Page 72 of Alpha Ruined
“Later,” he says.
She frowns. “You can’t be serious. You didn’t finish, don’t you want?—”
“Baby, I could give a fuck less right now. I wanted to feel your cunt clench around my fingers, and it did, multiple times. I wanted you to scream so loud the entire town knew you belonged to me, and you did. My cock can wait.”
She huffs out a laugh, the absurdity of his words delighting her. It assuages any guilt she has, and she settles against him, breathing in his scent and closing her eyes.
His purr increases, calming her inner Omega. When she opens her eyes again, the sun is setting. She’s clean, the bedding is changed, and Cole is setting at her desk fully clothed and peering down at her, his expression soft. Against the backdrop of the Green Woods sunset, he’s stunning, stealing her breath as she gazes at him.
She realizes she would be happy to wake up to this more than once.
“Hey,” she says groggily. “Were you watching me sleep?”
He shrugs and grins. “Guilty.”
An alarm bell rings distantly in her head, but she’s so comfortable under the warm blankets that she ignores it. “Some people would call that creepy behavior, you know. Borderline stalking.”
“If admiring your beauty is stalking, it looks like I’m going to prison for a long time.”
She flushes. “You’re insane.”
He shrugs. “I’ve been called worse.” He turns his attention to the succulent on the desk, eyeing it curiously. “A gift?” He touches the lilac leaves delicately, running the pad of his finger along them.
“From the gardening club in my town. I did an article about them, and they gave me one as a thank you. I don’t know the first thing about plants, though.”
“Good thing you have a succulent then. They’re almost impossible to kill.”
“That’s what the president of the club said. I’m just happy they liked the article.”
He stares at the plant almost longingly, and she frowns at his expression. “You’re a good person, you know,” he says quietly.
She blinks. “What?”
“You enjoy telling other people’s stories. And it’s not just because it’s your job—you do it because it brings them joy. It’s an admirable quality.”
Her instinct is to argue with him, but he turns to her, and the retort dies on her tongue. “People do terrible things every day, all with selfish intent. But you found a way to make a living by giving others a voice.”
“It’s a gardening club, Cole,” she argues weakly. “And my next article is probably going to be about a local cheese maker.”
She wants to bury under the blankets and hide from him. No one has ever given her praise for what she does, besides Carl. But…never like this.
No one has said what she does isadmirable. She has the frightening urge to cry, and she quickly blinks back tears.
She’s going to miss him when she leaves.
“Right, but why are you in Green Woods?” he asks softly, leaning close as she props herself up on the pillows. “Maybe you also try to see the humanity in monsters. Isn’t that why you’re interviewing that doctor? To see what he thinks about what happened to Erik and Ellie?”
She nods. “I just want to hear what he has to say. I think their story is…unique.”
He grins knowingly, delight in his eyes. “You want to see the humanity in Erik. You’re hoping maybe he’s more than just a killer. That Ellie went with himwillingly.”
There’s something off about his tone, something that makes a chill run down her spine. “I told you that, yes,” she says softly. “What are you getting at?”
He remains silent a little too long, then he shakes his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “Nothing,” he murmurs. “Just an observation.” He leans forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I must leave you for tonight, my love. I’ve been away from work for too long.”
My love.The words make her heart flip and her skin flush. Her scent must spike, too, because he grins wolfishly before kissing her. “I’ll have to start calling you that more often,” he murmurs against her lips. “I thought you already knew.”
Her head spins, unable to formulate a proper response.