My Sick Relationship with the Abstinent Alpha

Safe Haven

To keep his wolf away, he decided to engage her further. Staring at her beauty would surely drive him crazy. He took another gulp of wine and relaxed in his chair.

"You said you were meeting up with a client this morning, how did it go?"

Belle felt a pinch in her heart as the first of her lies came back to bite her. Yet on the outside, she smiled chugging down her glass as well.

"It was fine. I was able to get him to seal a deal with me."

"Wow! That's great! Your dad should be very proud of you," Maxton said. He was also proud of her because not many ladies he knew could handle a business. Belle was truly a gem he couldn't lose.

"Yes, yes he is," she said solemnly. It was true her dad was very proud of her, it just wasn't the dad Maxton thought she was referring to.

Thinking about her dad brought sudden tears into her eyes. She could never get over their loss. She tried to hold back the tears but they threatened to spill. As a proper lady, she mumbled an excuse and went to the bathroom.

She wanted to cry so bad but she remembered her makeup and what was at stake if she messed this date up, so she struggled to hold them back. She counted backwards from a hundred and tapped her cheeks to keep the flush at bay. When she was calmed enough, she returned to Maxton with a fresh coat of fake smiles.

Maxton was enjoying her company but he contained himself. He watched her like the predator he was, calculating each of her steps before she even took them. She was perfect for him. No other lady had given the sort of impression Belle was given him. She was perfect for the roles even though she could not realize it. A woman who could handle a business deal could definitely handle a pack.

When she had excused herself, he thought of calling his friend Vince to give him a few tips. It had been a while since he had gone into a serious relationship and his brain was completely empty. But calling Vince was going too extreme. Vince would laugh at him and make sure to tell anyone who granted him a listening ear and of everyone he could tell, his mother was the worst.

With the few women he'd ever been romantically involved with, it had been easier. Most times they were the ones who'd done the chasing so he'd never needed to charm or woo a woman before, especially one like Belle.

As she walked back from the restroom, he couldn't help but stare at her. Damn! She was fine. If an hourglass was a person, it'd definitely be her. Though slender, she had ample curves in the right places.

He had also noticed she had this youthful demeanour. She seemed free-spirited and there was something in her eyes that reminded him of a child.

Her eyes were so captivating he felt lost in them when he gazed into them. She'd applied green eyeliner to her under eye, he'd noticed and the mixture of the green and the blue of her eyes made him feel like he was gazing into the ocean.

As she sat down she said, "do I have poop on my face?"

He looked confused at this question. A small scowl appeared on his handsome face as he stared back at her.

"You are staring too hard. Do I have poop on my face?" she repeated confidently with a gleam in her eyes.

Maxton blushed on hearing this and averted his eyes away from her. Yes, she had the spirit of a child but he loved it.

It was cute to see Maxton blush. For a man who was so masculine and reserved, it seemed like a crime to make such a fragile expression. It made Belle smile as she thought of it.

He dared to look at her and he noticed she was smiling. He couldn't help but smile too.

"Tell me more about you Belle," he said with his beautiful but menacing baritone as he stared at her with his intense dark brown eyes.

Once again, Belle froze. The determination and confidence she had emerged from the bathroom with suddenly left her bare to Maxton's question.

What would she say? What if he decided to ask about her from a mutual friend and found discrepancies in her story?

Oh my God, what if Maxton and the real Belle Fairmont had mutual friends?

Belle quickly picked up her glass of wine as questions flooded her brain. She sipped it slowly to buy herself time to think of a proper answer. She would just have to pray and hope that Maxton didn't have mutual friends with the real Belle Fairmont.

"Well, you know my name already, and my family," she started, "I went to UCLA where I majored in management. I'm currently working for my dad. I help him in running some of his businesses once in a while. That's basically it." She could hear her heart beat loud in her ears and she hoped Maxton couldn't hear it too.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked. He was trying his best to make small talk. He'd never been one to engage in small talk and so this was hard for him. His concentration distracted him from picking up the strange rate at which Belle was breathing.

"Oh yeah, I do. I have an older brother." She lied chugging down another glass.

"Your turn, tell me about yourself." She quickly asked so he'd be in the spotlight now. She didn't want to have to answer more questions and end up implicating herself even further.

"Well, unlike you, I am an only child trying to keep his father's dreams alive," he simply said.

He told her the basics of his life, the ones everyone knew, his education and a little about his companies. There was more to who the real Maxton Joseph was but there was no point spilling everything right now and risking losing Belle. She was so interested in everything he said and her interest made him smile.

Their food was served and to her greatest amazement, their meal was a plate of random white slices arranged in the shape of birds in flight.

"The Chef's special features an original recipe of the puffer fish by the chef himself. Enjoy," said the waiter.

Belle had never heard of a puffer fish before and she had no idea how to even go about it. But asking questions might raise even more questions, so she watched him. She saw Maxton pick a slice with his fork and dip it into a bowl of orange sauce so she followed suit.

Maxton nodded and smiled as he chewed. He seemed satisfied with the taste.

"Have you ever had puffer fish before?" he asked her, seeing the scowl on her face as she chewed.

Belle nodded in the negative.

"The puffer fish is a poisonous fish eaten in Japan. It's called fugu. It takes special expertise to prepare by experts or else it'll be fatal when eaten."

Belle's eyes widened in shock on hearing that. She stopped chewing and a funny, expression of fear mixed with shock appeared on her face. She was eating a fish capable of killing her? If she died what would happen to her poor brother?

Maxton chuckled as he saw the look on her face. Belle could not even bring herself to pretend. She could die if this chef was a liar just like her. She couldn't eat it anymore.

Her scowl made Maxton laugh even harder.

Belle quickly fixed her face and glared at Maxton. She dropped her fork and cleaned her hands. She was no longer interested in the special meal. She would just wait till she got home to eat Teja's special.

"You should've seen your face! Don't worry, this meal isn't poisonous. The chef has had intensive training in making it." Maxton explained to her heartily.

Belle still didn't believe it. "I'm not eating this anymore," she said with a pout as she pushed the plate away.

"I didn't know the effect of my story will be this hard on you. I'm so sorry for that," he told her but his eyes still danced with amusement.

Belle pouted. In her head, she kept screaming how she could have died. Maybe Teja was right and Maxton was a secret serial killer!

Maxton watched her and for the first time in years, he felt his heart melt. Her childish episode made him find another sense of cuteness in her. And though he found it strange that an aristocrat's daughter like her didn't know about puffer fish, he still loved the fact that she was not a liar and had admitted to not knowing what it was. She was sincerely scared of trying the delicious meal again. The little girl in her eyes was one his wolf would protect for eternity.

"Belle," he called in a strong but quiet voice, "eat. Nothing will happen to you. Trust me."

She looked up at him with her blue eyes so full of sadness and something in his heart clenched. He definitely was going to protect her with everything in him.

"Okay," she said and then picked up her fork.