Page 24 of Her Arranged Alpha
I gave Sam a nod before she turned, walking across the space.
Katie walked over a moment later, giving us all a smile. "You mind if I snag my husband back? The babysitter just called, and she needs to get home soon, so we need to head out."
"Dang," Henrik said, setting his glass down. "Well, I guess we are leaving." Henrik pulled an arm around Katie, kissing the top of her head. "See you for the meeting in a couple of days."
I nodded as they walked away, heading for the door. Frank finished his drink. "Well, we have a long drive home, so I'm grabbing my wife." We looked over and found Nina sitting at a table talking with someone.
"Speaking of wives, how is she doing?"
Frank's eyes seemed to sparkle. They had just welcomed their baby boy, Johnny, a few weeks ago. This was their first night away from the baby. Frank's brother was babysitting, which I had been shocked by considering how their relationship had been over the years. Being married to Nina had softened him, but in all the right areas.
"She's doing well. She had a hard labor, but she made it through. Johnny is healthy and growing. All we can ask for."
Frank headed over to Nina, leaving Aaron, Jones, and me alone. I sighed, tired. I hadn't slept well before this, always on the alert for Jillian.
"You wanna call it?" Jones asked, nodding his head towards Jillian and Marsha.
I shook my head. "No, I'm going to let her enjoy this." I didn't want to be the person to end the night. At least not in that moment. I wanted her to think back and have some good memories when she thought of tonight. I didn't want it to just be the night she was forced to be with me.
I stood with the guys watching as Jillian looked to having a good time. We didn't leave until Marsha left. I walked with Jillian to our car, watching her face. She seemed to have tons of emotions that crossed her face before finally falling neutral.
As we drove home, we were both quiet. I didn't know what to say. Every attempt I made to make things better didn't seem to work. Jillian looked outside the window, her face blank as we pulled into the driveway.
"Well, we're married now."
She glanced at me for a split second before she nodded. "We are. Does that mean you're going to unbolt my window?"
I smirked. "I already did this morning. You were downstairs."
Her eyebrows went up. "Wow, so I can actually have the window open now. I'm really moving up in life."
I frowned. "You're a bit of a smarty pants, aren't you? Frank never mentioned that. Frank told me you were a sweet girl, but I'm not seeing that."
"I never had to be with Frank because he was nice to me." She opened the door and hopped out. I sighed and rubbed at myeyes before getting out myself. Jillian headed inside right away, and I followed behind her. I shouldn't have been surprised to see her go straight up the stairs. She didn't look back as she headed into her room, shutting the door behind her.
I frowned, feeling a tug deep in my chest. I knew I probably could have handled this entire situation better, but I also didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I was even doing.
I headed into the kitchen, tossing my jacket and tie onto the counter. I opened my liquor cabinet and pulled out my whiskey. I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured myself a drink. I took a small sip and leaned against the counter, staring across the room. I stared at her glittering high heels, thinking about the dance.
Jillian was dangerous, and I knew that, but why did I feel a tug to protect her? Why was my body going back and forth against itself when it came to her? Why couldn't I think rationally when it came to her?
I took another sip when I heard something upstairs. It was a soft sound, like wood dragging across the floor. I instantly wondered if she was going to go for attempt number eight, but knew better. She wouldn't get far before the bond would stop her.
I finished my glass and placed my whiskey back into the cabinet. I walked back towards the stairs when I heard movement again upstairs. I stared at Jillian's door and knew it was coming from her room. I started up the stairs and headed towards Jillian's room. I then heard the grunting sound, and panic set in.
I opened the door and pulled it open, and froze when I noticed Jillian stood in the center of the room, her arms pulledbehind her back as she tugged at the zipper of her dress. It was only halfway down, and half of her back was exposed. She grunted again. "For fuck’s sake! Just move, damn it."
I couldn't help but smirk, taking her in. She pulled at the zipper, but it was caught in part of the dress, not moving.
"Do you need a hand?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
She turned her eyes, widening a little when she spotted me standing there. She looked ready to tell me to go away, but then sighed, her shoulder dropping. "I can't get this off."
My smirk grew. "I can see that."
"Just…" she grunted and made a face. "Help me."
"Only if you ask nicely."
