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W e both pant heavily as we come down from our pleasured haze, and before I can even say anything, Alexander leans forward, grabs my hand, and sucks my fingers into his mouth. His tongue swirls around them, lapping at them like they are the best thing he has ever tasted. He’s groaning deeply, and all I can do is watch, wishing he would put his tongue somewhere else. My entire body is on fire, burning with an intense heat I never could have imagined I’d survive, let alone be desperate for more of. Yet as I watch Alexander lick my arousal from my skin, I can’t help but think that hell doesn’t seem so bad after all.

When he pulls back, I hear the clink of something against his teeth, as his stare flicks between me and his cum on my thighs, and I watch as he tucks himself away with a pleasured sigh. “Don’t move, I’ll get something to clean you up,” he replies, tossing me a knowing look, as he retreats from my room. It isn’t until my bedroom door has closed behind him that I realize he took my purity ring with him.

Well, I guess it does belong to him now.

He returns a moment later with a warm washcloth, taking his time cleaning me up, and surprisingly it doesn’t feel awkward. There is no embarrassment or regret, it just feels exactly as it should, an intimate moment with someone I trust.

When he’s done, he eyes me, searching my stare, until he asks, “Are you okay?”

I can’t help but choke out a giggle at his question. “Alexander, I just had three orgasms that felt like the most intense out-of-body experience I have ever had, and you want to know if I’m okay,” I laugh, shaking my head in disbelief, but when he doesn’t crack a smile, I take a deep breath. “I feel perfect, thank you.” Only at my words does he finally seem to relax, looking around my room a little awkwardly.

“It’s getting late,” he starts, but I cut him off at the same time.

“Will you stay with me?”

He blinks back a little at my question, searching my stare again, before he asks, “Do you want me to stay?” I nod instantly, and his answering smile is fucking blinding. “Then yes, of course I’ll stay with you, love.”

I excuse myself to get ready for bed, grabbing some pajamas and slipping to the bathroom to wash up, and when I return Alexander has tidied away the box of toys, cleared away our books, and is standing shirtless beside my bed. My eyes feast on his bare skin, as I move toward my bed, and his trail over me from head to toe, completely predatory, and I should probably feel something akin to fear. His eyes track me as if he owns me, yet all I feel is worshipped, so maybe I’ve found a new god, one who actually makes me feel wanted and worthy.

“Stop looking at me like that, Trouble,” he warns as I reach him, and he pulls back the covers and guides me into bed.

“Like what?” I ask, my voice a little croaky from the screaming, and he smiles at the sound of it.

“Like I’m the answer to all your prayers,” he muses, slipping in beside me, and before I can worry about whether we will cuddle or not, he pulls me in by the waist, tucking me into the curve of his body. I don’t respond because I might say something stupid like I think you are, especially as his nose finds my hair and he sighs deeply, completely content.

“Goodnight, Alexander,” I breathe, reaching up to turn off the lamp, and I feel his smile against my back.

“Goodnight, Trouble.”

I don’t remember falling asleep, and I’m pretty sure I didn't move all night from Alexander’s arms, so when someone pounds on the door the next morning, it startles me completely. Alexander is already pushing out of bed before I can even open my eyes fully, and when I turn over he is pulling on his jeans and grabbing his shirt. I quickly follow suit, grabbing his jersey from where it has sat on my desk for weeks, dragging it over my head before I follow him out of the room. Alexander is already opening the front door and as I come up behind him I find our new building manager looking regretful.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Reign, but we have a situation,” he starts, flicking his eyes to me, as he notices me approaching, and Alexander looks over his shoulder, meeting my confused stare.

“Give us a minute to get dressed,” he sighs, and the building manager nods, before Alexander closes the door and heads back to my room to grab his shoes.

The wheels start turning in my head, and it doesn’t take me long to come to the very obvious conclusion. “Someone new took over the building not that long ago and kick started all the improvements, it was you, wasn’t it?” I ask him sternly. “You bought the building.”

Alexander finishes tying his shoes and sighs again. “Yeah, I bought the building,” he replies without shame.

“Of course you did,” I laugh, shaking my head as I move to grab some jeans to throw on, before sliding my feet into some boots. “Well, come on then, landlord, let’s go see what the issue is,” I snap, not sure whether I should be angry at him for keeping it from me, or grateful for him caring enough to do it.

When I rip open the front door, the building manager is pacing and when he sees me, he once again looks to Alexander, as if searching for permission. The latter doesn’t even spare him a second glance, as he pushes past him and grunts, “Let’s go.”

