Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Chapter 9
Ben
Teri didn’t seem to have much to say once he told her that he was there for the remainder of the time. Teri had looked at him like she wanted to cut his balls off, but Ben ignored it, sure that it would all come out soon. She was scared of him and changes, but Ben was going to show her that change could be a good thing. He was already quite sure of that and didn’t need her to say anything about it.
Ben had offered the bed again, but Teri looked at him like he was crazy and stayed as far away from him and the bed as she possibly could. She finally went to take a shower and he offered to wash her back, but that just got him a testy look and a refusal. Ben was just going to get used to being told no. It would appear that he was going to hear it a lot when it came to Teri. Her very demeanor was fear, and it was going to take some time for him to get past that.
Teri came out of the shower with only a towel on. It was like she had forgotten that he was there, and she gasped when she remembered. She tried to cover up, but Ben assured her that she wasn’t showing much, nothing more than he hadn’t already seen when she was dancing naked in the woods. He had already seen it all, but the reminder, the bare bits of flesh that called to him, weren’t the only thing that was catching his eye.
“Are you just going to sit there?”
“I want to pull you into my arms and down onto the bed, slide in and really make you mine.” Teri gasped at his answer. She couldn’t believe that he had said such a thing. He meant it too. His damn eyes were so dark, she couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze. It made her take a step or two back, which about put her into the hallway. She was running scared again and Ben didn’t want that to happen.
“I’m not going to do anything, Teri. I will never do anything until you are ready, and you are definitely not ready. Can’t I just watch you get dressed?”
Teri hesitated and then shrugged, like it didn’t matter one way or another. She turned her back to him and let the towel fall. Why was she messing with him? Ben had no idea, but it was clear that was what she was doing. He was shaking inside from the way that she was bending down to get her underwear on. Ben’s eyes followed the progress of the scant piece of fabric. Was she trying to prove his words wrong about touching her without her giving her okay? She watched, waiting for him to make a move, but he didn’t budge. It took everything in him, granted, but Ben didn’t make a move toward her, no matter how badly he wanted to.
When she was done, she kept eyeballing him, asking what was going to happen next.
“We are going home, Teri, that’s what happens next. Your father didn’t tell you?”
Teri agreed that her dad did, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to believe it was true. She was a mess and said as much. “Why do we have to leave here? This is everything that I know. I have never left the Valley and I don’t want to start.”
Ben knew that there would be a problem with her taking off. She didn’t want to leave home, and she really wasn’t going to be happy when she found out where he lived, if she didn’t already know. How would she feel to know that she was going to be in the tundra in a few days? How much had her father told her?
Since he wasn’t sure what all she knew and what she would accept, Ben didn’t want to be the one to tell her anything. He didn’t want her looking at him the way she was now. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to know that he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy, even if she didn’t believe it right away. Ben was sure that with a little time, Teri and he would be close, and she would finally realize that he was there to help her, nothing else. The attraction he had for her was palpable, but so was her desire to be left alone in that way. All Ben could do was what he was supposed to.
“I have to get home to my people. I will be the Alpha soon and we have a few clans around us that want to war. If I am not there, I don’t know what will happen. Likely, my father will start a full out war, and I would like to prevent that from happening.”
“Your people fight with each other?” Teri asked incredulously. It was likely a shot because their people were so easy to get along with. Her clan in Death Valley was left alone. No one wanted their land and territory because it was hard to survive. Because her father raised her in that clan, they’d never really seen real war. It was one of many things Ben wished weren’t true about his home. He wished that they weren’t so violent and that he wasn’t bringing his wife home to that.
“Only once in a while and it is usually a necessity. Don’t worry, Teri. I will keep you safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Teri scoffed. “If you were really worried about me and my safety, you would let me stay here. Nothing bad happens here, and I would be completely safe.”
Ben groaned. “Yes, but you are my mate, and your place is with me.”
Teri’s face reddened. “I knew that you would be like this. You own me now and I have no say. Got it.”
Teri started to throw clothes in a bag, and she barely looked at him. Was that how their marriage was going to go? Ben wasn’t so impressed now. Teri was beautiful, but the last thing he wanted to do was secure a wife that he had to fight with nonstop. He wanted peace above all else, but how would he get that with a woman like Teri?
“This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, Teri. You will get used to me and your new life soon enough.”
“And if I don’t?”
Ben knew what she wanted to hear, that he would release her, but that wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to let it happen.
“There is no other option, Teri. You are my wife now and whether you like it or not, it’s not going to change. You come with me, and everything will be fine.”
Teri scowled at her new husband. “I thought you would be more malleable.”
His handsome face smirked and his broad shoulders shrugged. “I thought the Fates would give me a proper wife.”
