"Ruin me. Why would I want that?!" Ayesha's chest rose sharply, pulse erratic. "You're so full of yourself," she breathed, trying to twist away.
But he caught her arm gently, not enough to hurt, just enough to hold her in place. "Say it all you want, Ayesha," he said, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. "But this pull between us? It's not imagined."
Her body betrayed her. The heat flooding her skin, the tremble in her stomach, the ache she couldn't name, everything was working against her.
She gulped, unable to challenge the Alpha King's words any further. To pretend ignorance would make her a hypocrite before him. The pull was so strong that she parted her lips, gazing at him, but no words escaped.
Alaric glanced at her parted lips. She quickly stepped back and moved swiftly to sit on the nearest chair. "Why did you call me then?" she asked, attempting to shift the topic and mood while calming her nerves.
