Page 76 of Rocked By the Alpha
She stares at him, her nails pinching into the palms of her hands. Her blouse and her skirt feel too tight, preventing her from breathing.
“Ruby.” He tilts his head forward so their gaze meets and he smiles at her. Usually, that would have her heart melting and her knees buckling. Tonight, it makes everything worse. “I really don’t know why you’re so mad.”
She takes a deep inhale, trying to stop the rage from boiling over. “I know they can be … difficult. But you didn’t have to wind them up like that. Make fun of them.”
He takes a step back. “I tried my best. Do you think they can say the same thing?”
“Didn’t you want to make a good impression?”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what your parents or your brother or your aunt and your uncle think of me. I only care what you think.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “What is this, Ruby? What’s wrong?”
The tears are falling down her cheeks. Fucking tears that she doesn’t want to cry.
She is strong. She is a rock star. She is on the rise. She is going to be someone.
Or she was. Until he came along. And now it all lies in tatters. Her band. Her friendship with Nat. Her relationship with her parents.
“Everything is ruined,” she sobs. “Everything. You’ve ruined everything for me.”
“How?” he says, chuckling bitterly. “How?”
“It’s not funny,” she says, the frustration making her shake.
He shoves his hands further inside his pocket and blows out. “You know what I don’t understand, why you care so much about what they think.”
“They’re my parents. Of course, I care.”
“Because they take such an interest in you?” She takes another stumbling step backward, his words hitting her straight in the chest. “Do they even know the name of your fucking band, Ruby?”
“Go to Hell!” she blurts out, her vision blurring with tears.
“You’re never going to please them.” His tone is softer. “You’ll never make them proud.”
She can’t listen to this. He’s wrong. They do care. What she does isn’t their jam. But it doesn’t mean she won’t make them proud, eventually.
“And as for Nat,” his hands ball into fists in his pant pockets. “We crept around for months because of her. If she’s your friend, why were you so scared of her finding out?”
She turns away from him and strides down the sidewalk.
“Where are you going?” His voice is full of amusement and it makes her blood boil. This is a joke to him. Their whole relationship has always been a joke to him. A bit of amusement. Nothing serious. “The private jet is waiting for us.”
“You go catch it then. I’m finding my own way home.” Her sensible heels click as she walks and the air is so heavy with humidity, she can almost taste the coming rain.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” he calls after her.
“I told you, go to Hell!”
He sprints to catch up with her and spins her around.
“This isn’t going to work,” she says, pleading with him. His face is neutral. A blank canvas. No smile. No frown. Nothing. “You’ve never been serious about the two of us. And look at how much damage this relationship has already done. With Nat, with my mom. It’s ruining everything for me.”
His hand tightens around her arm and then falls away. “You’re right.”
Yes, of course she’s right. This was a bit of fun for him. The creeping around, the being naughty. That was the attraction. The thing that kept him coming back. Not her. Now they’ve been caught, now this situation has got real and the shit has hit the fan, he wants out. West the womaniser. He’ll want to find the next girl, one with fewer complications and not as many strings.
“At least let me take you home,” he says.
“No, West.”
