Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Tatiana’s face stiffened. “I would assume that an Alpha in charge of a pack would have more things going for him. You disappoint me.”
Maddox frowned. “What am I lacking?”
“Brain.”, Tatiana deadpanned. “Your lack of sensibility is proving that you are just a hot piece of ass.”
Subconsciously, Maddox twisted his body to see his behind and mumbled, “It’s a good ass.”
Really, no one ever complained about his physique, and he had no idea why Tatiana brought it up. Besides, if he ignored her derisive tone, it sounded like a compliment. How can a hot piece of ass be a bad thing?
Seeing that Tatiana’s face darkened, Maddox added, “No one said how my hot ass is the only thing I have. I am sensible and that is why I’m here. With flowers.”
Tatiana sneered. “Sensible? And how do you explain that my other half was eager to claim me as his on the bed where he spent a rowdy night with two other women? And it was not just the night. Based on the fresh scents lingering in the air, I was confident that you were busy until minutes before we met. Is that how one should treat his mate? You talk about starting over but that might be possible only if you can erase that disgusting mental image.”
The truth was that under her composed façade, Tatiana was barely keeping it together. The mate bond works in such a way. Maddox was outrageously handsome, and his scent of coffee was irresistible, and she paid attention not to touch him because if the addictive sparks flare, she might snap and pounce on him.
But she couldn’t give in to those primal urges because Maddox obviously needed an attitude adjustment.
…
Maddox realized that the problem is wider than just two women emerging from the bathroom with towels around their bodies. This was also about the bed, but “The only one I could think of was you, and everything else”
“Wrong!”, Tatiana snapped and her voice was rising as she lost control of her temper. “The only one you could think of was YOU. If you thought about me even a little bit, you would wonder if I would enjoy shagging a guy on the bed that was recently used by someone else. Damn it! At least you could change the bedsheets. And you would definitely double-check if the sluts you left in your room were still there.”
Maddox was at a loss for words. Everything she said was correct, but this didn’t sound right either. But he had a feeling that talking about it won’t lead anywhere and it will only make things worse.
He wished that Mindy was there. Mindy was knowledgeable about this female stuff, and she would definitely tell him something useful. He thought about mind-linking Mindy, but then he remembered that she cut him off earlier, which means that Mindy abandoned him and he was on his own.
Facing Tatiana’s determined expression, Maddox frantically searched his brain for the right move, a gesture, a speech, anything… to win over a woman. He read about so many on the internet, but now that he was in a sticky situation, everything was jumbled up and nothing made sense.
With no other choice, Maddox steeled his will, like he was about to face several dozen rogues on his own, and spoke solemnly.
“You are right. I was thinking about myself.”
Maddox paused while observing Tatiana’s expression that didn’t crack, but her eyes told him that she was surprised by this blunt way of speaking and he hoped that was a good sign.
He braced himself and continued, “How do you expect me to care about you when I never cared about anyone in my life? From the moment I laid my eyes on you, the only thing on my mind was to get closer, to inhale your scent, to touch you, and I forgot about anything else, but even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t know from where to start.”
Maddox spread his arms before gesturing toward himself. “This is me. I bedded more women than I can remember, and I never cared for any. Until now. I am willing to learn and change my ways, if you allow me. We both know we are mates. My stance is clear. I want to make this work. However, it seems that you still didn’t decide if you will reject or accept me. Which one will it be?”
Seeing that Tatiana just looked at him, Maddox continued, “I know that your pride got hurt this morning and I came here to apologize. Since this is not enough for you to accept me, I need to know what else I need to do. State your conditions.”
In the face of Maddox’s determination, Tatiana’s respect for him rose.
As a businesswoman, she appreciated the no-nonsense approach and if she could pick a man to spend her life with, it wouldn’t be a heartless playboy, but it wouldn’t be a softie either.
Unfortunately, as much as she liked Maddox’s little speech, Tatiana didn’t have a solution. If she tells him what steps to take and he follows through, it wouldn’t be from his heart and she wanted to see what he will do for her, as his mate.
“I appreciate your honesty, and I will be frank in return.”, she said. “Your first impression was bad and if you want me to drop my guard, I need to believe that it won’t happen again. If you want to show your sincerity, just one bouquet of flowers won’t suffice.”
“How many will?”, he asked without missing a beat.
Tatiana was not sure if she should laugh or cry. “It’s not about the flowers, Max. It’s about showing that you care for me.”
“How do I do that?” He needed ideas and he needed something that will produce quick results.
Tatiana exhaled helplessly. Maddox’s speech from a minute ago was promising, but now he confirmed that his EQ is negative.
“That is something you will need to figure out yourself. Now, if you will excuse me, I have things to do.”
Maddox realized that Tatiana was chasing him away. And she still didn’t accept the flowers!
“What things?”, Maddox asked stiffly.
“There are some matters in the company I need to take care of.”
“What company?”
Tatiana rolled her eyes. “If you paid attention to what I was saying during breakfast, you would know that I own a company.”
Maddox pressed his lips into a line guiltily. She was right. He was not paying attention because he was mesmerized by her enchanting visual and distracted by his hard-on. He couldn’t say that, but he didn’t want to leave either.
Dayson said that the more time they spend together, the bond will strengthen, and then Tatiana will give in.
OK. Maddox added this last part, but the rest was Dayson’s.
“Do you mind if I stick around?”, Maddox asked.
“Suit yourself. But don’t bother me. I have important matters to deal with.”, Tatiana responded and sat back on the chair before focusing on her emails.
Maddox pulled a chair from the side and sat next to her happily.
He gazed at her elegant fingers that danced over the keyboard. Every part of Tatiana was seductive, fingers included. He licked his lips while imagining those fingers in his mouth. He would suck each of them thoroughly.
Maddox shifted a bit to adjust his hard-on and he wondered if Tatiana was impacted by his proximity how much he was impacted by hers.
He frowned a bit when he saw that she was totally focused on whatever was on the screen.
He was right next to her!
What could it be so important?
Maddox’s frown deepened when he looked at the header of the email Tatiana was responding to. There was that name again. “Who is Mario?”
“My assistant.”, Tatiana responded.
“A guy?”
“Yes.”
“Is he handsome?”
Tatiana’s fingers paused above the keyboard and her lips lifted into a smile. “You wanted to ask if he is more handsome than you.”
“That also.”, Maddox said stiffly.
Tatiana stifled a giggle. “I wouldn’t know. When I hire people, I look at their abilities, and not at their appearance.”
Maddox was not happy with this response. “But now that I asked, you are thinking about how handsome he is. Right?”