Alpha Obsession

Chapter 22

This is a long chapter, but I didn't feel right breaking it into two. So, I hope you enjoy ;)

He knew that I was lying

Waking up wasn't a pleasant experience as a prisoner. The moment my eyes opened and I saw the pale white wall less than a foot away from my face, I wished I could go back to sleep. Sleep had been peaceful and warm and my body felt extremely relaxed. There was an arm draped over my ribs and I slowly recalled the events from yesterday. Looking down at the hand on my stomach and then glancing over my shoulder gave me glimpses of soft brown skin. A sickening guilt welled up within as I realized that I'd spent the night in Nicholas Blake's captivity.

Now I'd have to wake up and face the rest of the world knowing that I'd slept with not one, but two other guys. What would be the point of claiming to be straight when I let this happen twice? Reluctantly, I rolled over against the wall and met Nick's sleepy gaze. "Good morning, beautiful," he mumbled and my eyes nearly rolled out of my head. I raised both of my feet to his waist and shoved him off the bed before he could put up any defense. He started laughing and got up right away. Without warning, he grabbed both of my legs and pulled me off, almost cracking my head on the floor. "I hope you weren't expecting too much special treatment from me, Jake. I prefer to be gentle, but I'm fine with being rough as well." There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that told me he was talking about more than just minor fights.

"I need to get home. My parents will freak out if I don't return soon. Then you'll have to deal with the police." It was a flat out lie. My dad would have assumed that I spent the night with some girl that caught my attention and my mom would be happy to have the extra privacy for a while. They only had one son, but they weren't interested in coddling me when it wasn't absolutely necessary. Hopefully, that bluff would work anyway.

"Come on, I saw the way you reacted when I took away your phone. You didn't seem worried then, so why would you be now?" damn him and his deductive reasoning! "Don't worry, though, you won't have to stay for long. By now the hunt should be over and my uncle will be back taking a nap. We only needed a head start, so Emilia will drive you home when she gets back. Actually, you can go right now if you're willing to walk." That was a surprise to me. I stood up and headed straight for the door. When Nick grabbed my arm and pulled me back, I expected him to laugh and take it all back. "You might want to take this with you," he said while holding out my phone.

I cringed, "thanks." I started for the door again, but he pulled me back for the second time. This time he asserted his strength and pulled me up against his chest. "Nick?" I was more annoyed than confused at this point.

"This doesn't change anything. I'd like to see you around more while I'm here. I'm not asking for you to fall head over heels for me or anything, but keep an open mind. I can show you what a good guy can do for you." A rock wedged in my throat and I couldn't find a way to respond. His stare was casual as always, but I could hear the sincerity in his soft voice. "You're welcome to sleep in my room next time. It's bigger and far from the rest of the bedrooms so no one would hear it if...someone got a little loud." Nope. Nope, no, no way. Nope! I was out in a heartbeat. My mind kept replaying different ways of declining as I shook the words from my head. No, not happening, nope, never, nino, uh-uh. I was on an endless loop even while I struggled to navigate my way home. He can go shove that suggestion up his-

"Hunter?" I stopped in the middle of an empty sidewalk and started scanning my surroundings. I could suddenly feel that familiar pressure on the back of my head that told me I was being watched. It wasn't particularly heavy, but it was back so suddenly that I was alarmed. He'd stopped watching me at some point last night, but now he was watching again. Relief washed over me and erased a fear that I didn't realize I was hiding. If he could see me now, that meant he wasn't caught by the Blakes last night.