Real Alphas Bite (The Alpha-Hole Duet 1)

Hendrix heard my steps and turned around. When he saw me, his face went totally blank, nothing but a tic in his cheek showing. I shifted uncomfortably, smoothing down the front of my dress nervously. Did he hate it? And why the hell did I even care?

"You look exquisite," he finally said hoarsely, and I was faintly aware of Jacqueline giving a sigh of relief from somewhere behind me. "Hopefully everyone has enough self-preservation to keep their eyeballs," he muttered slowly, and Jacqueline giggled nervously.

I blushed under his stare before noticing that he had changed. He was dressed in a classic black and white tux, no bowtie or tie. Instead, he had the first couple of buttons undone like he had earlier, and I found my mouth watering at the sight of his smooth, tan skin. Was it weird to be attracted to someone's neck?

He strode over to me and grabbed the back of my neck firmly with one hand, smoothing the skin softly with his thumb as he looked down at me. Something fluttered in my chest…dangerously close to my heart. He was standing so close. Was he going to…

"I'll take those, make sure that they all have the right measurements," Hendrix ordered, snapping me out of the spell he’d put me under.

I looked over his shoulder. "Are those for…” I began.

"You'll need clothes, won't you?" he asked. I nodded, my mouth flopping open like a fish as Jacqueline hustled by us and grabbed the stack.

Hendrix abruptly let me go and then put an arm around my waist before leading me back out the door that we had first come in.

"Thank you," I threw over my shoulder, feeling awkward about just walking away.

Jacqueline didn’t respond. She was probably too busy adding up all the dollar bills she would get from her commission.

A man was waiting for us right outside, and his eyes widened when he saw us.

“Eyes down,” snapped Hendrix, and the poor guy not only looked down at the ground but also turned completely around so he couldn’t see us at all.

“Is that really necessary?” I muttered under my breath, and Hendrix growled and pulled me closer.

“Every person in the building is going to want you before the night is up. I’m thinking it’s very necessary.”

They haven’t seen my scars, was the first thing I thought as we walked behind the practically quivering man. I thought about Brayden’s face when he’d seen them for the first time that night, the disgust in his gaze. “Such a pity,” he’d whispered.

“What are you thinking about right now?” Hendrix asked, knocking me out of the past.

“Nothing,” I responded quickly. He’d already seen me way too vulnerable as it was. I didn’t want to give him even more ammunition to decide I was pathetic.

He stopped suddenly, and I almost fell over. He gripped my neck softly but firmly, his thumb rubbing across my pulse. His eyes were glowing red as he stared at me. “Don’t lie to me, Emersyn. Ever,” he said sternly.

He let go abruptly and started moving me forward without saying anything else.

We walked down a nondescript hallway before stopping at a door.

“Enjoy your night, sir and madam,” the guy said, giving an awkward bow before quickly striding away.

The door in front of us slid open just then, and I let out a loud gasp. In front of us, there was a tunnel completely surrounded by water and swimming sea creatures. Beyond the tunnel was a room, also surrounded on all sides by water, with a dining table and chairs set up.

“This has to be a dream,” I murmured, and Hendrix laughed. It was a real laugh, not just a chuckle. When I looked at him, surprised at the sound, I saw that he looked just as surprised as I was to have laughed.

He shook his head, confusion in his gaze before leading me through the tunnel and into the room. There was another clear tunnel on top of the room that led straight up.

I wandered around the room, realizing whatever giant tank surrounded us was a shark tank and there were hundreds of sharks swimming around everywhere.

It was incredible.

“Hold on,” Hendrix said suddenly, and I looked at him questioningly right before the room started to move. It went up the tunnel, and I realized that the floor was also completely clear. As we moved higher, it really felt like we were immersed completely on all sides by water.

Staring at everything, I began to feel emotional.

“Why are you showing me all of this?” I asked him. Like when we’d first walked into this place, he was spending more time watching me than watching the underwater kingdom around us.

For the first time since I’d met him, a flicker of insecurity flashed across his face. Of course, it was gone in an instant, but still…I’d seen it.

“I—want you to be happy,” he said haltingly. “You said you hadn’t ever seen the world. So this was the start of me showing it to you.”

I had the urge to cry because it was the nicest sentiment I’d heard in a very long time, but at the same time…how could I trust it? He’d still kidnapped me. He’d still injected me with a drug when I refused to cooperate.

But… Nope, I was going to stand strong. I wasn’t going there.

“Shall we eat?” Hendrix asked, clearly noticing my internal debate.

“That sounds great,” I answered softly, feeling unsure.

Hendrix pulled out a chair for me, and I settled into it, wondering where the food was. Before I could ask, he sat down and pressed a small button on the table I hadn’t noticed. To my shock, the middle of the table opened up and a tray floated up, loaded down with delicious smelling food.

A hammerhead shark chose that moment to swim by, and I shook my head and giggled, overwhelmed with how surreal the moment was.

The meal was a variety of Asian dishes, and I didn’t even try to be ladylike to match the setting as I loaded my plate and my mouth down with noodles, orange chicken, fried rice, and egg rolls. We ate mostly in silence, but it wasn’t awkward. We both were watching the scene that surrounded us, and occasionally we would both point out things we saw.

“What’s your home like?” I asked finally, wanting to take advantage of his good mood.

He bit his bottom lip as he thought, and I shifted in my seat, finding it much too sexy.