‘I’m glad you didn’t.’ There was no guarantee that they’d find a bellarmine jug – it might have been broken or sold off by Alexander’s father – but she felt deep inside that they would, and it would be intact. Everything was going to be fine.
She moved to the second box. Nothing there. She pushed it aside and grabbed the third one: again, no jug. She was stretching up to pull down a fourth box when Alexander cleared his throat. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Here it is.’
Mallory turned. When she saw the jug in his hands, she closed her eyes for a second then she gently took it and turned it over to examine it. It was, without doubt, genuine.
‘You found it,’ she breathed. ‘You did it. It’s going to be a happy ending.’
‘No. Not yet.’ He took the jug from her, wrapped it carefully and placed it inside a smaller box. ‘For one thing,Ididn’t do it.Wedid it.’ He put the box on the floor.
She smiled happily as the pain and trauma of the last month slid into oblivion. ‘It’s almost impossible to believe that jug was hiding in your basement all this time.’
‘It’s amazing what can hide in plain sight.’ Alexander wasn’t smiling; in fact, there was an intensity to his gaze that spoke of serious matters. He reached out and cupped her face. ‘I’m sorry, Mallory. I’m sorry for so much.’
She opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head. ‘I’m sorry because I knew I’d fallen in love with you the first time I saw you with that bastard Ferguson, and I didn’t tell you.’
Her breath caught. He’d said the words and made it real. She didn’t trust herself to react and instead seized on the one thing that didn’t seem important. ‘Liam’s not a bastard, Alex.’
‘I know that, too. That’s what makes it worse.’ He stared into her eyes, his gaze gentle and fierce at the same time. ‘I triedso many times to tell you how I felt, but every time I got close you mentioned that damned contract! You were helping me to find my fucking First Mate when all I wanted was foryouto be my mate. Everyone thought I was nuts for not telling you. Even Cathy West told me to man up.’
Mallory stared at him. ‘She did?’
‘I spent the whole date with her talking about you. I couldn’t tell you, though –I couldn’t bear the thought of scaring you away. There was so much to lose. What if I told you and then I never saw you again? What if it was my alpha arrogance that made me think you might feel anything at all for me?’
His voice dropped. ‘What if I was too much like my fucking father and thought that I could own you in the same way I might own a damned magical jug?’ He shook his head. ‘And when you kept putting yourself in danger and my wolf kept appearing because I had to protect you…’ He ground his teeth. ‘And it turned out that you were the one who had to protect me.’
‘I thought you saw me as weak and you’d never think I’d be suitable,’ Mallory whispered. ‘After all, you told me yourself you didn’t want love.’
‘It turns out I don’t have a choice. You’re all I want. If you don’t want to be First Mate, if you don’t want that responsibility, I’ll step down as alpha right now.’
Her heart thudded against her ribcage. ‘I would never ask that of you.’
‘I know, but I’ll do it. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything or anyone.’
Mallory shook her head. ‘No. You’re a werewolf alpha – it’s who you are. I’m a squib and that’s whoIam. And I love every part of you, Alex. I think I always will.’
He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him, then he dropped his head and the tip ofhis nose brushed against hers before his mouth descended. He kissed her with aching tenderness.
Mallory raised her hands and ran her fingers through his hair. His spicy cinnamon scent enveloped her as she dropped one hand to tug at his T-shirt, pulling it up until she could feel the heat of his skin.
Alexander growled in response. ‘Be mine,’ he murmured in her ear.
She moved a step backwards and started to unbutton her blouse, exposing herself to his greedy gaze. ‘I already am,’ she said. ‘But I’m happy to prove it, if you like.’ She kicked off her shoes, then unfastened her trousers and slid them down over her hips until they joined her blouse on the floor. She hooked her thumbs around her bra straps and lowered them an inch, her eyes dancing.
‘Tease.’ Alexander’s breath was ragged.
‘You’re not going to turn wolf, are you?’
‘Not if we hurry this along.’
Mallory laughed. She stepped towards him, licked her index finger then raised it to his mouth and traced the shape of his lips.
‘I think,’ he said hoarsely, ‘that my heart is beating so fast it’s going to burst out of my chest.’
‘Show me.’
He peeled off his T-shirt and placed her hand on his bare chest, covering it with his own. She placed his other hand over her own heart and they stood together, marvelling at every thrum and thud.
Alexander leaned towards her again and kissed her more urgently.
