Forbidden by Liliana Carlisle

CHAPTER 6

JAKOB

To say I fucked up would be an understatement.

I had no business speaking to her, much less even looking at her.

But her chestnut hair and hazel eyes had me doing a double-take, enthralled by her beauty.

By a fucking Beta.

Amelia had no scent except for her subtle perfume, yet I knew I needed to touch her.

Taste her.

Take her.

I was scoping out intel, following a lead on the Saviors. It was most likely fruitless, but I volunteered for the job, needing some time away from my brothers.

Then she was there, and it was like someone lit a goddamn fuse under me. My inner Alpha roared to life, and all I could do was focus on her.

We usually don’t bring Betas into their lives. It only leads to heartache in the end. They just get in the way.

Yet all my control dissipated the moment we locked eyes.

Our conversation was so natural that I could have sworn we’d known each other for years, not minutes.

And she tasted like fucking heaven. She tasted like salvation.

And now she’s passed out in my car, in shock from what transpired.

She almost died, simply because she was near me.

You’re an idiot, Chambers.

I found her address on her license and quietly carried her back to my car after the shooting, tucking her safely inside with the seatbelt.

She slept the entire ride to her home.

I wince as I park outside of her apartment, the graze on my shoulder burning with each movement.

I’ve suffered worse, of course. My mind only drifts to her.

Did she hit her head?

She’s weightless in my arms as I carry her, using her keys to unlock her front door and carry her inside.

The lock is practically useless. I could pick it in less than I minute if I wanted to.

She’ll need a new one. Possibly a security system.

Stop it.

I find the light switch and carry her to the nearby couch, depositing her gently on her back. She mumbles when I lay her down, murmuring in her sleep. I’m struck by her beauty once again as she blinks her eyes open.

It’s as if someone designed her specifically for me. Her eyes sparkle with hints of gold and green, and her small, delicate mouth parts in surprise as she sits up, staring at me intensely.

“Jakob?” she whispers, and there’s a pull in my chest as I hear my name from her lips.

But I know what I need to do.

“Listen to me,” I snarl, standing over her. She shrinks back, suddenly frightened.

Good.

“This never happened,” I continue. “You never met me. You don’t know who I am, and you saw nothing. Understand?” It’s the right thing to say, but it feels so wrong, as if what I’m telling her goes against everything inside of me.

But she’s a Beta. And tonight was a mistake.

She shakes her head, furrowing her delicate brow. “But—the gunshots—”

“Never go back to that bar,” I bark at her. “If someone asks you what happened, deny everything.”

I flinch as my shoulder moves and she notices. “You saved my life,” she observes. “You’re hurt.”

I can’t handle the hope that flashes in her eyes. “This could never work,” I spit, my voice a growl. “It was a mistake.”

Her face falls in disappointment, then in anger. “Of course,” she mutters, shaking her head. “Then, get the fuck out of my house, Jakob. Thanks for getting me off, at least.” Her voice shakes, but the fury never leaves her face.

Every instinct in me screams that this is a monumental mistake. That somehow, if I walk out the door, my life is heading in the wrong direction.

But it’s not. I’m an Alpha. This is the right decision.

Touching Amelia, Hell, even looking at Amelia in the first place was reckless and stupid.

I burn her image into my mind, committing her features to memory, then leave.