Page 53 of Fated to the Alpha

She gave a disbelieving laugh and looked at the ceiling, anywhere but in his icy blue eyes that could demand just about anything from her. “This isn’t like some Romeo and Juliet deal, Shane. We’re consenting adults. If we want to go away somewhere, we can. What’s the harm?”

Carla came back with their drinks and a carafe of coffee. It looked clean enough, contrary to Kimberly’s initial assumptions. The coffee certainly smelled fresh. Carla filled their mugs, dropped off packets of powdered creamer and sugar, told them their orders were on the grill, and then left to give them privacy again.

“The problem isn’t that we can or can’t,” Shane muttered, “but Gage is convinced we shouldn’t.”

Kimberly greedily grabbed for the Boba tea. “Then Gage can go fuck himself.” She took a big slurp from the straw and groaned with foodie ecstasy. “Oh, Boba tea, how I’ve missed you!”

Shane gave a husky, rolling chuckle that magnified her giddiness. “If that stuff will make you make those noises, I like it already.”

Kimberly eagerly pushed the cup across the table. “Try it!”

Shane picked it up and swirled the thick, pink drink, making the darker red bubbles at the bottom rub against the sides of the cup. “What are those little things at the bottom?”

“That’s the magic of Boba tea.”

“But what are they?”

“Just take a big, long sip and you’ll find out.”

“It’s going to be super sweet, isn’t it?”

“Quit being a baby and try it.”

He did and Kimberly grinned when his hesitation morphed into satisfaction, then absolute shock. He jerked the straw out of his mouth and a few drops of the drink spilled onto the table.

“What the hell?” he mumbled through half a mouthful of bursting strawberry bubbles.

“Boba tea! I think those bubbles are technically called tapioca pearls.”

Shane closed his mouth and worked through the surprise until every last pearl burst and was gone. “Holy shit. I mean, it’s good, but who the hell thought of this?”

Kimberly took back her drink. “I don’t know, but I love them for it.” She took a big sip and relished the fun pop of the bubbles between her tongue and the roof of her mouth. “You really like letting me bully you, huh?”

Shane chased the Boba tea with the strong black coffee. “What do you mean?”

“I just remember when we were dating back in Warrington, I pushed you to try things you weren’t always comfortable with. And now, it feels like we’re falling into the same pattern. Movie night was something I came up with when we were younger. It was never your thing. I dragged you to the gym. I acted like a total bitch last night and forced you to take me on this trip, complicating your plans. And just now, I pressured you into drinking this.” She winced at the memories resurfacing. “I always came up with the date ideas and you just kind of went along with it. I think we only ever did stuff you liked a handful of times. There was that one time you took me hunting at o-dark-thirty, and we went to a couple of varsity football games. That’s it. Makes me think you just want me to walk all over you. It’s not very alpha-like and I’m sure none of your past girlfriends would have done that to you.”

Shane patiently waited for her to finish and then shook his head. “Three things. First,” he leaned to rest his folded arms on the table, “you’re not walking all over me, and you’re not pushing me around. We do stuff you enjoy because … I love seeing life through your eyes. Sure, I have interests and like to hunt and fish, and there was one time I went cow tipping with some of the other guys in my class, but every time I was out doing something like that, I was thinking about you. I’d rather choke on the smell of flowers and be beside you than spend even an hour fishing. My day is more exciting with you, doing the things that make you light up and laugh.” He poked the cup of Boba tea. “Even if it means drinking straight sugar.”

Kimberly didn’t hold back her bittersweet smile.

“Secondly, I can count the number of girlfriends I’ve had in the last ten years on one hand.” Shane held up two fingers. “Neither of them lasted very long, so there was no time to decide who was calling the shots. There was never a spark, never anything that kept me interested. I know it’s totally dick-ish to say, but they meant nothing to me, compared to you.”

Kimberly dipped her chin and bit her lips together. She didn’t want to think about Shane being with another woman. It would have been stupid to expect that he’d stay completely single and celibate during their separation. There was nothing to suggest they would ever reunite, so why shouldn’t he date other women and find his perfect alpha female?

“Thirdly, what you did last night was not bullying. You were setting the record straight and calling me on my bullshit. Asserting what you want and don’t want isn’t nagging or bullying. It shows you have respect for yourself and your boundaries.” He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a rough rumble. “And I’m going to say it again; that was hot.”

Kimberly snorted a laugh and covered her mouth and nose in a desperate attempt to stifle the awkward sound. “I hardly see how my screaming and cussing you out is attractive. I dug deep for that courage, just so you know. The last time I was that … crazy, for lack of a better word, was when I was, like, six.” By the odd twitch of confusion in his brows, she knew he had no clue what she was talking about. “Do you remember my mom’s sewing room?”

Shane took another sip of his coffee, then nodded as he swallowed. “I think so.”

“The walls were decorated with stuff from all the places she traveled and there was this Japanese kabuki mask with horns and fangs. Every time I walked into that room, I’d purposefully avoid looking at it because it scared me so much. I kept having nightmares that it would jump off the wall and come after me. I guess I had watched snippets of a horror movie or something because I have this distinct memory of standing in my mom’s sewing room and yelling at this scary mask, saying stuff like, I’m not afraid of you, and You have no power over me, and You will not hurt me or my family. I walked out thinking I was just so brave for telling off this stupid mask on the wall.”

Shane grinned from ear to ear. “That’s adorable.”

Kimberly rotated her cup between her hands. “Yeah, well, last night wasn’t that adorable.”

“Okay, adorable may not be the right word, but it was still great.” Shane reached out and landed a heavy, warm hand on top of hers. “You channel that brave girl any time you want. That attitude, plus some kickass moves, and no one will ever doubt your ability to take care of yourself. Dominance or not.”