Naya looked at Maxwell puzzled. It didn't matter what she said. All she could think about was the pleasant warmth of Maxwell's hands holding her waist, and his perfume. She wanted to kiss him. But she couldn't. She knew that Maxwell's wife felt the same way about him. And she intended to make their marriage work, and prevent the vision she had just had of their children from coming true.
Naya started walking, and this time Maxwell followed her at a distance, but she knew that wouldn't stop him from being by her side to support her if she stumbled, in less than a second.
Maxwell stopped the car in front of the company building, and turning around, opened the door for Naya and helped her down. Then he held out the key to her.
Naya looked at him inquiringly.
"My wedding present." He said, and as soon as she had taken the keys, he walked off in the opposite direction.
Naya took a deep breath. It wasn't the farewell she had expected. But this was how it had to be. She thought, and entered the building.
Adam was waiting for her in her office.
As soon as Naya entered, he walked up to her and held out his hand.
Naya put her hand in his, a little suspiciously, because all he and his brother did was insult her. Naya didn't know what to expect from him.
He offered her a chair at the table to sit on, and as soon as she sat down, he went over to a drinks trolley, which, just then, she noticed was there, and took a bottle of champagne out of the ice bucket, poured two glasses and brought them over to her, and sat down on the other side of the table.
"I thought our engagement deserved a celebration." He said, and raised his glass, then drank.
Naya drank from her glass.
"Are you happy about our wedding?"
"You don't celebrate with champagne, that's sad, Naya."
Naya put the glass on the table and faced Adam.
"Do you love me?" She asked, and for the first time, Naya saw the glint of doubt in Adam's eyes.
He put his glass on the table, stood up and walked over to her and held out his hand, which she accepted, and he helped her up and wrapped his arms around her waist.
He lowered his face to her neck and inhaled her perfume. He saw the hairs on her body stand on end. His hands grew bold, and he lowered them to her buttocks and squeezed slowly. Then he moved down her body, groping over her dress as his breath warmed her neck.
Naya felt so much desire for him that she wouldn't have minded if he took off her clothes and made love to her on the floor. It was too intense. It felt good. Something she had never felt before. A sensation she didn't want to lose, and she felt she could stay in that embrace for her whole life. Living in those sensations wasn't a bad prospect. But he let her go and pulled away. His dark eyes stared at her.
"Do you need love, being able to feel so much more than you did just now, Naya?"
She looked steadily at him.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Adam pulled a small black box out of his pocket and looked at her.
"I don't love you, Naya. But I hope to, one day. But I can tell you what I think. Everything I see, even old memories, remind me of you. I don't want to see my life go by without you. I expect to see you every time I come home and... Our children running around the house. That's the closest I've ever dreamed of hoping to be happy. I don't want to hold you responsible for my unhappiness or my frustrated prospects. I want to get to know you more every day and learn to love you, with all your possible flaws. Today, I can't find a single flaw in you, Luna. You are synonymous with perfection. I know we're going to have disagreements, but I hope we can work around them. Our life begins now, Naya. We forget each other's pasts. We've forgotten who we are, and the reason for our attraction. I'm not going to marry you because you're Luna and I'm the Alpha. No, Naya. It's not an obligation that led me to ask you to marry me. It was the certainty that we can build a family, a home, happiness, together." Adam said and opened the box in his hand, displaying a ring with three diamonds. One large one, set in a rose-shaped mounting, and two smaller ones, one on each side.
Naya felt tears welling up in her eyes and, unable to say anything, she held out her hand to him.
Adam put the ring on her finger and kissed the ring on her hand. Then he looked at her.
"For me, our wedding has just taken place, Naya."
Naya looked at the ring on his finger. She needed to say something. And she wanted to be honest, like he was.
"I... I don't have a past where I want to keep you away, Adam. I want you in every moment of my life, and... I love you. I have from the beginning."
"I hope I can say the same, and be real, very soon, Naya."
"Why didn't you tell me you were the Alpha from the start?"
Adam sat back down and picked up his glass of champagne.
"If I did, you'd feel obliged to sympathize with me."
Naya sat down too.
"Maybe you're right. But I ask you not to do that anymore. Don't anticipate my behavior, and don't keep information from me, no matter how insignificant you think it is."
"I can try."
Naya knew that millions of dollars were on his finger, and she felt ashamed that she had accused him of asking her father for her hand because of money, and that thought reminded her of something.
"I owe my father an apology. I bought him cigars."
"You can give them to him during dinner tonight."
"Are you having dinner at my house again?"
"No. I've invited your parents and their family to dinner at the Club Paris restaurant."