Chapter 36 36
She laughed again, and Stefan couldn't help but join in this time, “I bet Alana was just dying to tell you about that,”
“Not immediately, but she filled me in eventually. You are such a caveman,”
Stefan shot her a dry look. “You’re enjoying this way too much, aren't you?”
“I live for the drama,” she whispered, grinning. “Now go, before you lose your nerve — or your woman.”
Stefan hesitated only a second longer before setting down his glass and straightening his jacket. His pulse thudded like a drum. Across the room, Alana turned — almost as if she felt his gaze — and their eyes met. For a suspended heartbeat, everything else disappeared. The noise, the music, even Travis.
There was just her.
Her lips parted slightly. Something flickered across her face. Then she blinked, straightened her shoulders, and smiled — polite, guarded. The kind of smile that drove him insane because he knew how different the real one was.
And with that, Stefan started walking toward her.
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Stefan cut through the crowd with slow, deliberate strides. He wasn’t rushing, but his intent was unmistakable. Alana saw it too. She could tell by the sharp set of his jaw, and for a second she wondered what he was going to do. Had she triggered him just by speaking to Travis in a room full of people? If he did anything crazy she'd never forgive him.
Stefan reached them. He stopped beside Alana, his presence dominating the space instantly — taller, darker. Travis was quite eager to meet him, “Mr Maynard,” he greeted, “It's nice to meet you,”
He extended a hand, and Stefan accepted the handshake, his grip firm.
“Stefan,” Alana said, forcing a polite smile, “this is Travis Hartman.”
Stefan said nothing. He simply stared at her like he was expecting her to say more, and it didn't take long for Alana to figure out what. Was that why he'd come over? So Travis would know the position he occupied in her life? Was that his own fucked up way of marking his territory?
“Stefan is Juliana's father,” she added softly to Travis, shifting her weight and smoothing her hand over the sleek fabric of her dress. She was tired of the fighting, and if this was going to help prove to Stefan that she didn't want Travis in that way, maybe he'd just stop being an asshole and go back to the Stefan he was weeks ago. The Stefan she'd begun to fall in love with, she thought sadly.
Travis looked surprised, as expected. “Oh,” he said, and glanced between them. He was a smart man, and it didn't take long before he sensed the tension between them. “I'll go get some more drinks,” he added, and slipped away before either of them had a chance to say anything.
Alana blinked and turned away, “Did you come over to tell him that he was fired because I spoke to him?” She couldn't help herself.
Stefan couldn't help his smile, “No,” he said, “but I admit I wanted him to know exactly who I was to you,”
She turned back to face him then, the anger she felt at him evident in her eyes, “To what end?” she asked,
He shrugged, knowing that he had to be sincere with this woman if he was going to get anywhere with her. “I don't know,” he replied, “I was standing over there, watching you talk to him, laughing at almost everything he said, and I realised I wanted to be in his place.”
His words and the complete sincerity in his tone and gaze caught her off guard for a second. That was not what she'd been expecting.
“You seem surprised,” Stefan continued, “One would think you didn't take a look in the mirror before you stepped out tonight. Surely you know how beautiful you look,”
What the hell was going on, Alana thought, but she still couldn't stop the heat from rushing to her cheeks. Not when he looked at her like that and said things like that. Not after she'd missed him so much. “Stefan…” she began softly.
“Let's talk somewhere else,” he interrupted, “Somewhere quieter if you don't mind,”
She should say no, Alana thought, but instead she found herself nodding slowly in agreement and then soon she was walking out with Stefan. Out the hall, down the narrow corridor to an even narrower, darker hall at the back. They turned a corner, and then another and they were alone, very alone, in a very dim corridor.
They'd not walked a long distance, but Alana was suddenly out of breath. It certainly didn't help when Stefan suddenly pressed her against the wall, pressed his body into hers, his knee parting her legs so wide she felt splayed, exposed. “Do you choose to do the opposite of what I tell you to rile me up, Alana?”
“No,” she flung back even as his body covered hers. “Maybe I just don't like it when you try to control me.”
Stefan leaned hard against her, his chest roughly crushing her breasts, his shoulders pinning her to the wall.
“Yes, I guess I was wrong to do that.” He admitted roughly.
“How big of you, detective… Taking responsibility like that. Tired of being an asshole already? I thought that was your thing now,”
She laughed out loud, and her laughter was like pouring gasoline on a fire. His eyes blazed, his body seething with rage. He was too angry. She’d never seen him like this.
Never seen him anything close to this but she wasn’t afraid, just defiant…and hurt. Mad at herself for wanting his love so much.
“You know I was never interested in a relationship with Travis, but now I think I'll give him a chance. He's nice and handsome and has never tried to control me like some kind of puppet.”
Stefan's control shattered. His hand snaked into her hair, grabbing the thick bun. “You wouldn't dare,” he said huskily. His hand wrapped tighter, twisting the strands between his fingers. “Not with what you and I still have. You can't deny that.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. All we have is sex. It just happened to create our daughter, and I can get great sex from many different men.”
She was dousing the fire with more and more gasoline, and Stefan's anger scorched her, stunning in its strength and fury. He leaned into her, not with the shoulder bone but the muscle, and suddenly his hand covered her breast. “This is mine,” he said. “You're mine,”