Teasing Her Alpha Guard

CHAPTER 10

Dahlia

I hate to say it, but I couldn't hear a single word through that door. What was even the point of sneaking down that hallway, pressing my ear against cold wood like some desperate spy, if I wasn't going to catch anything useful? I could have just stayed in my seat and saved myself the trouble.

Eventually the study door opened, and I barely had time to straighten up and pretend I hadn't been standing there for the last ten minutes. Adrian emerged first, that same easy smile stretched across his face like nothing in the world could ever ruffle him. He offered me a small, courteous nod on his way past, as though he somehow already knew I'd been listening and found it amusing rather than alarming.

I didn't return the smile.

Roman fell back into position near the wall a moment later, his expression giving away absolutely nothing, though his eyes met mine for just a second. A silent question passed between us, and I shook my head slightly. Nothing. I'd heard nothing.

Not long after, Adrian and his entourage said their goodbyes, wine glasses emptied, flowers arranged, pleasantries exchanged like currency. I excused myself the moment I could and retreated to my room, my mind spinning with everything I hadn't been able to confirm.

I lay flat on my back across my bed, staring up at the ceiling, counting the same c***k in the plaster for what felt like the hundredth time, when my phone buzzed loudly against the dresser.

"Hello?"

"Dahlia, come to my room immediately. I have something important to discuss with you." My father's voice was clipped, final, and he ended the call before I could even respond.

I groaned into my pillow. Here he goes again. Whatever it was, I already knew my old man had something terrible waiting for me. He always did lately.

By the time I reached his room, he was sitting at the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, looking like a man carrying the weight of the entire pack on his shoulders. Which, I supposed, he technically was.

"Where's Mom?" I asked, hovering near the doorway.

"Somewhere, probably discussing things with the other women. Isn't that what women do?"

I almost smiled with myself. "I don't do that."

He didn't answer right away. He just sat there for a long moment, staring at some fixed point on the floor, before finally letting out a slow, heavy sigh.

"You'll pack your things, Dahlia. Prepare to leave for Vale territory. Roman isn't allowed to come with you."

My stomach dropped straight through the floor.

"Why would I move? I don't want to go there. I'm happy here, Dad."

"We're not talking about where you're happy." His voice hardened. "We're talking about where you'll be safe. You've seen the attempts on your life. They keep happening, again and again, and I can't keep pretending that my current arrangements are enough."

"But it wouldn't change anything if I leave. The attackers already know everything about me, my routes, my schedule. Moving me somewhere new won't stop that."

"The attackers won't know your new location," he said firmly. "And Adrian has very tight security. He likes you and he's promised to protect you."

"You don't know that." My voice came out louder than I meant it to, sharp enough that it startled even me.

My father's head snapped up, and something flickered across his face. Shock, mostly. In all the years of pushing boundaries, sneaking out, testing every rule he'd ever set, I had never once raised my voice at him like that. Not really. Not with actual anger behind it.

"It doesn't matter whether he likes you or not," he said, his tone dropping low and final. "You're still my child. When you're older, you'll understand these decisions were made to protect you."

"I'm an adult, Dad." I stood up from where I'd perched on the edge of his bed, my hands trembling slightly at my sides. "Why can't you let me decide what I want my own life to look like?"

"Because this is the only way I know how to keep you alive."

There was nothing left to say after that. I turned, walked to the door, pulled it open, and left without looking back.

That night sleep refused to come no matter how many times I squeezed my eyes shut and willed my body to relax. My mind kept circling back to Adrian's private word with my father, to the wine, to the flowers, to that unbearable smile. I finally gave up around midnight, pulled on my night robe, and slipped outside to the estate's ruined balcony, the one still standing despite the fire that had gutted half the wing beside it.

The night air was cool against my skin, carrying the faint, lingering smell of smoke that hadn't fully cleared yet. I paced back and forth across the scorched stone, arms wrapped around myself, shaking with a mix of fury and something closer to fear than I wanted to admit.

Was this what Adrian had said to my father behind that closed door? And who exactly did he think he was, deciding my whole future over a glass of white wine?

I heard footsteps behind me and froze.

No. Not again, not another attacker, not tonight, I couldn't handle it.

I spun around fast and collided straight into a solid chest.

"Roman, you're not asleep? What are you....."

He didn't let me finish. His hand came up to cup my jaw, tilting my face up, and then his mouth crashed against mine before I could even process what was happening. I gripped his forearms, feeling the tension coiled in the muscle beneath my palms, and let his tongue slip past my lips, tasting him hungrily, like I'd been starving for this exact moment without realizing it.

He walked me backward until my shoulder blades hit the cool stone wall, his hands sliding beneath the loose fabric of my robe, finding my breasts and squeezing with a firm, possessive grip that pulled a moan straight out of my throat. I reached down between us, pressing my palm against the hard length straining behind his pants, and squeezed.

He pulled back instantly, chest heaving, eyes wild in the dark.

I stared up at him, still breathing hard, my gaze dropping briefly to the obvious evidence of exactly how much he wanted this too.

"Dahlia." His voice was low, rough, dragging me back from wherever my head had gone. "Let's not go further right now. I need to know if what you feel when we're close like this is real."

"I... I don't know, Roman." My voice came out barely above a whisper. "But what I'm feeling right now, standing here with you, that part is real."

His jaw tightened, something raw and desperate flashing behind his eyes.

"Then don't accept Adrian.”