Page 25 of Desire Him

“Did you also tell him that you told him that you love him?”

Val checks herself in the mirror. She likes this piece. Its thin straps travel over her shoulders to a low back line, and in front, the opening dips past her breasts, exposing most of her cleavage. From beyond her breasts, lace falls around her, split at the stomach and leaving her belly button open for plain view. She turns in the mirror to look at the backside and confesses, “Yes. And I said it again last night.”

Eme’s door opens, and she whispers, “Holy shit. And what did he say?”

Val opens her door too to look her friend in the eye as she answers, “He said, ‘I know.’”

Eme’s face scrunches up as she frowns. “It’s going to take some time for him to fall for you. And I warn you, because I love you, that he may never. Wayne doesn’t do relationships other than the friend kind, according to what Logan has told me.”

Sighing softly, Val slowly nods. Her words hurt a little, but she knows Eme wasn’t saying it to hurt her feelings. This must have been what Logan felt like when Eme rejected him, but she’s trying not to dwell on that. Unlike their situation, Wayne hasn’t rejected her. He just hasn’t developed feelings for her. She’s hopeful that he might someday. Or maybe he won’t, and she’ll be devastated all over again.

God, this sucks. What does she have to do to get him to confess . . . anything?

Instead of shrinking from that idea, she embraces it. What’s love if you don’t take a chance on the person you’re in love with?

“I know,” Val breathes out. “But he did say he was attracted to me.”

Eme’s face brightens with hope. “Well, that’s something.”

Val wets her lips before she says, “We need to have a serious conversation.”

“Me and you?” Eme looks confused.

Smiling, Val corrects her. “No, me and Wayne. I need to know where this is going or what this is because, right now, I don’t know. He could be just attracted to me and just want to fuck me, and nothing more.”

Eme nods slowly. “You need to know how much heart you’re going to give him.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, he’s a good beta, so he will hear you out and be honest with you. Just . . . be careful. I don’t want to see you devastated again.”

“I will,” Val promises. She has no desire to be devastated. She’ll approach the conversation as friends so that Wayne doesn’t feel pressured or cornered.

They go back into their own dressing rooms, and Val tries on the red garment. As she suspected, she doesn’t like it as much as the black. She sets the red one aside and gets dressed. When she’s finished, she puts the red lingerie back onto the rack and waits for Eme to come out. When she does, they head to the register on the other side of the shop. “Logan should be back by now,” Eme whispers as they walk, peeking around the store as if he’s standing in the shadows, hoping not to be seen.

“Want to go find him?” Val asks. She’s right. It’s been at least ten minutes.

“He’s probably lost.” She snickers. “Or he’s waiting outside, too afraid to come in.”

“How much you want to bet he ran into a shifter?” Everyone knows who the Head Alpha is. Val can only imagine that they’d approach him and tell him about their grievances or successes. She has been with him before on an outing, and she didn’t enjoy being stopped by every shifter they came across. It took them two hours to run one errand. She hasn’t gone with him on errands again for that very reason. Why some people can’t just make a phone call like everyone else is beyond her.

Eme pokes her shoulder. “I’m not betting you on that because you’re probably right.”

Once their lingerie is paid for, they start to exit the store. With their bags in their hands, they wait just outside of it, leaning against the shop’s display windows. Eme checks her phone, and Val asks, “How long do you think he’s going to be?”

“We’ll give him five minutes, and if he doesn’t come, we will have to be the ones who hunt him down.”

Val nods and surveys the wide hall between the shops. There still aren’t a lot of people, and Val scans the faces of those walking by out of habit to see if she knows any of them. When she looks to their right, she freezes. Three people are walking their way. One has dirt on the bridge of his nose while another one is grinning a half-toothless smile at her, and the last one appears as though he hasn’t showered in a week by how greasy his hair looks.

“Eme,” Val warns, pulling Eme’s attention away from her phone.

Eme looks at her and then follows her gaze. She stiffens when she spots the three men. “Rogues,” she whispers.

“What do we do?” Val whispers back. Clearly, these guys are walking straight to them. And it’s clear that they want something from the two of them.

Quickly, Eme shoves her phone into her back pocket and grabs Val’s hand. “Come on,” she growls, hurriedly leading Val away. They briskly walk down the hall, checking over their shoulders periodically to see if the men are still there. They are. They’ve picked up their pace to match Eme and Val’s, and Val’s heart starts to hammer in her chest.

“Their still there, Eme!”

Just ahead, Eme points out a sign that says ‘Restroom’ on it, dangling from the ceiling. “This way,” Eme demands, leading her down that thinner hallway. Eme tugs her faster so that they’re jogging. “Let’s go!”

Val prays that there’s a lock on the bathroom door. Without it, they’ll be sitting ducks because, without a doubt, these guys want more than just a conversation by the way they’re matching their pace.

They race for the bathroom, and just as they reach it, they’re captured from behind. The wind is knocked out of Val’s chest, and she gasps for a moment, trying to take in air. The one who holds Val must be the guy who looked like he hadn’t showered in a week because a terrible smell comes off of him in waves.

Val fights against him. “Let me go!”

The man doesn’t answer her, but she keeps on fighting and struggling to get out of his hold. She drops her bag to drag her nails against the man’s exposed forearms. He howls in pain but doesn’t release her.

“Let us go!” Eme yells.

The third guy, the one with dirt on his nose, comes to stand before her. He pulls back his fist and says, “Sorry, sweetheart,” before his knuckles slam into Val’s temple. Everything goes black after that.