Bad Boy Alphas

by Alexis Davie

  “Well,” Collette said coldly. “Congratulations. It’s amazing when a friendship moves to the next level so quickly.” She spun and stormed from the room before Ben or Eva could respond.

  “Why did you tell her that?” Eva whispered, her face fraught with worry. “She’s going to tell everyone!”

  Ben shrugged. “Isn’t that the idea?”

  * * *

  Eva looked at her watch again, biting on her lower lip.

  “You’re panicking,” Ben informed her. “Your family is going to be onto you in ten seconds. You look nervous enough to vomit.”

  “My family has never known me,” Eva replied dryly. “I wouldn’t give them too much credit even if I vomit over their shoes.” She pulled the curtains back from the kitchen window and stared out into the night. “Where are they?” she grumbled. “They’re already ten minutes late!”

  To her surprise, Ben appeared behind her, placing his strong hands over her shoulders.

  “You’re tense,” he murmured, and the warmth in his voice filled her with uncertainty. A jolt of anxiety coursed through her, and Eva asked herself what she was doing for the hundredth time in three weeks.

  It had started as a silly charade, nothing more than a façade to keep her family out of her business, but suddenly it seemed much less of a lie and much less of a childish game she was playing with Ben.

  Ever since I told him about this fake engagement, she thought, he’s been acting different. He plays like it’s a joke, but I’m not sure if he sees it as one.

  At work, Ben had told everyone that they were together, and while it had been amusing at first, Eva wasn’t sure she was enjoying the reactions as she had at the start.

  Was it because she was developing feelings for Ben? Was she worried about what would happen when she finally had to come clean to everyone?

  As Ben increased the pressure on her shoulders, Eva asked herself if she was imagining things. She had never considered Ben a romantic interest before, but she had also never stopped to question if Ben had ever considered her one. Was Ben just staying in character, or was something else going on?

  That was the entire problem: Eva had no idea what was real anymore.

  It was far too awkward a conversation to have, but she felt like she would go crazy if she spent another minute without knowing the answer. She wasn’t even sure she knew exactly how she felt towards Ben.

  I’ve made a real mess of things, she thought, gnawing on the insides of her cheeks with her growing premolars. As if I didn’t have enough problems as it is, I had to drag the only person who cares about me into my crap, too.

  And then there was the matter that Ben was not one of them. Had he even been in Scarlet Oak long enough to know about her kind?

  “How does that feel?” Ben whispered in her ear, and Eva felt a flutter down her spine as his lips touched her lobe.

  “Good,” she squeaked, suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to kiss him. Slowly, she turned to face him, and their eyes met.

  “Are you all right?” Ben asked, his green eyes widening slightly. Eva could read the desire in them as he licked his lips. His gaze fell toward her mouth, and Eva’s heart began to pound in her chest.

  Is he doing this because he wants me, she wondered, or because he feels sorry for me?

  The idea that he might kiss her out of pity shattered the fleeting feeling of euphoria that had momentarily overwhelmed her, and she wriggled away from his embrace, ashamed.

  “Hello?”

  The door to the kitchen opened, and Eva glanced up at her mother, who entered with a basket of dinner rolls in her hand.

  “Hi, Mom,” Eva sighed, stepping toward her. “You remember Ben?”

  Denise’s smile broadened. “Of course! How could I forget the man who is going to marry my daughter?” she cooed, reaching toward Ben. “Hello, darling! Thank you for finally taking her off our hands!” She laughed merrily, but Eva could not muster even a sardonic grin.

  She watched as Ben accepted her hug, even though his eyes were fixated on hers.

  What are we doing? Eva thought, a feeling of desolation filling her. I have to let him off the hook before this goes any further. He didn’t know what he was walking into when he agreed to this.

  “Where are Jake and Melissa?” Denise asked, looking around.

  “Mom, I have to tell you something,” Eva said. “Can you sit down for a minute?”

