Page 8 of Alpha's Secret Baby
I expected to find Cherry shut in her room but was surprised as I wandered into the living-room to find her sitting cross-legged on the floor in the center. She’d moved the coffee table and was sitting amidst a circle of paper. Her delicate eyebrows were scrunched together in thought as she studied the paper around her.
“Hi,” I said, her surprise evident as she looked up, her lips forming a perfect “o”.
Belatedly, I realized I was staring at her mouth. Thoughts about the other night were already pitching through my head. I wondered whether those lips had made a similar shape then. Echoes of her moans resounded through my thoughts. My eyes retreated to the safety of the drawings around her. “What are these?”
She hastily started to bundle them into her arms. “Nothing… Sorry, I didn’t expect you back yet.”
Her words swamped me with guilt as I considered how often I’d left her alone. How often had I found her waiting for me, only to retreat to my study? As she swiped at the drawings around her, I reproached myself at the fact that she clearly didn’t see this space as hers if she was hurrying to tidy her things away.
“Wait a moment.” I crouched down, picking up a drawing. Sketches of stylized dresses decorated the page. “Are these yours?” My gaze drifted up, and Cherry slowly nodded.
Her throat bobbed, and I realized how close I was to her and stooped down on the carpet. Her nearness prickled over me. She’d swept her long hair up into a knot, and the urge to reach out and untie it, as well as the memory of fisting those long locks, had me standing up. “These are really good, Cherry.”
I watched her cheeks flush as I handed her back the drawing. Once more, my thoughts tripped to our time in bed together. Was that how her cheeks had looked? The same red hue that splashed so many of her colorful designs laid out on the carpet.
“What are you doing?” I asked, finding a distraction from my wayward thoughts.
Cherry shrugged. “I’m due to submit a portfolio for a fashion design course I’ve applied to for the fall. I’m going through my old college designs, choosing which ones to include.”
Like a wolf hitting my flank, it struck me that I hadn’t even known Cherry had studied Fashion Design or that she wanted to continue studying.
“Wow. That’s amazing,” I said.
A faint flush crept along her cheeks again. “I’ve always liked fashion design. It feels right to study for a degree in it.”
I nodded, impressed at all the things she had time for: shadowing my mom in her Luna duties, looking after the house here, and keeping up with her own studies. “Can I help?” I asked.
Her eyebrows flew up. “Umm…” She bit her lip, looking awkward like she didn’t know what to say. Was this because of the other night? Was she about to ask me to leave her alone?
My chest tightened at the thought of being ordered away just when I was, starting to know something about her. I interrupted, “Maybe you could do with a second opinion.”
Again, her gaze skipped over my face with incredulity. Slowly, she chose two sketches, both with swatches of material stuck around the design like a collage. “Tulle or chiffon?” She asked seriously.
My dark eyes skipped between the two drawings. “A hundred percent chiffon,” I kept my expression staid to hide the fact that the two materials looked thesame.
But amusement rose in her eyes, and she chuckled, telling me I’d been found out.
Warmth spread through my chest, and a smile broke across my own face. “I’m not sure my particular skillset translates well to this. How about I get the artist some food instead?”
Cherry hesitated a moment, and I tensed, waiting for the second time for her to tell me to get lost.
But her mouth quirked. “I could eat.”
My chest loosened with relief as she accepted my olive branch. In between setting some ramen on to boil, I watched her pouring over her work, examining her art. Bert’s words came back to me:“Cherry’s beautiful and loyal.”I’d long known that Cherry was beautiful. With her hair up, her heart-shaped face, and her beautiful silver gaze, she would easily be the most beautiful woman in any room, and my thoughts catapulted back to how gorgeous she’d looked the other night in that silk dress.
But what I hadn’t appreciated was just how beautiful her dedication was. I knew from my mom’s constant praising of Cherry’s helping her that she’d risen to the challenge of taking on the duties of Luna. On top of that, Cherry had been here for the last year, endeavoring to build a relationship with me. And to see that amidst all that, she’d kept up her commitment to her own studies was damn attractive too.
Chapter 6 Cherry
It was the day before the Moon Ceremony, and I felt sick to my core. Apprehension was wreaking havoc on my body. Inwardly, I chided myself. Why had I left it until the last minute to leave?
But the logical reasons for doing so came to my rescue. These reasons had become something of a mantra for me over the last few days. As I packed the last of my stuff into the small carry-on suitcase, I reminded myself of them. Today’s flight from Seattle had been the cheapest I could find by far. On top of that, the scholarship I’d been lucky enough to be awarded for my tuition abroad would only start in the fall. Until then, I’d have to find a job for my living expenses. I had a small amount of savings that would give me a few weeks in a cheap backpacker’s hostel in Berlin until I secured a job, but it was hardly much. So, it had been safer to wait until the last minute. The worst-case scenario was that I had to live in a hostel for the summer months and work at whatever job I found before my course started.
But as I zipped up my case, logic couldn’t defeat the rising tide of worry surging through me. I pictured how upset my dad would be when he found out I’d gone. I smothered the image of him looking dapper in his suit for the ceremony that he’d shown me the last time I’d visited him. I remembered the joy in his voice as he’d told me he had his speech prepared, but I wasn’t to worry; there were only afewembarrassing stories.
Emotion caught in my throat as my gaze swung to my dress: the beautiful silver dress on the hanger, suspended from the top of the wardrobe. Heather’s dress. The one that she’d worn to her own Moon Ceremony and I’d worn to Chris’s birthday. Inevitably, my thoughts skipped to Dylan, back to when each of his caresses had seemed to burn through the fabric and set my body alight.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, shaking away the heady feeling that those memories always conjured. I had to leave. He hadn’toncealluded to the night of passion we’d shared. Not since the morning after when he’d said it was a drunken mistake. Hell, he’d said he didn’t even remember the night. Something that had meant I’d never bring it up again because the truth was mortifying. While he didn’t even remember it, I couldn’t forget it. Every time I thought about it, my throat went dry, and my stomach tightened with longing.