Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter – 100 A Blade To My Throat
**Soren’s POV**
Rosalie had moved out.
It was difficult to know that she had left the cottage behind my home, but at least she had moved into a house that I owned.
If she couldn’t stay in my cottage anymore, at my home, at least she was still under my wing in a different way.
The sale had been rushed, but it served my purpose, so it was good enough. As a bonus, the house was bought for a steal anyway.
I wasn’t there for the move because I’d just returned from the north. I rubbed my temples- the supplies going to the north had been delivered as we expected. Everything else was arranged and under control. Why was I just having this feeling that something would go wrong?
“We’re here,” Thomas said. “Time to put on your smile.”
“Just shut up.” I rolled my eyes. “Is everything ready?”
“Of course.” Thomas was competent, but it wouldn’t hurt to double check.
“Good evening, my beautiful Ro!” I smiled as usual. I had to admit that smiling around her had become easier and easier. Good or bad, most times, I did it without even realizing it.
“Soren, you’re here! Welcome back!” Rosalie seemed to be happy to see me.
I handed over the flowers to her and gave her a big hug. She giggled and ushered me in. Immediately, I was welcomed by the delicious smell of food. I had to say, after a long trip, a nice homemade meal was tempting. The money I spent on Rosalie was so worth it.
As she put the flowers in the vase, she said, “Food will be ready soon- but Soren, I cannot accept the piano.”
I had my men pack up the things she needed to take with her. Since the new house was furnished, there wasn’t too much, but I had sent the piano along.
“I insist,” I sat down on the couch, “if you had left it there, it would be so lonely without being used. Are you really going to make the piano so sad?”
She chuckled but didn’t seem to be convinced. “Soren, it’s too expensive-”
I continued my reasoning. “Plus, how am I going to have my private concert if my musician doesn’t have her instrument? Keep it, please, for me.”
She finished putting the flowers in the vase, and looked towards me. “Soren, you are just too kind. You’ve done too much for me, thank you,” she said.
I saw how grateful she was, and I liked it when she showed me her appreciation. That was the reaction I wanted from her. Everything was going as planned.
However, her eyes were so innocent and gentle. Her smile was so genuine that I had to force myself to look away. D*mn it!
Ever since that night, every time I was around her, I thought of that dream I’d had about her. Now, sitting in her living room, her sweet scent was surrounding me, and my fingers itched to reach over to her. I had to dig my nails into the couch to keep from touching her.
I cleared my throat and dragged my focus back to the conversation. “You’re very welcome, Ro. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to help. I guess I’ll just have to visit you here until I can convince you to move in with me again.” She gave me a curious look, and I realized what I had said. F’ck….
I laughed, like I was joking, and said, “You know… to manage a different property… or something.”
Rosalie smiled and teased me, “Soren, how many properties are you going to buy?”
I shrugged. “The more the merrier. Too bad I only have one Ro.”
She shook her head, smiling at my joke, and walked into the kitchen to continue working on dinner. I wanted to reach up and pull her back to me. My eyes traced her curves, the roundness of her full b*rea*sts, her perfect bottom, those hips….
“Soren?” she asked, turning to look at me over her shoulder. “I asked if you could move to the dining room. The food is almost ready.”
“Oh, right,” I said. I hadn’t heard her ask me anything. I’d been too busy staring at her body, imagining her straddling me…. “Yes, I’m coming.”
F*ck, how I wished that were true…. I’d been putting on a nice disguise for so long.
“It’s so great that the floorplan is open, so I can see the baby playing in the living room while I’m cooking,” she said.
“Yes, it is nice,” I agreed, but my mind was somewhere else.
“Soup coming!” She bent over to put down the dish, and her body gently rubbed against me. I was already slightly hard from thinking about the dream earlier, and with her bent over right in front of me, my mind went to some very dirty places.
Rosalie straightened up and looked at me again. “Are you all right, Soren? You seem very distracted.”
I wanted to tell her right then and there how badly I wanted her. I could bend her right back over the table, or maybe move to the couch, and listen to her shout my name as I finally had my way with her.
“Soren?”
I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. “I’m fine,” I told her.
“Maybe the pollen was getting to you, too,” Rosalie said and then giggled. “Just kidding. I’m sure you are tired from the trip.”
I rubbed my temple as an agreement to her comment. “Probably…”
“Just one more minute, and we’ll be all set!” She smiled and squeezed my arm. “Hang in there.”
Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to not overthink her touch.
Then, I got an uneasy feeling, like something wasn’t quite right, like something was happening that was out of my control. But I couldn’t put my finger on it, and I pushed the thought out of my mind, chalking it up to being overly tired and maybe not pleased that Rosalie was moving out.
