Until Valerie: Happily Ever Alpha World

by Jessica Marin

“Every person starts off as strangers, Angel.” His eyes lock with mine and my mind blanks at any kind of comeback.

  Goodbye self-control! Feel free to stay longer next time.

  “Fine!” I grit out, promising myself that this can’t happen again.

  “That’s a good girl. My bike is behind the shop. Get in your car and wait until I come around and then you can follow me.”

  “Lord, you’re bossy!” I grumble, not enjoying how I like him taking control.

  “And you’re beautiful. Get in your car and wait for me.” I walk toward my car, my heart soaring from his compliment. I get in and look at him from the rearview mirror watching me settle in before he walks away to his bike. I start the car and wait for his return. As I watch his retreating back get smaller in the rearview mirror, a sinking feeling fills my stomach.

  It only took him six hours to get me to break my own rule of no fraternizing with clients.

  How the hell am I going to resist him the rest of my time here?

  Chapter Nine

  VALERIE

  I question my sanity during the entire ten minute drive to the restaurant. I shouldn’t be going out to dinner with a client, let alone one who completely turns me on the way he does. Even if Rowan wasn’t my client, he and I would never work. Not because he works at a motorcycle shop, as I would never judge someone by their profession, but I don’t have time to date right now.

  That is if he would even want to date me.

  Who am I kidding? The man could marry a supermodel!

  Rowan Pryor looks like the type of man who eats women for dinner and spits them out after dessert. I’ve never had a one-night stand before and vowed that I wouldn’t. But when it comes to Rowan?

  Never say never.

  Besides, there’s no way in hell my father would approve of Rowan. Franklin Dawson might be disappointed that his eldest child isn’t the son he was hoping for, but that doesn’t mean he has cast me aside completely. I grew up craving my father’s attention, so I did anything and everything to please him. Went to a prestigious school for him, studied finance for him. Anything to get my father to see that I’m exactly what he wanted, regardless of my gender. My father didn’t even offer me an internship at his firm when I expressed interest after getting my degree, so I took a job at a competing firm. I want to prove to my father that just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m incapable of being a principal and rightful heir to the family business. The only interest my father shows in me is about my dating life. He has made it clear that any man I spend time with must be approved by him. He has said that either I marry someone who he feels can run the firm or he will sell to someone outside the family once he’s ready to retire. It’s why I haven’t brought anyone home for him to meet. No one needs to be subjected to my father’s unfair judgement and my future husband doesn’t deserve to inherit my father’s firm.

  I do.

  Until the idea of marriage sounds more appealing to me, any man who comes into my life is going to have to remain a secret. Right now I’m on a path to becoming the youngest junior principal at work and I refuse to let anyone derail me from it.

  I follow Rowan into the parking lot of a cute, colorful restaurant called La Hacienda del Sol. The location of the restaurant is next to a brand new shopping plaza filled with retail stores, restaurants, and a trendy looking apartment complex. I bring my focus back to him and try not to gawk at how hot he looks straddling his motorcycle, waiting for me to park next to him. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before, but I would in a heartbeat just to have an excuse to wrap my arms around Rowan’s hot body.

  I take a deep breath, hoping for the strength to keep my composure - and sanity - around him during dinner. I smile at him when he opens and shuts my car door for me. He places his hand on the small of my back, the touch of his fingers giving me goose bumps while he escorts me into the restaurant. Rowan apparently comes here frequently as he requests his “usual” spot and we are seated in a booth at the back of the restaurant, away from most of the other patrons. With no window near, my attention is going to have to be on him. This must be his “date” booth where he brings ladies that he’s interested in.

  “You bring your dates here often?” I ask, not being able to contain my curiosity.

  “I come here often, but I’ve never brought a date here before. Why?” he asks with a questioning look on his face.

  “This booth is pretty isolated from the rest of the restaurant. Just seems like the perfect place to bring a date.” I don’t look him in the eye, instead I look down at my menu, embarrassed about making assumptions that I shouldn’t be making.

