Page 106 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
The space between us feels charged, electric. When he moves closer, I don’t retreat. His hands find my waist underwater, and suddenly we’re pressed together, skin to skin, nothing between us but warm water and moonlight.
“Fiona,” he breathes, and then his mouth is on mine.
The kiss is everything—desperate and tender, claiming and questioning. I melt into him, my arms winding around his neck as he deepens the kiss. He tastes like night air and wildness, and I can’t get enough.
His hands roam over my body beneath the water, reverent and possessive, and I arch into his touch with a soft moan. This is madness, dangerous and perfect and completely inevitable.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard.
“This changes things,” he says against my lips.
I know he’s right. But surrounded by magic water under a canopy of stars, with his arms around me and his heart beating against mine, I find I don’t care.
“I know,” I whisper, and I pull him down for another kiss.
I stare at the real estate listings on my laptop screen, scrolling through properties within a thirty-mile radius of here. I’m not actually planning to move; I love what I’ve built in this town. But Erik’s presence in my life has made me curious about possibilities I’d never considered before. The memory of our night at the lake still sends heat through my veins days later—the way he held me in that warm water, kissed me like I was something precious rather than broken.
Maybe I’m just browsing. Seeing what’s out there.
“Boss?” Olivia’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. She’s standing beside my table in the café’s quiet afternoon lull, coffee pot in hand. “You’ve been staring at that screen for twenty minutes without blinking. Everything okay?”
I close the laptop, suddenly self-conscious. “Just looking at some things online.”
She refills my cup without being asked, a motherly gesture that makes my chest warm. “Like what? You’re not thinking of leaving us, are you?”
The concern in her voice makes me realize how much this conversation matters. Olivia has been more than an employee;she’s like family. Her opinion carries weight I haven’t fully acknowledged.
“Not leaving,” I say carefully. “But maybe relocating. The café, I mean. Taking everyone with me.”
Something flickers across her face so quickly, I almost miss it. Fear? Panic? But now she’s smiling again, settling into the chair across from me.
“Relocating where?” she asks, her tone cautiously casual.
“There’s a town about thirty miles from here that’s growing rapidly. Lots of new development, young families moving in. It could be a good opportunity.”
Olivia nods slowly, but her fingers tap nervously against the table. “That’s—that’s a big change. What brought this on?”
I feel heat creep up my neck. “Erik mentioned some stuff about his work, about possibly needing to be in different areas. And I thought...maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have options.”
“Erik.” She says his name with careful neutrality. “He’s been around a lot lately.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re considering uprooting your entire life for him?”
There’s something in her tone—not quite disapproval, but not enthusiasm, either. I study her face, trying to read the expression she’s working so hard to control.
“It’s not just for him,” I say defensively. “It’s a business opportunity. The café could do really well in a growing market.”
“Of course.” Olivia’s smile brightens, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I think that’s wonderful, Fiona. Really wonderful. You deserve all the success in the world.”
Her enthusiasm feels forced, artificial. I know Olivia well enough now to recognize when she’s performing rather than feeling. But before I can probe deeper, the bell above the door chimes and Erik enters, bringing with him that familiar flutter of awareness along my skin.
“Ladies,” he says, nodding to both of us as he approaches. But his eyes are on me, warm and knowing in a way that makes my stomach flip.
“I should get back to work,” Olivia says quickly, rising from her chair. “Those tables won’t clean themselves.”
She moves away with unusual haste, leaving me alone with Erik. He slides into the seat she vacated, his long legs bumping against mine under the small table.
