Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
I turn and walk away, but he grabs me and tugs me back in, closer this time, his eyes darker. “Don’t compare me to him,” he growls, scanning my face, his fingers gripping into my hips, yanking them flush against his.
I grab his biceps to brace myself. “Then be different. Prove me wrong.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“How? Why?”
“I haven’t touched or even looked at another female since I met you. You’re all I think about. You’re everywhere, in everything I do. You’re—” His nostrils flare and he clenches his jaw again, dropping his chin to his chest. When he raises it, when his eyes find mine, they’re simmering with desire, so hot it burns my skin. His voice when he speaks is tight, low, and raspy, but I hear him all the same. “I want you.”
I raise my brow. “So you can scratch an itch?”
“No!” He groans and rubs a hand over his face. “Goddess, no. It’s not that at all.”
“Then what is it?”
I’m pushing him, but I’m not letting him off the hook. He needs to be direct. No more skirting around it, no more claiming bullshit reasons for saying I’m his girl. I’m going to get the truth out of him. Find out what he wants from me. Even if that truth hurts me.
He stares at the ceiling, biting his lip and taking deep breaths before he looks at me again. “I don’t know how to do this,” he says, gesturing between us. “Feelings, confessions, sharing my heart—this is all uncharted territory for me.”
“I know,” I reply, rubbing his upper arm.
His hands cup my cheeks, and he leans his face closer. “I don’t want to mess things up. I don’t want to ruin everything. But… I want to try. I just don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know how to do this,” he repeats, his shoulders dropping in defeat.
I relax against him, an immense weight lifted off my shoulders as he confirms this hasn’t all been one-sided. That he’s been just as tied up in knots as I have been. Maybe even more. Our arms wrap around each other, and I snuggle into his chest again, right back where I was before we started this conversation.
“There’s no need to rush things,” I say, my voice muffled by his shirt. “We can just… explore whatever this is between us. Nurture it. One step at a time. Day by day. We can worry about the rest later.”
“Okay… okay.” He nods, his chin brushing against my head. “Baby steps. I can do baby steps.”
“I’m not playing games, though, Reid. You’re either in and making a genuine effort, or you’re not. Any hesitation on your end, and I’m out.”
“No games, Taryn. I’m all in on this. I promise.”
I lift my head to look at him, and I’m met with the same smoldering stare from before, burning with intensity and sincerity. It melts my insides, turning me to putty in his arms, and I thank Selene his grip on me is tight enough that I can’t move.
I reach for his face, and his stubble scratches my palm as my thumb strokes his cheekbone. My heart aches for more, pushing me to lean forward and press my lips to his, but I don’t. He promised me baby steps, and I intend to hold true to that too. This is all new to him, and I can’t scare him off by being too intense and jumping too far too fast.
“Are you ready for baby step number one?” I ask, my lips curling into a smile.
He tilts his head to the side as the intro to “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” plays, and I spy Nolan out of the corner of my eye, guitar in hand in front of a mic stand, playing with the band and ready to sing.
“What’s baby step number one?” he asks.
I step back, taking his hand in mine and pulling the curtain aside so we can join the group again, my smile growing. “You said you’d be able to keep up with me all night,” I taunt. “I’m still waiting to see proof of that, Beta.”
I bite my lip and drop his hand, darting and weaving through the crowd to our friends as Nolan starts singing. Reid is fast, though, and he catches me in no time, those powerful hands snagging me and sliding over my stomach to hold me to him. He moves, dancing with me, that impressive chest embracing me and protecting me. His head dips to my neck, his lips brushing it as he smiles.
“Don’t worry, Cadet. I’ll always be able to keep up with you.”
My toes curl in my shoes, and I lean back, swaying my hips in a figure eight against his body.
Always, he said. I play it over and over in my mind as the night wears on, clinging to that one word and praying that he means it.
Because I don’t think my heart can handle his rejection if he doesn’t.
REID
“Hey there,
you,”
Taryn says as she walks up to me on the training field at Crescent Lake with a smile.
I hug her, no longer worried about who is watching or what they think.
She is my girl.
And soon she’ll know the truth of those words. I can’t keep it from her anymore. Not after our moment in the bar over the weekend. Not after I promised her I was all in.
I need her help, too. I tried to figure it out on my own, but that isn’t working. And while I could ask others for help—Wesley or even Sebastian—I should tell her the truth before I tell anyone else. I owe her that.
But I’m waiting until after her challenge tomorrow. She needs to focus, and my confession will be a distraction.
She takes a deep breath and burrows her face into my chest, and I curl myself around her, shielding her from the cold. She fits against me like a puzzle piece, her curves and muscles lining up with the hard planes of my body.
My fierce warrior. My perfect match.
“Are you ready for our last training before your challenge?” I ask, and she nods, her hair tickling my chin.
“What’s the plan for today?” she asks, looking up at me.
I smile. “Well, you’ve been working extra hard over the last few weeks, and tomorrow is the big day, so I thought today we’d just have a little fun.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?