Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I was silent for the rest of breakfast. If anyone noticed, they didn’t say anything. I thought that I saw Andrew glancing over at me a few times, but I couldn’t be sure.

After breakfast, Eliza asked Andrew and me to take Donner on a walk. Andrew said “yes” immediately, but I hesitated. With Donner’s big doggy eyes burning into me, I had to agree, too.

We decided to take him to some woods nearby. Although we walked in silence the same as the night before, it wasn’t as comfortable. The awkward tension between us could be cut with a knife, and I was just glad that

we had Donner to distract us.

After walking for about a mile, Andrew finally spoke.

“Why are you acting so cold towards me?” he asked.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that he sounded hurt.

“I’m not acting cold towards you. I just don’t feel like talking.”

“Well, you seemed perfectly fine at breakfast, and then you suddenly stopped talking.

“You noticed?”

“Of course I noticed. I just didn’t want to embarrass you by bringing any unwanted attention to you in front of others.”

“Well…thank you, I guess.”

I watched as Donner gingerly lifted his booty–covered paws in the snow while trying to run. He looked quite a bit like a giant tap–dancing four–legged spider. I giggled at the sight, and I heard Andrew chuckling as well.

“Have I offended you somehow?” he asked.

I sighed. If he was going to ask, I might as well tell him.

“No…well, yes, but I don’t think you meant to.”

I looked over at him and saw his face contorted in a perplexed expression.

“How did I offend you…without meaning to offend you?”

I ran the hand not holding Donner’s leash through my hair. I wasn’t sure how to explain this to him without sounding overly sensitive or unable to handle rejection.

“You…acted as though me k*ssing you never happened.”

“That offended you?”

I looked to the side of the path, away from Andrew. We passed by a seemingly abandoned cabin covered in snow from the previous night’s fall. I briefly wondered how long it had been left empty.

“I know, it sounds silly when I say it out loud,” I finally replied, “but you acting like it never happened…it’s as though you thought that the k*ss was a mistake, or something.”

Donner directed us toward a hill with a slight incline. He pulled on the leash and suddenly started running up the hill, dragging me behind him. Andrew followed close behind us.

“Donner, slow down!” I yelled, laughing.

“Donner! Crystal!” Andrew yelled as he chased after us.

I nearly tripped as Donner brought me to the top of the hill. He would have pulled me farther if Andrew had not caught up to us and grabbed hold of the leash, bringing us all to a halt.

“Woah, Donner! Woah, boy,” he said as he gingerly took the leash from my hand. “Who’s walking who, am I right?”

I laughed at his corny joke and rolled my eyes.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, trying to catch our breath. Then Andrew turned to look me straight in

the

bye.

“Is that really what you thought?”

I shook my head in confusion.

“What?”

“Did you really think that I thought that you k*ssing me was a mistake?”

“Well, with you acting as though it didn’t happen, what else was I-”

Before I could finish my sentence, Andrew’s l*ps met mine. He placed his free hand behind my head, twined his fingers in my hair, and pulled me closer. His hand holding Donner’s leash wrapped around my waist, pushing my hips into his.

What I felt pressing back against me filled me with visions from the previous night’s dream. Suddenly, wanted to make that dream a reality, right that moment.

When we finally parted, I could scarcely breathe. I clung to Andrew for support, Donner barked and pawed at my leg, cocking his head as if to ask what was the matter, but all my attention was on the Alpha King holding

“Let’s go somewhere more private,” Andrew suggested, his voice near a growl.

“1–I saw a cabin on our way here. It looked abandoned,” I suggested.

Andrew smirked.

“Perfect.”

“What about Donner?”

Andrew looked around until he found a tree stump and tied Donner’s leash to it.

“I’m sure he’ll stay there until we return. Won’t you, boy?”

As though he understood, Donner barked and sat in the snow.

“What if he gets cold?”

Andrew took off his own coat and draped it over Donner.

“I’ll be keeping plenty warm with what we’ll be doing,” he told me with a wink. “Come on, now. We don’t want to be gone too long, or else Nikolas and Eliza will get suspicious.”

Andrew took me by the hand, and we ran to the cabin that I had seen earlier in our walk. When we reached it, I was relieved to find that it was not only abandoned but also unlocked.

Inside, the cabin only had the bare minimum furnishings: a dusty table and chairs, some utensils that had been left behind, a threadbare blanket. Fortunately for us, it also had a dust–covered–but still functional–bed.

It was as freezing inside the cabin as it was outside, but we didn’t care. As soon as Andrew closed the door behind us, we were enveloped in each other’s warmth.

Andrew guided me to the bed, lowering me to the mattress before passion could overwhelm us. As we lay down side by side, we k*ssed deeply, our tongues playing a game of dominance in our mouths. Soon, we worked frantically to take off each other’s many layers of clothing.

I gasped as Andrew sucked on my n*eck. He worked to rip off my coat as I slid off his suit jacket. I undid his tie and then tore at the buttons of his undershirt.

My fingers raked down his firm abs. Andrew panted into the crook of my n*eck, enjoying my touch as much as I was enjoying his, I leaned forward and planted a k*ss on each of his pecs, but he pulled me back up to continue sucking and chewing on my n*eck before I could get to his abs.

Andrew had begun to unbutton my blouse when the sound of his cellphone ringing in his pants startled both of us.

“Shit,” he muttered, pressing his forehead to the side of my n*eck. “I better get that, or the calls will never stop coming.”

I groaned.

“If you must.”

He fished out his phone and swiped the screen without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” he growled.

I traced his abs while he listened to the caller, causing him to reciprocate by tracing my breasts and n*pples. Suddenly, he stopped. Whatever was said on the other end of the line must have caught his attention because his eyes widened, and he started to collect our clothing.

“We’ll be right there.”

He hung up and handed me my coat.

“What is it?” I asked as I put my coat on, assuming that the mood was gone.

“That was Eliza,” Andrew said as he put on his suit jacket. “Nikolas is having a heart attack.”