Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

brIAR

" W hat the fuck was that?" Xander fumes as he slams his office door closed.

Spinning to face him, I open my mouth to answer but snap it shut again when he stomps toward me. I back up to avoid being run into, but he keeps advancing on me. When my back bumps the wall next to his office door, Xander presses himself against me and collars my throat with one hand.

I double-check that a pair of green eyes are peering down at me, not navy. This is way more Malachi's style than Xander's. I realize he's still waiting for me to say something. "I was doing the partner assignment you told us to do."

"With another fucking wolf! A male wolf! I didn't tell you to fucking flirt with anyone you could," he snarls.

My eyebrows rise to almost my hairline. I guess staying calm isn't in the cards because I'm pretty sure Xander just called me a hussy for just talking to a guy.

What a dick.

Clenching my jaw, I respond through gritted teeth. "I wasn't flirting with him! You would call insulting someone for not having friends flirting. That's totally your style. And I didn't know he was a wolf!"

"You should've! You've had your wolf for weeks, and you want me to believe you can't tell who's a wolf and who's not?" Xander scoffs, and I feel about an inch tall. I know I'm behind everyone with the wolf stuff, but I'm honestly doing my best.

"Yes, I do because it's the truth! I'm fucking trying, Xander!" I intend to yell, but my voice breaks at the end. I close my eyes and let my head thump against the smooth wood behind me. Everything's changed so much in just a month and a half. I'm doing the best I can to keep up with it all, but I guess I'm not doing well enough for Xander, as usual.

"If you think I'm sharing you with another wolf other than my brothers, you're fucking wrong. You. Are. Mine!" Xander roars before slamming his mouth onto mine. I gasp in surprise, and Xander takes the opportunity to dive his tongue between my parted lips.

Unlike my other kisses with him, there's no dueling. I'm just desperately trying to keep up with him and taking whatever he wants to give me.

After a moment, he pulls away from my mouth, leaving me breathless and panting as he hikes my skirt up with his free hand. Glancing down, he takes note of my shorts, a frown twisting his kiss-swollen lips. He runs his fingers along the waistband before trailing them between my legs in a teasing caress. My hips buck at his touch, and my gaze jumps to his.

"Tell me to stop," Xander demands as he rubs my clit through my shorts.

I don't know what we're doing right now, but I do know I'm not going to be the one to stop it. If he doesn't want me, he's going to have to be the one to walk away. I'm not giving him an easy out. "No."

"Tell me to fucking stop, Briar. You know we shouldn't be doing this."

I shake my head at him and refuse to back down. "No."

"Goddamn you." Xander's harsh tone is at odds with the gentle kiss he places on my forehead. He pauses for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly, before ordering in a rough voice, "Take your shorts off."

"What?" I have whiplash from him. First, he's yelling at me, then he's kissing me, and now he wants me to take off my clothes. The man needs to pick a lane and stick with it.

He closes his eyes for a moment before staring down at me once more, hunger in his heavy-lidded stare, along with lingering anger, which I'm not sure ever goes away when Xander's looking at me. "You want me to stop this, say so. Otherwise, do what I tell you." I search his face, trying to figure out what this is. "Now, Briar."

Even though I know this is such a bad decision, I hook my fingers in my shorts and slide them down until they fall to the floor with a quiet thump. Nothing good can come of this. We're at school. And this is Xander, the man who's quite adept at crushing my heart. But the reckless part of me wants to see where this will go.

"Panties too," Xander rasps. I again hesitate, feeling shy about exposing myself to him. Whenever I've been naked in front of anyone, it's always been quick and usually in the dark. It certainly hasn't been in broad daylight in my professor's office. "Do it now, Briar. You can be a brat for Kai but not for me. Listen to me when I tell you to do something, or I'll stop."

Giving him a jerky nod, I slide my fingers into the top of my plain black undies and let them fall. I kind of wish I had worn more attractive panties. On the list of things I thought would happen today, being pantless in Xander's office wasn't anywhere on there, though.

I hadn't realized I had closed my eyes until they pop open when I feel Xander trailing his finger through my neatly trimmed pubic hair. "Are you wet for me, sweetheart?"

