was the most tragic part of it. If we had known her name, things could’ve been different. Everything from that moment on could have been different. We could’ve had a starting point for Bella, we could’ve given her a proper farewell.
Come out.
My fingers froze on the keyboard. Had I…? No. It had to have been my imagination, because there was no way I had heard Bella. We weren’t that close, not really, and though we’d heard her mother, that had been fate working under dire circumstances. This wasn’t a dire circumstance.
Where are you?
Another round of laughter broke from the kitchen. I shouldn’t go out there, but what if I needed to intervene? With alcohol flowing and Bella’s intoxicating scent filling the air, it would be hard to concentrate. The boys might not be able to fight against the pull. I decided to go out there as a precaution. Or at least that was what I told myself.
I stood, stretching, then paused in the middle of my room for a moment too long before finally willing my feet to move toward the door. Why was it so hard? Why couldn’t I bring myself to accept this gift from fate when it was so plainly obvious that she fit so perfectly, that the boys held a secret soft spot for the girl? And the feel of her lips between my teeth? God, I could still taste the slightest hint of her.
Where are you?
There it was again. The perfect lilt of her voice in my head. At this point, I had to be losing my mind. I had to have been going crazy, but if crazy felt like nervous butterflies and acceptance, then I would gladly reach for it, if only for a moment. I deserved that much, didn’t I? I’d earned that much, even if every aspect of my life right now felt like a contradiction. I needed her just as much as I didn’t, and maybe that was the scary part of all this, the terrifyingly real part.