Uncontrollable Heat

OLIVIA

She’d done it.

Olivia had officially become the park’s resident lunatic.

Nervously gnawing on her thumbnail, her eyes flicked around in every direction, her body tensed and ready to bolt at the first sight of him.

It seemed her brain short-circuited whenever he was near, so she’d taken measures to fix that. She’d hidden herself as far from her apartment as she could manage.

She chose a public park, blending in by perching on a bench. And she wasn’t wearing a dress. Because, well, screw him.

Even if he miraculously tried to find her, the myriad of scents should throw him off.

She hoped.

Please, God, please.

She considered herself intelligent—or at least she used to—but she hadn’t anticipated the holes in her plan. One of them being, how long could she stay here?

A quick glance at her wristwatch read 2:15 p.m. An entire hour past when he was supposed to pick her up. Would he just sit outside her apartment, waiting for her to eventually come back?

She could spend the day elsewhere. But then what? He knew where she lived. What would stop him from showing up day after day?

Nothing would prevent him from invading her life until her last breath.

And how could she forget his generous second option? To sleep with her. Yeah, that’s not happening. No way.

She’d live on this bench if she had to, she didn’t care.

Maybe she could relocate? Yes, that was a possibility. She could abandon everything she owned and start fresh somewhere else.

That might work.

It was feasible. Olivia was a nurse, she could find work anywhere. She didn’t have to stay here. Let him try to find her then.

“That’s not a dress.”

Her blood turned to ice, her heart pounding in her ears as his voice sent shivers down her spine.

“I’m a bit late. I thought I told you I’d pick you up at your apartment. Not in some random park in the middle of nowhere.”

She ran her tongue over the back of her teeth, struggling to find the words that had abandoned her. Why? HOW? This park wasn’t on any of her usual paths.

She’d never been here before. She’d taken three taxis to get here. How on earth did he find her?

Her frantic thoughts gave him the opportunity to close the gap between them, and by the time she realized he was near, it was too late. His lips were at her ear and her breath hitched in her throat.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find you here?” There was a growl—was that him? “I thought I gave you a fair deal. You broke your promise, should I break mine?”

“W-what?”

“Should. I. Sleep. With. You. On. This. Bench?”

His words sent her scrambling to her feet, her cheeks burning. “N-no,” she stuttered.

“So, are you coming then?” he asked, grinning.

Alexander’s hands clenched the bench, his knuckles turning white as he fixed his blue gaze on her.

His features were taut, hinting at irritation, but he still wore a smile.

He was an enigma; she couldn’t decipher him. Was he putting on an act to lure her in?

Her mind raced as she desperately searched for a solution.

“I-I could scream.” In truth, she should. This was an unwelcome situation.

“You could,” he responded, tilting his head.

He let go of the bench and straightened up, his white T-shirt straining against his chest.

“Feels like we’re back at square one. You have two choices. You can scream and get your way for now, but that doesn’t seem sustainable. I’ll just come back. Or, option two, you could come with me and get it over with.”

“So my choices are: you win or you eventually win?”

“I’m glad you understand.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, anger flaring.

She didn’t know what was worse: his smug demeanor or the fact that he was right. Regardless of the escape route she chose, it would always lead back to this; him victorious.

She felt trapped. Powerless wasn’t a state she was comfortable with.

Yet, here she was, at his mercy. Trapped.

“Where are we headed?”

“You’ll know when we arrive.”

“I want to know now.”

“You don’t get to call the shots.”

“Like hell I don’t,” she spat back. “I’m supposed to blindly follow and trust a stranger?”

“Correct.”

His straightforwardness left her speechless. What was it about this man and his overbearing self-assuredness?

Had he never been denied anything in his life? Obviously not, Liv. He’s an alpha. Everyone caters to his every whim. Ugh.

She reached into her back pocket for her phone.

If she was forced to accompany him, she’d ensure someone could find her—whether she was dead or alive.

Sure, a part of her knew this would send Will into a panic and he’d demand a detailed account of her current predicament—after he’d spent hours berating her.

But this was the best she could manage given the circumstances.

If her gut ever signaled danger, she’d activate her phone’s GPS. That way, Will could locate her.

“Seeking your boyfriend’s approval?”

If she didn’t think it was utterly ridiculous, she’d suspect he was jealous. Perhaps he was. Alphas believed everything was theirs, didn’t they?

“Let’s proceed.”

Why did it feel like she was marching towards her own execution?