The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

“Is that what you think?” Alex comes up behind me so quietly that I don’t even realize he’s there till his hand is on my elbow. He turns me around to face him. “You think I don’t want you?”

My eyes narrow. “I don’t know what you want, Alex. All I know is that you say one thing and then you do another. If you don’t want this fated mate bond to grow, then you need to keep a distance from me. How hard is that?”

He answers my question with a question. “Do you like him?”

“Who?” I ask irritably.

“Noah Black,” he spits out, his eyes flashing.

My lips press into a thin line as I shove him away from me. “How is that your business, Alex? How is it any of your business if I like somebody or not? Did you expect me to pine after you? Did you expect me to sit in the corner of my room crying and rocking back and forth because my fated mate doesn’t want me? You don’t know me. I’ve survived a hell of a lot worse. If I don’t meet your standards, it’s not about to break my heart. Sorry I’m not so easily shattered.”

“That’s not what I asked!” he growls, grabbing my wrist and giving me a little shake. “I am well aware of the kind of person you are. What I want to know is if you are interested in the Alpha’s son.”

It irritates me, his persistence. He’s acting like a child who doesn’t want his old toy anymore but doesn’t want anybody else to play with it, either. I’m tempted to punch him in the gut.

“What if I am?” I pull my arm out of his grasp and take a step forward, refusing to back down. “What if I do like him? He takes care of me. He’s kind to me. I matter to him.”

“So, suddenly he’s all good and kind in your eyes? I thought he was a shitty person.”

His words have me floundering. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I see the flare of panic in his eyes before it vanishes and he continues. “Everyone knows he’s not a good person. He’s going to hurt you.”

Rage builds up within me. “How is that your business? Whether he mistreats me or not, what happens to me is none of your business. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“Of course it does!” he roars, grabbing me by the jaw. My fingers immediately seize the front of his shirt, ready to claw him to shreds, but I can’t bring myself to hurt him.

“I am not your concern or your responsibility,” I hiss furiously. “You don’t have a say in who courts me or talks to me or gives me gifts. You and I are nothing to each other.”

My words seem to enrage Alex even more, and his hold on my jaw tightens as he growls, “The hell we aren’t!”

Before I can anticipate his next move, his mouth comes smashing down onto mine.

The moment our lips touch, it’s like a current of electricity passes through me, jolting my entire body awake from some deep slumber. His mouth is soft and hard at the same time as he kisses me.

My heart is pounding. I can’t think. All I can do is feel.

I feel the way his mouth moves against mine, his tongue suckling and licking, claiming dominance over me. His teeth sink into my lower lip in a punishing bite, and when he breaks the skin, he laps up the blood.

I moan into his mouth, lost in this heat. He’s taking and taking from me. My body is pressed against his, needing more contact, needing more of everything. He backs me up to the edge of the table and, releasing my jaw, uses his hands to lift me by the hips. As if my body knows how to navigate itself in this situation, my legs wrap around his waist.

It’s like a dam has broken. I no longer remember what we were fighting about. All I know is that on every inch of skin that his fingers graze against, press into, an unquenchable trail of fire is left behind, marking me.

I can feel wetness forming between my legs, a throbbing of need and desire. He’s pressing against my most private area, and I blindly wish I could remove the barrier of clothing between us. It’s just in the way.

His fingers are reaching for the bottom of my blouse when my back comes into contact with the empty beer bottle that Donald left behind. It falls to the ground, shattering into pieces. The loud noise shocks me out of my aroused state, yanking me back to cold, grim reality.

Alex’s mouth is on my neck, but even as it evokes feelings of intense pleasure, it also fills me with humiliation.

I push him off me and scramble away from him. As soon as we’re separated, I see his beast looking at me through his eyes, and my breath catches. His fingers hold on to the back of a chair as his eyes return to their normal state.

My breathing is uneven as I stare at him, unable to form words. I have no idea what to say.

He kissed me.

He should be the one to speak first, to break this silence.

However, the emotion that crosses Alex’s face has my heart breaking all over again.