Daddy Alpha I’m In Heat (Lily and Connor) novel Chapter 41

~Lily~

“One.”

Oh my God. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. He said one. He actually said one. Do you know what that means? That means he’s counting, and Connor never counts unless something really bad is about to happen. Like blood–on–the–floor bad. Like call–the–Moon–Goddess bad.

My stomach dropped straight through the floor. I think it’s still falling. I think it’s somewhere in hell right now having tea with Satan.

My fork slipped out of my hand and clanged against the plate so loud the whole restaurant probably heard it, and I wanted to scream, Sorry everyone, that’s just me dying quietly while my Alpha boyfriend counts down to homicide!

And Rafael–sweet, stupid Rafael–he laughed. He actually laughed. Like Connor, the scariest man alive, was a goddamn comedian and not the executioner sharpening the blade.

He’s not laughing for long, my wolf said lazily. That’s the laugh of a man who doesn’t know he’s already in the coffin.

“Two.”

Oh no. Oh no no no. Two is worse than one because it’s closer to five and five means death. My chest was rising and falling too fast, like I’d just run a marathon, except no, I was just sitting there in a dress that was now sticking to my sweaty back like glue. I wanted to fan myself but my hands were shaking too much.

Connor’s grip on my jaw was like steel, his thumb digging into my cheek. I couldn’t even move my mouth, which was honestly the only reason I wasn’t babbling like an idiot again. His eyes though- God, those eyes–he wasn’t even looking at me anymore. He was locked on Rafael, unblinking, cold, like he was a sniper and Rafael was already a target.

“Three.”

Stop. Stop stop stop. I can’t do this. I actually can’t. My knees were knocking under the table, and oh my Goddess, why were my thighs clenching? Why was my pussy throbbing? Like hello, body, are you lost? This is not the time to be horny. This is the time to panic.

You like it, my wolf purred, smirking. You like when he does this. When he’s dangerous. When everyone else in the room freezes but he still has a hand on you, like you’re the reason he’s about to kill someone. You love it.

“No, I don’t,” I snapped inside my head, but ohmygod I did.

Rafael’s smirk faltered finally. His jaw clenched, his throat bobbed, sweat sliding down his temple. Yes! Good! Fear! Fear is the correct response! Took him long enough.

“Four.”

Oh my God, we were here. We were right at the edge of the cliff. Four meant the next number was five and five meant death. I wanted to scream at Rafael, Run, you idiot, run before he skins you alive! But no, instead I just sat there, trembling, while Connor’s hand was still clamped on my face like I was his leash.

And then Rafael cracked.

“Alright man! Alright, you fucking win!” His voice was loud, desperate, accented. He even threw his hands up, surrendering like Connor already had a knife at his throat. “She’s all yours, okay? She’s always been yours. Go eat her pussy, it’s yours anyway!”

Wait. Wait wait wait. He did not just–he did not actually say that out loud.

But oh my God, he did. My brain froze, my jaw dropped under Connor’s hand, and my entire soul jumped out the nearest window.

And Rafael? Sweet, dumb Rafael? He didn’t stop there.

“Oh, you think you scare me, viejo?“. “You act like you’re the only man she’ll ever spread her legs for? She was looking at me, man. She was smiling. I saw it. She wanted it. Maybe she’s yours, but for a second, she wanted me too.”

My heart collapsed. My wolf wheezed so hard I thought she was choking..

Oh he’s dead. He’s dead dead. Write his obituary, Lily. Start with ‘Here lies Rafael, who was too horny to survive.‘

Rafael laughed again, nervous and sweaty and insane. “You think you own her, huh? You think you’re God because she trembles when you look at her? She’s young, hermano. She’s curious. She’ll get bored of your scary face and your rules. Girls like her? They want to taste something sweet too.”

My wolf shrieked. HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!

“Yes he did!” I screamed back in my head, panicking so bad I almost bit Connor’s hand just to make this stop.

Rafael smirked one last time and added in Spanish, rolling his tongue over every syllable: “Te follaré hasta que olvides su nombre, muñeca.”

I didn’t know what it meant, but my wolf translated gleefully. He just told you he’d fuck you until you forget Connor’s name.

WHAT?!

“Five,” Connor said softly.

Rafael’s smirk faltered, his throat bobbed, and his bravado drained out of him all at once. He stumbled back, muttering curses, face pale with sweat as he practically ran out of the restaurant.

And I sat there, trembling, heart racing, thighs soaked, eyes wide, wishing the ground would swallow me because oh my God, Connor was about to explode and not at Rafael. At me.

