Little Red's Riding

Don't Toy with Me

Dahlia had reached for the tea cup quite intent on throwing it at him, or at least intent on seeming as if she were going to try, but he caught her wrist a second time and drew her to his chest.

"Now Kitten, if you don't stop acting like a naughty child, I might begin to treat you like one. I can think of much better things the two of us could be doing." The way he held her, imobile in his arms, did nothing to quell her rage. Turning towards him she threw all of her strength into battering away at his chest with her comparatively small fists. But still he simply held her, as she grew more and more tired of fighting him. When she was finally still he sat and stroked her hair, and couldn't help but smile when he felt her light body relax against him.

"I probably should tell you that I did stay away because I was worried about the things that your grandmother had said to me." Immediately her muscles tensed and he felt her hands curl up in fists again. "When I left you, I planned on coming the next day to get you and bring you here. I only really left you there because I had given my word. But then on the run home I began to worry about you. I worried about how you might fare in a pack of werewolves. I wondered whether you would like it. Whether you would survive."

"And I worried myself out of coming to find you. Which wasn't fair to either of us. But," he raised his hand because he could tell that she was about to say something, "it was especially unfair to you because I didn't even give you the chance to have a voice in my decision. And for that I am sorry, Dahlia."

Dahlia lay against his chest, holding very still. Finally, after a long silence he heard her draw in a long, unsteady breath. "Is that still your decision then? Are you going to send me back?"

He loosed his arms, so that she could sit up and look into his eyes and see the surprise that was written there at her question.

"Of course not." He said with a shake of his head. "I wouldn't have allowed myself to take you, there in the forest, only to discard you later. And I certainly wouldn't have marked you." He shook his head again, as he lifted his hand and stroked her cheek gently. "No my love. I was wrong. So very wrong. I cannot live without you in my life. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you are both happy and safe while you are by side."

The edges of her full lips turned up ever so slightly at his words and his thumb trailed down, brushing against her full, lower lip, and conjuring a graphic image, born from his imagination. She had the most perfect little mouth.

As if reading his mind, she bit her bottom lip and gazed up at him through her long dark lashes. "But we need to have rules, Silas." She said suddenly, her tone changing and becoming a bit more sassy again. "The first of which is that you need to trust me, Mr. Big Bad Alpha."

Dahlia lifted her chin ever so slightly and met his eyes. He returned her gaze, and after a moment felt a thrill of surprise rush through his body. Very few people could maintain eye contact with him. Usually only other Alphas, and not even them sometimes. Even other Lunas couldn't. And never humans. And yet here she was meeting his stare easily, the defiance in her gaze perfectly clear.

Increasing the intensity behind his stare, he tried to force her to look away, just to be certain that he could do it. But she didn't. She just looked back at him, the corners of her lips twitching ever so slightly as if he had told a joke and she was trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" He finally said, bringing his hand up to her cheek and leaning forward to kiss her, his eyes closing first.

She moved to the side, dodging his kiss, and pulling her face away from his hand.

"Oh nothing really," it just felt like a tickle in my mind when you were looking at me. "It felt so odd. Like a whisper almost. It made me want to laugh. That was silly. Having a staring contest. And I guess I won."