Page 53 of Alpha Marked

"What did I ever do to give you that impression? When did I ever talk with you about my hopes, my dreams? What I wanted from the future? Name one time you ever spent the night in my bed or I in yours. When have we ever gone to dinner that wasn't a meeting? When have we ever attended an event that wasn't for business? When have we ever seen a movie together? Or walked in the park? Or go for a run in the woods?"

She swallowed hard. "Never."

"That's right. Not once in five years. So please tell me what I did to make you think we were anything more than what we originally agreed to be?"

Anger blazed behind her green eyes. Fair enough. Let her be angry. If she'd started crying, he'd never have believed it. The anger, though, was all her.

"When will you admit the only reason you ever took this job was for the protection it offered you and the status and the perks? You don't want me. You want my title. You want my money. You want the power. I've known from the first day you came to work. And those things made you an acceptable assistant. But those same things meant you would never be my mate."

Ares padded softly across the hall and tapped his keycard on the lock of the suite without waiting for Vanessa to say anything more. It beeped and turned green, and he pressed open the door. He stood for a moment and breathed River in. Shutting his eyes, he let the feelings wash over him. His wolf stood, but Ares shoved him down.

No. Not this time. Not again. He would not let his wolf take over.

Ares turned left, walked past where his men sat and headed for the bedroom. His bare feet clapped against the cold marble floor, but his temperature remained hot as ever, especially knowing he would see her.

He walked up to the door and stopped. He reached for the knob, half believing it would be locked, but when he tried the newly replaced handle, it turned downward. Ares swung the door in lightly and peered into the darkened room. His heartbeat kicked up as he searched the bed for her, but she wasn't there. His gaze drifted to the floor, and sure enough, down where he'd slept the night before, she lay curled into the blankets, her head on the pillow he'd used.

For the first time, he felt something different for her. He didn't want to take her; he wanted to protect her, wrap her tighter in those blankets, pull her into him, and keep her from what she was about to be thrust into—his family problems—Lycan problems.

Ares slid down the doorjamb to the floor and watched her. For more than an hour, he took in the rise and fall of her chest and the sound of her light snores.

* * *

River snuggledinto the blankets and pillow that smelled of Ares. Her hips ached from sleeping on the floor, but it didn't deter her from refusing to move. His scent soothed her wolf and her as well. She didn't know how she felt about that.

Her stomach growled. What time was it? Definitely early morning since not a speck of light peeked into the room yet. Her stomach growled again. Dang. If she got up, would anyone notice? Was there anyone still in the suite? There had to be at least one someone, but where did they sleep? She hoped they didn't sleep on the couch. That wouldn't be fair. Ares' bodyguards needed sleep. Did they take shifts? So many unanswered questions.

River stretched as the ache in her stomach grew worse. She couldn't sleep until she'd eaten. Pulling one of the blankets closer around herself, she stood. As she drew closer to the door, she stopped. The door was open, but she had shut it. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she recognized the outline of someone sitting in the doorway's threshold, their back against the door jamb and their legs outstretched.

Lachlan? Or Zeke? A scent tickled her nose.Ares.

Why the hell was Ares sleeping in the doorway? Her heart squeezed. She didn't want to wake him, but at the same time, she didn't want him spending the night sitting. She chewed her lip, then crossed to him and shook his shoulder.

"Ares."

His eyes flew open, and he stood before she blinked. He scanned the room, then his gaze landed on her, and his posture relaxed.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I just… Sleeping like that didn't look comfortable, so I wanted to…" To what? Did she want to invite him in? To tell him to leave? She had no idea.

"I'm sorry I woke you," he said. "I didn't mean to."

She shook her head. "It wasn't you. I wanted something to eat."

"You're hungry? What do you want? I can wake my chef and-"

"No. No. Please don't. I don't need anything fancy. I didn't eat much at dinner, so I thought I'd grab a snack."

He nodded. "We always keep the kitchen stocked."

River brushed the hair from her face and tried to flatten it as she followed him down the hall and through the dining area. Ares flipped on the light in the kitchen, and River looked into the living room, happy not to find any of the bodyguards there. A door on the other side of the living room opened, and Theo walked out.

"Need anything, Boss?"

Ares shook his head. "We're fine, thanks. Go back to bed. We have an early morning."

Theo nodded and closed the door again.