Sorry I'm Mated To The Commander novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Can You Do Me A Favor?

The silver-haired young man, who had been by the window, was now standing right beside Layla. He stood a full head taller than her, despite her own height of 5’7″.

They stood so close that it felt like she was already in his arms. Layla took a step back and bumped against the metal doorknob with a soft thud. ‘Ouch! That’s going to leave a bruise,’ she thought.

When she looked up, the young man stepped forward again, closing the distance between them. His warm breath brushed her cheeks, making them burn.

His striking blue eyes fixed on hers, full of wounded confusion, like a child who’d been pushed away. “Do you hate me?” he asked, his voice low and rough.

They were too close. Layla felt herself sinking into the heavy cedar scent around her. She managed to shake her head. “No,” she said, her voice quieter than she intended. “I don’t hate you.”

The young man pressed closer, his voice low. “Then do you hate the smell of my pheromones?” He couldn’t understand why she was trying to leave so soon.

“No, I like it. A lot,” Layla admitted honestly, even as she tried to keep her original purpose in mind.

At her words, a bright, genuine smile spread across his face. He reached out and gently drew her into his arms, his voice softening. “I like you, too. So can you do me a favor? Please?”

It was almost impossible to say no. Layla held onto his hands, clinging to her last thread of reason. “I truly like you. But I never planned to marry. Someone else used my computer to submit the application. If you’re not willing—”

“I am willing.” The young man spoke before she could finish, then lifted his gaze to hers. A faint flush from his rut colored his pale cheeks, making him look both vulnerable and breathtakingly beautiful.

He added softly, like a well-behaved child, “My family has always married through the Genetic Pairing Program. And according to the results, we’re genetically perfect for each other.”

‘What kind of family hands over their marriages completely to a genetic program?’ Layla thought. The rich cedar scent was already wrapping around her.

Before her last bit of sense slipped away, she glanced toward the window. “What about that window?”

The young man cupped her face gently, a note of soft complaint in his voice. “It’s one-way glass. No one can see in from outside. Don’t look out there. Look at me, okay?”

Layla’s breath caught. For a long moment, she was completely lost in his eyes, a clear, captivating shade of Klein blue that seemed to swallow her whole world.

*****

Unlike the intimate warmth in the VIP lounge, Sullivan Manor was quiet and still. A handsome man in dark-gray military uniform stepped casually from an aero-vehicle.

Nolan had just finished a six-month assignment and was finally home on a month’s leave. When Harper heard her eldest son had returned, she rushed out to meet him. “Nolan, you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

Nolan smiled fondly. “Mom, we were mining energy crystals this time, not fighting void raiders. It was perfectly safe.”

Xanthe, holding Harper’s arm, added warmly, “Nolan, Mom was just worried. But you’re right. You’re so capable that even if you did run into raiders, they’d be the ones in trouble.”

Nolan gave a slight nod toward Xanthe, whose features held a faint echo of his own. But Xanthe noticed the distance in his manner.

“To the Central Nexus to bring Layla home.” Nolan turned, his gaze cold as it settled on Xanthe, who stood with red-rimmed eyes and a wounded expression. “And you will apologize to her properly.”

As his figure vanished past the gate, Xanthe broke down. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing openly.

“Mom, why is Nolan treating me like this? I’m his real sister. Why does he care more about Layla? Should I have never come back? Should I have just died out there?” she said.

Harper pulled her daughter into a tight hug, her heart aching. “Xanthe, don’t say that. There’s just been a misunderstanding. When Nolan gets back, I’ll make sure he apologizes to you.”

Xanthe cried in her mother’s arms, but beneath the tears, her mind was cold. ‘I hope Layla is already married to a loser by the time he finds her. Then all this is worth it. She’ll be gone from this family for good.’

*****

In the luxurious VIP lounge, the rich scent of pheromones still hung in the air. Layla rubbed her eyes and woke up, finding herself alone on the red sofa, a light blanket draped over her.

The beautiful fox-eared young man was gone. If not for the faint trace of cedar still clinging to the room, she might have thought it was all a dream.

‘What just happened? Did he change his mind and leave?’ Layla wondered, sitting up slowly.