Alpha Lockwood

Nathan:

“Mia.”

The name left my mouth before I even registered it.

She froze.

Not completely, but enough. Just enough for me to notice the tension that ran through her shoulders, the way her fingers tightened around the file she was holding.

I stepped closer.

“Do I know you?” She asked, looking up at me as if she was some kind of stranger. The woman who had her arms wrapped around me, her pussy tight around my dick… I had to fight back the chuckle.

“Nice try, little wolf.” I said, and she fought back rolling her eyes. I could tell that she was hating my very existence.

“You wanted an easy exit,” she said coldly. She didn’t even bother trying to hide her bitterness from her tone, and I could tell that my very existence was bothering her.

My gaze dropped to the folder in her hand. Company logo. Applicant file. I raised an amused eyebrow at that.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, tilting my head slightly.

She shifted, already stepping back. “I had an interview. Now if you will excuse me, I need to leave.”

I frowned. “With who?”

“That’s not your concern.” She snapped.

The attitude should’ve annoyed me. Instead, it intrigued me.

She went to walk past me like I was nothing, and I raised an eyebrow at her attitude. My hand shot out before I could stop myself, wrapping around her arm, firm enough to stop her in place.

She stiffened instantly, her heart racing against her chest as she looked up at me.

“What do you want?” She asked, glaring at me.

“Answer the question,” I said, my voice dropping slightly. “Because I doubt that you had the interview judging by the way that you are choosing to walk out.”

“I don’t owe you an answer, and if you want to ask questions… by all means, go ahead and interrogate others. I am not going to handle your damn attitude.” She snapped, making my eyes darken.

“Do you really think that you are brave speaking to me in such a manner?”

Her breath caught. I felt it.

And for a second, I didn’t let go.

She turned her head slightly, like she was about to say something…

“What is going on here?” Tania’s voice cut through the moment like a blade.

I released Mia immediately, watching as she looked down at her feet. She didn’t even hesitate. The second my hand left her, she pulled away and walked past me without another word. No glance. She just walked out like she was waiting for nothing more than me releasing her arm.

My jaw tightened as I watched her leave.

“Really, Nathan?” Tania’s voice sharpened behind me. “In the middle of your office building? If you’re going to entertain your mistresses, at least have the decency to keep them behind closed doors. You do know and realize that the media can catch you with her, and even worse, they can end up spreading rumors which I have no intention in tolerating anymore.”

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to turn fully toward her.

“You’re assuming too much,” I said flatly. “And I believe that you know very well that I do not answer to you, Tania.”

“Oh, am I?” she snapped. “I am your wife, and whether or not you answer to me does not make a difference. At least respect that your kids might grow to see this, and you do not want them to have the thought of their father being with mistresses out in the open while their mother is in the same building too.”

“Is there anything that you need, Tania?” I asked coldly, my eyes meeting hers in a way that told her to drop the subject unless she aimed to cause a scene.

“I need you to stop treating me like I am burden and at least enforce the respect of me being your wife.” She said, looking me in the eye. “What more can I offer you for you to look at me like I am your wife instead of the burden that I see you hating? I didn’t do anything, and not once did I feel you looking at me like I matter to you.”

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t thinking about her.

I was thinking about Mia.

About the way she looked at me.

About the way my body reacted to her before my mind caught up.

And the fact that she was still loathing my presence despite how long it has been.

“Go do whatever it is you came here to do,” I said dismissively, walking past Tania without another glance. “I have work to do,”

Her silence followed me down the hall.

But it didn’t matter.

Because for the first time in a long time…

Something had caught my attention.

And I wasn’t letting it go.