To celebrate moving into her new house, Rosalie decided to bake a lasagna. It was a fairly complicated dish, one she said she hadn’t attempted in a while, and I had heard her in the kitchen, preparing everything, including the soup, fresh bread and dessert, humming to herself the whole time.
“Okay!” Rosalie said, coming back into the room. “Seraphine helped me a bit, but I mostly did it myself.”
I had to rip my eyes off of her and focus on the food or else I might rip her clothes off instead. “Great, I’m starving!” My stomach growled looking at the food, and I was able to get a bit of control over myself. For the moment.
“You have to let me bring the food to the table. You’ve done everything else.” It was Lola walking out from the kitchen. She came here to help Rosalie settle into the new house.
Seraphine set the table and agreed with Lola. “Indeed, Ro, you’ve been on your feet the entire afternoon.”
“All right,” Rosalie said, giving in.
She stopped working in the kitchen and went to light some candles.
The soft candle light gave her a warm glow. She wore a simple blue summer dress, but she looked just as beautiful as she was in some of her fancier dresses.
I had to tell her so, despite the distraction. “You look gorgeous,” I said, pulling out her chair for her. Again, my hands grazed her slightly as she came past me, and I inhaled her sweet floral scent. I found myself leaning toward her. She turned to smile at me, and her face was only an inch or so from my lips.
What would she do if I leaned in and kissed her?
“Thank you, Soren,” she said as she sat down and turned away from me.
I took a deep breath and pictured one of my enemies, letting my rage at that person counter my attraction to Rosalie. It was the only way I was going to get through dinner without sending Lola and Seraphine away, clearing the table and taking her right here.
Lola brought the rest of the food and served everyone before she sat down at the end of the table to join us as Rosalie insisted.
Lola, Seraphine, and I were all drinking champagne while Rosalie drank a nonalcoholic version to celebrate moving into the house without hurting the baby.
After just one bite, I couldn’t help but tell her, “You’ve really outdone yourself!’’ I said. “I can’t believe you made all of this from scratch!’’
Her face turned red. “I’m so glad that you like it. I wanted to make something special for you for all of your help. Thank you for helping me move into this lovely home.”
I looked at her, and I watched her face flush an even deeper shade of red under the weight of my eyes. “I will always be here to help you, Ro. In every way that I can.” I reached over and put my hand on top of hers. Her smile was warm, and I had to wonder if maybe there was something more than friendship there—or could there be? I let my hand linger on hers and wanted so much to move my hand further up her arm.
I managed to pull my hand away, knowing that the others were watching, and downed the rest of my champagne before pouring another glass.
We ate our lasagna and fresh bread and chatted, and then moved on to delicious chocolate cake. I was stuffed full and feeling a bit sleepy, thinking that stuffing myself full of food might take my mind off of my attraction to Rosalie. Still, I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes twinkled in the candlelight, how her hair seemed to form a halo in the dim light, how her skin looked so smooth and delicate right now. How I longed to run my fingers along her cheek…. It seemed to take forever for the dinner to be done and for Seraphine and Lola to finish up cleaning and leave.
Once the house quieted down, she asked, “Why don’t you take a break from your work while I play you a tune on the piano?”
I couldn’t argue with that. “I love that idea,” I told her.
It would be just like old times. I might be sleeping on her couch and not in her bed, but she would be close to me. My guards were nearby, and I had a feeling everything was going to be just fine…
Rosalie disappeared into the other room for a few minutes and then came back with a blanket and some pillows. I lay back on the couch and made myself comfortable as Rosalie sat down on the piano bench and began to play a lullaby. I hoped I didn’t have another dream about her like I had the other night, not while I was in her home.
I might not be able to control myself. The wolf inside of me was already growling for her.
My eyes grew heavy, and before long, I felt myself growing quite tired. I was half-asleep when I heard Rosalie whisper something close to my ear and realized she had stopped playing the piano.
“Have a good night, Soren. Sleep well.”
Then everything went dark.
She must’ve turned off the lights.
I lay down on the sofa, letting my thoughts claim me. I finally realized that all day, off and on, the reason I was unsettled was because I thought I’d smelled Ethan. But it had to be exhaustion bringing up problems from my past, right?
I must’ve dozed off. When I began to wake up again, I smelled that awful scent again, the one I knew was Ethan.
Not only that, but I had a feeling I was no longer on the couch in Rosalie’s living room. I felt something cold and hard pressed against my neck.
The scent of mildew mingled with the wretched stench of my half-brother. My eyes flew open, and I knew I wasn’t dreaming. This was reality.
Wherever I was, it was dark. A tunnel perhaps? The only thing I could make out were the whites of someone’s eyes.
And I knew right away who it was.
Ethan.
And he was holding a blade to my throat.
The blade was so sharp, if I moved just a little bit forward, it would kill me.