Chapter Ten

She couldn't be more beautiful if she tried. Alec sucked in a quick breath as Sonya walked toward him. Her sundress was playful and fit her so well he couldn't help but stare. It barely covered the top of her thighs and her legs went on for days. He forced himself not to kneel before her and kiss his way up her leg. A growl left him as she moved to stand in front of him.

"Behave. I came to talk business." She moved into the house and he closed the door, the smell of her leaving him dizzy.

"You said that a few days ago and almost killed me."

"Sorry about that. I was pissed." She spoke nonchalantly.

He chuckled at her brashness and moved to the fridge when they got into the kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of white wine and held it up.

"White or red? What's the lady's pleasure?"

"Red please." She walked from the kitchen toward the large glass doors that opened to the backyard. The pool was a recent add to the house, the mammoth construction too extravagant for one man, but the house would be used for gatherings, without a doubt.

"How's your father?" he asked, walking to her and extending the glass as she turned. Her amber eyes burned with a passion he wanted to own.

"He's not expected to live for too much longer." She took a drink of the crimson liquid as she watched him over the top of the glass.

He stifled a groan as she used her eyes to make him feel like the most important man in the world. The woman was a vixen, a deadly disease that would quickly destroy his resolve to do anything but what she wanted. He swallowed and lifted his drink to his lips, taking a long slow sip. Alec quickly took hold of his thoughts and tried to focus on the reason he needed her to come over.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sonya. He seems like a really great guy."

"He is. Tell me how you know him and what you were doing in there yesterday. I still think killing you might be the best option for me." She licked her lips, the subtle action causing him to growl.

"You know how I feel about you. Don't tease me in the slightest or I'll let myself go. You wouldn't like the loss of control." He finished his glass of wine in two long gulps before letting out a tight sound of appreciation. "I saw his name on the door yesterday and walked in because I thought he might have some insight on you."

"Why does that sound less than plausible?"

"It's ridiculous, but if I didn't believe in fate before, I sure as fuck do now." He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to walk back to the kitchen. "Grab a seat on the patio and I'll bring dinner out."

"Do you need..." Her voice lost strength as she let her words die. The sound of the glass door opening and closing left him alone. He pressed his hands on the counter in front of him. She wasn't the bitch she was playing, but simply an animal who had been cornered.

He didn't want to be a threat to her, but he needed to move forward with his plans regarding Varetec, regardless of his personal preference to smooth everything over with her first.

He picked up the plates from under a warmer just above the stove and walked to the patio, pushing at the door with his foot and moving out into the cool spring evening.

"Go grab the bottle of wine and my glass."

"Please?" She smirked and moved to the door.

He set the plates down and looked over his shoulder to watch the way her dress moved along her legs. His eyes moved to the thick swell of her rear and he turned back toward the food, his cock having a mind of its own as it rose to the occasion. Closing his eyes, Alec breathed in deeply, trying to think of anything other than the color of her panties, or the hope that she wasn't wearing any.

They were there for business. Nothing else.

"Yeah right," he muttered and waited until she walked back out to pull her chair out and take his seat. He poured them another glass of wine and turned to look at her.

"Don't think for a minute that I'm good with what you did to me recently. I'm not. I'm here to help you and your actions make it far more difficult for me to get my pack to listen. I've withheld the truth that it was you that put me in the hospital simply because I don't think you or your father would survive the retribution for a death attempt on an Alpha."

"You didn't die and the message was clear. My company. My pack."

"Not for long. You're not nearly as brilliant as I thought if you believe that you have the power alone to hold on to all those things."

"We're here to talk about Varetec, correct?" She picked up her fork and took a bite of the fish, her eyes closing briefly. She liked it.

"Yes. Initially."

"Only."

"You know someone will come for the pack, Sonya. Don't fool yourself that it won't happen. I think you'd better start considering sleeping with the bastard you know versus the one you don't."

"I'm willing to discuss us working together to bring my father's empire out of the dirt. It was running beautifully a few months back and then he set it on another course. A course that would lead me to sit at this table with you."

"He's a smart man, baby." Alec reached over and brushed his fingers along her hand as it rested on the table.

She jerked her hand back and he realized he had been too familiar. It was natural to want to touch her and comfort her. The animal inside of him had already claimed her as his mate for life.

"Don't call me baby, Alec. I'm serious about you keeping your distance. I'm trying to deal with the death of my father looming over me, my clan being taken and my company being destroyed. I don't have the energy to beat you back too." She glanced up, pinning him with her gaze.

"I want to apologize, but I can't. Whatever Victor has done to put me in your path again, I owe him everything. I'll give you time to decide on us, but the company must be worked out immediately. The rest of the world is waiting to move in and do exactly what I'm willing to do right now."

"What are you proposing?"

"A split. Run the company with me, and you and I as partners will split the revenues down the middle."

"My clan is barely surviving on what we have now. If I agree to this, it will leave half of them hungry and without. Most of them work for me as well."

"We will grow the company. I have plans that we can work through. Let's just agree on the split for the next year and then put in the contract that we will renegotiate next year. If the company has not doubled in size, I will yield and give it back to you."

"And if it has?"

"Then we sign a lifetime contract that Varetec will be under common control with us as partners."

