Alpha Under The Mistletoe

Chapter 6

EMMA

My pulse stuttered. “I’m just heading back to my cabin.”

“In the middle of Christmas dinner?” His brows lifted, the faintest curve tugging at the corner of his mouth. “That’s not how guests behave at Lune Noire. You should be there, Emma.”

I swallowed nervously. “I’m not a guest. I’m the event planner. My job for tonight is done. You and your club can enjoy the night without me.”

He stepped closer, his presence wrapping around me like heat. I felt it again; the strange safety, the odd pull, the way the air seemed to change when he looked at me. Something about him felt so unnatural, I couldn’t tell what it was, but the feeling was always nagging at me whenever he was close to me.

His eyes looked gentler, trickles of snow touched his nose and his pink mushy lips pumped with fullness whenever he opened his mouth to speak. It was cute, I had to admit. Oh s**t, I snapped at myself. Focus, Emma!

“You’re not just the planner,” Gabriel said quietly. “You made tonight happen. You gave them something to celebrate. You should be part of it. I want you to join us and have a joyous night.”

The earnestness in his eyes startled me more than the warmth in his grip. I tugged lightly, and he released my wrist, though not the intensity of his gaze.

“I appreciate that,” I murmured, looking anywhere but at his impossibly green eyes, “but it’s better if I keep some distance. I’m here to work. Not… mingle.”

“Mingle,” he repeated with mild amusement. “Emma, they adore you already. Clara talks about you like you’re her newest treasure.”

That made heat rise in my face. Clara had been nothing but kind, but I wasn’t ready to be “adored” by anyone today. I shook my head.

“Gabriel, it’s been a long day. I already have a lot going on with me, plus the Christmas décor doesn’t assemble itself.” I forced a weak laugh. “I just want to rest.”

His amusement faded, replaced by something heavier. Protective. Frustrated. Maybe even disappointed.

“You’re running,” he said, his voice gentle. “And that’s not nice.”

My head snapped up. “I’m not running.”

“You are. I know the difference between someone who’s tired and someone who’s trying to disappear. You’re doing the latter.”

That stung more than it should have. “I’m not disappearing,” I whispered. “I’m just trying to breathe. Everything about me is falling apart and I’m barely trying to hold on to the little thread that keeps me together. Asking me to perform some Christmas duties might be too much for me.”

We stood inches apart, holiday lights reflecting off his dark hair, soft music drifting from the hall behind him, voices of his club celebrating a Christmas I had planned… yet felt no part of.

This wasn’t my world. It wasn’t supposed to be.

“I’m not asking you to perform,” Gabriel said softly. “Just… stay. One drink. One moment that isn’t painful. That’s all.”

My heart twisted. He sounded genuine. Disarmingly so.

But I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”

Something tense flickered through him. A muscle ticked in his jaw. Then, slowly, he exhaled.

“Fine,” he murmured. “If you want to go… go.”

The disappointment on his face made my stomach turn, but I turned away anyway, breath shaky. I’d taken two steps when his voice which was low, and rougher than before, stopped me again.

“Emma.”

I turned. He was watching me like he didn’t want to but couldn’t stop.

“Tonight isn’t supposed to hurt,” he said.

“It already does,” I whispered.

And then something snapped between us like an invisible tension going taut before breaking.

He moved first.

I didn’t even process it until he was right in front of me, one hand cupping my jaw, the other sliding around my waist in a hesitant but irresistible pull. My breath cut off entirely as his lips crashed into mine.

It wasn’t soft.

It wasn’t asking.

It was fire. A hungry, burning, aching kiss that tasted like everything I’d tried to ignore since the moment I saw him. Warmth surged through me, sweeping away every thought except him… his touch, his scent, the low growl of his breath against my lips.

I should have pulled away.

I should have pushed him.

I should have remembered this was a man I barely knew.

But instead, God help me, I kissed him back.

My fingers curled into the fabric of his coat, pulling him closer without meaning to, my body melting into his. His hand tightened at my waist, and a soft sound slipped from me, humiliation and want tangled together.

The kiss deepened, slowed, and became something devastatingly tender just before he drew back.

His lips moved against mine with a hunger that stole the breath straight from my lungs, but beneath the intensity was something that terrified me even more… reverence. Like he’d been waiting to touch me. His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth, sending another shiver spiraling through me.

My knees weakened, and he caught me with an arm around my waist, pulling me closer until our bodies aligned perfectly, dangerously. Heat radiated from him, thawing every frozen part of my heart. For a moment, the world fell away and it was just his breath, his warmth, his mouth claiming mine like a promise.

When he lifted his head, our breaths mingled in the cold winter air. His forehead nearly touched mine. His eyes… God, his eyes.

What had we just done?

I staggered back a step, nearly tripping over my own feet. “I—Gabriel, I… shouldn’t have…”

His throat worked as he swallowed, gaze locked on my burning face. “Emma…”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted, feeling panic flare through me. My hand trembled as I touched my lips like I could erase the heat still lingering there. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t… this was a mistake.”

“It wasn’t,” he said immediately, voice deep and steady.

But I couldn’t hear that. Not with my heart a mess of confusion and longing and fear.

“Goodnight, Gabriel,” I whispered.

Then I turned and walked away before my legs gave out. I didn’t look back. I didn’t dare. My pulse thundered in my ears as I practically fled toward the cabins, my mouth still tingling, my wrist still warm where he had touched me, and my heart?

My heart was doing something reckless.