In the Alpha’s Arms

Worth Dying for...

Thanks to Lita giving him the wrong turn, they arrived at the restaurant a little late for the reservation Brian

made. And when the hostess quoted a fifteen-minute wait, Lita knew her night was spiraling fast. Instead of

painting out that he should have used his car's GPS instead of her phone or mentioning that he shouldn't make a

reservation for the exact the was showing up to pick her up, Lita looked at his jaw clicking in irritation and

slipped into familiar shoes.

“You look so handsome,” she cooed, grabbing his hands and stroking them gently. She stared at his profile as if it

was fascinating, as if she were as in love with him as she had been two years earlier. “How'd | get so lucky,

hmm?”

“And you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen,” he whispered, the spot where her neck and jaw met. He

stiffened again for a second and then pulled away. She suppressed a shiver at him constantly calling her girl,

even as she was of age. Hadn't her age been a huge point early on? So why did he refuse to call her a woman

now?

Pushing past any of her feelings, Brian asked, “How's therapy been going?”

Lita started running through the options in her mind. Was he really asking, or was he just being polite?

Sometimes, if he was just being polite, a genuine answer would make him angry. And the reverse would damn

her too. She studied his earnest eyes.

“She's pleased with my progress and thinks the gym is great for me,” Lita admitted carefully, instinctually

rubbing her arms. She stepped back, flashing him a reassuring smile.

“Yea, | mean, you spend more tat the gym than at hsometimes,” he clicked his jaw slightly, a mild sign

of his temper, before he wicked it into blank mask. “Sometimes | try to wait for you at your apartment, but you

must not cback until late...” His throat cleared sharply. “Really late.”

Lita shifted her weight to another foot. That wasn’t true. She worked out on school nights, so she was never

hlater than ten o'clock. She understood this was an interrogation, though, and he was fishing for

information. “Yea, they're very accommodating with my school schedule. | usually go in the evenings. But |

always manage to get hat a reasonable hour.” How long could she get away with keeping her schedule

details to herself? Brian nodded absently, “Oh that’s nice, maybe |

I'll get a membership. Where is it?”

He pulled her hand into his own, gripping it a little tighter than necessary, but not tight enough to hurt. Lita

gulped; under no circumstances could she tell him the truth.

“Uh, it’s on the other side of town. Really tough to get into, so my mom had to pull a few strings. | don’t think

they're accepting any more members at the moment.” Lits forced the fakest smile she could manage, pretending

to be clueless. Every part of her prayed he wouldn't ask her parents about it.

“Oh really? That's weird. Your mom didn’t mention helping you get in when | talked to her,” he looked down into

her eyes as if searching for the lie. Shit. Lita didn’t break her composure, blinking innocently as if nothing was

wrong.

“That's weird. Maybe | misunderstood. Perhaps it was my dad.” If Brian and her mother talked, they would know

she lied. She hoped that by putting it on her father, she'd buy herself the benefit of the doubt. Cold sweat

beaded across her shoulders when Brian smiled, the grin just slightly off, “Yea, probably

After dinner and the movie, Brian was still in a great mood. He walked Lita to her door with his arm around her

shoulder, stroking at the skin to warni the chill away,

“Cold?” he asked, pulling her closer to his warmth. She merely smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. It was

almost over. She'd successfully gone the whole date without pissing him off too much. But it took too much

energy to be so perfect all the tand she was exhausted,

When was the last tthey went a whole night without a fight? She couldn't even remember, and that fact had

nothing to do with their relationship break. Before James died, Brian had gone through a long phase of hating

every single thing about her. She couldn't do anything right, even if she did them perfectly, exactly as he

requested. His temper hadn't just been short, it had been nonexistent. Snights he'd talk about the stress of

being the sole heir to his father’s line and the stress that cwith. About how much he hated his natural

stincts. He'd claimed she would understand what he meant one day, but he hadn't explained it

Even if she wanted to forget everything he'd done and pretend that he had really changed over the last few

months, her mental scars wouldn't let her. She straightened as they reached her apartment door, fully prepared

to end the night as pleasantly as she could. But he didn’t wait for her to pull out her key, opening the door

himself and standing back for her to step inside. Lita started getting anxious the second he stepped into the

apartment behind her and closed the door. It was midnight, and the night was over, Whatever else he wanted

from her, it wasn’t good. She went straight to the other side of the kitchen island, trying to put something

between them.

Chere, he rasped, exploring her body with his eyes, “Why

are you all the way o

over there?

“hri.. It’s late... and I'm exhausted,” she tried to look anywhere but at him, trying to overcthe sinking feeling

in the pit of her stomach.

“It’s been months, Lita,” he growled lightly, his eyes turning down, but he quickly recovered, “Baby, don’t push