The Alpha in her Dreams

Undeniable Attraction

Turbulence caused the plane to bounce, and Laurel tensed before Shepherd smiled reassuringly at her.

“Well, my dad ran the family business before me. My mom helped. We were always invested in it and in the…community…that we live in. I’m an only child, but I was never alone. I had a good life. My parents are hard workers, and I trained young to work in the family business, but I can’t complain. It’s a lot of responsibility. A lot of our neighbors depend on our success, and I feel grateful to take care of them.”

More turbulence. This time it was even rougher. She tried to measure whether she should be concerned by Shepherd’s facial expression, but he looked completely relaxed. He’s probably not the type to ever show fear. We could be plummeting to our deaths, and he’d probably look calm and collected. She glanced behind Shepherd at the others to see if they were nervous. They were still in their same positions.

“So, Charis is the only girl who accompanies you all on trips?” she asked, trying to sound calmer than she felt.

Shepherd knew what she was really asking and tried to hide a smirk. He leaned forward, staring deeply into her eyes before answering in a low, husky voice, “There is only one lady I want to accompany me, and I’m looking at her right now.”

Laurel noticed Charis glance up at her with smiling eyes from behind Shepherd and she blushed, not realizing until now that the others could hear their conversation.

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“I shouldn’t say the truth?” he asked with his eyebrows raised and one side of his lips lifted up playfully.

“Not to someone who has a boyfriend. Besides, people may take you seriously.”

She knew he was serious. But she wanted to diffuse the situation. Shepherd’s expression darkened at the mention of Henry, and his eyes blazed. He leaned back in his seat but maintained eye contact.

“I couldn’t be more serious. Do I strike you as a man who would play with a woman’s heart?”

She gulped. “No. You don’t.”

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before the pilot’s voice came over the speaker. “Boss, this turbulence is going to be worse than I thought for a few minutes. I’m going a bit higher to try to get us out of it.”

Laurel visibly tensed.

Shepherd motioned to the seat beside him. “Why don’t you come sit by me?”

She paused.

“Do you have any pictures of your Aunt Lucy or where you grew up?”

Still, she hesitated. It would be nice to have a distraction. She picked up her phone and moved to the seat beside him. “Sure, I have a few.”

After a few moments, the flight became smooth again. The distraction had been helpful. She was thankful when the plane landed.

The rest of the day went without any surprises. An SUV met them at the airport and took them to the location. Laurel was surprised at how little time they spent inside the factory. Much of the time was spent riding around the vast property. They got out several times to walk around, and Laurel was glad that she had worn comfortable shoes. Shepherd, Matthius, and Beck were all business, which Laurel was glad for. There were no more uncomfortable moments between them.

Laurel couldn’t help but admire the way Shepherd’s mind operated. He was constantly determining how the property would work for his current business, making plans, and figuring calculations while Beck made notes. They worked well together. Matthius and Charis were the types that made you feel like an instant friend and were both good-hearted troublemakers. Beck was reserved but not unkind. She could see how much he and Shepherd respected one another and how close they were. It felt sometimes like they were reading each other’s minds. Laurel found it odd how much Shepherd took his community into account, even considering which of his neighbors may want to make the move to the property if they expanded.

By the end of the day, Laurel was getting exhausted. They were headed to one last area of the property when Shepherd glanced at her with concern.

“We’ve worn you out, haven’t we, Laurel?”

“I’m used to walking all day in the city, but the terrain is different here. And the plane ride was mentally taxing,” she laughed, “but I’m fine. Take your time.”

“I’ve seen enough, boys. Let’s head back to the hotel.” She started to protest when he continued, “This property will work well for us. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you, but we can head to the hotel to shower and rest for a couple of hours and then talk over dinner?”

“That sounds like a good plan,” she acquiesced.

He nodded with a warm smile and turned back to the front.

About an hour later, they arrived. Driving down Main Street, she admired how many families there were enjoying the day. After they pulled into the hotel’s circle drive, Shepherd grabbed her bag from the back and walked her inside. He stopped at the desk and the clerk immediately handed him a set of keys.

“Here you go, Mr. Ryan. Please let us know if there’s anything you need.”

“Will do, Carter. Thank you.”

Laurel watched the exchange with confusion. How does Shepherd know so many people? When they got to her room, he used the key to open the door. He put her bag inside the door but didn’t enter. Grabbing her hand gently, he gave her the room key.

“Thank you for showing us around today and answering all our questions. You’re exceptionally good at your job and I enjoyed your company.”

He was standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth from his body. She tensed as she felt the now familiar tingling sensation all along her skin as he touched her, her panties wet just from his touch. What in the actual hell is wrong with you, Laurel? It’s a handshake. Down, girl. Shepherd leaned in, his hand still grasping hers. His lips were so close to her ear, she could feel his breath. It was all she could do not to grab him and pull him into an embrace. She wanted his hands on her, wanted his lips caressing her neck and face, wanted to feel his skin on hers. He lingered a second longer while she wondered what would happen next.

She doubted she would be able to resist him if he tried to kiss her. She wanted nothing more than to rip his clothes off and straddle him. She wanted to see what his clothes hid. She wanted to taste every part of his delicious body.

“Rest up. Let’s say we meet in the lobby at seven o’clock for dinner. That should give us time to shower and rest. There’s a nice, quiet place here in town that has decent food.”

He stepped back and watched her. His eyes seemed darker, his voice strained, as if he felt all the same things she did.

“See you then,” she agreed.

Laurel felt relieved to be alone. She forced herself to calm down and think of Henry, vowing to be true to her sense of right and wrong no matter how strong the temptation. Remembering the way he had seemed to smell her at the airport and that he had mentioned showering twice, she ran a bath as she thought about Henry. She cared for him and knew he was a good man. He’d done nothing to deserve a rejection from Laurel. But he wanted more than she felt ready to give. She’d had doubts before, and Susu’s remark of “Just because he’s a good guy doesn’t mean he’s the right guy” really resonated with her. But the thought of hurting him twisted her stomach.

After just a few days of knowing Shepherd, she not only had stronger physical responses, but she found it easier to be open with him than with Henry. She suspected that she and Shepherd couldn’t work out. She wasn’t interested in having a long-distance relationship and knew how invested Shepherd was in his community. But the fact that she could have such strong feelings toward someone else told her that she needed to end it with Henry for both of their sakes. She would need to tell him when she got back into town. She thought of how uncomfortable the conversation would be and how much it would hurt them both. The thought that they may have to revisit those feelings every time they ran into each other at work made her want to find a hole to crawl into.