The Alpha's Secret Human Sugar Baby - Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Aurora’s POV
Thorne wasn’t kidding when he said today was about me. After the absolutely massive breakfast, he loaded me in the car and told me he was taking me somewhere special. We’ve already been driving for an hour, and I can’t imagine where.
Since he won’t tell me if any of my guesses are correct, I have to wait until we arrive.
His thumb brushes across the back of my hand as we talk about nothing. Or I think it’s nothing, until he mentions Sophie.
“Have the nurses been taking care of her?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, pulling my eyes off the scenery outside my window.
“Did they move her to a new room? Is it big enough?” He asks, glancing at me. I stare at him for a moment before realization dawns on me.
“Were you the anonymous donor who restarted the rooming program?”
Thorne smiles and nods, “I am. Now, are you going to answer my questions?”
“Um, yes. She’s in a nicer room that has a little couch I can sleep on when I visit,” I tell him, amazed that he did that without me asking. In fact, I didn’t know he even knew which hospital Sophie was in. Though, I should’ve known he would find out. He did pay for her bills.
I squeeze his hand and continue, “The nurses have been kinder to me when I visit, which is nice, and they seem to be paying more attention to Sophie.”
“Good. I told them they would lose their jobs if they couldn’t do them correctly,” he says simply, like it’s not a big deal. No wonder they’re working harder now.
“Do you have that kind of power?”
Thorne nods, “I may not own the hospital since it is under Lycan control, but it is in my territory. Those women are from my pack, so they’re obligated to obey their Alpha.”
“Oh,” I mutter, not missing that he said the hospital is owned by the Lycans. I wonder if Mrs. Ashford is connected to the hospital. That would explain why she was near here when I contacted her instead of up North where her pack is located.
“Well, thank you. I appreciate you helping Sophie like that,” I tell him. He smiles and nods.
“Of course. She’s your sister, and I can’t very well have the woman I love sitting in a cramped room worrying about her sister when there’s something I can do about it.”
Thorne’s words send a wave of soft warmth through me. The more he does, the deeper I fall for him.
“I love you, Thorne,” I murmur, wanting and needing to say the words again.
He glances at me for a moment, smiles, then looks back at the road, saying, “I love you, too.”
“What is this?” I ask, staring up at the carnival in front of us. Colorful lights, clowns, game booths, rides, and lots of screams surround us. The smells of greasy food and sugar fill the air, pulling me in and calling to me.
“Fun,” Thorne answers. “After everything, I think we deserve a bit of time where we can be a normal couple and have fun.”
“A normal couple?” I ask. “What do you mean?”
Thorne turns to me and cups my cheeks in his hands, “I mean, I want to spend time with you away from work and away from our daily lives. A carnival is the perfect place to have fun, and this is far enough away from my territory that we can relax and not worry about work, attackers, and other problems.”
“We can have time just to ourselves.”
Thorne nods, “Just the two of us…” he looks around and chuckles, “And all these other carnival-goers.”
Happiness fills me, and I laugh at his teasing words. He’s sweet, and honestly, I think this is the happiest he’s ever looked. It’s a nice change from his serious Alpha aura that he presents when we’re at work.
A group of people fly by on a roller coaster, and a tiny hit of adrenaline shoots through me.
“I want to do that!”
“Alright, let’s go,” Thorne says, taking my hand and leading me inside. He doesn’t allow me to pay, which sends another wave of butterflies through me. I let him wrap the unlimited ride arm band around my wrist then follow him all the way to the roller coaster.
By the time we load into the car, I’m bouncing with excitement. Then, I look at Thorne and burst out laughing.
“What?” He asks.
“You almost don’t fit!” I laugh. “You’re so tall and muscular that maybe I should sit in the next cart.”
“Don’t you dare,” he growls, wrapping an arm around my waist. I giggle and pull the safety bar down.
The ride jolts forward. The creak of the ride and the jerky movement have my excitement plummeting. I grab Thorne’s arm, my nails digging in, “Um, Thorne.”
“Yeah?”
“I-I’ve never done this before. This might have been a mistake,” I stutter as the coaster jerkily begins traveling up a steep incline. Thorne looks down at me just as I look up at him, and he blinks.
The surprised expression on his face morphs into worry as he tightens his hold on my waist.
“Just hold on and have fun,” he says. “I wouldn’t let you do something that would get you hurt. You’re safe with me.”
Then, we plummet. My heart jumps into my throat as I scream and lean into Thorne. We twist and turn, swirling upside down for a moment before the coaster rights itself and begins climbing up another incline.
“Oh my god! Oh my god!” I screech, half terrified and half excited.
Thorne’s laughter sounds above the clanks of the coaster and screams of the riders.
“Here we go!” He shouts, and again, I’m screaming as we fly through the air.
“Hungry?” Thorne asks while looking at his phone. “It’s nearly eight.”
“Yeah, I think my stomach might eat itself if I don’t get some food soon,” I admit, rubbing at my growling tummy.
Thorne chuckles and pockets his phone, “Then I should feed my woman. I can’t have you disappearing into your own stomach.”
I look up at Thorne for the millionth time today and wonder where this casual, teasing man came from. Today has been amazing and eye-opening. I realize that Thorne needed this day just as much as I needed it.
Thorne has been relaxed enough to let go of his stiff, all-work-no-play mindset, and I love it. I mean, I love both sides of him but having a chance to relax and just be together without worrying about other people is nice.
I truly feel like we’ve had a chance today to act like a normal couple.
“What do you want to eat?” Thorne asks, looking around at the food booths. He’s spent the whole day doing what I want to do, listening to me and letting me choose everything.
“Nope,” I say, taking his chin in my fingers like he does to me. I bring his eyes down to mine and smile, “What do you want to eat?”
There is no hesitation when he answers, “You.”
“Thorne!” Heat floods my cheeks as I smack his arm and look around to make sure no one heard him. I can’t deny that his words send a little thrill through me, but I push it aside.
“I meant what FOOD do you want to eat.”
He chuckles and points behind me, “I can go for the street tacos they’re selling from that truck over there.”
“Tacos it is,” I agree, pulling him in that direction. “Though, you’ll probably need like thirty to fill your black hole of a stomach.”
“I resent that statement.”
Turning my head, I stick my tongue out, not expecting him to lean in and kiss me in response. I hum as his tongue sweeps over mine, and I lean into him when he pulls me closer, all thoughts of food forgotten.
A girl could get used to this kind of treatment.