Page 41 of The Denver Alpha
“Are you still taking me to campus?” I ask, arching a brow.
I see the realization dawn on him. He clearly forgot.
“Oh, that’s right,” Cole mumbles, looking back down at the papers spread across his desk and rubbing a hand over his buzzed head. It’s one of his tells that he’s agitated or frustrated, and if I wasn’t feeling awkward before, I definitely am now. Far be it for me to inconvenience the mighty alpha.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say with the wave of a hand, backing out of the doorway. “I’m sure I can find another ride…”
“No,” he cuts in. Cole rises to stand, pinning me with a stern glare. “I told you I’d drive you, so I’ll drive you.”
His statement brokers no room for argument. I step into the doorway again, leaning a shoulder against it as I watch Cole reach down to gather a bunch of papers spread out across his desk and start pulling them together. “I’ll deliver these myself, then,” he says to Sam as he straightens the stack with his hands before sliding it into a large envelope.
“You sure?” Sam asks.
Cole nods tightly, sealing the envelope and slapping it down on the desk. “I’ll be right in the neighborhood.”
The two of them mumble quietly to one another about whatever’s in the envelope, completely ignoring my presence. I’m not sure what I expected after last night, but it wasn’t the brush-off that this feels like. I move inside the office and sidestep to lean against the wall beside the door, folding my arms over my chest as I wait for them to finish.
The longer I stand here, the more annoyed I get. Because how dare Cole kiss me like he did last night, then think he can just blow me off today? Didn’t that kiss mean anything to him?
It feels like he’s playing hot and cold with me- searing hot in the dark, ice cold in the light of day. And I deserve better than someone freezing me out, damnit.
I feel my temperature rising as I stand there and stew about it, waiting for Sam to leave. He finally does, tipping his head to me as he walks past, but I’m too busy glaring in Cole’s direction to return the gesture.
As soon as Sam leaves, Cole’s eyes snap to mine. His irises ignite with a flare of liquid gold as he returns my glare for a long moment- it’s a staring contest I’m familiar with, the power struggle that always seems to be raging between the two of us. The curse of two alpha personalities drawn to one another only to clash over and over.
Cole wets his lips with his tongue and my eyes leave his own to track the movement.
“Come here.”
His command is low, gravelly, and pure fucking sex, sending a shiver rolling down my spine. I swallow past the lump in my throat as my feet start moving toward him almost on their own accord. Cole watches me intently as I advance, a predator stalking his prey, and I’ve never been so eager to be hunted.
His arms are folded across his chest, sleeves rolled to the elbows to expose his veiny forearms. It’s all I can do to keep from drooling over them as I draw closer, rounding the desk, feeling the air charge between us with every step. Then once I’m within reach, he’s on me, closing the last bit of distance between us. One hand grips my hip to pull me in while the other wraps around my throat possessively, his thumb pressing against the underside of my jaw to angle my face up toward his.
Cole’s eyes are so dark they’re almost black, and he’s staring down at me with so much intensity that I feel like I could combust on the spot. Pushing back against his authority is fun, but willingly giving myself over to him like this has its own appeal. There’s power in relinquishing control, knowing he gets off on wielding it and that it’s all on my terms.
Time stands still as I blink up at him. Then, without warning, his lips descend on mine, a zing of electricity igniting between us. It shoots straight to my core, turning my blood molten in my veins and stealing what little breath is left in my lungs.
I’d thought the kiss last night was earth-shattering because it was our first. Because it was a long time coming for Cole and me, the culmination of a steady build-up of sexual tension finally spilling over. Or maybe just because it was the first time I’d been kissed properly by someone who knew what they were doing.
I was wrong.
This kiss is every bit as cataclysmic, sending my world careening off its axis. It’s somehow both rough and gentle, patient and urgent, too much and not enough. His velvety tongue sweeps against the seam of my lips, parting them and meeting my own in an impassioned fight for dominance. My arms loop around his neck, body melting against his as he holds me tightly against him like he wants to possess me, to own me. And in this moment he does- mind, body, soul.
This kiss, just like the last, is everything because it’s Cole. Something about him draws me in, like our bodies are magnetic, our spirits intertwined. Our dominant energies feed off one another where they should clash, and when we finally come together like this, the result is heady and addictive.
A little whine of protest escapes my lips as Cole breaks the kiss, sliding his hand up my neck to cup my jaw and pressing his thumb against my lower lip. “Wanna tell me why you’re pouting like a brat?” he murmurs, those impossibly dark eyes staring into mine again.
My knees go a little wobbly in response to the deep tenor of his voice and his penetrating stare. It all feels a little silly now, me getting so worked up over what I perceived as a brush-off from him. In all likelihood, he was probably just caught up in his alpha duties and taking care of pack business, which I can’t exactly fault him for. It’s his job, and if anyone can understand the alpha’s obligation to prioritize the pack’s needs, it’s me. I grew up around it.
My cheeks heat as I sink my teeth into my lower lip, giving a little shake of my head.
He arches a dark brow like he’s surprised by my response. Or lack thereof.
He glides his thumb along my lower lip. “You over it?”
I lick the pad of his thumb, nodding.
The corner of Cole’s mouth ticks up. “Good girl. Let’s go.”