Alpha's Faire

XXVI

"What?" She breathed out.

"I want you." He repeated softly. Her body grew hot as the words entered the atmosphere. With three simple words, he sent chills up and down her body. She felt her heart race. Her stomach flopped. What the hell was going on?

"No." She glared back at him, annoyed with her body's natural reaction. She bit back flashes of her dream. She wasn't crazy. She could be rational.

"You don't have a choice, Dr. Lewis." Raphael reminded her softly. "If you don't want me to go after the Foundation or your brother. If you don't want any punishment, then you need to listen to my request."

"What do you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him, ready to kill him if necessary.

"I want you, Dr. Jexanna Lewis." He repeated. The damn chills followed once again as his face remained earnest. What did he mean by want?

"I understand that. But you should know, I'm not one for whoring myself out." Jexanna seethed. Raphael's eyes widened immediately, understanding her context. A low growl came out of his throat.

"You have a way with words, Dr. Lewis." He groaned in frustration. His large form retreated away as his eyes snapped shut. Raphael took a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not interested in having you do that."

"You keep making comments that tell me otherwise, Alpha." She mockingly replied, crossing her arms against her chest. Raphael groaned, releasing a growl in frustration as his cheeks tinged red. Jexanna issued a smirk at the sight of the big bad alpha struggling to speak.

"Those are unrelated." He growled. Most women would leave the topic alone in a moment like this. But Jexanna felt an urge to poke the bane of her existence while she had the opportunity.

"Don't be afraid, Alpha Stone, do you want me under the sheets?" She asked in a low voice as she trailed softly her fingers down his arm. Shit. Jexanna suppressed the urge to react to the insanely hard muscles. It was even harder than she thought. Did she want to risk getting hit by this? Raphael's head snapped up, eyes wide in shock.

"I suggest that you stop, Dr. Lewis. Before this gets out of hand." He murmured, as a dark haze faded over his eyes.

"Then stop making comments to suggest otherwise. After all, you started this." Jexanna dropped her hand and glared.

"Look," Raphael breathed in deeply. "I would not expect you to warm my bed in exchange for your freedom," Raphael replied.

"Tell me then, what do you want with me, if not that," Jexanna asked once more.

"I want you to lead Whitehaven's research department." She froze. What the hell did he just say? Did she just have a stroke? He couldn't have said that, right?

"Can you repeat that?"

"I want you to lead Whitehaven's research department." Raphael Stone repeated himself once more. She blinked as she stared at his face. It wasn't full of malice or laughter. It was serious, straight.

"What the fuck?"

"It's a real offer, Dr. Lewis. I can promise you that." He smirked at her response.

"Fuck off." She growled, annoyed. Like she'd believe that. He wouldn't offer her that high of a position in his pack for nothing. The world didn't operate like that. You didn't steal from a werewolf pack and become their research department's head. "Stop screwing with me, Alpha."

"Dr. Lewis, this is the deal. I want you to be the head of Whitehaven's research department for five years after this passes. In return, I'll drop everything, and even assist you with all of Whitehaven's resources in this investigation."