The second Rafael ran out, I thought maybe it was over, but no, it was not over. Not even close. Connor’s hand was still clamped on my face, his thumb pressing into my cheek so hard it felt like he was stamping ownership into my bones. He leaned down, his breath scorching my skin, and said in that voice that never needs to be loud to be terrifying, “I would punish you a lot, pumpkin.”

My entire body locked. Punish. Punish me. Not later, not maybe, but like it was already written in the sky and carved into stone. I swear I felt my soul flop over inside me and whisper, rest in peace,

Lily.

My wolf purred instead, smug and mean. Finally. He is going to remind you that you are his. You were waiting for this.

I shook my head in my brain, screaming, No I was not, no I was absolutely not, I was trying to survive dinner without dying, and now apparently I am going to die anyway. My thighs clenched under the table and I hated my body for betraying me like this because oh my God, why was I throbbing when I was supposed to be panicking?

And then Connor straightened, his voice erupting so loud the chandeliers rattled. “Everyone out!

Now!”

Every single head in the restaurant snapped up. Forks froze halfway to mouths, wine glasses tilted in midair. My heart stopped again, because oh my God, he was serious.

Wait, what?

“I said everyone out!” Connor roared even louder, and this time the room exploded into motion. “I bought this place, so out! Every last one of you!”

I swear my fork leapt off the table again, clattering like it was trying to run away from me. The air turned into chaos. Chairs screeched across the floor, waiters dropped trays of food, plates shattered on the tiles, people grabbed their children like we were in the middle of a natural disaster. The sound of heels clicking, shoes squeaking, doors slamming filled the room until there was nothing left but silence.

The entire restaurant was empty. Every single body gone. Not one witness left.

And me? I was still trapped in Connor’s grip, trembling so hard the chair under me was shaking, staring at the empty tables and the abandoned plates like–hold up, wait just one second. Did he really just do that? Did he really just kick out an entire restaurant because of me?

“Oh my God,” I whispered against his palm, my voice muffled and pathetic. “Oh my God, he really did. He actually did. He threw them all out like they were nothing. He owns this place? Since when does he own restaurants? Why do you own restaurants, Connor? Why am I the reason an entire staff and twenty customers just lost their dinner? Oh my God, oh my God-”

Shut up, my wolf groaned, covering her ears in my head. You are rambling again and he is not even listening. He is about to make you pay, and you are making it worse with your mouth.

I could not stop though. My words were spilling out faster than my brain could catch them. “You cannot just throw people out like that. Actually, wait, you can, you just did, but what do you mean you bought this place? Who buys restaurants just to shout in them? Do you do this all the time? Do you just own every place we walk into in case you need to clear it out to punish me in front of the breadsticks?”

Connor’s eyes snapped back to me, fire burning, and I squeaked. Loud. Like a dying mouse. My wolf rolled on the floor of my head laughing hysterically.

Now it is only you and him, and you like it.

And she was right.

“You see that pole over there?”

My eyes darted to it instantly. There was a tall, silver pole gleaming in the corner of the restaurant, one I had never noticed before because I was too busy panicking over Rafael’s stupid mouth. Maybe it was decoration, maybe this place turned into some late–night lounge, I did not know. All I knew was the way Connor’s voice curved around those words told me I was going to hate what came next.

“I do not care if you are not a stripper, pumpkin. You are going to remove that dress and dance around it completely naked. I want your pussy on the pole. Start.”

I choked. I actually choked on my own spit because my brain could not process what I had just heard.

“Wait, what?” I squealed, my voice coming out higher than I thought was possible. “What did you just say to me? You want me to take my dress off? Right now? In the middle of this restaurant that you just emptied? Naked? On that metal thing? With my actual v****a touching it? Are you serious? Connor, no, you cannot be serious. This is insane. This is like some next–level humiliation Olympics. I am not even flexible! I do not even know how to dance! My best move is awkward side–stepping at weddings and now you want me to rub myself on a literal pole like some professional?”

My wolf howled with laughter inside my head, her voice smug and merciless. He wants your pussy on the pole and you are going to do it. You always do what he says. Stop pretending you won’t. You are dripping already and you know it.

I was shaking my head so fast I thought it might snap off, words spilling out in a waterfall I could not stop. “Connor, you do not understand. My thighs are going to stick, my legs are going to cramp, and I am going to look ridiculous. What if I fall? What if I actually slide right down on my ass?

“I cannot just take it off in public, except oh wait, you own this place so technically it is not public anymore, but still, this is ridiculous. Who even buys a restaurant just so they can clear it out and make their girlfriend strip for them? Actually, do not answer that, because clearly you do. Connor, this is humiliating. It is insane. It is absolutely insane.”