The Werewolf Wears Prada (Entangled Covet) (San Francisco Wolf Pack) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

After passing by the guards stationed outside the gate to her complex, Hayden charged into the foyer. Harsh rays of afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows facing the street, illuminating the tears and stains on the red-carpeted stairs. He marched down the narrow hall to her apartment and rapped on the door. He waited, tapping his foot, and biting his lip. He thrust his hands in his pockets. Pulled them out and rubbed his hands on his pants. Scanned the hall one way, and then the other.

“Just a second,” Melina’s voice rang out from inside.

His heart leapt.

And then the unmistakable sound of sniffling hit his ears. Something rustled behind the door. She’d been crying…

“Damn it.” Remorse flooded him, drying out his throat and tightening his middle. He rested his hand on the door and let his head fall. “Melina? It’s me.”

How could he ever make it up to her?

“I’m coming.” Her voice sounded strained. Had she been crying all day?

The lock twisted, and then the door opened. Her eyes were red, her cheeks pale, yet her chin was raised in a notion of strength.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“Melina.” He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand.

She dodged before he touched her face. “What do you want?”

To touch you, hold you, and kiss away your tears.

He swallowed hard, and gazed into those soft brown eyes. She was so beautiful. Angelic and innocent…only there was fire to her. A fierceness that exuded from her spirit, a spark that had him burning to claim her.

“Hayden?” She leaned down to catch his gaze. “Are you going to say something or did you just want to stand in my hall?”

He couldn’t straighten out the words tangling in his mind.

“Because if this is how the conversation is going to go,” she said, “I can get you a chair.”

She was strong-willed, even now. Offering him a seat in the hallway rather than inviting him inside was the ultimate snub to the Alpha of her new pack. But she didn’t care. She stood her ground anyway.

He would’ve expected nothing less from an Alpha’s mate.

He smiled through the fog in his mind and shook his head. “I don’t need a chair.”
I need you. More than the useless air filling my lungs.
“I came back to ask you something.”

Why couldn’t he spit it out?

He’d been so ready to tell her everything that was spinning in his head and heart, but now that he was face to face with her, staring at the red rings around her eyes, he couldn’t think of anything but how much he’d hurt her. And how he’d never be able to make it right, no matter how he tried.

One word at a time, moron.

“Okay.” Melina sniffled, and his heart cracked a little more. “Go ahead and ask what you need to ask.”

Oh, he’d hurt her bad. She’d put up a wall; he could feel the cold chill of a massive ice sheet forming between them.

…

Melina gazed into Hayden’s tumultuous chocolate-brown eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. She couldn’t get her hopes up. He wasn’t here to apologize or declare his undying love for her. He was probably going to talk about the guards following her every move. How it was going to be a horrible violation of her privacy for a while.

But he looked so damned torn up about it. A thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead. His hands were trembling, though he tried to hide it by clenching and unclenching them into fists.

“Would you go to the de Young Museum with me tonight?” He blurted the words quickly, in one rambled string. “I have two tickets. I’d be honored if you’d accompany me.”

“You really should get your mood swings checked out.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Because if you think I’ve forgotten the last things you said to me a few short hours ago, you’re insane.”

Keeping his gaze trained on hers, he nodded slowly. “You’re angry, as you should be.”

“I don’t need your permission.”

“No, you certainly don’t.” His gaze lowered to her mouth. “But your lips are damn sexy when they pout that way.”

As the anger rose in her belly, something softened inside her chest. A warm blush bloomed over her skin, and the urge to melt into his arms almost overtook her. Almost. Would she always be drawn to him this way? Even if he thought he was a puppet-master who could toy with her emotions?

“You don’t get to tell me my lips are sexy.” She fought to keep the wall of indifference in place. “Not anymore.”

How could he have thought she’d write an article exposing him as a werewolf? He must not have felt the same things she did.

“I was under a ton of pressure before.” His shoulders dropped forward. “I was the asshole of all assholes.”

She nodded. “The King Asshole.”

“The Alpha Asshole.”

She fought a smirk. “You should tattoo that to your forehead so every woman you date from here on out knows what they’re getting into. It’d be good advertising.”

And it’d save a ton of broken hearts.

His expression turned grave. “You’re the only woman who’ll be in my life from this moment until the day I die. I’m sorry I haven’t proven that to you thus far, but if you’d let me, I’d like to make this a new start.”

She leaned against the doorjamb to steady herself.

“You said I sided against you…” She swallowed down the tears straining her throat. “…how could you think I’d do that? After everything?”