  “I brought the perfect date with me tonight,” he responds with a smile and I can’t help the eye roll at his cheesy answer. He sees it and chuckles as he shuts the menu and leans back into his seat. I try to focus on the food options, but it’s proving to be difficult from the intensity of his stare. I hear the sound of water glasses being placed on the table and look up at the waitress, except my gaze goes straight to her oversized chest.

  “Whoa,” I whisper, my eyes wide as I rudely stare at her. I’ve never in my life seen a woman with such ginormous breasts before. Her boobs are shaped like big, rounded cones. Her body is an exact replica of Barbie, except she has long, dark hair and brown eyes. I look over at Rowan to see if he’s as hypnotized by her as I am. Guys usually love women with big breasts. To my surprise, he’s looking at me, his lower lip between his teeth to keep himself from laughing out loud at my expression. I raise my menu higher, hoping to hide behind it until she goes away.

  “Hey Rowan, long time no see. I miss seeing you,” she purrs and I immediately shut my menu and put it down, my interest piqued by her words. What does she mean, long time no see? Did he used to date her?

  “Hi Andrea. I’ll take a Corona to drink. Angel, what do you want?” he asks politely, not even addressing her comments.

  “I’ll take a margarita please, no salt.” She looks at me with such disdain that I wonder if I need to be worried about the quality of my food that she’s going to be serving me.

  “I’ll be back with some chips and salsa and your drinks,” she says and I can’t help but watch her walk away. I return my gaze to Rowan and look at him with suspicion.

  “Do you think she’s going to spit in my food and drink?” I ask with concern because right now, I’m not feeling too good about my chances of getting a non-contaminated beverage.

  He looks at me in surprise by my question. “Andrea? I would hope not. What makes you think she would do that?”

  “Did you date her?” I question.

  “Nope.”

  “Sleep with her?” I throw up a little bit in my mouth from the thought of him being physical with anyone, let alone her. And when he doesn’t answer right away, my stomach starts to hurt, not wanting to hear the truth.

  “I don’t think so. I’ll be honest with you, Angel, when I first moved here, I wasn’t exactly a good guy with the ladies. I’ve slept with a lot of women. Not something I’m proud about, but it is what it is. That was a long time ago and I can assure you that those days are long over with.”

  Warning bells go off in my heart from his confession. While I appreciate his honesty, it’s hard for me to believe that someone like Rowan isn’t still sleeping around when he can get any woman he wants. Just another reason to stay far, far away from him.

  “Well, Big Boobs McGhee is looking like she’s going to kill me, so you either loved her and left her the next morning or she wants to sink her claws into you and thinks I’m a threat.” I smile as he throws his head back and laughs at my joke. His laughter is rich and husky, the musicality of it making me want to hear it again.

  “God, you’re adorable,” he says, my cheeks heating from his compliment. “But I’m pretty confident that I didn’t sleep with her. And you’re most certainly a threat to her since the only person I’m interested in right now is you.” He gives me that intense look again, one that makes me feel he’s on t
he verge of ravishing me and I gulp.

  “Where did you move from?” I ask, needing to distract myself from these feelings and the subject about his past history with women.

  “Boston,” he answers before taking a sip of his water.

  That explains the sexy accent. Would it be too cheesy to ask him to say, “How about them apples?” from the movie Good Will Hunting? That’s probably something Andrea would ask him to say. I mentally scratch that idea.

  “I hear Boston is really nice. Why move to Tennessee?” Just as I ask, Andrea comes back with chips and salsa before leaving to go get our drinks. My hunger overrides my thoughts and I dive right into the chips, moaning at the delicious taste of the salsa. Rowan stares at my mouth, blinking multiple times before clearing his throat to answer my question.

  “After I returned home from serving, there was no reason for me to stay in Boston. My family life back home is toxic and I refuse to be around those type of people. When Wes invited me to come work for him, I didn’t hesitate twice.”

