Stay Still

There was someone else's scent on her, completely overlapping his.

Caesar had scented her, and normally it was supposed to last for at least a week. But it hadn't even been three days yet, and she was completely covered in a different unpleasant scent.

Could it be Dimitri?

His inner alpha snarled at the thought of this, and his grip on Adeline's arm tightened.

"Caesar, that hurts." Adeline glared at him.

Even humans each had a distinctive scent, which allowed his kind to easily track their prey. But humans themselves didn't have the ability to smell it like they can perceive a brand of perfume on someone.

Nothing was more aggravating than smelling another's scent on one's mate. Alphas were naturally territorial, and the supreme alphas were even worse. They could never stand perceiving a scent that didn't belong to them on their mate.

The first time he'd met her, Caesar didn't smell anyone's scent on her, not at their second, third, or fourth meeting. He could still remember her scent filling his nostrils like a rose fragrance, and it was even more clear when he had her sitting on him, so close that he felt like he could merge with her.

Her scent drew him in like he was some drunkard, and he wanted to drown in it so badly. It was one of the reasons why he'd scented her that day.

He'd felt so territorial at the thought of the fact that she was with Dimitri for the time being. There, he resorted to scent-marking her and leaving his scent on her along with the hickey.

She belonged to him, even if she didn't know it.

"Caesar!" Adeline kicked his knee with her heel, snapping him out of his drifting thoughts. "What is wrong with you?"

The frown was still apparent on Caesar's face. "Adeline, who-"

"Come with me." Adeline grabbed his hand, dragging him along to the bathroom. She pulled him in and slammed the door shut, locking it. "You have to be careful, we could get caught."

Caesar still held a frown, pissed off about something she couldn't exactly figure out.

Adeline crumpled her forehead at him, perplexed. "What are you so provoked about?" She stepped closer to stand in front of him, her arms akimbo.

Caesar stared at her and lifted his hand to touch her head. "Who poured wine on you?"

"Dimitri," Adeline answered honestly. "I'm trying to do what you asked me to, which, don't get me wrong, I believe is the best option to get what we want. But he is taking this opportunity to shit on me. I didn't even do anything to him." She huffed in displeasure and walked over to the sink.

Caesar strolled after her, spooning her from behind against the sink. 

Adeline looked at him through the mirror, wondering what he was trying to do. "Caesar, what are you-"

"Stay still," Caesar said to her, using the handkerchief he grabbed from his pocket to clean off the liquid. He washed her hands afterward, and all the while, Adeline could only stand, gazing at him as if he were some kind of movie.

She was so absent-minded that she couldn't even hear her own heart, thumping so heavily, almost as if it could burst right out of her chest.

The man suddenly lowered himself to rest his jaw against her shoulder. He looked at her through the mirror, something not so good building in his eyes. 

"Do you want me to kill Dimitri? I'll be willing to murder him for you." There was still anger steaming inside of him, but his expression belied it.

Adeline's eyes blew wide, completely taken aback. "What? What is wrong with you? Killing Dimitri would only get you into so much trouble. I know how crazy things can get between Mafias. So-"

"But I can kill him, doll. You just have to say the word." Caesar rolled his shoulders, unbothered by the consequences that could come with taking such actions.

Their was a possibility of a war breaking out between the two mafia groups. 

Adeline glared at him with gritted teeth and knocked his forehead with the back of her hand. "That's crazy," she muttered.

Caesar laughed with mirth. He suddenly grabbed her by the hips, and before Adeline could even register what he was about to do, he flipped her around, lifted her off her feet, and sat her down on the countertop, her back pressing against the mirror.

"Let me do something for you. Relax." He spread her legs, fixing himself in between.

"D-do something for me?" Adeline asked incredulously. It couldn't be what she was thinking, right? He wasn't seriously about to—

Caesar held her small waist, his hand rising to hold the nape of her neck. His other hand rested on her thigh, and he dropped his jaw against her shoulder.

"Caesar, what are you doing?" Adeline asked, shutting her eyes.

She could not seem to understand why she couldn't push him away. Had it been Dimitri, she would have done so without a second thought. But for Caesar, it always seemed as if she had no will to do it. 

Why? She'd never experienced such a thing before.

The inexplicable sense of attraction she felt from the first moment they'd met, often left her perplexed. It felt as if she had always known him, even though that was wholly impossible. Not to mention the way her heart seemed to race around him.

Why?

Adeline was starting to grow frustrated. Was there something about—

Her eyes snapped wide open, and she threw her head back at the sudden tingling, sizzling feeling she felt at her neck. Caesar was nuzzling her neck, and something she couldn't quite make out was grazing against the skin of her neck. It was sharp and felt somewhat like teeth.

"Caesar!" Adeline's call was in vain because she'd suddenly felt like she was drowning.

Drowning in what?

Her eyes felt heavy, and her body was weak as though drunk on fine wine.

What are you doing to me?