Page 24 of Vallaverse: Noir
“And how will you protect him? Are you strong enough? Fast enough?”
I bristle. “You mean my leg.”
“I'm sure you're capable enough, but I – ”
“He is mine. I am more than capable of protecting him, regardless of anything else.”
“Will you protect him from me?”
“Yes.”
“Come here, my pretty Alpha.” He holds his hand out to me, a clear command in his voice. “Come sit with me.”
“I will come to you. No need for you to command me to do it. I'm not so stupid or stubborn that I don't understand what's happening here between us. I will come to you. But I will not give him to you. You cannot order me to do that.”
“I can.”
“Don't.”
“Don't create a problem where there isn't one, Alpha.”
“Don't make me hate you, Valla. I might do the things you command me to do. You could force me to do many things, I am well aware of that; and I may even enjoy some of them. But I will resent you; and if you force me to give him to you I will hate you. I will hate you with every single breath I take. Is that the life you want for us?”
“I'm not going to take him from you, Dana,” he insists. “I'm only trying to share the burden if you want to share it.”
“It's up to him. If he ever wants you, then I will share him with you. I will not take that choice from him, regardless of the choices you might take from me.”
“I only want my Alpha to be well and happy. That's all. We can discuss our Omega – ”
“My Omega.”
“As you like. We can discuss your Omega when things are less,” he pauses to smile, “heated. Come. Sit with me. Tell me something about you that has nothing to do with Beckett or this situation. I won't bite.”
“That's exactly what you'll do.”
He covers another laugh. “Yes. But I will do my best to wait until you're ready for it.”
I sigh and uncross my arms. It's unavoidable. Inevitable. Pierce is my Valla. I felt the pull of his command. I would rather choose to close the distance and sit with him instead of being commanded to do it. The only commands I've ever issued have been out of dire necessity. Pierce tosses them around like they're nothing. It isn't even that I mind sitting with him. Iwantto sit with him. I just don't want to be told to do it. I have lived my entire life without being commanded to do anything, and I won't start allowing myself to be commanded now. “Is everything going to be a struggle?” I ask.
“Maybe,” he says. “I hope not. I don't want to struggle. I want to be happy.”
I want to be happy, too. I don't want to argue or defend every choice I make. I might be too independent to let him do too much, but it might be nice for someone else to wash the dishes after dinner. An image of Pierce in a pink, frilly apron crosses my mind and I smirk.
“What?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I answer. “I was just thinking you'd look nice in pink.” I cross the room and sink down into his lap before I give myself another second to think about it.
He puts his arm under my knees and turns me so that I'm sitting fully on his lap with my calves draped over his other thigh. I feel awkward because I'm still very naked and he's still completely clothed. He adjusts again, pulling me against his chest and I lose some of my stiffness. His warm, earthy scent envelops me and I breathe it in. Is this what it's like for Omegas?
“Oh,” he purrs, interrupting my revelation. “I like this. You smell delicious. Can I touch you?”
“You are touching me.”
“You know what I mean,” he says.
I nod, and he immediately splays his fingers around my thigh, stroking from hip to knee. “Tell me something, Dana. Anything.”
I blurt out the first thing I can think of. “I miss having a partner.”
