“You’re right, Alaric. I owe you an explanation,” I said.
His passion didn’t waver. His eyes flashed expectantly.
“I was wrong to ignore you tonight,” I admitted. “Trust me, I didn’t want to.”
“Then why did you?” he challenged.
I couldn’t dodge the question anymore. He’d rightfully cornered me and I had nowhere to run.
“Please don’t be offended by what I’m about to tell you,” I began.
Alaric glared daggers. “Why? Are you about to offend me?”
I smiled disarmingly. “Not on purpose. What I’m about to say is simply not... polite.”
“You’ve engaged in a lot of not-polite behavior tonight,” Alaric reminded me in a mutter.
“Yes, that’s true. But this is more...” I cleared my throat. “Lascivious.”
Curiosity wavered in Alaric’s eyes, but he was quick to smother it. “Spit it out, alpha.”
There was no dancing around it anymore. I had to tell the truth.
“Very well. During the meet-and-greet, I didn’t speak to you because I was painfully hard.”
That caught Alaric by surprise. He furrowed his brow. Then his lip curled sourly, as if jealous. “Why?”
“Because of you,” I confessed.
He reeled back. “Excuse me?”
“Our little encounter from last night combined with the sight of that collar wrapped around your throat... it was too much for me to handle,” I explained. “There wasn’t a moment between those two incidents when I wasn’t consumed by lust.”
Alaric’s eyes flashed. He shrank back, but not far. His fingers still curled steadfast in my shirt.
“You’re not serious,” he said.
If I hadn’t experienced it, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. Never in my life had I reacted so strongly to another person. It was difficult to convey just how bizarre the sensation felt. Normal people were physically attracted to others all the time, weren’t they? Especially alphas. It was part of why I felt sodisconnected. My sexual desire was solely for vinyl tools and fetish gear... until Alaric stepped into my life.
“I can assure you I am,” I promised.
The proof was currently straining between my legs, although I didn’t mention that out of courtesy. However, my silence proved meaningless. Alaric’s sharp gaze darted down, seeking the evidence for himself. He stared at it for a few heartbeats as the color in his cheeks deepened.
“I see,” he said, his voice slightly thicker. “If you were so aroused, then why ignore me?”
A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. “Because I couldn’t just throw you to the ground and mount you in front of everybody, could I?”
“You—ugh. You really are crass.”
His words were barbed, but the dreamy glow in his expression confirmed his disgust was only surface-level.
“Indeed, I have peculiar tastes,” I agreed. “But do you understand why I acted that way now?”
He scoffed. “Because you’re a perverted, lecherous alpha who does a good job of hiding it.”
Alaric kept his hands fisted in my shirt as he glared at me. In spite of his insults, he made no attempt to leave, as if some invisible force held him in place. The heat of his lithe body emanated like a furnace, and his scent flowed around me like a spritz of perfume. There was the distinct aroma of baby powder, but beneath it was Alaric’s natural scent—one I found deeply alluring.
To my own surprise, my hands itched to grab his waist. But I restrained myself. I’d irritated him enough tonight.
