Salt steps forward.
"And what about attacks on betas? What if there had been… rape? On me? What if Eliano had no fighting experience and couldn’t protect me?"
Miller’s face turns sour.
"Scenarios, scenarios. What if this, what if that? And what if you hadn’t provoked the alphas, knowing they react like a bull to a red flag? You cannot put all the blame on them, Salt. Alphas can’t stop some reactions; it’s biological. You can’t put a betafilter on alphas. When you stick your hand into boiling water, you get burned."
"So you’re blaming the victim?!"
Miller sighs impatiently.
"You’re NOT a victim, Salt. You have your powerful protector, may I remind you? And besides, can you stop breathing, Salt?"
Salt clenches his teeth. "That’s a stupid comparison. Alphas have brains."
"Stop comparing! Alphas are not betas! They can’t be measured by our standards of low hormone levels. Alphas have hormone levels like elephants inMusth. If I pumped you with that now, you’d go nuts! They enter real berserker states. It’s practically another species. If you fail to see that, it’s on you."
"This island is starting to really bother me," I mutter grimly. "I don’t want my husband to be in danger just because he wants to dance, and you feel justified in encouraging feral behaviors!"
I catch Salt’s surprised look. He probably didn’t expect me to defend him, especially with the guilt written all over his face.
He quickly adds, "Okay… To be fair, I got drunk and overdid it. I don’t deny it. I know I provoked them, I could probably skip the crotch-stroking part," he says with a short chuckle, rolling his eyes at himself self-mockingly.
"You shouldn’t feel threatened. Period," I say firmly.
Salt’s eyes linger on my face for a moment, his heart rate picking up slightly, then he speaks quietly. "The truth is, I didn’t. Because… you were there." There’s an intensity in his voice, and for a second we just stand there, staring at each other.
"I only did it because I knew you had my back. And that wasn’t fair to you, since I knew you didn’t like fighting. I’m sorry, Eliano."
Miller slips back into one of those infuriating smirks.
"I rest my case," he mutters, walking away.
Salt and I remain in the corridor. He lightly chews on his lower lip, then says, "Listen… I… what I said yesterday is still on the table."
I freeze, because the only thing that comes to mind is his offer of sex.
"No matter how things turn out in the future, what comes of it all… I just…" He looks away, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I really appreciate that you didn’t do it when I was drunk. That was the right thing to do. Miller says alphas can’t control themselves, but even in fighting mode, you still kept your morals."
I do not know what to say. I look away too, toward the bright end of the corridor. In the distance, more pairs are leaving the cafeteria, some of them turning to glance at us.
What keeps echoing in my head is the part where he said he didn’t know howthings would turn out.
I suppose there's no way around it; I'll have to face it head-on.
"Are you sure we should be getting this close, Salt?" I blurt out. "I really want to have this experience, but I don’t want to do this with someone who will disappear from my life. I want it to mean more than just a hookup."
A deep silence falls. Salt stares at his hands.
"I just… I want that with you, Eliano. True, I don’t know what’s going to happen. This island is… not a place where I see my life. It has nothing to do with you. You’re a genuinely good guy. I just thought that if, you know, neither of us has had this experience, we could, well… trade our v-cards."
I chuckle at that expression despite my grim mood.
"Trade our v-cards? I’ve never heard that before, but I kind of get it." Then I grow serious again. "Still, I don’t want to trade it with someone for whom I mean nothing. I’d rather at leastlike each other a little. Call me a romantic, but I suspect sex is deeper, more powerful, more beautiful that way."
Salt glances to the side, his features tightening slightly as his eyes turn wistful. "Romance is overrated."
Not sure if I should delve deeper into it, but I add, "You know, my brother Luca once told me that sex without feelings has nothing on sex with someone you love."
