Chapter 10

Nolan lays me down on the plush bed with a gentleness belied by his size.

Eyes fixed on me, he strips out of his clothes, revealing a body toned with muscle. With no hair on his chest, I have an unobstructed view of the black tattoo that covers his left pec.

It's some kind of gear design, but before I get a better look at it, the mattress dips as he crawls over my body, his warmth enveloping me, and all other thoughts melt away.

Nolan slides an arm under my shoulders, and his knee pushes between mine. I curl toward him, craving the burn of his skin. I rut against his hard abs, craving friction against my cock, and a whimper escapes as I clutch at his biceps.

My Alpha.

If possible, I want him more now than when my Heat took control and demanded I mate.

Stretching up, I catch his lips, licking and sucking until he growls and thrusts his tongue into my mouth, consuming me. And I want to be devoured.

I rock our hips together, tingles rushing through my body as his cock hardens.

A hungry rumble vibrates through me, and his kisses drift down to my throat. "I'm going to feed you strawberries every night, so you always taste this sweet."

He grabs my hand and shifts it between our bodies, wrapping my fist around our hard lengths and pumping both of us at the same time. Pleasure curls my toes as his velvet heat rubs against mine, and my moan fills the room.

My hand moves on its own, stroking us, my gasps and moans muffled by his strong shoulder.

"Yeah, keep doing that." He leaves me to jack us and reaches down to grip my ass, sliding into my crease to rub at my entrance. "You're so wet. Will this place remember my shape, too?"

Pulse racing, I hook my leg over his hip, opening myself to him. "Remind me."

Long fingers push inside my body, and I release our hard lengths to clutch at his shoulders as pleasure rocks through me.

"So warm, and you're still soft from your Heat." Muscles flexing, he rolls me fully beneath his body and grasps my other knee, lifting it to his waist, curving my hips upward to put me into position.

The blunt head of his cock presses against my entrance, and my body tenses with the memory of pain from our first time together.

"It's okay." The tendons in his neck stand out from self-restraint as he strokes down my center and wraps his large hand around my dick. "Your sweet ass remembers my shape, right?"

A few tugs on my length send tingles through me, my concerns about his size melting away, and when his mouth coaxes my lips to part for a deep kiss, I forget everything else.

The sharp burn of pleasure rushes through me as his cock works me open, and with a moan, I reach down to grab his firm ass, urging him deeper.

"Greedy." Desire flushes his face, and he releases my dick to grasp my hip. "You want all of me?"

I nod, and then before he can prompt me for words, I gasp, "Need you inside."

The muscles under my hands flex, and Nolan's body bows over mine, weight supported on the arm beneath my shoulders as he thrusts forward, his thick breadth stretching me wide. Pleasure rushes up my spine, and my fingernails dig in, my back arching as I come.

He kisses my slack lips, his tongue far sweeter than the strawberries he promised to feed me every night. "You feel so perfect, squeezing me in your tight little hole."

A shudder rocks through me, and my legs tighten around his waist. The scent of sex and sweat fill the air, making my head spin with our combined arousal.

He leans down to growl in my ear, "Such a good boy."

The praise travels straight through me, and despite my cum still warm on my stomach, I rock my hips against his, needing his hard cock stirring inside me.

With a groan, his body moves over mine, his thick shaft driving in and out of my clenching channel.

I moan and cling to him, dirty pleas falling from my lips, writhing beneath his weight. He gives me everything I beg for, praising and wrecking me at the same time.

The wet sound of our bodies coming together and the creak of the bed join our gasps, sweat slicking our skin. He grips me with possessive strength, lifting me to meet his thrusts, taking total control, until I come again screaming his name.

His breathing turns ragged, his restraint snapping, and he pounds into my body, the arm under my shoulders the only thing that keeps me anchored beneath him. I lick and suck at his shoulder and throat, salt and musk on my tongue.

The hand on my hip tightens, holding me in place as he drives into me hard, his pelvis tight against my ass. The muscles on his back form ridges, and his cock pulses within me, filling my channel with hot cum.

Panting, he rolls onto his back, taking me with him so that I rest across his broad chest.

Regret fills me as he slips from my body, followed by a warm trickle, and I reach back to push his seed back inside.

A callused hand covers mine. "You want to keep it all, don't you, sweet boy?"

I shiver with pleasure. "Don't want to let it go yet."

An arm wraps around my waist and drags me higher. "Do you not want to let me go?"

My fingers splay over his tattoo as I search his face. Do I have the right to claim this powerful Alpha?

At my hesitation, he rakes back my hair. "Are you going to run away again?"

Heart pounding, I shake my head.

"Good." He squeezes my hip. "Because you belong to me now."

