Hideout

E I G H T

Leo struggles with his inner self much more than we could ever know when viewing this in Adelaide's point of view. So maybe it is time for another perspective.

C H A P T E R

E I G H T

L E O

It killed me to wake her up in the morning. She looked like a little goddess in my bed. Her hair was tousled and thrown everywhere, her shirt had risen to show her small, pale, and smooth tummy. Morning sunshine was flashing across her face, lighting up her skin. It seemed a cruel act to disturb her peace, especially after the difficult couple of days we have had.

My fingers brushed across the side of her face softly, hoping it would wake her without getting the girl too worked up. When this didn't work for several minutes, I moved to a different tactic. "Adelaide. Adelaide," I called, snapping the band of her shorts lightly, chuckling when she flinched.

She grunted, shaking her head while trying to bury herself into the pillows and blankets to resume sleeping. With a snicker, I poked her sensitive tummy gently, ignoring the way her skin filled with goosebumps. "You want to call your parents or not?"

That got her to shoot up, her eyes brightening. The little tease had been faking all along, and somehow I had no idea. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Go get dressed."

Adelaide jumped out of bed and ran into the closet, two minutes later coming out in one of the only long sleeved shirts I let her keep - a patterned button up top and a pair of navy blue shorts.

As she ran past me, I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to me and kissing her swiftly, the temptation just too much to bear. The rational part of myself was shouting for me to stop, but the rest of my body didn't comply, even though I knew that she wasn't enjoying it.

Adelaide gasped and leaned back, holding herself away from me. "What're you doing?"

"I've hardly kissed you since our date," I told her, grabbing her chin and brushing my lips against hers.

"Stop it," she snapped. "It wasn't a date. I was blackmailed into going. And I don't want to kiss you."

I frowned at her. "You don't?" Even though the mark on her throat was fresh, she should be feeling some sort of draw to me, even if it wasn't sexual. It was a slight disappointment to have it sound like she didn't feel any different, but if I lingered on that thought too long, I would most likely do something to make Adelaide hate me even more. Unless I could give her a little push, a little inspiration. Like planting a seed in her mind.

"Let's just call my parents. Please, Leo."

I grinned to myself as I conjured up an image of us in bed together - completely skin to skin - and sent it through our bonded mind-link. Adelaide's face went red and she wrenched herself out of my hold.

"What was that?" She whispered.

"One of the pros of bearing the mark to an Alpha, little one," I explained, smirking at her confused face. I repeated the thoughts, the images, and her face became even more red and flushed. This time it travelled all the way to her ears and I could almost hear her heart thumping in her chest. "I can make you think of whatever I'm thinking."

"Stop, Leo. That's gross."

I snickered at her, getting a fistful of her shirt and pulling her in front of me so I could kiss her forehead. "Goodness, Adelaide. Stop stalling and let's go speak to your parents."