  Her mother didn’t seem to be listening as she dug through her purse for her cell phone. “Hang on, darling. I’m going to text your sister.”

  Eva swallowed and looked at Ben, who stared at her quizzically.

  “Mom, it’s important,” she whispered. When she glanced at Ben again, she saw the understanding cross over his face.

  “Honey,” he interjected, before you say anything, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?”

  “Go ahead, Eva,” Denise said, waving her hand dismissively while she continued looking for her phone. “I want to text your sister and see what’s taking her so long.”

  Eva stared at her mother and then at Ben.

  “Please, Eva?” he asked imploringly. “Just for a minute?” She nodded reluctantly and followed him out of the kitchen and into the back bedroom, where he closed the door. “You’re going to tell her the truth?” he questioned, his eyes clouding over.

  “Yeah,” Eva sighed, sinking onto the bed. “This has gone on long enough.”

  Ben’s mouth parted slightly, and he perched on the mattress beside her.

  “Why now?” he asked. Eva stared at him sadly.

  “Because it’s time to let you go back to living a normal life instead of taking care of me,” she whispered, the words causing a small stab of pain in her chest as she spoke them.

  “Who says I’m taking care of you?” Ben replied, and the softness in his voice increased her guilt.

  “I forced you into this dumb farce,” Eva said hotly, rising to her feet. “You don’t have to pretend you’re enjoying it anymore.”

  Ben suddenly reached out to hold her arms, gently but firmly. His emerald eyes were bright with something that seemed to Eva like desperation.

  “Are you really that blind?” he asked pleadingly. “You can’t see how I feel about you?”

  Confusion flew through Eva. She tried to say something, but Ben pressed his forehead against hers, his hands cupping her face.

  “Or is it that you’re afraid of pursuing what we have?” he continued. Eva stared at him in disbelief. “Have you ever looked at me the way I’ve looked at you?” he choked.

  She did not know how to answer him, her mouth parting slightly. Ben’s lips aligned with hers, brushing her mouth but not touching it, and Eva was suddenly filled with excitement.

  “Do you feel anything at all?” Ben exhaled, slightly withdrawing his lips.

  Eva’s pulse was racing, and she nodded her head.

  “Yes,” she said, reaching up to pull him back toward her.

  Ben pushed his hard frame against her, pinning her down to the bed beneath them, and Eva immediately felt like her body was on fire.

  I have been waiting for this for a long while, she realized, her fingers threading through Ben’s dark blonde curls. Why did I deny it for so much time?

  Only then did Eva understand that, deep down, she had always known she wanted him—she simply had never known how to get him.

  Ben’s hands found their way around her waist, gripping her small but curvy rear with intensity. He pushed up the skirt of her dress and pulled her cheeks apart, a finger teasing her cleft through her panties. Ben sighed, pleasure dripping from his voice, and Eva realized he had wanted her as much as she had wanted him.

  Eva gasped at his touch, flipping him so that she mounted him, her dress riding up along her hips. She ground her damp center against the crotch of his trousers, their eyes locking. Ben stared at her in both awe and shock, as if he could not reconcile someone so small being so powerful—as if that fact aroused him.

&nb
sp; The look of surprise on his face only served to heighten Eva’s yearning to have him. Her hands fumbled at his belt buckle, the desire to taste him overwhelming all her other senses. She yanked his dress pants to the floor, exposing his already engorged member. Falling between his legs, her lips traced the lines of his sack, her palms running over his thick, wanting shaft until her mouth overtook him entirely.

  Ben moaned loudly as Eva’s strokes grew quicker and wetter, relishing the rigid member as it fought against its climax. He grabbed for her, drawing her upward, and Eva straddled him again, and lowered her wanting middle onto him. She hadn’t been expecting the hardness of him to fill her so completely, and she cried out in pleasure.

  Eva rocked back and forth, feeling herself losing control of her own body while Ben jerked into her from beneath.

