Forbidden by Liliana Carlisle
CHAPTER 12
AMELIA
It stops him, if only for a moment.
But he grips my waist tighter, his massive hands encompassing me, and determination flashes in his eyes.
“Yes, we can,” he growls.
“No,” I hiss, fighting the tears in my eyes. “We can’t.”
I struggle to pull out of his arms, but he only grips me tighter, hard enough to bruise. “Tell me why,” he barks out.
I scoff, amazed at his arrogance. “Would you like a list?” I snap. “How about, for one, I’m a Beta…”
My voice trails off as I think of the other ugly truth.
My illness.
But I throw something else in his face.
“You’re also a Collector,” I spit. “How would that look, someone whose sole job is to make sure Alphas and Omegas are together, yet they’re fooling around with a Beta?”
He has the audacity to smirk, and I gape at him.
“So, you’ve been researching what I do, huh?” He smiles for the first time since I saw him the night we met, and it stuns me for just a moment.
“That’s what you got from what I said?” I regain my composure quickly, and the smirk stays on his face.
“Or how about the fact that you locked me in your room? Have you thought that maybe you’re not as charming as you think?”
He raises an eyebrow, and the deranged, desperate Jakob is nowhere to be found. “Oh, I’m charming as Hell, Princess.”
My mouth falls open to retort, and he uses the opportunity to force me into a punishing kiss.
It’s quick, hard, and angry. He controls the pace, and I don’t have time to gasp for air as he plunges his tongue into my mouth, taking and tasting. I moan against him, desperately clutching at his chest as my body pushes against him, seeking a friction that only he can provide.
He nibbles at my lip, and I bite back, taking out my frustration on him. It only spurs him on, and his hands reach down to cup my ass, squeezing and massaging.
I’m moments away from begging him to take me. My pussy clenches, desperate to be touched, but the warning bells echo in my head.
“No.” I growl, shaking myself free from his arms and stalking out of his bedroom. “You don’t even know me.”
His house is modern and simple, with a cream marble kitchen in one corner and a living room with cozy couches on the other side. Simple wooden bookshelves line the walls, filled to the brim with different reading materials. I spot a few that I recognize, and my heart breaks at the interests we have in common.
This would never work, as much as I may want it to.
I grab my purse off the kitchen island, ready to order a ride home through my phone.
“I know enough,” he growls, his voice low and deadly. “I know there’s something you’re hiding.”
That stops me. “What?”
I turn to face him, and his dark blue eyes see through me, staring at me intensely. “You can’t sleep at night. You’re terribly lonely, but you would never admit it.” He takes a step out of the doorway and closer to me, his movements predatory.
“Don’t.” I try to sound brave, but my voice shakes. I want to run away from him, but I’m frozen in place.
He continues. “You only have one close friend, which doesn’t make sense to me—you’re smart and clever as hell. But maybe there’s a reason you don’t let people get too close.”
“Stop,” I whisper. I hold on to the marble island, terrified of what he’ll say next.
“So, I don’t think the problem is you being a Beta, Amelia,” he murmurs, as I lose my grip on the counter. “I think it’s me seeing something you don’t want to show.”
I shake from both anger and shame, desperate to lash out at him.
“But here’s the thing,” he continues, his voice low and silky. He takes a step forward. “I don’t care what it is. I want you, Amelia. All of it.”
I stop breathing.
I want to believe him. He’s spoken the words I’ve wanted to hear for years.
I want all of you.
I panic. I’m exposed, laid bare and vulnerable, and it’s all because of him.
My heart pounds in my head, and I grit my teeth as my muscles spasm.
Oh no.
Not now.
I slide to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.