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“You’rehim!”I say, accusing—angry.
He sighs, his expression guarded. “Yes.”
I gape at him, shock and a traitorous bloom of excitement warring in my gut. “You—!”
I have a million questions, but none of them come out as more than wordless sputtering. Eventually I give up and just stare at him. Adam McCain. Adam Mc-Goddamn-Cain. My boss. No, strike that—my boss’ boss’ boss’ boss.
Silence stretches between us as I try to process how he went from looking like he wanted to fire me on the spot just from being in his Elevator of Privilege, to breaking into my home and making me feel things I didn’t know were even possible… to now standing in my doorway. Withflowers.
“Invite me in, baby girl,” he says softly.
“Oh, you’re asking now, are you? I didn’t think permission was something that really concerned you all too much.” My voice is tart, but I open the door wider and move to the side, because apparently the oxytocin high hasn’t worn off yet and my stupid heart trembles at the naked plea in his eyes.
“Thank you.” He steps over the threshold, his huge bulk taking up most of my small entryway, and closes the door behind us.
I look up at him, taking in the flakes of snow on his wool coat, the gorgeous bouquet in his hands, and finally his sensuous lips drawn in a tight line, as well as the look of yearning in his dark eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I…” He lets out a huff and shoves the flowers into my arms. “I got you these.”
I blink. “Um… thanks. But that doesn’t answer my question.”
Adam rubs the back of his neck, the plea in his eyes mixing with a look of uncertainty on his handsome features I’m certain no one’s seen in a very, very long time, if ever. “Eve… Fuck.” He sighs again and crosses his arms over his chest. “You know why I’m here.”
“Uh, no. I don’t,” I say, frowning up at him from behind the huge bouquet. “Because if it was for more sex, I’m sure you’d have just broken in. Again.”
“Damn it, woman, of course it’s not for sex!” he growls. The sudden sound of alpha anger makes me take a step back, eyes widening.
My reaction makes his face fall, and he lifts both hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…Fuck!This isn’t how I wanted to…” He trails off and scrubs one hand over his face. “Eve, you’re my mate.”
I blink three times in a row. “Uh… I’m your…what?”
“My mate,” he repeats, his eyes darkening with intensity as he looks at me, the uncertainty in his expression vanishing in a flash. As if saying that word out loud centers him. Hones him to a singular focus.
“I… that’s… no,” I stammer, eyes still wide. Hismate?The implication roots me to the spot as Noelle the caterer’s story about her friend who got forcefully mated flickers through my mind.
“Yes,” he says, taking a step toward me and forcing his way into my private space. But instead of grabbing me, he gently cups my cheek. “And deep down, you know it too, darling. How you responded to me, how you needed me to hold you after… We are made for each other, baby girl. I’m your alpha, and you… you are my goddess. My reason for breathing.”
“But I don’t… I don’t even know you,” I protest. “And you don’t know me. We can’t be—“
“I know you,” he interrupts me. “I know you bought this house when you could barely afford to. I know the pastry shop whose window display you like to look at, but never buy from. I know you walk a little faster when you pass a dark alleyway at night, and I know you browse gardening forums on your lunch break, even though you don’t have a garden yourself.
"I’ve listened to you keep your composure when assholes scream at you on the phone for things that aren’t your fault. I know your body. But most importantly, Eve, I know you’re my mate. There’s no arguing, there’s no negotiating—you’re the one.”
I swallow thickly, a ridiculous rush of warmth flooding up through my chest and down my belly, mixing with the panic. The way he looks at me, so absolutely set in his belief, I know he’s right—there’s no arguing. He’s made up his mind, and I can either get on board, or…
I draw in a shaky breath. “So… that’s why you’re here? To claim me, whether I want it or not?”
He lets out a rumbling noise and reaches for me. His fingertips skim over the diamond resting between my breasts. “You sound so reluctant. Yet you’re wearing my gift—pretty jewelry instead of the necklace of semen you would be wearing if we lived in less…civilizedtimes.”
He flicks his eyes up to mine, capturing my gaze with his dark intensity once more. “You read the note. You knew I was coming back for you. And you put this on.”
“Well, I…” I trail off, blushing as I’m forced to put words to my inner turmoil in the wake of my ravishment. “I thought… Maybe you’d, I dunno, court me. I’d never in a million years think you were planning onmatingme.”
Adam releases the necklace and lifts his strong fingers up to nudge at my chin. “Iamgoing to court you, baby girl.”
I blink up at him. “Uh… so you aren’t…? You’re not just going to… claim me and be done with it?”
