Alpha Ever After (Midnight Liaisons Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

wouldn’t tell him, but I’m positive there’s no new shifter females in the area.
    Connor shrugs and raises one knee, resting a bruised arm against it. "If there isn't, they'll figure it out eventually and let you go."
    It's that whole 'eventually' thing that worries me, though I don't say anything to him. I'm sure he remembers my reaction to him from earlier. Even now, I feel weird, tingly prickles of arousal at his scent. Maybe it's that he tried to defend me. Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's that this is the first time I've noticed that Connor is smokin' hot despite being a wolf.
    Whatever it is, I'm definitely noticing him, and not in platonic ways. I didn’t even react like this to my boyfriend Chris and I was around him a lot. But five minutes with Connor Anderson, enemy wolf, and I’m all rock-hard nipples and aching loins. Greaaaaat.
    I wince when he rubs his face and more blood smears on his cheek. "You're still bleeding." I touch the corner of my mouth to show him.
    He mirrors my touch on his face and only manages to smear more blood.
    "You're making it worse." I hold out my napkins.
    "Then fix it for me." He gets up and before I can protest, drops onto the corner of my bed.
    I recoil a bit, but when he doesn't reach for me, I relax. I have to keep reminding myself that Connor's not like the others. That he fought to have them release me. He's not going to jump me. Actually, looking at him, I'm surprised he's still upright. He looks wrecked.
    So I open the water bottle, wet the napkins, and then gently press them to his cheek. He doesn't move a muscle, but his breathing changes. His gaze is on me as I lean in and swipe at the dried blood on his face. "You went and got me food looking like this?"
    "They weren't going to feed you," he says gruffly. "Didn't want you to suffer just because they're shitheads."
    I gently dab at a scrape on one of his high cheekbones. "You must have scared them at the drive-thru. They were probably terrified at the thought of getting your order wrong."
    For some reason, that brings a smile to his face. "They did supersize me for free, come to think of it."
    I chuckle. Up close, Connor's more than just handsome, he's downright beautiful. God, even his pores are nice. And his eyebrows are perfect. Thick and arching. Jeez, why am I noticing someone's eyebrows? He also happens to smell incredible under all the blood.
    I bite my lip because another surge of unwelcome desire is flooding through me. I should pull away from him, but my nostrils flare and I inhale even more of his scent. I can feel my panties getting damp again, just from his nearness.
    What would it be like if he actually touched me?
    I gaze at his mouth for too long. It's full, and there's a little dip in the center of his bottom lip that makes me want to lick it. When I look up, he's gazing at me.
    And my nipples prick in response.
    "Do they know?" he asks in a husky voice.
    My nipples? “Know? Know what?”
    "That you're going into heat?"
    Oh. That. My eyes widen and I jerk away from him. "W-what?" How does he know?
    "I can smell your scent," he murmurs. "When I get close to you, your pupils dilate and your nipples get hard. There's only two explanations for that - you're either into submission or you're going into heat."
    "I'm--I'm not a submissive," I tell him. My face burns at the thought. I decide to lay my cards all out on the table. "I'm actually going into heat. You guessed right.”
    Connor's eyes widen. "You're kidding me."
    "I wish I was." Tears prick my eyes. "You're not going to tell them, are you?"
    "Fuck no." He pulls me against him and to my surprise, he hugs me tight. "Don't cry, okay? It fucking kills me to see you like this as it is. When you're strong, I can take it. But if you cry, it'll destroy me."
    I stiffen against him, shocked that he’d just reach out and grab me like that. I’m a cat. We’re more aloof and standoffish as a whole, but I know wolves are more affectionate, more touchy-feely. I