Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
Chapter 81 I Want You by My Side
After showering and changing, Adam came up with the idea of taking her to see the offices that he had bought. Ann agreed with very little hesitation. There was no point in wasting time moping about her losses.
She had to adapt quickly and keep moving forward, whether she wanted to or not.
Ann was curious to see what he thought would const*itute a good working environment for her and as the final decision on whether or not to start a new company had been f0rced upon her, she also wanted to see what she had to work with.
“I didn’t think you would want to be in the same building as me for business purposes, especially after our last conversation on the matter,” Adam said nonchalantly as he drove them toward their destination. The slightly pensive expression on his face and crease in his forehead told Ann that as casual as he sounded, he was clearly a little hurt by the thought that she didn’t want to spend every waking second with him.
“Don’t take it personally Adam. I would have been happy with my own office space within your building if you were able to keep your hands to yourself during work hours.” Ann smirked across at him.
He cleared his throat awkwardly as he sneaked a glance across at her.
“You know, before you Ann, I’d never had much interest in pursuing a relationship.” He murmured hesitantly, frowning slightly.
Ann’s smirk faded a little as he spoke. She wasn’t quite sure what to say, so she sat silently and listened as her heart seemed to beat loudly in her chest.
“Even when I met you actually, I had no intention of taking Allen up on his stupid idea of taking a chosen mate.” He paused briefly and smiled to himself, keeping his eyes firmly on the road ahead.
“And then you appeared, out of thin air, like some sort of fated encounter… a sign from the goddess perhaps, showing up in a wedding dress, admittedly a little drunk and disheveled, but at the exact moment that my Beta was trying desperately to convince me that I needed a Luna… in the men’s toilets of a private bar.”
He chuckled lightly as he glanced across at her with a deep meaningful look burning fiercely in his eyes as a slow grin spread across his face.
“It seemed too much of a coincidence at the time not to accept your bold proposal.”
Ann blushed slightly and pursed her lips as she scowled at him.
“Hey, that’s not completely true. I did not propose to you!” she objected petulantly, folding her arms in front of her. “What was it you said? ‘I’ll do it! I’ll marry you!”‘ He chuckled, imitating her almost perfectly as her scowl deepened.
“Actually, ‘it was you need a chosen mate and I need a way to get out of this wedding tomorrow. I’ll do it! I’ll marry you.’ If you’re going to mock me, at least do it properly.” She grumbled as she turned her head and stared sulkily out of the window.
Adam laughed loudly as he turned down a side street, heading deeper into the center of the upmarket business district.
“I’m not mocking you, Ann. I would never mock you. I just still find it hard to believe that I have someone so perfect to share my life with, considering it all started in such a strange way.”
Ann grunted sulkily at him and he reached across to rub her leg gently.
“Don’t be cross, Ann. If I have my way, I don’t ever want this contract to end. I want you by my side till I take my very last breath.”
Ann swallowed nervously as she turned slowly back to face him. He kept doing this. Saying these little things that made her heart beat in such a terrifying way with no warning.
Like when he had held her to him and practically begged her not to leave him, his vulnerability raw and plain to hear, as if his very life depended on it.
Now, here he was saying essentially the same thing, and honestly, she felt the same way. She never wanted to leave his side, but if she said it out loud so that he knew how she felt, then it would make it all the more p@inful when they eventually had to part ways.
She couldn’t do it to herself, nor to him.
But before she could answer, the car pulled to a stop, with Adam sighing resolutely beside her.
“We’re here. Let’s take a look at your new company offices.” He said, the faintest trace of disappointment in his words hanging in the air between them.
Ann glanced out of the window and gasped at the sight of the building before her. Even with her position at her father’s company, she could never have afforded a place like this at the heart of the business district on her own.
This really would be a headstart for her new venture, one that she couldn’t have achieved without Adam.
She stepped out of the car as Adam held the door open for her and craned her neck backward in order to take in the enormity of the building.
She was too stunned to speak and snapped her gaze back to Adam’s with her mouth slightly open, trying, and failing, to find the words to thank him.
But there were no words necessary.
Adam chuckled and took hold of her hand, pulling her towards the entrance.
“You can thank me later,” he winked cheekily as Ann flushed a furious shade of red.
It didn’t matter how intimate they got and how depraved their s*e*x life became, all it took was that cheeky smile and smoldering gaze to turn Ann’s insides to jelly.
Maeve rumbled contentedly inside her, fully aware that this man captured their soul completely.