Page 2 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Gwen rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Did you see what happened in town?”
A growl rumbled in his chest, answering her question. “I can go beat their asses if you want.”
“No. I’d rather you stay here with me.”
Rafael pressed his face into her hair, breathing deeply. The memory of the first time they had talked, really talked, came to his mind. She had been sitting on the sea cliffs overlooking the ocean. They weren’t really that high, and kids in town liked to congregate in the area to go cliff jumping. The ocean formed a deep pool at its base. It had been the middle of January, with a gentle, half-snow rain falling over them. Rafeal had fought with his father—again—and came to the cliffs for some solitude.
She’d been here, sitting on the cliff, and he’d been suddenly filled with the need to protect her. Something aboutthe way she looked into the ocean made him think of a tragic heroine about to fling herself to her death.
Later, when he shared his thoughts with her, she laughed. “I was thinking about what sort of pizza I was going to make for myself when I got home.”
Now, with her sweet scent filling his nostrils, Rafael felt a familiar surge of protectiveness and helplessness sweep through him. He hated having to hide Gwen from his father. He hated that he had to pretend as though there was nothing between them. Maybe if he could just work up the courage to tell his dad to get off his high horse, he and Gwen could be together in the open, rather than hiding what was between them.
“You’re shaking,” Gwen murmured. Her lips brushed along his collarbone as she spoke.
“I’m fine.” Rafael kissed her temple again. His body was chilled, but she was so warm. He pulled her in closer, tighter. A strange sort of desperation filled him. He’d be leaving back to college soon. Leaving her alone in this pack with nobody to look out for her.
If he could just bring her with him… But that was impossible. He couldn’t do that unless he made their relationship public, and that would be a disaster. He couldn’t imagine what his father would put her through if he could find out that she was dating above her station.
“I love you. You know that, right?” he murmured into her hair.
“I know. I love you, too,” she whispered back.
Rafael touched her lips with his thumb as he cupped her jaw in his hand. She was so soft, so perfect. “You deserve better.”
She giggled. “Better than you? I don’t think there is such a thing.”
“Better than this pack,” he answered in a whisper. “Better than an Alpha who…”
He trailed off, unable to finish his thoughts.
“But I have you. That makes it all worth it.” She kissed him lightly. The kiss deepened, their tongues met, and Rafael couldn’t hold back. He needed her. Needed her touch. Needed her to believe that he was more than his father’s screw-up son. When she looked at him, he felt like someone. Not the pack’s heir. Everyone else saw his father. Gwen saw him.
He moaned into her mouth. Gwen’s hands moved over him, memorizing his body. It made him stir with desire, heat flooding into his skin. He tightened as he pulled her closer again. She was pressed right against him, and he let his hand drop, cupping the curve of her ass to bring her even closer. He would never be able to be close enough to her. He kissed her neck and grinned when she gasped out his name.
Their lips met again once, twice. Neither of them spoke. If they did, it might break the moment between them. Rafael drank in her scent. He kissed her neck, buried his face in her skin. Then his hands moved reluctantly, putting just enough space between them to start undressing her. Gwen shivered with his touch, her breath a gasp in her throat. She helped him.
The night was velvet and tender around them. Here in the woods, in the darkness, Rafael felt as though he finally knew who he was. Finally, he felt at home with Gwen Parker.
Clothes were shed, and the night bore witness to it all.
***
The next morning, Rafael was woken early by his mother, Isabel. She had a deep look of disappointment in her eyes as she threw his clothes at him.
“Your father is waiting for you at town hall.”
A snake of dread slithered through Rafael’s chest, deciding on the best way to wrap around his heart. He had been out late with Gwen. Just before dawn, they’d been woken up by movement in the forest, which Rafael had written off as a deer. Now, though, with Isabel’s disappointed look and being summoned to the town hall? He swallowed hard as he quickly dressed.
It seemed as though the entire pack was waiting for him to arrive. They stared at him as he passed through the aisles. Whispers and disapproving shakes of the head followed him. His father waited on the small stage at the end of the town hall, where the schoolchildren performed their end-of-year plays. The snake in Rafael’s chest found just the right spot on his heart to squeeze when he saw Gwen standing just behind Randall, her hands twisted together, her eyes downcast.
“Rafael.” Randell’s sharp gaze cut right through him. “You know why you are here, don’t you?”
Rafael shook his head. “No, Father.”
Randall snorted and pressed a button on the projector beside him. Instantly, an image flickered to life on the wall behind him. Rafael’s heart sank, and Gwen gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Her face paled. It was a picture of them from last night, near the spring. Their bodies had been tastefully blurred, but without the pixilation, both of them would have been on full display. Their faces were clear, and it was obvious what they had been doing.
Mutters grew in the crowd watching. Rafael’s gaze skimmed over them as the snake wound tighter. He’d been wrong before. It wasn’t the entire pack. Just the adults. And judging by their expressions, most of them already knew why they had been summoned.
