Accidental Surrogate

Sinclair

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask, studying Ella.

Her golden eyes sparkle up at me. “Yes Dominic, for the thousandth time.” She sasses, “I’m sure.”

I chuckle, dropping a kiss to her hair. “Imp.”

We’re in the back of a limousine as it rolls slowly down the street, lined on all sides by clambering pack members eager to catch a glimpse of the shifter elite on their way to the King’s palace. Ella is tucked safely against my side, wearing an off the shoulder gown of deepest green.

Layer upon layer of sheer fabric winds around her body in graceful tendrils, leaving small flashes of her fair skin bared and outlining her feminine figure in the most tantalizing design, before cascading to the ground in a waterfall of chiffon. Amber gemstones glitter in her skirts, perfectly matching the delicate jewels of her necklace and earrings. Her hair has been piled up on top of her head, save for a few wisps left free, and her small feet are confined in a pair of sky high heels. Her mask is resting in her lap, waiting for the moment we’ll exit the car and don the intricate disguises required for the ball. Every time I look at her my lungs stop pumping, and I have to remind myself to breathe, struggling to remember how it’s done.

“I know you don’t like being told how beautiful you are, but sometimes it’s hard for me to keep it to myself.” I sigh, leaning down to nuzzle her neck and bask in her sweet scent.

Ella tilts her head to the side, giving me more room to work as I brush my nose and lips over her skin. “It’s not that I mind compliments,” Her breath hitches when I pause to nibble the place where her neck meets her shoulder. “I just don’t like being made to feel like that’s all I am.”

“Well you don’t have to worry there, because as lovely as you are, your beauty is my least favorite thing about you.” I remark, completely serious.

“Sure it is.” She giggles, the sound filling my body with pure sunshine.

“I mean it.” I reply honestly, “Of course, it’s not like that means much because I like all of you. Talking about my least favorite part is like talking about my least favorite dessert – at the end of the day it’s still dessert.”

She doesn’t answer, and when I finally stop exploring the silky curve of her throat, I find a guarded expression on her face, as if she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Would you like to know my favorite thing about you?” I prompt, offering what she’s either too afraid or too shy to ask.

know.” She shrugs, not looking me

little body immediately melts against

finally raising her luminous gaze to mine. “No one has ever mistaken me for a warrior before.”

sternly, not liking her self-deprecating tone. “I know warriors, and I know you. You have a heart that cannot be quelled – you love fiercely,

so pink that I want to whisper all my secret desires in her ear, just to see how deeply I can make her flush. She peeks up at me from beneath her lashes. “Do you want to know my

her answer is about my looks or personality– as long as she has a favorite

thing to do – but because you want

graze of our lips. “I want you to be happy too, Ella.” I tell her, “I know that might feel impossible right now, with everything you’ve been through, but I’m going to make our family safe. And once I do I’m going to spoil you

be family. Whether we become romantically involved or not, we’re going to share a pup and that will tie us together for life. However, no sooner have I worked through these thoughts myself, than I see

with mischief and desire in

the urge to tell the driver to turn the car around so I can take Ella home and finish what we

our masks, I glance at the media clamoring outside and feel Ella do the same. She recoils in surprise, and a rush or protectiveness slams into me. My

me out. My wolf demands. I’ll kill them before they lay

down! I insist, shaking with the effort of holding him

He insists. This was a mistake!

nothing more than to attack every reporter in sight. Deep down, I also know that I wouldn’t be so on edge if we’d found an outlet for our sexual tension earlier.

wolf chants.

not

nibble? He begs, She

the ballroom that Ella turns toward me with an exasperated look on her face. “Dominic, you’re acting like a dog guarding a

arch my brows, letting some of my Alpha authority seep into my voice. “Am