Radley
The knock at the door was unexpected.
We never had visitors. Well, hardly ever anyway.
I glanced at Claudia, who frowned back at me, a questioning look on her face. We were both sitting in the living room watching a comedy movie, trying to cheer ourselves up after yesterday's shocking news. The feeling of grief still seemed to be weighing heavily on us, sitting on our shoulders, fogging our minds.
We had both known Tala. She had always seemed popular, well-liked. So I had no idea why anyone would ... would ... well, you know ...
Sniffing, I got up from the comfy armchair I was curled up in, feeling Claudia's eyes on me as I left the living room and walked along the hallway to the front door.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door ... and stopped.
Alaric and Conri stood on the doorstep, both wrapped up against the cold wind that blew a chilly breeze through the open door and into the house.
Although both men stood on the front porch, it was Alaric that had caught my attention. My heart knocked excitedly in my chest as I felt heat flood my cheeks. His light blonde hair was wind swept, brushing across his forehead. His square jaw was tense, almost as if he was gritting his teeth and his eyes ... his eyes ... just ...
A cough brought my attention back to the guy standing next to him.
Conri smiled at me. "Radley. How are you?" Unlike the other day, his smile seemed genuine this time, reaching his eyes, his expression warm.
"I'm okay," I muttered, glancing at Alaric, then back to his father, my heart rate picking up fiercely as I felt the younger alpha's eyes on me.
Conri looked around the front porch. "It's a cold day. Are both you and Claudia keeping warm?"
Huh?
I nodded, my eyes flickering to Alaric again. He was staring right back at me, his stance rigid, his shoulders hunched, but his face soft.
"May we come in?" Conri asked, gesturing with his hand.
Oh.
Nodding again, I held the door open further, standing aside as Conri entered the house, his eyes sweeping the hallway. Alaric was a few steps behind his father, and his arm brushed against mine as he walked past, his eyes never leaving my face.
His stare was intense. I think ... I think I liked it.
Swallowing, I closed the door, willing my heart to stop racing. The material of my hoodie that had touched Alaric felt like it was on fire and I had the sudden urge to jump into his arms.
Oh crap.
Taking a deep breath, I spun around as Conri pointed to the living room door. "Is Claudia in there?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice at all.
Conri smiled again and then walked through the door. Not a second later, I heard him greet Claudia just as warmly as he had done with me.
I cast my gaze to the other man standing next to me, very aware of how close he was. My cheeks heated again and I quickly averted my eyes, my skin prickling.
"Hi Radley." Alaric's voice was deep, raspy. The sound sent electric shots shooting along my spine. I looked back up at him and he smiled at me, the grin making his eyes glitter in the low light of the hallway.
My jeans started to tighten and I pulled at the hem of my hoodie.
Oh god. I couldn't have ... this ... right now.
Taking a deep and shaky breath, I looked him in the eye. "Hi Alaric."
He closed his eyes briefly, leaning forward slightly to breathe in. I could only watch him, feeling rooted on the spot, completely in awe of the man leaning a little towards me, his large frame completely covering mine.
My jeans tightened even more.
Oh crap.
Heart attack.
He was trying to give me a heart attack.
"Alaric?" Conri's voice broke through my thoughts. Alaric's eyes shot open, and he looked at the living door, then back at me. He nodded towards the door and I followed him into the living room.
Conri was sitting on the sofa, his coat draped over the seat next to him. He glanced at his son as he entered the room.
Alaric looked over at Claudia, sitting in her armchair by the open fire. "Hi, Claudia," he said, the smile on his face warming his voice.
Claudia looked up at him and offered him a tight smile of her own.
"I was just telling Claudia about the extra safety measures we're putting in place around the town," Conri explained. He turned his attention back to her. "Any problems with locks on the doors or windows?"
She scowled at him. "I know how to lock the doors, Conri," she snapped. "I've been keeping us safe for years."
He sighed, ran a hand down his face, then cast his eyes to his son. "Why don't you and Radley make some tea while I talk to Claudia?"
I peered over at Claudia, who was still scowling at Conri.
"Claudia?" My voice pulled her attention to me and she offered me a small smile.
"Radley, my son. Take Conri's coat and hang it up by the door." Her voice was kind, yet her eyes were cold. Hard. She didn't seem happy at having unexpected visitors. And I wasn't sure why.
Knowing better than to ask her about it right now, I nodded, grabbing Conri's coat to hang it on a hook by the front door.