  “Serving? What branch of the military were you in?” I didn’t realize that he has been in the military. I would never have guessed as he doesn’t have that military look, but that just shows that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

  “I was in the Navy SEALS. Most of the guys in the shop are former SEALS.”

  That piece of information explains most of the guys demeanor. They all look at you as if they’re assessing your soul and sizing you up.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your home life,” I say with sincerity. While my father isn’t easy to be around, my mother and sister at least make up for his lack of love.

  Rowan just shrugs while looking at me. “Don’t be. My asshole of a father is the root of my family problems. I have a good relationship with my mom and siblings.”

  My eyes go wide as I note the similarities between our family dynamics. I feel something shift in my heart and soften toward Rowan.

  Don’t do that, heart! He’s still your client.

  Andrea chooses that moment to return with our drinks and take our order. Rowan nods at me, indicating for me to go first. While I should order just a taco salad, the glutton in me is starving from not eating today. Maybe if he sees the real me and what I like to eat, he won’t be interested anymore. The thought is actually quite disappointing, so I decide to test him.

  “I would like the chimichanga with extra queso sauce on it, please.” I’m about to hand her back my menu, but stop when I see her incredulous look on her face.

  “Wow, that’s a lot of cheese,” she says in disgust. “Are you sure you want that? It’ll just go straight to your hips and thighs.” Her eyes move up and down my body, her upper lip curling in menace.

  What a bitch! “Absolutely,” I confirm, handing her back my menu. I refuse to let her win by embarrassing me in front of Rowan. I swallow my anger and look down at my hands.

  “I’ll order the exact same thing she’s having.” My eyes fly up to catch his gaze that is filled with pride. “And for the record, I think a woman who eats is sexy as fuck.”

  I smile brightly, desire for him flooding through my veins as no man has ever stuck up for me like that before. Andrea leaves in a huff and I can’t contain the burst of laughter that bubbles out of me.

  “Thanks for doing that,” I say once I’m able to catch my breath.

  “No need to thank me since I only speak the truth.” I don’t respond back as I stare at him, not wanting to look away. I don’t understand my body’s reaction to Rowan, especially only after one day of meeting him. This can’t be normal.

  I really can’t have this happening right now in my life.

  The ringing of my cell phone breaks our trance. I grab it out of my bag to see that Emma is calling me. I debate sending the call to voicemail, but I know if I do that, she’ll just keep calling.

  “Excuse me,” I murmur to Rowan and answer the call.

  “What is taking you so long?” she demands after I say hello. I look up to see if Rowan can hear her, but his expression remains emotionless. I lower the volume button with my thumb as I hold the phone to my ear, hoping she doesn’t try to ask me questions about him that he can hear.

  “I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re still at the shop! You’ve been there all day.”

  “I’m at dinner right now. Let me call you back,” I repeat, hoping she gets the hint that I really can’t talk right now.

  “Who are you eating with?” she questions and I look up to see Rowan giving me a questioning look. Shit, he can hear her!

  “People,” I stammer and Rowan’s lips start to twitch.

  “How many people?” I can hear those investigative wheels turning in her brain as she continues her inquisition.

  “One,” I confirm and Rowan gives me a smirk that I’m finding damn irresistible.

  “Since I just got off the phone with your sister and know you aren’t with her, I can only assume that the person you are with might be the hot biker guy that made you cream your panties earlier today?” She practically shouts out the last part, causing me to close my eyes in embarrassment, but not before I see Rowan’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, his smirk turning into a wicked grin.

  I should’ve never answered the phone.

  I sigh in resignation, knowing that it’s pointless to lie since he has heard everything out of her big mouth. “Yes, that would be the one.”

  “Eeek!” she squeals into my ear, causing me to move the phone away from my head.

  “Goodbye, Emma.” I hang up on her and open my eyes to see Rowan’s heated stare, his eyes like headlights beaming out raw, sexual yearning directed straight at me.