Eyes locked with his, I lean down to brush our lips together. "More."

His Alpha rumble rises from beneath me. "Greedy little thing."

"Make me yours." My knees curl on either side of his hips. "Fill me until I can't move without you dripping out of me."

With a hungry growl, he rolls me back under his body. "I knew you were made for me to claim."

Gripping my chin, his mouth covers mine.

Later, lying entwined together, our needs temporarily satisfied, I realize that Nolan never directly answered my question about Rich.

Does it change how I feel about Nolan if he killed Rich? No, and I don't care if that makes me a bad person, as long as he wants me.

The driver parks in front of my apartment complex, and Nolan stares at the broken-down building. "This is where you've been living?"

"It's the cheapest place I could find within walking distance of the club." Embarrassed that Nolan is seeing any of this, I pop open the car door. "I'll be right back. Shouldn't take more than five minutes to pack a bag."

The sound of the other door opening pulls me around, and I stare at Nolan in horror. "Where are you going?"

"With you." Before I can protest, he slides out and shuts the door.

Scrambling out onto the sidewalk, I spin around.

The luxury sedan looks out of place at the curb amid the broken down, rusty vehicles that line the street alongside the graffiti-covered buildings. Only drug dealers have nice rides in this neighborhood.

If it was nighttime, I'd worry about getting hijacked.

I look at Nolan, who wears a pair of charcoal-gray slacks and a soft, designer black sweater. "You should stay with your driver. I promise I won't run away."

"No." Stern eyes meet mine. "You're not going up there alone."

The desire to protest rolls down my tongue, but I swallow it. Nothing I can do short of sliding back into the car will stop Nolan from tagging along and seeing the shithole he rescued me from by taking me home with him.

Will having the stark differences in social position shoved in his face change his mind about keeping me? I wouldn't blame him if it did. Someone like Nolan should have models on his arm, not me.

The stairs creak as I walk up ahead of him, and I pull my threadbare jacket closer against the chill in the air.

After waking up to breakfast in bed and Nolan pampering me by washing my hair, coming here crashes me back to reality. The server uniform I put on after my shower felt like putting on a stranger's clothes, the cheap material abrasive where beard burns pepper my body.

I suddenly empathize with Cinderella after she returns from the ball to become a servant again.

At my floor, I turn left onto the exterior walkway, my footsteps light so as not to wake my neighbors. Then the click of dress shoes joins me, and Nolan's warm hand touches my back, reminding me that my prince came home with me.

Everything about this situation feels surreal.

At my apartment, I hesitate, but Nolan isn't going to change his mind about coming in with me.

With a deep breath, I pull the key from my pocket and jiggle it in the lock before pushing the door open, letting out the musky scent of water damage and mold. "Watch your step. And try not to touch anything."

I avoid looking at Nolan as I kneel on the mattress on the floor and grab my pillow, dumping it out of the case to use as a bag. Shame fills me as I stuff my meager clothing inside, along with a couple of personal items from my makeshift dresser.

Setting it by the door, I shuffle around Nolan to the bathroom to collect my toiletries.

The light from the kitchen dims, and I peek at Nolan from the corner of my eye.

He leans against the bathroom entrance. "Put the toothbrush back in the cup, Leo. You already have a new one."

I glance down at the broken bristles and drop it into the trash instead before gripping the edge of the sink. "You think I'm being stupid, don't you?"

"If having your own possessions helps settle you faster, then I can have my people pack up the rest of your belongings and bring them to you."

Surprised, my head jerks toward him. "Why would you do that?"

He reaches out to brush the bangs off my forehead. "Because you're not coming back here again."

"But…" Anxiety fills me, and I squeeze the bottle of watered-down shampoo in my hand. "What if I'm not pregnant? If there's no obligation for you to keep me close… This apartment is rent-controlled."

His eyes harden. "You doubt me when I say you're mine."

I swallow down my nerves. "We don't know each other, Nolan. Even if there is a baby, you could lose interest in me. All I have is a high school degree. And I have nothing to bring to this relationship besides my body, which…"

Unable to hold his intense stare, I drop my eyes to his chin. "I worked with strippers. I know I'm nothing special."

The muscle in his jaw ticks before he lets out a slow breath. "I won't force you to give up your home right away."

"It's not that I doubt you." I curl in on myself. "But I don't understand why you'd choose me except for an unplanned pregnancy."

His tone gentles, and his touch moves to the Mark on my nape. "Keep your apartment if it makes you feel better. But never question that I desire everything you are, Leo, with or without a baby."

A fist pounds at my front door, making me flinch, and the shampoo bottle slips from my hand as fear spikes through me.

No, not Gino. Not while Nolen is here.