  “Oh!” he groaned, his fingers digging into her waist as his long frame spasmed. His hips thrust into her long and fluidly one last time, and Eva allowed herself to join him in climax, the two grunting like animals in heat.

  Falling atop him, Eva sniffed at his aftershave, goosebumps prickling her skin.

  We wasted so much time, she thought, shaking her head. Because I was too stupid to see what was in front of my face the entire time.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but then the door to the bedroom flew open, showing Denise standing in the doorway.

  “Oh, my goodness!” she shrieked, spinning to look away. “I am so sorry! Shame on you both!”

  Eva and Ben tried to hide their laughter as they scurried to separate themselves from one another while Denise remained in the doorway, her back to them both.

  “Mom, don’t you know how to knock?” Eva asked, exasperated, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be annoyed—not when she had finally found someone to love and someone who loved her just as much.

  “I didn’t think you would be performing sexual acts on one another in the bedroom while I was sitting in the kitchen!” her mother retorted defensively. “Can I turn around now?”

  “Yes, Mom,” Eva sighed, adjusting her skirt. To her surprise, when Denise turned, there was a glimmer of happiness in her eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Eva asked, cocking her head to the side and casting Ben a curious gaze.

  Denise cleared her throat in embarrassment. “Honestly, when I came here tonight, I was expecting to find that this was a silly joke that you were playing on us because we’re always bugging you about getting married,” she confessed.

  Eva felt an embarrassed blush stain her cheeks as she pursed her lips together.

  “But now,” her mother continued, “it’s obvious to me that you two love each other, and I could not be happier for you.” She smiled warmly at Eva, who returned the gesture.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Eva muttered, glancing at Ben. His face reflected the contentment she was feeling.

  “You may not believe this, Eva,” Denise said, “but I have always been proud of you.” The sincerity in her voice made Eva feel like her heart was too full at that moment. She could not remember the last time her mother had told her that she was proud of her.

  And to tell me that after walking in on me having sex, she thought wryly. This is one for the history books, for sure.

  “Now come on, we have to go!” Denise concluded, turning to hurry away.

  “What?” Eva cried. “Dinner is ready! Melissa and Jake will be here any minute.”

  Denise laughed excitedly. “No, darling, they won’t! They’re at the hospital!”

  “What?” Eva echoed, chasing after her mother, with Ben right behind her. “Why?” Denise paused to look back at her and grinned.

  “The baby is on her way!” Eva froze in her spot, and she and Ben shared an astounded glance. They watched as Denise gathered her belongings. “Are you coming?”

  “O-of course!” Eva replied. “Let me go grab my stuff.”

  “Good!” her mother added. “That way, Melissa can give you pointers on how to get pregnant!”

  * * *

  THE END

  8

  Second Chance

  “—and as you can see in the chart, my projections for this year have been exactly what I predicted. “

  The men in the room were fixated on every word that came out of Isabella’s mouth, her sturdy, powerful form commanding interest, and she soaked up the attention. She was in her element, after all. This is why she was paid the big bucks.

  Out of the corner of her eyes, Isabella spied her secretary, Joshua, slipping into the boardroom, his eyes locked on her as he tried to catch her attention. She deliberately ignored him, refocussing her words on the men gathered around the table.

  “Going forward,” she continued, “we estimate that—”

  “Ahem!” Joshua called in a whisper.

  Isabella’s head jerked up, her blue eyes narrowing scathingly at him, but she continued her spiel as if she had not been interrupted. Her annoyance increased at his mere presence during her presentation.

  He shouldn’t even be in here, she thought. I am going to give him such a blast of shit when I’m done.

  She did not let his arrival distract her further.

  “We estimate,” Isabella went on, trying not to grit her teeth as she spoke, “that we will supersede our forecast by September, promising a record profit in the last quarter of this year.”

  “Ahem!”

  Isabella contained her anger, even though what she really wanted to do was murder Joshua with her bare hands and use his balls as a paperweight for her future secretaries to see.

