Getting away with the Alpha's Pup

Chapter 10

Dylan

I stiffened, feeling the weight of guilt settle on my shoulders. I didn’t dislike Cherry. But I couldn’t stand this feeling of being trapped in something I hadn’t chosen. I was a fucking Alpha, for Nuu-Chah’s sake. I gave the orders. I drummed my fingers on the desk, wondering how I could ever accept this.

Then, a flash of Cherry, looking at me with her grey eyes, almost silver like the dress she’d worn the other night, shot through me. The memory of her gaze on me with such meaning, although it still caused my stomach to knot, also fired a note of desire through me. Maybe, just maybe, our path would bring us together. Maybe with time, I could grow to accept her.

When Bert brought me my much-needed caffeine hit, I fired up the laptop, and my tasks engulfed me. The day flew by, and when I returned home with the dusk, it was with anticipation. I’d resolved to talk to Cherry: to try to patch things up for the sake of the future. For the sake of what we might be to each other given time.

I expected to find Cherry shut in her room but was surprised as I wandered into the living-room to find her sitting cross-legged on the floor in the center. She’d moved the coffee table and was sitting amidst a circle of paper. Her delicate eyebrows were scrunched together in thought as she studied the paper around her.

“Hi,” I said, her surprise evident as she looked up, her lips forming a perfect “o”.

Belatedly, I realized I was staring at her mouth. Thoughts about the other night were already pitching through my head. I wondered whether those lips had made a similar shape then. Echoes of her moans resounded through my thoughts. My eyes retreated to the safety of the drawings around her. “What are these?”

She hastily started to bundle them into her arms. “Nothing… Sorry, I didn’t expect you back yet.”

Her words swamped me with guilt as I considered how often I’d left her alone. How often had I found her waiting for me, only to retreat to my study? As she swiped at the drawings around her, I reproached myself at the fact that she clearly didn’t see this space as hers if she was hurrying to tidy her things away.

“Wait a moment.” I crouched down, picking up a drawing. Sketches of stylized dresses decorated the page. “Are these yours?” My gaze drifted up, and Cherry slowly nodded.

Her throat bobbed, and I realized how close I was to her and stooped down on the carpet. Her nearness prickled over me. She’d swept her long hair up into a knot, and the urge to reach out and untie it, as well as the memory of fisting those long locks, had me standing up. “These are really good, Cherry.”

I watched her cheeks flush as I handed her back the drawing. Once more, my thoughts tripped to our time in bed together. Was that how her cheeks had looked? The same red hue that splashed so many of her colorful designs laid out on the carpet.

“What are you doing?” I asked, finding a distraction from my wayward thoughts.

Cherry shrugged. “I’m due to submit a portfolio for a fashion design course I’ve applied to for the fall. I’m going through my old college designs, choosing which ones to include.”

Like a wolf hitting my flank, it struck me that I hadn’t even known Cherry had studied Fashion Design or that she wanted to continue studying.

“Wow. That’s amazing,” I said.

A faint flush crept along her cheeks again. “I’ve always liked fashion design. It feels right to study for a degree in it.”

I nodded, impressed at all the things she had time for: shadowing my mom in her Luna duties, looking after the house here, and keeping up with her own studies. “Can I help?” I asked.

Her eyebrows flew up. “Umm…” She bit her lip, looking awkward like she didn’t know what to say. Was this because of the other night? Was she about to ask me to leave her alone?

My chest tightened at the thought of being ordered away just when I was, starting to know something about her. I interrupted, “Maybe you could do with a second opinion.”

Again, her gaze skipped over my face with incredulity. Slowly, she chose two sketches, both with swatches of material stuck around the design like a collage. “Tulle or chiffon?” She asked seriously.

My dark eyes skipped between the two drawings. “A hundred percent chiffon,” I kept my expression staid to hide the fact that the two materials looked the same.

But amusement rose in her eyes, and she chuckled, telling me I’d been found out.

Warmth spread through my chest, and a smile broke across my own face. “I’m not sure my particular skillset translates well to this. How about I get the artist some food instead?”

Cherry hesitated a moment, and I tensed, waiting for the second time for her to tell me to get lost.

But her mouth quirked. “I could eat.”

My chest loosened with relief as she accepted my olive branch. In between setting some ramen on to boil, I watched her pouring over her work, examining her art. Bert’s words came back to me: “Cherry’s beautiful and loyal.” I’d long known that Cherry was beautiful. With her hair up, her heart-shaped face, and her beautiful silver gaze, she would easily be the most beautiful woman in any room, and my thoughts catapulted back to how gorgeous she’d looked the other night in that silk dress.

But what I hadn’t appreciated was just how beautiful her dedication was. I knew from my mom’s constant praising of Cherry’s helping her that she’d risen to the challenge of taking on the duties of Luna. On top of that, Cherry had been here for the last year, endeavoring to build a relationship with me. And to see that amidst all that, she’d kept up her commitment to her own studies was damn attractive too.