“God, Melina, I’m so sorry.” He looked the part, but he was good at playing the role people needed him to play. “I’m an idiot for not trusting you.”

“You could say it until you’re blue in the face.” As she twisted his words, remorse flickered through her. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over.”

She loved and trusted him. He didn’t share the sentiments.

Fine.
She’d have to move on.

He exhaled heavily. “I thought the only way you could live a full and happy life was if I wasn’t at your side.”

“You honestly think I’d fall at your feet with a simple apology?”

He didn’t need to respond. The truth was written all over his face.

“I was trying to do the right thing, struggling to find a way to keep you safe. I didn’t realize I’d be committing myself to a lifetime of misery.” He paled. “I shouldn’t have let Lydia poison what I knew to be true for myself. I should’ve trusted you—trusted us. But I can’t go back. All I know is that I belong with you. And there’s nothing I’d love more than to build a life with you and prove how perfect we are together.”

Deep down in her core, she felt the same, but she’d heard him say those lovingly sweet things before, and words had only gotten them so far.

“No one can protect you the way I can,” he said.

He was right on that part. She never felt safer than she did when he was at her side.

He reached out for her hand. “No one can love you the way I can, either.”

Her middle hollowed out as his fingers brushed over hers. His touch sparked something inside her—a deep-rooted desire, a need to snuggle up next to him and breathe in his comforting scent.

How could she live without him?

Wait—would she be pledging her life to someone who would flip a switch and cast her aside? It wasn’t only earlier in his office, but at the awards show last year, too.

She wasn’t sure.

“Hayden—”

“You don’t have to decide right now,” he said, squeezing her hand. “If you think you could forgive me, come with me to a black-tie event at the de Young tonight. I’ll come by and wait outside your door at six. If you don’t come out, I’ll take that as a sign that you don’t ever want to see me again. It’ll be a hard reality for me to accept, but I’ll have to learn to deal with it. As an Alpha’s mate, you’ll always have the protection of the guards. And you’ll never have to see me again, if that’s what you truly wish.” He lifted her hand, and brushed his lips over her knuckles. “Please forgive me.”

And then, after another, softer kiss in the heart of her hand, he closed his eyes and turned away.

Six o’clock.

She only had a few hours to make the biggest decision of her life. Her heart was already leaping in early-expectation, but her mind—her mind teetered between courage and doubt.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Aww, sweetie. You look gorgeous,” Colleen said as Melina opened the front door to her apartment. “Spanx doesn’t really scream black tie to me, but whatever.” She shrugged. “To each her own.”

Melina pushed Colleen through the door and kicked it shut behind her before anyone spotted her in her flesh-toned sausage-stuffer. “I’m putting on the dress last,” Melina said, double-checking the time. “What’s in the bag?”

“I came bearing gifts!” Colleen dropped the bag and removed its contents. “Vodka to watch with your favorite movie:
The Devil Wears Prada
.”

“That sounds like a killer date night.” Grinning, Melina planted her hands on her hips. “But I might not be here for it.”

“You still haven’t made up your mind whether or not you’re going with him?”

Melina shook her head as nerves rattled through her.

“Well, I’m getting started.” Colleen started streaming the movie, and flopped onto Melina’s bed. “If you decide to answer the door, I’ll wish you well and watch the movie by myself. If you don’t, we’ll get plastered, watch it together, and vote on the best outfits. Win-win for me.”

This whole situation had given Melina a serious case of déjà vu.

“I’m just glad the shoe’s on the other foot this time,” Colleen went on.

“There’s still a chance he’ll stand me up.” Pulling her gold Prada gown off the hanger, Melina stepped into it and twirled in front of the mirror. It had a bustier top and silk skirt. Brighter on the top, more muted on the bottom. Draping train, with a glimpse of her feet in front. And it was absolutely show-stopping. She spun, eyeing the large bow tied at the back of her neck. “But I don’t think he will.”

“And you
really
haven’t made up your mind?” Colleen kicked off her heels and dropped back on the bed. “The Prada dress you’re wearing says something different.”

“Part of me is all fluttery and anxious, and can’t wait for him to knock on that door.” Melina slipped into the bathroom and touched up her makeup. “But another part of me feels like I might be asking for disappointment.”

The opening song for
The Devil Wears Prada
cued up. Melina peeked around the bathroom wall. All those city girls, glamming up for their big day. She felt like one of them, minus one teeny-tiny thing…most of them were leaving an apartment where a man was tangled in their bed sheets. She didn’t have anyone but Colleen, a bottle of Grey Goose, and a movie. Trying not to think about the grim reality facing her, Melina shoved a few bobby pins into the hair she’d pulled back from her face, dashed on sweet vanilla perfume, and hopped into her strappy Prada heels.

