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Page 13 of Until Presley (Happily Ever Alpha World)

By the time the small service ends, I feel like I’ve cried myself out.

Ham and I stand next to Alan as everyone approaches, offering their condolences.

Professor Blackman introduces himself to Alan and shares how much he admired Leah and her work.

A memory ghosts through my mind of Leah once telling me that Professor Blackman had accused her of distracting me from my studies.

That’s the only time I’d ever heard her mention him.

She never had him as an instructor, so how did they know each other?

I shake my head, trying to make sense of it all. Something doesn’t feel right.

Professor Blackman takes my hand and pulls me in for a hug.

I quickly raise my hand to stop him. “Sorry. I’m hugged out.” I force a smile. Ham’s hand flexes along my back, then slides to my waist, pulling me close to him again.

“You are?” Professor Blackman spits out, turning his attention to Ham.

“I’m Presley’s boyfriend.”

The professor whips his head toward me, his gaze narrowing. He’s a couple inches shorter than Ham. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” He tips his head to the side. “Are you sure dating should be your focus right now?”

Ham’s grip tightens on my hip, and I feel the urge to push back my shoulders and stand tall.

“Thank you for attending, Professor Blackman,” I say, brushing him off, and look at the next person waiting to pay their respects.

Moments later, we stand there, everyone talking around us.

I hear Ham telling Hanna and Walker we’ll come by.

I don’t want to, but I don’t want to be alone right now either.

A chill works its way up my spine, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

I glance around, and that’s when I catch Professor Blackman staring me down.

I quickly turn away, unsure of what’s going on.

He’s always been around when I’m on campus, and he did show up to my master’s graduation.

But this is the first time I’ve actually questioned why he’s always there.

“Hey, sprite, did you hear me?” Ham says as he squeezes me.

“I’m sorry. No, I didn’t.” I look up at him.

Ham

L ooking across the small group that’s starting to disperse, I spot the professor who was rude to Presley. As I watch him, something shifts in his expression. I realize he doesn’t just care for Presley as a student—he’s jealous of me.

When Presley doesn’t hear me ask her about him, I repeat myself. She looks up at me, and I see the pain in her eyes. They’re red-rimmed from crying and look as if a storm is brewing across the ocean. I lean down and gently kiss her lips.

“I got you, babe. Come on.” I lead her away toward my Jeep, where I kiss her deeply, making sure that asshole knows who Presley belongs to.

Her cheeks are flushed when I pull away, and I press my lips to her forehead.

I love kissing her. I love touching her.

I need to talk her into staying with me tonight.

“Ms. Blanchard,” a voice says, and we both turn as I help Presley into the Jeep.

“Yes?” she responds.

He flashes his badge and then points to the guy standing beside him.

“I’m Special Agent Harkness with the FBI, and this is Special Agent Brownley. We have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind?”

“Um…” Presley looks at me, and I prepare to help her down.

“We can wait until later or tomorrow if you’d like,” Agent Brownley offers. “We know you’ve already spoken with the police, but we believe this case might be connected to another investigation we’re working on.”

“How about you come to our place tomorrow?” I give them my address and close the door, ignoring Presley’s gasp.

When I climb into my seat, she turns to me.

“ We don’t live together.” Her hand waves back and forth between us.

I can’t hide my smile as I back out and head for Walker’s place. He lives in town, near our warehouse.

“Baby, I know we don’t.” I turn to look at her when we stop at a light.

“Yet. But we will soon enough, if I have anything to say about it, and it’s better than them coming to your place.

Furthermore”—I turn my attention back to the road—“you’re staying with me tonight so I can keep your mind off today.

” I smirk and glance at her. A blush fills her cheeks.

I love the soft color she turns when I talk sexy to her.

We pull up to Walker and Hanna’s place, and I walk around to help Presley out. She slips her jacket off and lays it across the seat before we walk to the door. I place my hand against her lower back, and I can’t wait to get her home.

Hanna’s mom opens the door and immediately pulls me in for a hug before turning toward Presley.

“Hello, I’m Liz, Hanna’s mom.” She points to her husband, who is hovering close behind her. “This is Trevor, her dad. He looks meaner than he is.”

