Arrival
OPAL
I peel my eyes open and immediately realize where I am.
In the hotel room, lying naked in Bruce's arms.
Last night flashes across my eyes, and I instantly feel hot all over. It's this mix of shame and desire that I can't wrap my head around—honestly, I'm a mess. The memories running through my mind make me feel unimaginably ashamed.
Why?
Because I liked every bit of it. I love the feel of his body upon mine. Fire rushes through my veins at the memory of his cock plunging into me. I'm filled with this crazy, wild desire, and my heart starts beating a lot faster.
This is wrong. So wrong.
Why can't I seem to remember that this man is the cause of so much grief? Why? He lied to me. I'm merely a means to an end for him. So, why am I still so attracted to him?
I steal a glance at his face and find his eyes wide open. I suck in a breath as I stare back at him intently. For a moment, my thoughts quiet down, but it feels like the calm before the storm.
And it is.
Our lips crash and he's on top of me in seconds. My fingers disappear in his mane of hair as our tongues collide, fighting for dominance. I'm completely naked and so is he—I fell asleep right after we had sex. I feel the tip of his erection grazing my inner thigh and excitement rushes through me, leaving me breathless. My heart starts beating faster, and when our bodies come together, I feel a burst of pleasure. Bruce moves above me, his cock plunging into me deeply as he sucks the delicate skin behind my ear. I take my nails along the expanse of his back, completely lost in the act. I meet his thrusts, raising my hips and taking all of him inside of me.
It feels so good.
Afterward, we lie in each other's arms and honestly, it's not as awkward as it should have been. It's like all my worries and even my anger went away when I orgasmed.
"We should get going," Bruce mentions, and that's enough to snap us out of this trance and get ready to leave.
I step inside the shower first, standing under the spray of hot water and tilting my head up. My muscles loosen. Every time I take a deep breath, I feel lighter than I have in days. Yes, this is incredibly messed up because only yesterday, I hated the mere thought of the road trip, but I also have to stop denying to myself that I'm attracted to Bruce.
Denying a fact won't take me anywhere.
Behind me, the shower door opens and a gust of wind makes goosebumps spread all along my skin. I know it can only be Bruce, so I don't turn around. My heart beats a little faster, though. I'm aware of how close he is and my body sings for him.
Sings in ways I never thought it could.
"Opal," he says softly.
I look at him over my shoulder and our eyes meet. The water's barely touching him, but his hair's already getting wet from all the steam. There's an undeniable intensity in the way he's looking at me.
"I think we need to talk."
I don't say a word in response, but I know this is the right thing to do.
"I'm tired of things between us being so tense. And I know what happened, and I know what we did, but I want things to be straightened out so there are no misunderstandings between us."
I nod and lower my gaze, but he pinches my chin between his fingers and forces me to raise my head to look into his eyes. "I want things to be this way between us every day, Opal. I'm willing to do anything for us to get along. And I know you think that this could change at any moment and that you'll be discarded once I attain my goals, but that's not going to happen."
"You didn't tell me this last night," I point out.
"I know. It got me thinking, too."
"But you were going to discard me?"
A beat passes, then he nods. Disappointment washes over me, but Bruce says quickly, "I didn't know you then. It's not easy to be forced into a relationship, especially a marriage. But I've since changed my mind. I know it'll take a hell of a lot for you to get out of my head, Opal."
His right hand moves up and down my arm as he speaks. It's mildly distracting.
I'm aware that I have to say something though, so I tell him, "I think we should take things slowly. This situation is confusing for both of us."
Bruce nods.
I part my lips to add something else, but ultimately decide against it, and a comfortable silence settles between us. We step out of the shower, somehow managing to keep our hands off each other, and head out in under thirty minutes.
In the car, nothing else is said, but things definitely aren't tense anymore. Deep down, I'm afraid that things will change so quickly that I'll forget what he did to me earlier on, and the reason why I can't forget it is because I don't know if I can trust him fully yet.
He can be saying one thing yet he means something else.
Putting my heart into this so early on is bound to be a mistake. I can't afford those—my life is on the line here.
But one thing is sure.
I'm starting to develop feelings for him quickly.
I'm so lost in my thoughts that we arrive and I hardly notice it until he parks the car outside a massive house. It's a manor, really. Almost as big as Bruce's home. We both turn to look at each other at the same time, and then he says to me, "We've arrived."
"Okay," is all I can say, my voice barely above a whisper.
We step out of the car once the host leaves his house and meets us where the car is parked. Bruce opens the door for me, and when I step out, he immediately closes his hand around mine.
"Welcome, welcome!" the older man says. My guess is that he's around fifty. "I'm very pleased to have you here, Alpha Prince. Princess."
"We're glad to be here," Bruce replies politely. "As you've guessed, this is my wife, Princess Opal. Opal, this is Alpha Chester Selvar."
A shudder courses through me at the introduction. Alpha Chester tells me how pleased he is to meet me, but I'm distracted by someone approaching us. The man's eyes are on me, and when I look closely, I realize that he's a younger version of Alpha Chester.
"I've heard people mention your beauty, but I didn't think they were being honest," the Alpha says. I turn my attention back to him and feel this strange sensation course over me.
Why's he looking at me this way?
Bruce's hand tightens around mine unexpectedly, and all I can do is offer Alpha Chester a small smile. His son, I'm assuming, approaches us, and he's introduced, too. "This is my son, Landon."
Landon nods at us both, but his eyes are solely on me, too. As I look back and forth between father and son, I realize that something is wrong.
"We'll show you to your rooms."
In the parlor, Bruce and I are forced to part ways. Alpha Chester calls him for a drink, and I'm supposed to head upstairs with the maid. I catch the look he gives me. It's a dark look, but it's not necessarily directed at me.
Is he...bothered about Alpha Chester's comment?
Could that be it?
As I make my way upstairs, I can't stop thinking about this.
I'm just starting to pack my things when I hear a soft knock on the door. I open it and find the Alpha's son staring back at me. "Just wanted to make sure that you were settled in."
"I'm fine. Thanks."
He nods. A beat of silence passes, and then he leans against the doorframe. "I have to admit that it's strange to have you here."
I frown. "Why?"
"Well, Bruce and I haven't said a word to each other in years. My father didn't even tell me about the visit until this morning." I feel like there's something else he wants to say, but he holds his tongue. "It's funny, because we used to be best friends."
"Really?" I didn't notice a thing when he approached us. Bruce didn't bat an eye.
"Yeah. But we stopped talking because, well, never mind. If you'd like, I can show you around. Make you feel more at home."
Declining the offer would be very rude, so I follow him all the way downstairs, albeit reluctantly. I can't help but feel like something is off about this whole thing.
And I'm going to find out what it is.