All Chapters of My Alpha Stepfather's Dirty Secret: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 21Aria's POVI didn't see him coming.One second I was standing at the cocktail table with Jace‚ laughing at something he'd said about his roommate's failed attempt at cooking for a girl he liked‚ and the next second there was someone in front of me. Someone tall and broad‚ radiating the kind of energy that made the air around him feel different."Well‚" he said‚ and his voice was smooth and warm and carried the kind of easy confidence that only comes from years of being the most powerful person in every room you walk into. "You must be Aria."I looked up at him.He was younger than I expected an Alpha to be. Late thirties maybe‚ with sharp‚ angular features and a jaw that looked like it had been cut from stone and pale grey eyes that caught the chandelier light in a way that made them look almost metallic. His dark hair was streaked with silver‚ not the kind that comes from age‚ more like his kind of style. He was dangerously unapologetically handsome and was wearing a dark

Chapter 23Aria's POVJace nodded‚ letting me go with an easy smile that I barely registered. I moved through the crowd on autopilot‚ weaving between gowns and suits and champagne glasses‚ and I could feel eyes on me but I didn't look up‚ I just kept walking until I reached the corridor that led to the restrooms and the noise of the gala faded behind me like a tide going out.The restroom was empty. Thank Goodness.I locked myself in and walked to the row of sinks and braced my hands on the marble counter and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes were too bright and my chest was heaving with breaths I was trying to control."Get it together‚" I whispered. "Get it together‚ Aria."My reflection stared back at me‚ unconvinced.I turned the tap on and let cool water run over my wrists‚ trying to ground myself‚ trying to drag my brain back from the ledge it was standing on. Ronan's words were spinning through my head like a carousel I couldn't stop. My

Chapter 25Aria's POVFor one single second‚ I thought he was going to leave. I thought he was going to angrily storm out the door.But he didn't leave.Instead something shifted behind his eyes.It was hunger.Raw and black and so consuming it changed the air in the room‚ made it heavier‚ made it hotter‚ while my wolf slammed against my ribs so hard I gasped.He moved so fast I didn't even see it coming.One second he was standing in front of me‚ then the next his hands were around my wrists‚ both of them‚ his fingers closing around them like iron as he shoved them up‚ pushing them over my head‚ pinning them against the mirror behind me with one hand while his other hand grabbed my jaw‚ tilted my face up‚ and then his mouth was on mine.It wasn't a kiss. A kiss is something soft and wanted and mutual. This was a collision. This was his mouth crashing into mine with so much force my head hit the mirror behind me‚ but I didn't even feel it because every nerve in my body had short-circu

Chapter 27Aria's POVMy mother's face lit up. The transformation was instant‚ this switch from casual mom-in-the-bathroom to Luna Stone‚ political partner‚ public figure‚ devoted wife. She straightened her spine‚ smoothed her gown‚ checked her reflection one final time with the critical eye of a woman who knew she was about to be photographed."That's my cue‚" she said‚ turning to me with a smile that was bright‚ warm‚ and completely‚ utterly fake. "Got to go play the supportive Luna wife." She said it like a joke but it wasn't a joke. She cupped my face with one hand and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. "I love you‚ baby. Now go find Jace. Have fun. Be young. I'll see you out there."She turned and walked out of the restroom‚ her heels clicking against the marble‚ her emerald gown swishing behind her. The door swung shut.I was alone.Except I wasn't alone.The stall door clicked open.Kael stepped out slowly. His suit was rumpled‚ the jacket sitting wrong on his shoulders where

Chapter 29Aria's POV"Kael‚ don't you dare—"“Watch me."The click of a key sliding into the lock‚ and then the sound of the door opening.He stood in the doorway still in his dress shirt from the gala‚ but the jacket was gone‚ the tie was gone‚ the top three buttons were undone‚ the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair was disheveled. His eyes were that dangerous‚ consuming black that swallowed the dark entirely‚ the same eyes from the restroom‚ except now it was worse because there was nothing between us. His jaw clenched so tight the muscle was jumping.His nostrils flared. He could smell me."Get out‚" I said‚ pulling the covers tighter‚ painfully aware that I was naked underneath‚ that my underwear was somewhere tangled in the sheets‚ that my inner thighs were slick with arousal he could smell from across the room. "Kael‚ get out of my room."He didn't get out. He stepped in. Closed the door behind him. Then locked the door shut.His eyes swept the bed. Swept me. Swept the pho