Page 34 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
And from there, it was easy to see what Jacob was planning.
Jacob making a move—-
Kassia falling to the ground—-
Jacob landing on top of her, his groin on top of her sex—-
Not in this goddamn life.
Before anyone could draw another breath, Alessandro was there, standing right outside Kassia and Jacob’s fighting space.
“STOP.” His voice carried throughout the hall, and everyone froze.
Kassia, Jacob, and the pairs standing closest to him turned to Alessandro in shock and confusion, unable to understand how it was possible for him to cross the entire hall in a fraction of a second.
Jacob, his foot still mid-air, began to sway. He had been about to hook one leg around Kassia’s to take her down. But now, the plan was about to backfire.
Alessandro deftly stepped back as Jacob fell on his face. Behind him, the entire class struggled unsuccessfully not to laugh.
Alessandro wasn’t able to join in their amusement, his attention stolen by the sound of Kassia’s erratic heartbeat while her intoxicatingly sweet scent once again took possession of his senses.
Kassia was looking at him with brown eyes that hid everything, only to be belied by the feel and smell of her emotions.
Pain.
So much damn pain.
He didn’t need the power to read her thoughts to know what she was thinking. What she seemed to have been thinking every night, if the dark circles under her eyes were any indication.
She looked at him, and she did not see him.
She saw another woman.
Kassia looked at him, and she only remembered Melissa’s hand on his body, Melissa speaking coyly into his ear. She looked at him, and she imagined Melissa in bed with him—-
The primal, savage Lyccan side of Alessandro wanted to roar at the pain in Kassia’s face. Honor meant everything to his kind, and what he had done to her – theonlygirl who had so easily gotten under his skin – was the greatest of dishonor.
He had made her believe in him, made her trust, made her hope, only – he had repaid it with betrayal.
Kassia suddenly turned away as if the mere sight of him flayed her, and Alessandro’s chest tightened. He had thought that Domenico’s fall had caused him the greatest pain, but now he knew it wasn’t. It wasthis– seeing Kassia hurting, and knowing he had been the one who wounded her so.
He started to say her name, but Jacob had stood up, breaking the line of sight between them.
Reality struck him, and his jaw snapped shut.
Nothing had changed.
He could not afford to be as weak as his older brother, and Kassiawouldbring him down. She wielded such power over him, even now, even just by existing.
Kassia was better off without him.
And he was better off without her.
Alessandro forced himself to swing away.
“You’ve won yourself a reprieve,” he told the class. “The actual test will take place in our next class. You may resume practice without need of a fighting circle.”
No one had the courage to ask him what brought about the sudden decision. He felt their surprise and confusion, but he didn’t give a damn. Going to one corner of the dojo, he laid his hand open. It was his signal to the class that he was also open to questions. In a second, female students surrounded him, swallowing the sight of Kassia and Jacob.
