Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 188

Chapter 35

We pull into the driveway, and before I can even turn off the engine, she’s out of the car and walking fast toward the

1. se.

I follow, stepping into the warmth of the foyer, where my father is flipping through a men’s magazine.

“Hope you didn’t wreck the car,” he says without looking up.

“I didn’t. But if I did, I’m sure you’d just get a new one.”

“Oh no,” he replies. “You wreck anything of mine now, you’re paying for it. Welcome to adulthood.”

“Noted, Dad. Goodnight.”

“Finn,” he calls after me, “you might be an adult, but I don’t condone sex under my roof.”

I freeze halfway up the stairs. “What?”

“You and your ‘friend‘,” he says. “No sex in this house.”

I just stand there, staring at the back of his head. I don’t have the energy to argue.

I climb the rest of the stairs in silence, passing Sloane’s room on my way to mine. But then I hesitate. I haven’t said goodnight.

I push open the door.

“Sloane?”

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Chapter 35

She’s there. Coat off. Dress halfway unzipped. Her chest bare.

“Finn, what the hell!” she shouts.

I shut the door and practically flee down the hall, trying not to think about the fact that I just saw her naked.

I sleep like shit. It’s difficult to get a good rest when you’re dreaming about ending things with your best friend.

I wake just after five a.m.

I’m going to fix this. Sloane just needs to stay away from me during the wedding. Just enough to let Knox ruin things. I’m sure if I talk to her in the right manner, she’ll do it for me.

I grab the house’s spare keys and my phone from the nightstand.

Leaving my room, I head for Sloane’s room, careful not to make too much noise in the hallway. Mom’s a light sleeper.

I reach Sloane’s door. Locked, as expected.

It would be pointless to knock. She sleeps like a corpse and isn’t due to wake up for at least another two hours.

pick a key and twist.

The room is dark. I wait for my eyes to adjust, then move to the bed, sit, and shine my phone’s screen on her face.

She’s still asleep, curled on the bed. Mouth slightly open. No glasses. Hair a mess. Sometimes I forget how different she looks with the glasses off.

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Chapter 35

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To be honest, I don’t know why I’m here.

I brush a finger through her hair.

She shifts. Whispers something. I almost don’t catch it.

“Knox.”

My stomach twists.

I turn on the bedside lamp. Climb under the covers. Lie beside her.

“It’s Finn,” I whisper to her face. “If you’re going to say a name in your sleep, say mine.”

She doesn’t stir..

That’s when I realize she’s naked.

I lift the blanket, just a little, more out of instinct than intention. And suddenly I can’t look away.

My eyes travel over her skin.

Her breasts are soft, flushed from the heat of sleep, the swell of them rising with every breath. Her stomach is smooth, delicate, the kind of softness that makes you want to trace it with your mouth just to see if she shivers. Her hips curve out from her waist, bare and warm and so close to me. I can feel the heat radiating off her skin.

My throat goes dry. Something tightens low in my gut.

And then something else stirs–slow, dark, undeniable. An ache I’m not proud of.

My body reacts anyway. I clench my jaw, shutting my eyes, trying to

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Chapter 35

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force it down. Trying to tell myself that this isn’t the time. That this isn‘ t how I want to remember her. That I shouldn’t be looking at her like

this.

I lower the blanket, swallowing hard, and pull it gently over her again- shielding her from me.

Then I gather her closer, drawing her head to

nest.

I listen to her breathing. I try to match it. I try to pretend my heart isn’t racing.

And I try even harder to forget how much of her I just saw. And how much I wanted more.

I don’t even realize I’ve drifted off until I feel someone shaking me

awake.

I open my eyes to Sloane frowning down at me, the entire blanket wrapped around her like armor.

“How did you get in?” she says. “And what are you doing here?”

***

~~KNOX~~

***

I can hear Hunter retching his guts out in the bathroom, each heave a reminder that last night did its job. That’s how you know the bachelor party was a success–when the groom wakes up barely human, hungover, and halfway questioning every decision that led to this

moment.