"Deal. I cannot imagine you being capable of pulling the company out of its current position." She looked down at her plate and ate for a few minutes. He did the same, wanting to tell her a million things, but knowing the timing was bad.

The last ten years had been a lifetime without her. Nothing had felt right or tasted good. He put his free hand in his lap to keep from touching her and leaned back, picking up his glass and watching.

"You're upset with your father about what he's done. Feels like deceit?"

"Yes, but I know him well, Alec. He loves me and wouldn't do anything that would harm me in the long run. In the short run, it will break me in half, but I'm sure he knows what he is doing." She sighed and sat back, her eyes slowly moving across him. Lust flared in her gaze and the delicious aroma of her desire filled his senses.

He growled softly as she watched him.

"I agree. I hope I have a child one day that respects me as much as you respect him."

"I've given up more than I care to discuss to honor that respect." Sadness brushed across her beautiful face briefly. He swallowed his need to ask if she regretted giving him up.

"So we're good on Varetec?" He took another sip of his wine and sat up, the chill in the wind feeling good on his bare back.

"Yes. Draft the papers and I'll sign them."

"Let's talk about the threat to your pack."

"No. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but mating or joining with someone just for the sake of saving my people is something I cannot do. I won't." She wiped her mouth and smiled. The expression did not reach her burnt orange eyes. Heaviness sat on her like a well-worn coat and Alec wanted to remove it and replace it with security and peace.

"Don't go yet. I know you don't want to discuss the pack, but let me at least offer you protection. I'm not sure how it would work, but I can't bear the thought of seeing someone take over your people."

"You mean over me?" She smiled slyly and stood, stretching and giving him a perfect view of her budded nipples as they pressed through the soft cotton of her gown.

She was magnificent. A treasure to be held and coveted. No other man was going to have her. He would kill anyone who tried.

He stood as well and picked up their plates and the bottle. "Grab our glasses and help me get this inside. I'm glad we came to an understanding. You won't be disappointed. I'm not the boy you remember."

They walked into the house as he smiled, loving how relaxed he felt around her. It was most likely going to be the death of him, but it would be a good one. He chuckled as she moved in beside him near the sink, turning on the water and glancing his way.

"You're not the boy I remember? No more adventure? No more loving good food, strong liquor, and slow dancing?" She smiled and he turned toward her, his body screaming for him to grab her before she disappeared again. "No more long nights of passion?"

"That only made sense when it was with you. You know that." He reached out and touched her shoulder, pressing his fingers into the tense muscle. "Stay with me tonight. Let me love you. Just tonight."

She moved back, her face turning down as her hair slid over her shoulders. It made her appear angelic and soft. How he could be turned on by her hardness and her softness was a puzzle. She was so complex and yet he knew he needed a woman just like her to sustain him for the rest of his days.

"I can't, Alec. I'm confused. I need time to think through this...through anything related to us."

He backed her up in the kitchen until her waist hit the counter. She looked up and he regretted his actions.

He had backed her into a corner again.

He growled and balled his fist, turning and walking away before he picked her up and carried her off to the bed to fuck the hell out of her. "I'm going nuts to touch you, Sonya. Just leave and we'll talk later this week."

"It's not that easy, Alec. I can't spend the night here and walk away tomorrow. You were a childish ass when we were younger and I was the responsible one. I was the one that walked away because you wouldn't relent and come live a grown-up life with me. Now you show up out of the blue and have your shit together? And somehow you're in cahoots with my father? This isn't fair," she yelled and walked past him as he reached out and took her wrist.

"Why did we fight the night you left me?"

"Because you wanted to force me to love you, just like you want to do again now."

He released her, her words penetrating his heart painfully. "Force you? Is that how it was? How it is?"

"That's exactly what's happening again." She walked to pick up her purse, stopping before she walked out. "Send the papers over and I'll get them back to you."

"Your father thought this might turn out differently. I think he'll be surprised to learn that my predictions were more on the mark. Forever alone seems better than being loved so deeply nothing could break it. Right Sonya? That's what you're saying by walking out again, right?"

"You don't know what my father would want, and you know nothing about me."

"I know enough."

"Fuck you. Forget that I came here tonight. If you want to talk business about Varetec again, I'll send a representative. I don't need your pity or your help. Fuck off." She turned and walked out of the house.

He stood there in stony silence. She wanted him to come after her. She needed him. He was sure of it.

Alec picked up the bottle of wine and finished it as he listened for her car to start, but it didn't.

He was right. Time to go collect his girl and teach her a lesson or two.

He set the bottle down and walked to the front door, throwing it open and walking with purpose as desire and anger swirled in a dangerous combination. She got out of the car, her eyes narrowed like she wanted a fight.

"Don't think you can..." she started and he crashed into her, pressing her to the car and lifting her dress as he cupped her butt and forced her to wrap her legs around him.

"Shut up. You don't get to talk right now." He pressed his mouth to hers, his tongue ramming into the sweet warmth of her taste. She growled and rocked against him.

He was spot on and she was going to be his, whether she liked it or not.

"Mine," he growled as he broke the kiss and worked his way down to her breasts, sucking hard at the fullness of them. She whispered one word, followed by a soft whimper, and he knew the fight was over. She was his mate and he was claiming her that night, no matter what.

"Yes."