  “Is there something you need, Joshua?” she snarled, unable to ignore him any further.

  “You have a phone call, Ms. Sawyer,” he said. Isabella glared at him balefully, her eyes shooting daggers into his wiry frame.

  Why is it so hard to find a decent secretary in this blasted company? she wondered furiously. Joshua was the third one she’d had that year, and so far, things were not going well.

  “I am in a meeting,” she pointed out. “Please take a message.”

  Joshua’s already wan face seemed to pale even more as he shook his head. “I tried, ma’am, but he’s insistent.”

  Isabella’s scowl seemed to make everyone in the room balk.

  “Who?” she snapped. “Who is so insistent?”

  “Your father, Ms. Sawyer.”

  A peculiar chill slid through Isabella, and she paused, her mind whirling. Why was her father calling her at her office?

  “Excuse me,” she said tightly to the room. “I won’t be a minute.”

  “I think we’re about done here,” Carey James, the CEO, announced, giving her an encouraging smile. “Gentlemen?” The room murmured in consensus, and Isabella hurried toward the door, hot on Joshua’s tail.

  “What did he say?” she demanded as he scurried to his desk.

  “Nothing except that it was an emergency, ma’am,” he responded in a trembling voice.

  Isabella entered her office, blood draining from her face as she tried to imagine what could have happened. Was he in an accident? Is it Uncle Lou?

  “What line?”

  “Four.”

  Isabella closed the door and snatched up the phone, covering the space to her desk in four strides. “Dad?” she answered. “What’s going on?”

  “That goddamned bitch!” Brandon Sawyer howled. “I am going to snap her neck!” Isabella’s brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Who? What are you talking about— oh.” The answer struck her at once, and she sank heavily into the leatherback chair, shaking her head in exasperation. “Dad, I was in the middle of a meeting. I really don’t have time to hear about Sabrina—”

  “She cleared out our accounts and disappeared!” her father roared. “That ungrateful, gold digging—”

  “Dad!” Isabella cried in disbelief. “You gave her access to your accounts?”

  “Some of them,” he replied sullenly. “And now she’s gone to God knows where!”

  Isabella stifled a lou
d groan.

  “Well, Dad, whatever it is she took, it won’t make or break you,” she said. “Cut your losses and move on.”

  “No!”

  His tone shocked her. It was unlike her father to react so angrily over something so stupid. Then again, Sabrina had always brought out the worst in him. Isabella didn’t know why she was even surprised.

  “Dad, what do you want me to do?” she sighed. “You had to know she was capable of doing something like this at some point.”

  “Come home,” Brandon ordered. “And sort this out.”

  Isabella felt a combination of frustration and concern course through her. “I can’t come home right now,” she told him firmly. “It’s the end of the quarter—”

  “Isabella, I need you here,” he insisted. “I have no one, and I’m stuck staring at Adam’s insolent face every day.”

  “Adam is still there?” Isabella screeched. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No,” her father muttered. “Apparently, Sabrina didn’t even tell him where she was going, but who knows if he’s telling the truth. The whole family is corrupt.”

  Isabella’s blood spiked with fury, and she nodded, even though she knew her father could not see her.

  “I’ll be home tomorrow,” she said. “In the meantime, I think you should tell Adam he’s worn out his welcome on the estate.”

  Brandon snorted. “And where will he go?” he growled.

  “Hopefully to his mother,” she snapped. “Where he belongs.”

  There was a slight pause before her father spoke again. “I can’t do that, Isabella,” he said quietly. “This house is half in Sabrina’s name.”

  Isabella’s jaw dropped at the revelation. How much had he let go since she had left Scarlet Oak? Guilt tickled her conscience, but she shoved it aside. It was not her responsibility to babysit her father’s comings and goings. He should have been able to take care of himself.

  And yet Adam stayed behind for Sabrina, a small voice in her head whispered. She ignored it, too.

  “When the hell did that happen?” she exclaimed. “Dad, what were you thinking?”