Alpha's Faire

XXXV

"Jexanna Aurlea Domitia Lewis." Her skin grew cold. So, the damn man did figure it out. Jexanna spun on her heel, eyes narrowed. Raphael Stone raised a brow on his long face at her response. "That is your full name, right?"

He crossed his arms at her, allowing his muscles to flex through his shirt. Alpha dominance rolled off his being in waves. If she were an ordinary human, she would have dropped to the floor, just like he was testing. He wanted to confirm whether or not she could withstand his power. She bit her lower lip, cursing in her mind. All the training and pain that she had endured with Shou and the Knights just confirmed everything for Raphael. She wasn't a typical human.

It was a damn power play, a tactic that equally exposed her and cornered her in their confrontation. She smirked. Smart move, Raphael Stone.

"What is your fascination with me, Alpha Stone?" She cocked a hip to the side, resting a hand on it. Jexanna suppressed a smirk at his widened eyes. "I understand that you are wary of anyone right now. But I don't see the reason why you need to focus on me."

"Normally, yes" He shrugged. "But maybe it's the fact that you've been a thorn in my side for the past seven years." Raphael scowled at her. She narrowed her eyes. So that's where Stone was going with this. Well, then, she might as well be as honest as possible right now.

"Please, all I did was expand the orchid's reach." Jexanna shrugged her shoulders and watched his gray eyes narrow at her casual response. He wasn't expecting honesty.

She glanced around, no one was up yet. But she wasn't going to let her business hang out in the open.Alpha Stone seemed to pick up on her thoughts, opening the door to a supply closet next to the elevator. He stepped inside his large muscular frame nearly consuming the width of the doorway.

"And to get rich in the process." He touted it to her. Was that why he thought she did what she did? Please.

"Yeah, right, I'm rolling in it right now." She noted sarcastically at him as she walked inside, locking the door behind her and turning on the light. "Why else would I be a bounty hunter?"

"To work out your sexual frustrations?" He quipped. They both froze at the statement. It was apparent neither expected that to enter the flow of the conversation. Jexanna's brows raised in response. What the hell did that have anything to do with this? She blinked as Raphael's face contoured into another scowl. He growled in annoyance. "I mean, to work out those amongst other issues. It can't be easy to be half faire."

"So you think that I became a bounty hunter to deal with my issues and frustrations?" Jexanna smirked as Raphael growled at her remark. His tan cheeks tinged a light shade of rouge. So Alphas did get embarrassed. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you're only half right. I do have issues, but none of them deal with a lack of anything."

"Not even a lack of respect in the medical community?" Raphael asked. She froze in place. He couldn't have, right? Jexanna's eyes narrowed. He couldn't have found Hamma's little dirty secret.

She waited in silence, ready to see how he would follow up. Raphael picked up the subtle cue. Jexanna wasn't going to respond unless he elaborated, which he gracefully did so with a smirk. "I take your silence as a yes that Hamma did steal your thesis as her own. It's a shame that the most praised thesis of your year was under someone else's name. It arguably sent Hamma straight into her position as head of research in the FLA."

"Like I cared how that damn paper skyrocketed her career." Jexanna flipped her hair back as she sat on the countertop of supplies against the wall. It was moot for her to stir up the past. "Hamma did me a favor."

"That's right. It's not like the FLA would have given you the same amount of respect, right?" Raphael softly taunted her, taking a step forward and leaning over her. He placed both hands against the countertop, boxing her in. The two were mere inches apart; the scent of tea tree oil, mint, and cedar filled her senses. Damn, it was intoxicating. But she wouldn't dare let him know. That'd give him an advantage in this game. He was trying to make her feel intimidated, allowing her to grasp the true extent of his power. But as she stared back, she found his confidence irritating. He had cornered her, exposed several secrets, and now was intentionally stroking her ire.