  “I like your friend.” His voice is gruff, making me clench my thighs together from the need of having him in between them.

  “That’s Emma, my old college roommate. She’s, um… special.” I have no kind words for Emma right now as this is probably the most embarrassing moment of my life, courtesy of her.

  “I love hearing that I affect you the same way you’ve affected me. Right now my cock is numb from being so hard around you. From not being able to touch you… yet.” I inhale sharply at his words as he leans in closer and lowers his voice. “Keep extra underwear in your car, Angel, because I plan on soaking your panties every day, for the rest of your life.”

  I’m totally screwed.

  Time feels like it stands still as we just stare at each other. This must be a dream.

  This has got to be a dream.

  “Rowan,” I whisper because he has robbed me of my voice, my reasoning, my sanity. “This is crazy. I don’t understand what this even is.”

  His eyes shine bright, his smile confident and strong when his words steal my heart. “Baby, this is the beginning of us.”

  Chapter Ten

  ROWAN

  I woke up this morning feeling as if I have a newfound purpose in life and that purpose is Valerie. I could tell she was not prepared for my words last night and I don’t blame her. It’s scary as fuck to think we just met and have such intense emotions for each other that sometimes take people years to develop. Once our food arrived, we ate dinner in compatible silence, stealing glances at each other when we thought the other wasn’t looking. It was as if we were checking to make sure the other person was real because this whole thing doesn’t seem real at all. I knew she needed time to process everything, so once we were done eating, I escorted her to her car, kissed her goodnight on the forehead and watched her driveway. The moment her car was out of sight, I felt uneasy that we weren’t together.

  So I followed her home.

  Some people, like maybe the cops, would call that stalking. In my defense, I just wanted to make sure my angel made it home safely.

  And maybe I wanted to see where she lived.

  I knew she wouldn’t invite me over after she was having a silent freak out during dinner, so I decided it would be better if I just follo
wed her home. She lives in a condo in the affluent part of downtown that is close to restaurants, shops and her office, whose address I looked up to see how far she had to drive every day. When she was safely inside her building, I drove home. I was happy to see that without traffic, it only took me thirty-five minutes to get back to my house. I found myself wondering if she would be willing to move in with me and commute to work every day.

  Yup, my mind went there and it felt perfectly normal.

  Once I got home, I continued my investigation on her, this time on social media. Thankfully, she isn’t like all of the other girls who have accounts on every single social media platform known to man. Valerie only has an Instagram account that she barely uses. Her account contains zero selfies, only photos of the places she wants to visit one day, majority of those photos being of Santorini, Greece. She has two photos of herself with other people - one of her sister and one of Emma, according to the captions. Her last photo, which was posted a year ago, was a donut with coffee from her favorite local bakery. I’m happy to see no photos of any guys, which made me wonder if my angel was a virgin. The thought of me being the first man inside of her had me coming hard in my hand at imagining her tightness.

  Excitement at seeing my girl today gets me out of bed earlier than normal, so I decided to surprise her by visiting her favorite bakery before heading into work. I take my truck and drive the twenty-five minutes there. In my happiness at getting something I know she’ll love, I even buy the whole shop donuts. My out of the way activity gets me into work late, making me miss my morning workout and having Valerie beat me there.

  I walk into the conference room to see her and Wes huddled over paperwork. They both look up when I walk in and I reward Valerie with a devilish smile, not giving two shits that Wes is looking at me as if I’m crazy. I nod at him in acknowledgment when I stop next to where Valerie is seated.

  “Good morning, Angel! I’ve got a surprise for you.” I bring out the box of donuts and coffee that I was trying to hide behind my back and place it in front of her. She gasps in surprise and her eyes light up in delight. I place my hand on my chest, not realizing my heart was pounding so hard with adrenaline at her reaction, which was one of the best fucking sights I’ve seen in a long time. If this is how she reacts to donuts, I can’t wait to see how she reacts when I make her come.