Just like she did with my mom, Presley holds out her hand to shake, but Liz pulls her in for a hug.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Liz says, and Presley thanks her before stepping back.

“Let them in, babe,” Trevor tells her, and she steps back so we can enter the house. It has an interesting U-shaped design with a pool in the center of the home.

“That’s so cool.” Presley smiles up at me, pointing to the pool.

“Yeah, Hanna snagged this place before I could.” I chuckle.

“That’s not true, he moved into a condo at first when we moved out here.” Hanna catches my fib, and I just shrug.

“I like your place too,” Presley says, putting emphasis on “your.”

Walker hands me a beer, and we all step outside to the poolside, where a table is set up for a small lunch.

“What was that all about?” Walker asks, clearly noticing Presley’s tone when she mentioned my house.

“The FBI wants to question Presley, and I told them they could at our house. She’s trying to prove the point that it isn’t ours.”

“Going to lock that shit down?” Trevor asks, and I turn to see Presley holding Landon while she talks with Hanna and Liz.

My sprite loves children, but she’s worried she wouldn’t be able to give them the attention they deserve.

The thought of knocking her up and changing her mind fills my head.

“How long you been seeing her?” Trevor asks, and I turn back to focus on him.

“Since the moment I saw her for the first time three weeks ago, but she’ll tell you only two weeks.”

Walker chuckles, and Trevor tips his beer to me.

“What?” I look between them.

“Does she know you’re never letting her go?” Walker asks. “Because she told Hanna that you were seeing where it was going.”

“That’s what she thinks. I told her, and I keep telling her. She keeps thinking I’m going to interfere with her doctoral studies. I won’t.”

“What do you want with her?” Trevor asks, and I turn back to look at her as she moves side to side, rocking Landon. His head is resting on her shoulder, and his thumb is in his mouth.

“Everything,” I say, and look back to see Trevor and Walker nodding at each other. “Okay, what now?” I take a deep swallow of my beer.

“Boom,” Trevor says, and Walker chuckles.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Walker says and tips his chin toward the women. “I think we’re ready.”

Presley walks right to me, and I slide out my chair so she can sit on my knee. Landon is still in her arms.

“Who was the guy at the funeral today who walked up to give his condolences? You seemed pissed off by something he said,” Hanna asks, and I wait to see if Presley offers an explanation.

“He’s a professor I met my freshman year. He advised me several times, but that’s all. I was honestly shocked to see him there. Leah really didn’t care for him.” Presley stands up to hand Landon off to Liz, who takes him inside.

“What happened to make him mad? I noticed him staring you both down.”

Presley turns to Hanna. “He told me I should focus on my studies instead of having a boyfriend. It’s none of his concern.

Besides, other than the time off I’m taking while the lab is closed due to Leah’s death, I haven’t had a break at all.

I haven’t been to Australia to see my parents in six years.

My stepmom came to Florida last year for a visit, and my dad came up the Christmas before that. ”

“You haven’t seen your dad in a year and a half?” Trevor asks, and she nods.

“Does your family have a place to stay when they are up here?” Walker asks, and I already know the answer. It was one of the things we talked about last night when we played twenty questions. I avoided asking her the question I really wanted to, though, about being bullied.

“Yeah, they have a townhouse in Miami. My stepsister stays there,” she says, not offering any further details.

“You have a sister? I always wanted one, but I have a lot of girl cousins to make up for it. My brother, Cobi, is amazing, but he’s not a girl.” Hanna looks pointedly at her father.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re lucky I let you and Walker get together. You promised me when you were little that you wouldn’t ever get married, that I was the only man you needed.”

“Trevor, that was when she was three.” Liz walks out, rejoining us.

“I have a stepsister. Clara. We aren’t very close. She lived with her father until she was sixteen, then came to live with us. When she came to live with us, her mother talked my father into sending me to boarding school with her. I always had tutors before that.”

“Boarding school?” Liz asks as she moves to a chair next to Trevor, but he pulls her onto his lap.

“Yep, my father travels all over the world for his research. Thea, my stepmom, thought I needed more stability during my teens. I had just turned fourteen and had been moved up to the same grade as Clara. My stepsister hated that because everyone compared us.” She pauses.

“I have a little brother. Thea and my dad had Griff ten years ago. He’s my little buddy. ”