Page 86 of The Denver Alpha
“And you typically engage in high-risk behavior,” I fire back, crossing my arms to mirror her stance. “How was ziplining, by the way?”
The corner of her mouth lifts as she cracks a tiny smile. “Exhilarating.”
I can’t stop the ghost of a smile from coming to my own lips. A long pause settles over us as we hold eye contact, the tug of the mate bond so strong that I can practically feel it stretching between us like a bungee cord.
Ready to snap.
“What are we doing, Juliet?” I finally sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I don’t want to fight anymore. I just wantyou.”
“That’s not what you said the other night,” she mutters.
I throw my hands wide in exasperation. “I was out of my mind the other night! You know I didn’t mean that shit.”
Juliet narrows her eyes on me, her fury evident in them. “No, Cole, I actually don’t. Because it’s the same fight we keep having over and over every time I do something you don’t agree with. You’re so used to being in charge that you don’t know how to treat someone like an equal.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, you know what’s unfair?” she asks, uncrossing her arms to point an accusatory finger at me. “How you throw our age difference in my face every chance you get. How you jump down my throat for defending myself rather thanthankingme for standing up for you against Gavin…”
“Because you put yourself in danger by doing that!” I cut in with a growl, advancing toward her. “You never consider the risks or weigh the consequences of your actions. How the hell am I supposed to keep you safe when you’re always putting yourself in harm’s way?”
She throws her head back, burying her hands in her hair. “I don’t need a man to keep me safe!” she groans, tilting her head forward to meet my eyes again. “And I definitely don’t need one telling me that I’m not good enough for him.”
“I never said that,” I snap.
She takes a step closer to me. “No, you just said that you’d rather me be a mindless bimbo instead of who I really am.”
“Fuck, I didn’t mean it!”
“Then why’d you say it?”
“I was fucking scared, Juliet, okay?!” I shout, throwing my hands up again. “You know how hard that is to admit? I’m Alpha, I’m not supposed to be afraid of anything. But that night, I wasn’t thinking straight because I was so damn scared of losing you.”
Her lips part, a little puff of air escaping them as she blinks up me with wide eyes.
I close the remaining distance between us and scoop an arm around her waist, yanking her in. I nearly shudder with relief at having Juliet in my arms again, feeling her skin on mine, breathing in her coconut and lilac scent. This girl’s a drug and I’m like a damn addict finally getting my fix.
I pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger, tipping her face up toward mine. “Can’t you see how crazy you make me?” I pant, sliding my thumb up to press against her lower lip. “I went out of my mind that night when I couldn’t find you. And when I heard that those asshole cops delivered you to Gavin, all I could think was the worst.” I draw a deep breath, leaning down to press my forehead to hers. “I don’t want you to be some mindless bimbo, Juliet. I know that’s not who you are, and that’s not who I fell for.”
I scent her tears before I see them shining in her eyes. She slides her palms up my torso, applying pressure when she reaches my pecs in an attempt to put space between us. “I need some time, Cole,” she says, starting to wriggle against my hold. “You may say you didn’t mean it, but you hurt me, and now this whole mate thing… it’s a lot. I think it’s best for me to just go home for a while and try to figure things out.”
I hold onto her tighter. “No.”
Juliet stops moving, arching a brow as she stares up at me quizzically. “No?”
I shake my head, maintaining my iron grip around her waist. “No. I’m not letting you leave,” I growl. “I’m not making that mistake again. You’re gonna stay right here and we’re going to work this out.”
“You can’t keep me here like a damn prisoner,” she scoffs.
“Wanna bet?”
Juliet starts struggling against me in earnest, and I’ve gotta give the girl credit- she’s stronger than she looks. Still, she’s no match for me in size or strength, and the harder she fights me, the tighter I hold on.
“Let me go!” Juliet shouts in protest she wrestles against me harder, twisting her body and shoving at my chest. She stomps her heel down hard on the top of my foot and my grip loosens for a second as I stumble back. She uses that moment to try to break free, but I snatch her wrist before she can, yanking her back toward me roughly. She meets me with a hard shove against my chest, the momentum of which pitches me backwards, knocking me off balance- and before I can catch myself, I’m falling, taking Juliet with me.
The splash is loud as we break the surface of the water, plunging beneath it into the swimming pool. I let Juliet go and force her upwards as I sink like a stone until my feet meet the bottom. Then I kick off from it, launching myself back to the surface. As soon as my head’s above, I drag in a deep breath and swipe the water from my face, hearing Juliet coughing and thrashing in the water beside me.
“What the hell?!” she sputters, twisting in my direction and splashing water at me. “Asshole!”