“So what are you waiting for?” Colleen unscrewed the top on the vodka and poured two glasses, filled to the rim. “What’s going to make your decision?”

With a huff, Melina perched on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know. I guess I’m waiting for the moment to strike me. Something that’ll make me wake up and know absolutely, positively that he didn’t mean those things he said. You didn’t hear him, Colleen. It seemed so easy for him to push me out of his life.”

“I still don’t understand,” Colleen said. “It feels like you’re leaving out a part of the story. What reason would he have to break up with you? You said everything was going great, he was exceeding your expectations, and then—
wham
!—you’re out on your ass.”

She hadn’t told Colleen all the details—she’d left out every mention of werewolves. Maybe, when the time was right, she’d share the truth with her best friend. On second thought, if Colleen knew about their secret society, would she say something? Would she freak out and expose them? If she did, it wouldn’t do anything but thrust her into the limelight, for all the wrong reasons. She’d become a target of the wolf pack. How far would they go to silence the truth? Would they hurt her?

No,
Melina decided. The only way to keep Colleen safe was to keep her separate from the lives of the wolves in the city. She’d have to live in secret, keeping Colleen completely out of it.

Shit…

“You just went pale,” Colleen said. “Drink up, sister.”

Melina took her drink and tipped it back. She’d just committed the same sin as Hayden. She’d just decided, whole-heartedly, that it was safer for someone to be kept on the outside of the wolf pack society.

Was that all Hayden had been trying to do?

Could he really, truly love her, even though he hadn’t said those three little words yet?

She wrung her hands in front of her and checked the time. He’d be here any—

A knock on the door had Melina and Colleen jumping to their feet.

“Holy shit,” Colleen said. “He’s here. What are you going to do?”

Blinking quickly to stop the tears from falling, Melina threw her arms around Colleen’s neck and squeezed. “I know you can’t understand this, but you just helped me make up my mind.”

“I did?” She beamed. “I don’t know what I did, but I’m glad I could be of service.”

Adjusting her dress, Melina swept to the door and paused, hand to handle.

And then slowly, heart in her throat, she opened the door.

Hayden stood in front of her, a single, gold-tipped rose in his hand. His dark eyes were fraught with worry, and his full lips had pressed into a hard line.

“Thank God.” He spoke softly, as if he couldn’t catch his breath. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

She smirked, feeling weightless. Bold. “I live here.”

“Yeah.” He seemed to tremble. “You do.”

His hair was slicked back, and his face clean-shaven, accentuating the ruggedness of his jaw. He stood tall, wearing a Prada suit and black bow tie.

“Melina,” he said, handing her the preserved flower, “you wear a gold ring on your finger to remind you of where you come from and who you are. I want this to remind you that I know who you are, too…” He wrapped his free hand around her back and tugged her into his arms. “Just like this rose, you are dainty and perfect, sweet, beautiful, elegant, with the softest petals.” He lifted her hand and brushed his lips over the back of her knuckles.

“Thank you.” She melted as he buried his head against her neck and breathed in deep. “That was sweet.”

She belonged with him, wrapped tight in his arms. For always.

This—
right here
—was her fairy tale.

“No fur coat tonight?” He pulled back, a sly grin curling his lips.

“No,” she said, cheeks heating. “I’ll have another opportunity to wear fur this month. I’ll save it for then.”

His lips twitched as if he was holding back a laugh. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks.” She tugged on his lapel. “You do, too.”

“Ah-hem.” Colleen made a noise from behind her.

Melina turned and introduced the two of them. Colleen curtsied as if she were the princess getting picked up for the ball, and then made a rude gesture with her hands when he glanced back down the hall. After handing Colleen the rose and asking if she’d put it in water, Melina snatched her bag, and shut the door behind her. Judging from the gesture, Colleen had more than given Melina her blessing. Apparently, she wasn’t going to be waiting up for her to come home.

“Are you ready?” Hayden asked, planting a soft kiss on her shoulder.

Melina took his hand. “Absolutely.”

Hayden led her down the stairs, his hand gently resting on the small of her back. And when they exited the doors to the apartment complex, a limo waited at the curb.

“Where’s the Bugatti?” she asked, sliding into the limo.

After catching the train of her gown and holding it up for her to adjust, Hayden got in behind her and scooted close. “There’s this really intelligent woman I know, who said if you want to make a good impression, you should drive something classy, something that shows you’re ready to take on certain responsibilities.”