Walking unsteadily along the hallway, I took a deep breath and draped the coat over the hook, tugging on my hoodie to make sure it was covering the front of my jeans and the growing tent there.
"Would you mind?" Spinning around at the sound of a voice close behind me, I saw Alaric handing me his coat, a sheepish look on his face.
Reaching over, I took it off of him, and the strong scent of leather and oak hit my nose. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, letting the smell wash over me.
It was nice.
No. More than nice.
It was ... intoxicating.
My jeans tightened a little more and I opened my eyes, only to stare right into Alaric's blue ones.
Oh god.
The way he was looking at me ... it was doing nothing to cool the fire that was raging inside of me. In fact, his intense stare only added fuel to it, burning me from the inside out.
Oh crap.
Turning quickly to hang up his coat, I spun back around, carefully avoiding his eyes, and rushed down the hall to the kitchen, hearing Alaric's steps behind me.
How was I supposed to do something normal like make some tea with Alaric right there?
My jeans were so tight, there was absolutely no room in them, and walking rubbed the fabric fiercely across my erection, bringing tears to my eyes.
Oh my god.
Reaching for the plug-in kettle, I turned on the cold water tap, feeling Alaric's eyes on my back.
I couldn't turn around to look at him. Not just yet anyway. I had to try to calm the lower half of my body down before I could move it away from the sink.
Oh crap.
Why did this always happen at the wrong time?
Alaric cleared his throat while I busied myself finding cups, sugar, tea, milk. Anything to keep from thinking about the feeling of his eyes on the back of my head.
"How are you doing ?" he asked, his deep voice soft. "I mean, after Tala ..." I heard him sniff and turned around to see him rubbing his eyes.
Forgetting about the tent in my jeans, I walked over to him and grasped his wrists, pulling his hands down so that I could see his face. His deep blue eyes were red rimmed, his cheeks flushed. He shifted in my grip so that his fingers intertwined with mine, and he squeezed gently, holding my hands gently to his chest.
Although his touch was soft, my skin felt like it was on fire. Small electric shocks zinged through me as I tried to control my breathing. My heart was doing its own thing, hammering hard in my chest, while my cheeks flooded with heat.
"Did you feel it?" he whispered, leaning down a little so that his face was only inches from mine. "The link breaking? When Tala died?"
Taking a deep breath, I blinked a few times.
Huh?
I had no idea what he was talking about. He was making no sense.
Link breaking?
Seriously, what did that mean?
My confusion must have shown on my face because Alaric closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath. Like he was trying to ... calm his anger? Was he angry at me?
What did I do?
He opened his eyes and tugged on my hands so that I had no choice but to take a step closer to him.
Oh god.
I swallowed, trying to hold my breath as it wanted to blast out of my lungs in pants. My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest and I was very aware of the bulge in my jeans stretching towards him, reaching out for him.
Oh crap.
Taking another deep breath, I was hit with the scent of oak and leather once more, and it washed over my body, sending goosebumps rushing across my skin. I had to hold myself back from wanting to step closer to him and bury my nose in his neck.
I was starting to go dizzy ... this was ... too much.
Alaric smiled gently. "I'd like to see you a bit more around the town," he muttered, almost as if the words he was speaking were meant for my ears only, and not to travel around the kitchen. "Maybe give you a tour of the mansion. What do you say?"
He cocked his head to the side, the grin still tugging at his lips.
He looked ... I wasn't sure, but I liked it. A lot.
His eyes were drawing me in ... wanting me to get lost in their deep blue depths ... pulling me under ...
Oh, wait.
He wanted an answer.
And my mind had gone blank. There was a rushing sound in my ears and I couldn't seem to take my attention away from how close he was, how good his hands felt in mine, how amazing his scent was. He was clouding my mind. I couldn't think. At all.
Alaric Wolsey was asking to see me again?
It was like a dream ... only I wasn't asleep.
A small frown wrinkled his brow as I realised he was still waiting for me to speak. To say something.
Anything.
But ... he was standing close to me. Too close. I couldn't ... think.
Breathe ...
Speak ...
Anything.
Just do something.
He took a step back, squeezing my fingers, then dropped my hands. "Just let me know when you want to meet up." He grinned again and it stopped my heart completely.
I stared wide-eyed and slack jawed as he left the kitchen to join his father and Claudia in the living room ... then I sagged against the wall.
Oh crap.
I still hadn't answered him.