I'm the Alpha's Crush

Chapter 15

Standing in my bedroom, I faced my miniscule closet, mind racing a million miles a second.

"Thursday, Friday, Saturday..." I muttered, stepping forward and flicking through my shirts.

"Three days, two nights." Pulling out one staid, black work dress, I flung it behind me to lay on the bed, followed shortly by a cardigan. After a brief debate, I added a pair of black slacks and a green silk blouse.

Internally, however, my thoughts had drifted to the detail I most wanted to ignore-

I'm travelling with Malcolm...

For a brief, searing moment, I pictured him standing outside of my room that night, looking down at me, eyes burning into mine...

"Sophie?"

Nearly jumping out of my skin, I turned to see River at the doorway of my room.

"Soph?"

"Sorry-"

"Don't apologize, just... what's going on?"

Sighing, I walked over to my bed to unzip my suitcase. "So, good news – Gerald and Oliver's new baby is on the way." As River's eyes lit up, I continued, "Bad news, that means I have to go to Tennessee in his place." Flipping the front panel open, I added, "Weird news, Malcolm is apparently traveling with me."

"What?"

Shaking my head, I reached over to slip the dress off of its hanger, rolling it as I spoke. "He's got some kind of business down there, so he and Gerald were going to travel together – but now that I'm going instead..."

Devious glee filled River's eyes, "Oh my god, this is delicious! Okay, so you need to pack some nice lingerie and at least one pair of fuck-me pumps..." Walking up to my closet, they asked, "You do have fuck-me pumps, right?"

Sputtering, I demanded, "Excuse me?"

River threw a sardonic glance my way, "Soph, you have been handed a golden opportunity-"

"-to fuck an Alpha?" I guessed.

"-to fuck an Alpha," River confirmed. "and you are not squandering it!"

Placing the dress in my suitcase, I groaned, "This is a work trip, River, not a romantic getaway."

As they crouched down to investigate my shoe collection, I heard River mutter, "Goddess, this is dire..."

"What was that?"

"I said, 'Por qué no los dos?' You're good at time management – you can seduce him and do your job all in the same trip."

Irritation bubbled to the surface. "I am not seducing him, Riv."

The sharpness of my tone must have caught their attention, because River turned back with surprise in their eyes. "Okay, okay – I still think you should be prepared in case the situation develops, you feel me?"

I snorted, "'Develops'?"

River stood, "Picture this: He offers to take you out for a nightcap and over drinks and conversation, things start heating up. He takes you back to his room and undresses you. What do you want him to see?"

Envisioning the scene in my mind, I admitted, "I don't think I own anything that could qualify as lingerie..."

River's eyes dropped to my chest. "Well, you could probably do without..."

Crossing my arms, I scowled down at my roommate, "What, exactly, are you implying, Riv?"

They held their hands out defensively, "Hey, you know what they say – 'anything more than a handful is a waste'."