Locking the door behind us, I quickly follow after them both, heading down all four flights of stairs and toward the front door, but before we can exit, the manager pauses. “Maybe, Miss Callows should wait inside,” he states, his tone tense, and Alexander’s back straightens, yet before either of them can stop me, I barge past them both and stomp outside.

It takes me a few seconds to notice the issue, but then my eyes land on my car and I gasp, slowing my steps, as I move toward it in utter shock. The black paintwork is now tainted in red with the word ‘whore’ sprayed across the side in big huge letters. What the fuck?

Alexander is at my side in an instant, his stare flying between the car and our surroundings, with his phone already at his ear. “Jeremy, it’s me, I need a restraining order drawn up immediately,” he snarls down the phone, and I don’t think I have ever heard him so angry. He pulls me into him, covering my body with his, as he continues to glare around our surroundings. “I need two guards at the house as soon as possible, make sure they're armed.” The last word jolts me a little, and I find my own eyes flicking around, as if they will land on who did this. “Yes, no, no, yes, okay, get it done,” he adds in a clipped tone, clearly answering questions from whomever is on the line, before ending the call and quickly making another. “Duchess, I need all the security footage you can get me from around Aubree’s building, I don’t care what you have to hack, just fucking get it for me.” He once again listens to whatever the person is saying, before he adds in deathly tone, “Fucking find him.”

Him .

Fuck. Is it really him? Did Ben do this to my car?

Alexander cuts off the call, his furious stare finding mine, as his hands come up to cup my cheeks. “Aubree, don’t worry about the car, it will be replaced by the end of the day, okay, love?” His eyes search mine, checking if I'm okay, but I honestly don’t know.

“Did he really do this?” I ask, knowing he won’t lie to me, and he sighs deeply, dropping his hands and putting a little space between us.

“I don’t know, I’ve had a friend of mine keeping tabs on him and he hasn’t been at work all week,” he admits slowly. “I thought he was just licking his wounds somewhere, but apparently not,” he adds, his jaw grinding as he once again looks at the word sprayed on my car, and I can’t help but follow his stare. “I’m really fucking sorry, Aubree.”

My eyes flick back to his and he is watching me solemnly, as if he thinks this is somehow his fault. “Stop apologizing for that fucking idiot, he doesn’t deserve it,” I whisper, throwing his own words back at him, and he smiles at me knowingly, and I can’t stop my hand from reaching up to caress his cheek.

I want to kiss him, this beautiful and infuriating man, who burst into my life and demanded space. I want to kiss him so fucking badly, but not here, not like this. I get why he walked away on my mom’s birthday, and during truth or dare, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it, that my heart doesn’t race in his presence. I can try to deny it, hide it, but the truth is, from the moment I met him, I have felt more alive than I ever have before.

Maybe that does make me a whore? Maybe this is me being punished for my sins? For kissing someone who wasn’t my boyfriend, but I’m learning you can’t help how you feel, and when it comes to Alexander Reign, I feel far too much.

“We need to pack you a bag so you can come and stay at my house,” Alexander states, leaving no room for argument, and when I look at my car again, I can’t find any in me anyway.

Alexander leads me back inside my apartment, pacing back and forth on his phone while he waits for me to pack up my stuff. I grab all my toiletries, enough clothes to last me a few days, and all my books for class. He excuses himself a couple of times to take some calls, and is pretty much tapping away on his phone the rest of the time too. Only once I’m done does he pocket his phone, giving me his attention, immediately grabbing my bags and then leading us downstairs, not letting me move from his side.

The security guard, who has recently been working during the night in the building, is now back here, looking apologetic, and he and Alexander share a few quiet words that include the phrase ‘calling the police’, before he leads us out of the building and into a dark SUV. It all seems a bit much to me, but the tension radiating off Alexander has me going along with whatever he needs to once again find his calm. I’m sure it will all blow over easily enough, but until then, if he needs to do all this to feel better, then I’m going to let him.

When we reach his house, the guard does a quick sweep as Alexander leads me straight up the path, and when we enter, I’m surprised to find the house full. Evie is sitting with Jake, Daemon, and Archer at the kitchen island, Maddie and Nova are on the sofa, and Josh and Hallie are sitting opposite them. I look between them all in confusion, as all their stares hit us, like they were waiting for us to arrive. Why aren’t they all in class?

“Bree,” Evie breathes, jumping off her stool and rushing toward me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so fucking sorry, babe, are you okay?” she asks, her words being grumbled against my hair, before she pulls back and holds me at arm’s length, checking me over.