“You
were
listening.”

“I listen to everything you say.”

She lit up, from the inside out. But she liked the way the Bugatti clung to curves, and the way he handled the car. Powerful and assured. The way he handled her between the sheets, actually.

Turned out she liked a lot of things about Hayden…exactly the way he was. No image alterations necessary.

But he still hadn’t said he loved her…

“So where are we going?” she asked as the limo drove toward Golden Gate Park.

“There’s a poker tournament benefiting inner-city youth at the de Young Museum tonight.” He put his hand on her knee, and brushed his thumb up and down along her inner thigh. She shivered as lightning rods of delicious sensation shot between her legs. “Do you play?”

She’d play with him all night long if he said the word…

“I know the basics, but nothing fancy.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be at your side to help you.” He patted her leg, and then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Thanks for coming tonight. I’m so relieved you opened the door.”

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do until the last minute, to be honest.”

He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs as they rounded the park and approached the museum. “I expected that, and I don’t deserve a second chance from you, but you have to know…sending you away from me like that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. It felt like I was ripping my heart out of my chest.”

She knew the feeling well. She’d felt the same way.

“You don’t have to protect me by keeping me shielded from the dangers of the rogues.” She took his hand and weaved her fingers through his. “We can face them together.”

He cupped her chin in his hands. “You’re unbelievably brave, the way you take on the world. You aren’t afraid to take risks in life, or love. I stand to learn a lot from you.”

Was he kidding?

She wasn’t the one who took off to challenge a pack of wolves.

She shook her head. “I’m not brave.”

“Don’t do that.” He ghosted his thumb over her cheek and held her still. “Never underestimate yourself that way. When the rogues kidnapped you, you escaped on your own. You busted Reagan’s nose when he held you at gunpoint, and just offered to face the wolves again. I know you have a fairy tale in your head and think you’re the damsel in distress in all this. But I know better. You’re the heroine. No,” he corrected, planting a feather-soft kiss on her lips. “You’re
my
heroine.”

As the limo pulled up to the curb, she lost herself in this moment, and in this man. She coiled her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion in her heart and soul. Her lips tingled, and her heart clenched, as his mouth slanted over hers. He kissed her, open-mouthed, both hands softly cupping her face.

This was her fairy tale.

He was it.

She didn’t need a castle, a white horse, a crown, or even—gasp!—Prada. She needed him. With every fiber of her being. She needed him like the very air in her lungs.

“When I said I loved you,” she breathed against his lips. “I meant it. You don’t have to say it back until you’re ready, but—”

“I love you, Melina Rae Rosenthal. And I don’t want to be apart from you again. Not for one day, one hour, one minute.”

Her heart stuttered, and she fought to breathe. Outside the limo, cameras flashed and crowds of people waited for Hayden to emerge.

“I can’t make a promise that we’ll never fight,” he went on, “or that I’ll never piss you off and make you want to leave, because I will. I’ll probably screw something up because that’s what I’ve done best for the last two-hundred years. I can’t promise you a life without pain or loss, but I’ll be at your side the whole time. And it’ll be worth it in the end.”

Something erupted inside her. Her mouth dried. Her stomach ached. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was a blubbering mess. Removing the handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped away her tears.

“Don’t cry, doll.”

She smiled into a laugh, as tears caught on her lashes.

Doll.

She used to hate that word. But coming from the right person, the pet name was kind of freaking adorable. He could call her Doll until the day she died, and she’d be the happiest woman on earth, as long as he said it exactly the way he did now. Filled with love and total adoration.

“Ready to go out there and fuel the circus?” He nudged his chin at the parade of reporters lining the red carpet.

“I’m ready.” She kissed him, slow and tender, and then leaned over his lap to pull on the handle. “But I should be asking you that question. From the moment we step on that carpet, they’re going to know we’re together. You won’t be able to avoid the truth about our relationship the way you’re attached to my side this way.”

He eyed the hand that still gripped her knee. “Yet I’m not moving.”

Her thighs dimpled with gooseflesh. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” For a relationship. To go public with us. To declare to the world, essentially, that she was his only. “For what tonight brings?”

“Hell yes.”

She trembled as his lips caught hers in a smoldering kiss. Her heart filled with joy and gratitude, but most of all…love.

“Totally, completely, I’m yours,” she whispered against his mouth.

“And I’m the luckiest werewolf in the world for it,” he said, taking her hand. “Come on. Let’s go show them what love looks like.”

And then Hayden Dean, playboy, mogul, businessman, and
Alpha wolf,
led her down the red carpet as if she were his queen.