Desired By The Hockey Captain Alpha

5. Let's Pretend

Damien

She's looking at me like I just sprouted horns and a tail. Totally dumbfounded, probably wondering what the hell has gotten into me. I can’t blame her. Most people don’t just have a guy stroll into their drama like a damn superhero.

What she doesn’t know is that she’s my mate. My better half. The second she bumped into me in the hallway, I smelled it. Her scent. Lovely spices, lavender, and sandalwood. My wolf went berserk. Finally found our mate, not in our pack, not in some mystical forest, but in a goddamn college hallway surrounded by a bunch of idiots, and she’s a human. My wolf wanted to go full-on wrecking ball mode. I wanted to rip those guys apart for even looking at her.

Then I saw her flustered just by looking at me. It was subtle but there. She probably felt the connection and didn’t know what the hell to do with it. And just like that, she bolts.

Of course she does.

I followed her until I found her at Jack Newman’s room. Just in time to see some blonde girl sprinting out. He was cheating on her. Watching Emily standing there hurt while that asshole tried to tear her down infuriated me.

After searching for so long, finally finding my mate and seeing her hurt made my blood boil. I couldn’t take it. Had to step in. Had to tell her she mattered. That she was beautiful and definitely not useless. And when I asked her to be my girlfriend, I didn’t expect her to say yes. But she did. And then seeing Jack’s face as we walked out, hand in hand, full of jealousy and rage, well that was icing on the cake.

“Uhmm, what’s going on?” her voice breaks into my thoughts.

I glance down at her face, those damn hazel eyes staring at me with pure confusion. My wolf growls low in my chest. She’s so f*****g beautiful. Plump lips that look like they were made for kissing… and Goddess, imagine them wrapped around my c**k…

I clear my throat and try to play it cool, like always. “Can we go somewhere quiet?” I ask.

She quirks an eyebrow and narrows her eyes slightly. “I don’t know… it’s late.”

“I won’t waste your time,” I say. “Please.”

She hesitates, glancing around, before finally nodding. “Where?”

“The rooftop. It’s very quiet there,” I reply.

We make it to the rooftop and I stop, letting the city stretch out beneath us. The wind hits her dark hair and sends it flying across her face, making her look ridiculously mesmerizing. I try not to stare too much.

She's standing there with her arms folded, looking suspicious as f**k.

“What a lovely weather,” I say casually.

She looks at me, then looks away, taking a deep breath. “Yeah… it is. So uh… what do you want to talk about?” She hesitates, then adds, “You don’t really mean what you said back there, right?”

“Mean what?” I ask. “That you’re beautiful? Hot? Way out of Jack’s league?”

“Damien,” she says, warning in her voice, but she is smiling.

That smile hits me straight in the chest.

“Okay, relax,” I say, chuckling. “Calm down. I’m not asking you to actually be my girlfriend. I mean… not like for real real. I’m talking about pretending.”

She blinks. “What… why would I do that? I mean… why?”

She looks flustered and confused, and damn, it is cute.

“We need to continue the act,” I explain. “Until everybody forgets about it.”

She scoffs and shakes her head. “I don’t think they really give a f**k about me. They’ll probably forget by next week.”

I grin and step closer, lowering my voice. “Oh, they care. Did you see all those phones recording? By tomorrow, you’ll be all over social media. We’ll be all over social media. And if they don’t see us together…”

I pause.

“You’ll be known as the girl Jack dumped.”

Her mouth drops open. Completely.

“I can’t believe this,” she mutters. “Are people really this f*****g jobless?”

“Welcome to college,” I reply.

Then I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”

She frowns. “Am I supposed to?”

I laugh softly. “You really spend all your time studying, huh?”

She grinds her teeth. “I don’t have a choice.”

I shake my head, amused. “Wow. Okay. Well, I’m Damien Ferrari. Captain of the hockey team. Big deal on campus.”

She freezes.

Then her cheeks turn pink.

“Oh… wow. I… I didn’t… I mean, I didn’t know.”

I smirk. “Well, now you know.”

She mutters something under her breath about how ridiculous this all is, and I just watch her, enjoying every second. She is funny without even trying.

She sighs. “Okay… but still… I just think this whole thing… I don’t think we need to do it, okay? It’s not necessary.”

There it is. The hesitation and lack of trust.

I get it. After Jack, trusting another guy feels like playing Russian roulette.

She probably thinks I am just another asshole.

I am not.

At least not to her.

I run a hand through my hair. “Look, I get it. You don’t trust me. That’s fair. But I’m not trying to mess with you.”

She studies my face like she is searching for lies.

I take a breath. “Okay… okay. Forget the fake relationship for now. But if you’re really grateful for what I did back there…”

I tilt my head. “Could you please go out to dinner with me tomorrow?”

She blinks.

“Dinner?” she repeats.

“Yes. Dinner,” I say confidently. “Food. Just as friends.”

She stares at me.

I stare back.

“So,” I add, smirking. “What’s your answer, library girl?”