Page 46 of Alpha Claimed

"May I?"

"Thank you." She handed him the brush, and he sat behind her, wrapping his long legs on either side of hers.

He sectioned her hair, started at the bottom, and worked his way up. Cocooned in his powerful thighs, her thoughts heated.

He brushed the hair from her neck, sending a shiver through her skin. His scent swirled around her, and she remembered the feel of his body next to hers the night before. Her cheeks flushed, and his warm breath tickled her neck.

"You are so beautiful, Kitten." His lips brushed her skin, and she stifled a moan.

Then, as quick as he kissed her, he sat back and continued to brush her hair.

Tease.

Thirty minutes later,Apollo finished with her hair and pulled it into a scrunchie for her. She'd never been a scrunchie type of girl, but she didn't want to deal with a mass of tangles again by bedtime.

A knock on the door sounded, and Apollo opened it. Lachlan handed him the food, but his gaze landed on River.

"What's wrong?" Apollo asked.

Lachlan looked between them and shook his head. "Nothing, Highness." His eyes drifted to River again; she thought he wanted to talk to her.

"Well, if it's nothing, then goodbye." Apollo closed the door in Lachlan's face.

He returned to the bed and set the bag of muffins down before handing her a gigantic soda.

She took a gulp. "Why don't you like Lachlan?"

He stopped opening the food bags. "Because he's not loyal to me. He's loyal to Ares."

"He can't be loyal to both of you?"

Apollo's gaze met hers. "No. Loyalty is always slightly stronger to one Alpha or the other."

She knew he wasn't just talking about Lachlan. She dropped her gaze, and her thoughts turned to Ares. She wondered what he was going through. What was he doing right then? Was he thinking of her? Had he worked out his pent-up energy with another female?

Her wolf snarled at the thought.

No.He had meetings and things to attend to. He was the Prince, after all. And he's just had meetings in New York. Of course, he didn't have time to sit around pining for her. Besides, from what she could tell, there weren't any other females in the estate besides herself.

Her wolf whined.

River sighed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of the real reason you are here. I just want you to understand."

She looked up at him. "If you apologize to me again, I'm going to bite you."

A wry smile played on his lips. "Promise?"

She hadn't meant it to come out like that; even so, the idea didn't repulse her. She sipped her soda. She had never understood people who wanted to be with more than one person. She always knew as a shifter that she would find a mate, and that would be it. They would be together forever. But… that wasn't how things were playing out.

For the first time, she wondered if she could choose between them and what would happen if she couldn't.

CHAPTERELEVEN

RIVER

They were finishing an action movie just after noon when River heard a vehicle approaching. Apollo slid off the bed and walked to the door. He'd barely pulled it open when a set of heavy footsteps stormed into the cabin, and a familiar voice rang out.