I open my mouth to respond, but Alexander beats me to it. “She could do with some coffee and breakfast,” he states firmly, flicking his glare to Daemon, who is already plating up some food, as Archer moves to pour us some coffee.

Maddie and Hallie take their turns embracing me, each fussing over me and asking if I am okay, before they lead me toward the counter with their boys in tow.

“You okay, Troublemaker?” Archer asks, as we reach it, his usual cheerful manner a lot dimmer than I’ve become used to, and all I can do is nod in thanks as I take a mug of coffee from him.

“Did you find him?” Nova asks, storming towards the counter, closing the distance between him and Maddie, and she smiles softly as he wraps his arms around her.

“Not yet, but CCTV confirmed it was him,” Alexander replies coldly, his stare only on mine, as Jake stands, guiding me into his now vacant chair, as the reality of the situation takes hold.

“Motherfucker,” Nova curses, his voice more dark and detached than I have ever heard it.

“What do you need, brother?” Archer cuts in, looking between both of us, his eyes fierce, as Daemon crowds into his side, and emotion burns the back of my throat.

Is this what it’s like when people have your back, no questions asked? When they freely give their friendship and loyalty and expect nothing but that in return. It’s something I can barely even fathom, something I’ve never had before, not truly, and yet here they all are offering it blindly and without pause. Three months ago I didn’t even know any of them, and now here they are, all rallied together in Alexander’s kitchen, and to what? Help me? Be there for me?

“She goes nowhere alone,” Alexander demands, looking between not just his friends, but their girlfriends too. “I’m not having that fucking prick corner her somewhere without backup,” he curses, his stare still burning into me from across the counter.

It’s burning, branding, and I know it’s not going unnoticed by any of them, especially when I spot Evie dropping her eyes to my now very empty middle finger. Her knowing smile is instant, as is my blush, but we remain quiet as Alexander continues on with his demands.

“I’ve got her until tonight and most of the weekend, but during the game later,” he trails off, looking at the girls, but they are already nodding.

“We’ve got her, Alexander,” Maddie tells him firmly, offering me a regal smile.

“Yeah, don’t worry, we won’t let her out of our sight,” Hallie adds, as Josh grimaces at her back.

“Hit first, ask questions later, okay, Tink?” he grunts, pulling her against him, and she rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, we all know that’s your motto. Want me to break his arm for you if I get to him first?” she teases, and for the first time ever I see a playful smile dart across his mouth.

“If I get to him first, I’ll break every fucking finger,” Alexander spits, and I know it shouldn’t, but his tone sends a shudder down my spine.

Our eyes collide and I see nothing but truth in his stare, and just as I open my mouth to say something, there is a firm knock at the door. All three girls instantly move to my side, Nova and Josh are also flanking us, as Alexander storms to the door with Archer and Daemon in tow. When he pulls it open there is a man in a suit there, and all three of them relax. I’m too far away to hear what is being said, but the man offers Alexander a large brown envelope. They talk for less than a minute before Alexander is nodding in thanks and closing the door.

When his eyes find mine again, they are still burning in a way I have never seen before, and there is an unfamiliar churning in the pit of my stomach, as he storms back to the counter, flicking his stare across all of his friends. Our friends .

“What is it?” I ask, finding my voice for the first time, as I nod toward the envelope, and he slides it across the counter to me.

“Restraining order,” he replies, not waiting for me to open it, and when I look inside, that’s what I find. It’s all there in black and white, both mine and Ben’s information, instructing him to stay away from me.

I don’t bother asking Alexander how he got all of our information, clearly his stalking knows no bounds, but still the sight of Ben’s name on a piece of paper affects me more than I thought it would. Like, this is Ben, my Ben, someone I have known for more than a decade of my life, and until last week I would have told you he was one of the kindest people I have ever met. So how the hell did we get here?

“I just don’t understand why he would do this?” I breathe, somehow knowing deep in my gut that none of them will judge me for saying it.

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Alexander fumes, snatching back the restraining order and shoving it back into the envelope, as if just the mere sight of Ben’s name offends him.

“That’s because you already hated him,” I reply, smiling a little in the hopes it might lighten the black cloud now resting over us, but Alexander is already shaking his head.

“No, because if I lost you, I’d tear the fucking world apart to get you back,” he responds without pause, his words clear, holding not even a hint of dishonesty, and he tossed them out like he doesn’t care who hears them.

Alexander was right, faith is fickle. So why do I have faith in every word he just said?