4. Mind Games

Ophelia Storm was fucked. 

"You...you knew?" 

Unlike that time at the club, she wasn't pretending to be afraid. 

How the fuck had he survived an atomic bomb with only a scratch on his forehead?

Alpha Xavier didn't stop walking until he was in front of her, his fingers slipping into the strands of her hair, and tipping her face.

Shit. She started to reach for a weapon, anything at all, when he spoke in that deep raspy voice,

"You are not good at hiding the fact that you aren't the one I paid for, so were you trying to cut a deal with me by coming to seduce me?"

Oh fuck. 

He didn't know yet, and she would keep it that way until she discovered what was going on. 

Ophelia relaxed her palm and batted her lashes, looking into those grey eyes for the first time that night. 

Hell, it was the same reaction she'd had when she came to kill him.

His striking features of firm red lips and strong Aristocratic nose, tanned skin and a trimmed beard. 

He wasn't just handsome, but had a wicked beauty as well as an alluring aroma that appealed to her wolf...

"You keep looking at me that way, and I might take your offer." 

Fuck. Even his voice was a deadly whisper of sin, and she felt hungry from the pit of her stomach.

"Huh? I...I'm not..." She started to say, barely able to recognize the tremor in her own voice, when he cut her off,

"You aren't looking at me like you want me to take you right here?" 

Damn it. She had to stand up now and get him out of her room so she could think.

And yet, as she took in the fresh bruise on his forehead, and perceived the aroma of ashes mixed with his fragrance, all she could think of was having him.

Those rough palms glided into her dress, parting her thighs and slipping into her panties,

And she felt drenched from a sudden heat that swept over her.

Fuck, she shouldn't want this, but she was parting her lips when he finally kissed her, her lips calling out his name as he entered her. 

"Fuck, you should have told me it was your first time." He growled against her ears when she cried out in painful ecstasy.

But Ophelia was driven mad by pleasure, her legs wrapping around him, her hips rising and falling with him as her lips moved of their own free will,

"No, don't stop, continue, please."

Nothing else mattered except the satisfaction of this hunger, and when he finally reached the climax with her, their bodies tangled together, she felt a strange stir within her. 

It was her wolf, leaping towards Xavier and burning to be marked by him.

No, hell no. He couldn't be her mate. 

***

Ophelia would have liked to think that everything had been a dream. 

But when she woke up, the other side of the bed was warm, and her muscles felt sore. 

And when she took a step towards the bathroom, there were blood stains on her thighs. 

Heck, she was doomed. 

What would she do now?

An hour later, when she finally found the courage to go downstairs, she was met with none other than Xavier Valcourt seated at the head of the dining table. 

The Delta stood beside him, holding a tablet in her hand.

Ophelia started to turn around in embarrassment when that deep voice rang out,

"I've already seen you. Come and sit."

Come and sit? Like his dog? 

Since she still had to pretend to be the submissive omega, Ophelia gathered her long dress and made to take the seat at the other end of the table.

But to her surprise, Xavier stood and pulled out the seat beside his own, motioning her to it.

Even the Delta appeared surprised. 

"Thanks." Ophelia muttered in a fake quiet manner, but her flushed cheeks were real. 

As soon as the chef served her meal, Xavier turned to his chief of Staff,

"Vivian, I want you to have employ additional security. Six more, all female." 

Now, that had Delta Vivian cocking her head to the side. 

"But Alpha, I already increased yours after last night. I assure you that they are competent and..."

Xavier Valcourt cut her off, swirling the glass of water in his hand,

"They won't be for me. They will be protecting my wife. Also, hire a secretary and prepare a black card for her."

"What?"

"What?" 

Ophelia and Vivian asked at the same time, both exchanging looks that spoke of different things. 

Why was he suddenly acting strangely kind towards her?

As Delta Vivian started to protest, Xavier's phone rang, and he picked it up, pushing it towards his ears.

Seconds later, his eyes darkened, those grey eyes turning towards his wife.

"Leave us, Vivian."

As Ophelia's heart pounded in fear, the Delta walked away, leaving them alone.

Then, Xavier fired some instructions in French and hung up his phone, turning to his wife.

"I just wanted us to have some privacy. Eat." 

Ophelia was no fool, and yet, she couldn't say anything at that moment, her thoughts divided. 

Maybe he hadn't found out,

She had covered her trail well.

Perhaps he was just irritated by something and...

The doors opened, and a dozen security officers walked in, surrounding her before she could register what was going on.

Then, with a hardened gaze, Xavier pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, along with the armed security. 

"I ask the questions, you answer or I blow out your head. Who sent you to kill me last night?"