“Robin …” she says. “This is Johnny Falcone. He’s the Alpha who wanted to see you.”
The man that steps into the room is familiar because he’s the one my eyes were first drawn to out in the ballroom. I remember the hit of recognition I felt then, and I still feel it now, but it isn’t awakening any memories inside me.
“Hi,” I murmur, as his presence seems to fill the empty room.
He’s tall, and he’s even more attractive in close-up.
Despite the imposing Alpha vibes he’s giving off, I don’t feel afraid of him.
He’s not like the men who frequented the place I used to live.
Of course he isn’t.
The Alpha Alliance is trying to stop those men, and he works with them.
He’s the polar opposite of those men.
That reasoning doesn’t explain my immediate comfort with him, of course, but considering he’s a passerby in my life I’m not going to waste too much time thinking about it.
“My friends call me Falcon,” he tells me, his voice soft but with gravel to it.
“That suits you better than Johnny,” I admit, though it’s not my place to have an opinion on what his name should be. “Thank you for what you did for me.”
I doubt I fully appreciated it at the time, not being aware of what was going on, but now I know the hell I was trapped in. I’m glad the Alpha Alliance came to the house, and I’ll forever be thankful that Colleen made certain they’d find me.
His gaze stays on my face, and when I dare to look into those deep-set gray eyes, I can tell he’s concerned. I can’t be certain why, and it’s definitely not my place to ask, so I wait for him to tell me what’s on his mind instead.
The few seconds that pass while I wait for the silence to be broken feel like a lifetime.
He follows up a heavy sigh with a question. “Are you feeling better?”
I can’t believe it. He’s worried about me.
Speechless, I nod slowly.
I don’t understand.
He’s an Alpha, and he barely knows me.
How can he care this much?
I don’t have an answer, and the longer he studies my face, the harder it is to pretend my heart isn’t starting to beat faster from standing here in his presence.
I’ve heard about the effect Alphas can have on Betas.
It’s in so many movies, I lost count.
But this is the first time I’ve ever felt it. The one and only time I’ve ever looked at an Alpha and felt an intense rush of desire. My body is reacting to being close to him, and all I want is to give in to those feelings. It’s overwhelming, and I don’t know how to make it go away.
“You look healthier,” he admits, with some reluctance. “I’m glad you’re back on your feet.”
His tone doesn’t quite match his words, and I don’t know why.
Clearly, he cares, so I’m not sure why it sounds like he doesn’t.
“I like it here,” I find myself telling him.
“It seems like a good place to be.”
