Desired By Three Alphas; Fated To One novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Just A Bet?

Hailee’s POV

He leaned in, hands braced on either side of my head. "You really hate him that much?" he asked, voice low.

I stared him down. "I hate what he does."

His eyes burned into mine. "And what if he regrets it? What if everything he’s done since has been to try to forget her—and nothing worked?"

I swallowed hard. "Then maybe he should’ve said that to her instead of acting like he hated her."

Now I wasn’t sure if we were talking about the book anymore.

I swallowed hard. "Can you let go of me... I need..."

That muscle in his jaw ticked.

And then he kissed me.

Fierce. Demanding. Every insult we’d thrown at each other still lingered between our lips, making the kiss feel like war and desire all at once. His hands gripped my waist like he didn’t trust me to stay, and mine fisted his shirt like I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

When he finally pulled back, our breaths were tangled.

"You talk too much," he muttered against my lips.

"You don’t have to kiss me to shut me up," I shot back.

His mouth curled into a wicked smirk.

"But I think it works."

With that, he let go of me and turned around, walking toward the door. My heart raced in my chest and I had to lean against the wall.

Just when he got to the door, he paused and turned toward me. "You are a terrible kisser, Hailee... you need more practice." With that, he opened the door, walked out, and shut it.

I stood there long after the door shut, my heart thudding against my ribs like it was trying to break free. His words echoed in my ears—

"You are a terrible kisser, Hailee... you need more practice."

Was he joking? Teasing? Or was that his way of brushing it off, pretending it didn’t mean anything?

I bit down on my lip, hard. No. I wasn’t going to read into this. I wasn’t going to stand here like some lovesick fool replaying a kiss that probably meant nothing to him.

It was just a kiss.

A stupid, heated, confusing kiss that I didn’t ask for.

I shoved away from the wall and continued arranging the books on the shelf.

That’s when Clara walked in.

Of course. Perfect timing.

She took one look at me and burst out laughing. "Oh my God. Tell me you didn’t fall for him."

I blinked. "What?"

Clara stepped in, eyes wide with fake sympathy and a wicked grin on her lips. "Nathan. You did fall for him. Didn’t you? Oh, Hailee..." she dragged out my name like it was a punchline.

"I didn’t fall for anyone," I snapped. "What are you talking about?"

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