Fated to the Triplet Alphas-Chapter 74: Gym: Take a Taste

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Chapter 74

~Jade’s POV~

I lasted exactly one hour pretending I could sit still and think calmly.

One hour of staring at the balcony garden. One hour of replaying breakfast. One hour of hearing Xavier’s words echoing in my head.

We need to fall in love.

The more I thought about it, the more restless I became. Sitting alone only made everything louder inside my head.

"I should go home," I muttered, pushing myself off the chair.

"You mean escape," Javelin corrected lazily.

"I am not escaping," I argued, grabbing my phone from Xavier’s bedside table. "I just need somewhere familiar. My brain refuses to cooperate."

I stepped into the hallway, deciding to find Xavier first. If anyone could make sense of things, it was him. He had this way of grounding conversations before they spiralled.

Except... his room was empty, and so was his study downstairs. Even the office space near the library had no sign of him, nor did the main living room.

A servant bowed when I asked. "Alpha Xavier stepped out earlier. We are unaware of his destination."

I frowned. Xavier disappearing without telling anyone felt strange.

"Okay... Xander then. Perhaps Xavier travelled."

Even just saying that, the thought left a bad taste in my mouth. I headed toward the training wing, following distant sounds of movement and metal clashing, but instead of Xander, I stopped at the private gym entrance.

And froze.

Xade hung from a pull-up bar using only one hand, lifting his entire body like gravity simply did not apply to him. Muscles shifted under his skin with every controlled movement, sweat glistening across his shoulders.

He completed another rep before speaking casually. "You know staring that hard counts as admiration."

I crossed my arms quickly. "I was looking for Xander and Xavier."

"Well, you are out of luck on both fronts," Xade said, dropping lightly to the floor and grabbing a towel, casually wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. "Xander is currently out training the warriors from the Silver Fang Pack, a neighbouring pack, for a new Elite training program. He takes that responsibility very seriously. And as for Xavier, he went out a little while ago, and absolutely no one knows exactly where he went."

I frowned, my shoulders sagging slightly and feeling a sudden spike of frustration at their absence. "Can you not just use your mindlink or something similar to find out where Xavier is right now?

Xade let out a low smirk and leaned his hip against the weight rack. "You do know that you have a phone for that exact purpose, right, Princess?"

I blinked. Right.

"I forgot," I admitted, but rather than give up, I crossed my arms over my chest protectively. "I do not have my phone on me, and your mindlink is probably faster anyway."

"Tragic," he said solemnly, and then his eyes suddenly lit up with a bright idea. "Speaking of phones, I actually owe you a new one. Well, technically, Xander is the one who owes you a new phone since you know he promised and all, but who cares about those details? Do you want to go shopping with me?"

I hesitated and leaned against the metal doorframe. "I skipped school today. After everything that happened... I do not think I should be walking around in the city today or being up and about after everything that happened last night."

Xade smirked again, waving dismissively, completely brushing off my valid concerns. "Why do you fret so much when you are with me? You need to relax. I will just finish off my workout with my bar push-ups, take a quick bath, change my clothes, and then we will go out."

Before I could argue further or tell him no, he turned his back to me and jumped up to grab the high metal pull-up bar. He adjusted his grip, let go entirely with his left hand, and began his exercise.

Xade effortlessly lifted his entire body weight with just one arm. I stood frozen in place and watched him loudly count through one hundred complete repetitions without even breaking much of a sweat.

His breathing stayed steady while every muscle worked effortlessly. I lost count somewhere past fifty and only realized how long I had been staring when he graciously, finally dropped down to the rubber floor after a hundred repetitions.

By the time he was finally done, he pulled off his black tank top without turning around but faced me.

The sudden movement gave me a full, unobstructed view of his broad shoulders, his deeply chiselled chest, his perfectly defined abs, and that deliciously sharp, low V-line that disappeared dangerously into the low waistband of his black joggers, making heat rush straight to my face.

He turned this time, as though giving me a model pose. I should have looked away.

Instead, I stared at him for a long while, entirely oblivious to the fact that Xade had turned his head slightly and was watching my heated reaction through the reflection in the wall-length mirror.

"You know, if you like what you see, you can always have a go at it and take a taste," Xade teased smoothly,

I swallowed hard and quickly looked away, feeling my cheeks burning hotly with embarrassment. "Just go take your shower as you promised," I told him, trying my best to sound authoritative and unfazed.

However, I soon heard his footsteps approaching, and I felt Xade getting closer to me. I turned around to tell him to hurry up, but Xade swiftly wrapped his large hand tightly around my waist from the back.

He pulled my body flush against his hard torso and immediately nuzzled his nose deeply into the sensitive crook of my neck.

My breath hitched.

"What if I said no?" he murmured directly against my skin, sending a violent, electric shiver straight down my spine.

"But you just said we would be going out shopping, and you needed to get ready," I argued weakly, trying desperately to ignore the intense heat radiating from his bare chest against my back.

"Yes, we will go out," he interjected smoothly, his hot breath fanning over my freshly marked neck. "However, just seeing your nipples get erect through your shirt did something to me down there, too."

My entire body went still when his hips pushed forward, pressing them firmly into my butt crack. I gasped loudly as I felt his semi-hard cock press heavily and insistently into my backside through his thick joggers.

Heat spread instantly down my spine.

I exhaled sharply when his long fingers reached up without any warning and pinched my sensitive nipples right through my white tank top.

My eyes fell open in pure shock, but the very second Xade repeated his wicked action, moving his fingers much more slowly this time, my eyes fluttered closed as a soft, breathy moan that I had desperately tried to suppress slipped right out of my parted lips.

"You see, you are enjoying it," Xade whispered darkly into my ear, his tone dripping with victory. "Do not lie to me, Jade."

I did not know what to say to defend myself, but my traitorous body reacted completely on instinct. I pushed my hips back and ground just once against his rapidly growing erection.

He sucked in a sharp breath, his cock twitching violently against me in response, and that single, desperate movement was the absolute last straw for his control.

Xade turned me around quickly but carefully, guiding me until my back met the wall. Xade spun me around instantly. He pushed me gently but firmly against the nearest concrete wall, effectively pinning my body in place so I could not escape.

His hand slid behind my head, and his lips crashed aggressively against mine, kissing me with a fervent, consuming need. The kiss stole my breath.

It was hungry, demanding and nothing like the teasing version of him everyone saw.

His palm cupped my breast through the thin fabric of my tank top, thumb brushing the sensitive peak he had already awakened. A shiver ran through me as my fingers instinctively gripped his shoulders.

My thoughts scattered completely. The gym disappeared. The curse disappeared. Even my doubts about us, the matebond and how to break it faded.

For that moment, I forgot how to breathe. There was only Xade... and the dangerous way my heart responded to him.