Alecia kissed her family goodbye and rushed onto the plane, finding her seat in first class. The amethyst earrings Ryder had given her for Christmas dangled from her ears, matching the necklace that looped around her neck. Hopefully, he’d like the cute purple dress she had bought to accent the jewels. In her hands she held her other gifts: a Kindle packed with clean romance novels and a copy of a ticket to New York City, so she could meet his family.
Alecia turned on the Kindle, tapped on a book that she had wanted to read for many months, but she rested it in her lap. Three days they had, and then two weeks before school started again. Soon, his lips would caress hers, his hands would run through her hair. Soon he would be all hers again.
Alecia walked down the tarmac and stopped as a smile spread across her face. Ryder stood at the end holding one white rose. She flung her carry-on over her shoulder, and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms as he sp
Alecia stood at the edge of the tarmac, listening to Ryder profess his love for her again. She kissed his cheek before turning to get on the plane but he took her arm, stopping her, and then pulled a brown envelope from inside his coat pocket. “It’s for your dad,” he said.She opened it. Inside was a picture of President Richard speaking, written across the picture was, “Thanks for your dedicated support Mr. Bell. Can’t wait to meet you, Richard.”Alecia jumped into Ryder's embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around him. “My father is going to be so happy. I love you so much.”He kissed her on the head. “You better get going.”She turned from him and held his hand as she stepped through the tunnel, finally letting go at the last possible moment. Soon, she would be with him again, but now she couldn’t wait to see her father.Alecia stood in the doorway of her family’s den. Her fa
Alecia lay on her bed and reread the novel Ryder had bought for her. She smiled, feeling a warmness spread through her. As she remembered the day he had bought it for her. She loved him with a fierceness that hurt. It had been three days since she had last seen him and every part of her longed to be wrapped in his arms. How could love take complete control over someone?He had kept his word and called every night, and they would talk for hours, losing themselves in each other’s voices, planning their lives together. She set the book down and picked up another book she was reading. The vibrations of her phone interrupted her. She picked up her phone and answered. She smiled closing her eyes, waiting for his smooth voice to soothe her. “Hey.”“Hey, pretty thing,” Ryder said in an almost quiet voice.“Ryder?” She sat up, and brushed a tendril of hair from her fac
Alecia tried each day to forget Ryder, and sometimes it almost worked, sometimes it was useless to try to forget him. She thought of him every single minute of the day on those days. She thought of him whenever she saw a basketball, whenever anyone mentioned the word werewolf or Alpha, she thought of him when she heard anything that had to do with the president, or when Richard's name was mentioned. She thought of him each night before she fell asleep and every morning when she woke, and eact time she thought of him, she felt her heart break afresh into a thousand million pieces A new worry had begun to nag at her mind, her body was changing in several ways she could not understand. Her breasts got slightly bigger and felt more tender, and she had been unable to keep in her breakfast lately. She refused to think of the possibility of pregnancy, she couldn't be pregnant! Her parents did not yet know that she had bee
Ryder pulled up to the beach house raised in the air by concrete blocks. The light blue building almost blended into the clear sky line. The beach looked dead compared to the beaches of New York with its long boardwalks and various attractions. The only person on the street was an old man walking a black Lab. He parked under the house, stepped out of the car and took a long whiff of the salty air. At this moment he could go for some salt water taffy. Maybe Alecia and he could find some later. But he needed to win her back first.Two days ago he had gotten out of rehab, and after he’d let his father get a good look at him, he slipped away, flying straight to Raleigh. The Alpha protector's cold eyes and the snarl of his lips as he elaborated on why Ryder looked like a washed-up street urchin were still burned in his mind. And he had laughed at how Alecia had just tossed him to the side. But how could he keep her, if he couldn’t make her believe in the truth he wante
The secretary said hello to Ryder as he swept past her and made his way to his father’s office, but he just ignored her. He should have at least asked if his father was occupied, but if he lingered he probably wouldn’t go through with this. Let George Hendrix see that his son was scared of no one. He had proven her worth. She had not said one word about Sheila and he had showed that he could control her. All he had to do was play humble and she bent. His shoulders slumped and he stopped, hanging his head. He hadn’t done that. He had formed a lie in his head about working overtime in Moscow, but once he saw her light blue eyes full of compassion, the story just spilt out. How he wanted her to shower him with love and nurture. And she had.Ryder gripped the doorknob of his father’s office, feeling the sweat on his palm. Who was he kidding? The man would have him thrown out of his office and worse. A heat spread through him. He couldn’
Alecia looked up from her laptop when Ryder opened the door. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was nine. Another late night and stressful one according to his furrowed brows. What did he do all day? Whenever she asked he would change the subject or say he didn’t want to talk about it. It probably wasn’t much. He had told her that usually lawyers spent their first year being overpaid paralegals. She closed her laptop. She would finish the short story tomorrow.He didn’t go to the kitchen to grab the dinner she had prepared, but just sat down next to her on the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Every part of him looked tense.“Tough day?”He didn’t answer, but opened his eyes and looked out into the distance. She needed to distract him. He wouldn’t be interested in her little love story but maybe school. “I got the schedule I wanted.”“Anything interesting?”“Yeah, I&r
The next day Alecia changed her classes. She took two more literature, and three writing classes, hoping to find some inspiration to write while Ryder was busy with his job, but there was no inspiration. After she finished her school work, she would sit at her desk and stare at the laptop trying to find a story, but every story she could think of seemed silly and inadequate; especially when she’d look at her bookcase full of books, telling stories of characters who overcame great hardships. So she started writing his biography. If he really was going to be a senator someday, then she would need to chronicle her life with him. She wrote about the moment she first met him, how scared she was, especially when he insisted on walking her home. She wrote of their courtship, the first kiss that made her forget all and the day it snowed. She added commentary of what she thought of him at each moment and how he made her feel so special; she wrote about the look in her father’s eyes a
Taylor opened the door as Ryder brushed past her into the apartment. “Is anyone here?” he asked. “No.” Taylor crossed her arms over her chest. Ryder took off his coat and laid it on the top of the couch. Why was he here? A deep line creased between his brows - tension radiated from him.He walked up to her and took her hand, giving her that charming seductive smile she had seen him use on many girls. That smile never worked on her. “Hey, Taylor,” he said.“What are you doing here?”Ryder placed his hands on her hips. “Let’s be like old times.”Taylor raised her eyebrows. “Already forgotten your wedding vows?”He chuckled and kissed her neck, making her feel over-powered. She laughed as something in her churned. Something was different – not right about him. “I’m not going to be your whore. Why don’t you go back to your Luna?” He raised his head. He smirked at her, and glared deep into her eyes. Taylor turned her gaze to the side. That look. He