Now would be amazing,I think, but I don’t have the courage to utter the words. So I just nod, my face burning even hotter now, especially where he just touched me.
“Anyway, that’s a very long explanation of why I hate Carlos and how I helped kill him.” He leans back in his chair, his large body angled toward mine. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, Caja. Being Carlos’s general was about survival, but it doesn’t excuse everything I’ve done, everything I’ve had to do.”
A haunting gleam enters his black eyes, giving them an ominous glow.
I swallow, somewhat uncomfortable with that glimmer. Primarily because I often see it reflected in the mirror when looking at myself.
“I’ll understand if you don’t want to be around me,” he continues. “Especially if I remind you of Bautista. He might not have been one of Carlos’s generals like I was, but he managed a piece of the operation, making us similar in that regard.”
I frown. “You’re nothing like my former Alpha.” He would never have talked to me like this, let alone even looked at me.
Enrique makes me feel…seen. He makes me feel important. He makes me feelsafe.
“You’re nothing like him,” I repeat, staring into his dark eyes. “You’re…”Mine, a soft voice whispers inside me, my wolf humming in agreement.
His gaze holds mine, his expression seeming to darken. But not in a frightening way. His eyes… his eyes are…intense. His lips are full. His cheekbones look like they’re cut from marble. His face is just so incredibly handsome. So masculine, yet beautiful. I want to trace his jaw with my finger. Lick the dimple on his cheek. Nibble his plump bottom lip.
“Caja,” he whispers.
“Alpha,” I return, my body tingling all over. It feels like my veins are on fire and the only way to cool down is to touch this man. This Alpha. This impressive wolf.
I reach for him, suddenly emboldened with the need to stroke him. To caress the stubble on his jaw. To crawl into his lap andkisshim.
His mouth parts, the movement seeming like an invitation.
I push off of my chair, ready to accept, only to fall back into it as a crashing sound echoes throughout the cabin. Enrique instantly straightens, his gaze flying to the windows. “What the hell?” he says, a series of alarms suddenly sounding all around us. “It was fucking clear!”
I don’t know what he means, and I don’t have a chance to ask because a bolt of lightning has me flinching backward against my seat.
“Fuck!” he shouts, his hands flying around the cockpit as he starts dealing with the alarms. Or I assume that’s what he’s doing, anyway. He grabs a headset and pulls it over his head. “Everyone find a seat and buckle up!” The command in his voice is all Alpha, causing my wolf to whimper inside.
I flounder in my chair, trying to figure out how to operate the harness. It’s different from the ones in the main cabin, causingmy fingers to fly around uselessly as I frantically try to pull the straps over my body.
“Here,” Enrique says, his tone still harsh but not as loud.
His touch is surprisingly gentle as he pushes my hands away. He leans over and tugs the various buckles into place, the snapping sounds barely registering over the thunderous claps shaking the jet.
“I have no idea where this storm came from,” he tells me. “It’s like it just magically appeared out of no?—”
Boom!
My hands fly to cover my ears, my body trembling as violent vibrations jostle me in my seat.
Enrique curses and starts pulling up various screens showing infrared camera feeds. I try to see what he’s seeing, but I don’t understand it. However, I grasp that we’re in trouble when he freezes at whatever he finds.
He clicks his headset. “Sven?”
My wolf hearing engages, yet nothing but static reaches my ears.
“Elias? Ander? Kazek? Can anyone read me?”
More static.
“Fuck, we’re going down,” he whispers, the words seeming to be for himself more than me. “Activate escape pods,” he says before I can comment, the demand sending a chill down my spine. “Shit.” He yanks off his harness. “Stay here, Caja. I’ll come back for you.”
I blink. “What?”
But he’s already out of the cockpit and shouting orders at the Omegas in the back.
