Page 24 of Alpha Ruined
“Of course you are. It doesn’t change the fact that you don’t have to, now.”
Impossible, infuriating man.
“Look, Cole,” Bree murmurs, fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater. “I don’t know why you’re doing all this, but there’s really no point. I’m leaving at the end of the week. I don’t know what you’re getting out of this.”
“My reasons are my own, sweetheart,” he says, watching her play with the fabric of her sweater. “Would you believe me if I told you it’s because I simply want to?”
Sweetheart.
Bree shakes her head. “No.”
“Well, then it’s a moot point. I’m used to getting what I want, and a little bit of your stubbornness isn’t going to stop it from happening. It’s endearing, actually.”
She scowls as he chuckles. “See? It’s all worth it just to see that look on your face.”
She rolls her eyes, but her lip quirks, the ghost of a smile forming.
Cole’s demanding and unpredictable, to say the least.
He’s also not bad to look at, and he smellsdelicious.
Maybe one dinner with him won’t be so bad.
“Fine,” she concedes. “It will be nice to go somewhere besides the café for the next few days.”
“You’ll find life is much easier when you agree with me,” he replies, smirking.
Her phone buzzes with a text, and she unlocks her screen to check who it’s from, but he reaches from across the table to snatch it out of her hands.
“What the hell?!” she cries, loud enough that customers turn to look at her. “What are you doing?”
“Texting myself,” he says. “So, I have your number.”
He does it quickly, then hands the phone back to her, which she takes with a look of indignation. “You could have justasked,” she hisses.
“Sure, but you would have made it difficult, and it would have taken me at least ten minutes to get it out of you. This way was faster.” He pulls a sleek black phone out of his pocket and checks the screen. “Perfect.” He gives her a wicked grin.
She balks at his audacity.
For a ridiculous moment, she imagines him meeting her mother, his arrogance and playfulness on full display.
Carol would be absolutelythrilledthat this man is giving her daughter this much attention.
Not just a man…but anAlpha.
Not a Beta. Not someone barely interested in her, that would prefer to split a dinner check or not bother to step in if someone was harassing her.
She stops that train of that immediately.
“So, why are you in Green Woods, anyway?” she asks instead. “You stick out just as much as I do.”
Cole tilts his head curiously and remains silent for a moment too long.
She thinks he’s not going to answer her question.
“I’m visiting my family,” he finally says, his voice soft. “I’ve been waiting to see them for a long time.”
His eyes are gentle and warm, and it makes him look younger.