With Xander's featherlight strokes rendering me speechless, the best I can do is a quick nod. Whenever any of my mates touch me, I get turned on—even when said mate has been a shithead. It's pretty inconvenient.

At my answer, Xander's lips quirk up in a smug smirk. I narrow my own on him, which only makes his grin widen. With his mossy eyes trained on me, Xander slips one finger between my folds and thrusts inside me.

I cry out at the intrusion. Rising onto my tiptoes, my body automatically tries to get away from the unexpected sensation. Xander softly growls before using his hand on my throat to shove me back down on his hand.

My back arches off the wall, and my hands come up to grip Xander's muscular shoulders as pure lightning arcs up my spine. My lids flutter shut as I adjust to his thick finger pumping in and out of me at a leisurely pace. His thumb brushes my clit with each push, causing my core to clench.

"Eyes on me." At his stern command, I pry my eyelids apart and peer up at him. Once my gaze is on his, Xander shoves another finger into me. I gasp at the stretch that's bordering on too painful. But he clearly knows what he's doing because he keeps me on the razor edge between pain and pleasure with his thrusts.

"Fuck. Your little pussy is so goddamned tight. How are you going to take my cock when you can barely handle two fingers?" That's a good question because I already feel so full. I never thought the guys I slept with had especially tiny dicks, but I'm starting to think that was the case.

Just as I'm on the edge of an orgasm, Xander's office door bangs open. "Have you seen pretty girl…." Bastian trails off as he spots us. I stiffen in surprise, but Xander keeps fingering me like his twin didn't just walk in. Bastian quickly shoves the door shut and locks it. "You forgot to lock the damn door, Xan. Anyone could've walked in on you and seen our mate undressed. I'd hate to have to kill an unsuspecting student or professor for seeing something that's only for us."

Xander turns to snarl at his brother before continuing to drive me higher and higher with his skilled fingers. I'm fighting to keep my eyes open as I glance between Bastian and Xander.

Bastian's brow furrows as he watches Xander for a moment before turning to me. "Sweet girl, Xander's not completely in control right now. His wolf is riding him hard. If you need or want him to stop, just tell me. I'll make sure he stops, okay?"

"Yeah," I breathe as Xander teases me with a third finger. My breath is coming in shallow pants, and my core is coiling so tight it feels like I'm about to shatter. "Don't stop," I plead without thinking.

Instead of listening to me, Xander slows his pace. I want to cry in frustration as my climax slips just out of reach. He waits until my gaze is on him before rasping, "Sir."

"What?" My forehead scrunches in confusion.

"You'll call me ‘sir' when I'm inside you," he demands.

Oh fuck. Why is that hot?

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I realize he's waiting for me to comply. "Don't stop, sir?" My statement comes out more like a question. The savage grin Xander rewards me with lets me know I said the right thing.

He plunges his fingers into me faster while continuing to circle my sensitive bundle of nerves. It doesn't take long until I hurtle over the edge with a hoarse shout. Wave after wave of pleasure sweeps over me until I feel like I'm drowning in it. He keeps gently thrusting into me to prolong my orgasm, the first one I've ever had from someone else.

Long moments later, I blink open my eyes to see both Xander and Bastian staring at me. Like he was waiting for me to look at him, Xander chooses that moment to slide his fingers out and move them up to his lips.

Before he can do anything, Bastian grabs his wrist. "Sharing is caring, twinnie." Bastian shoves one of Xander's fingers into his mouth. He groans as he tastes me, making my cheeks heat. "Your taste is fucking addictive, pretty girl."

Xander rolls his eyes at his twin before yanking his hand back. He licks his other finger, and his eyes shut as he savors it. "Bastian's right. You taste like pure heaven."

My face burns bright red. I've never had a guy taste me before, let alone comment on it. I don't know how to reply, so I just duck my head to hide my blush.

"I'm not complaining, other than you forgetting to lock the door, but why exactly were you finger fucking Briar in your office?" Bastian casually asks his twin.

Christ. At this rate, I'm going to have a permanent blush.

Shoving one hand through his hair, Xander blows out a breath. "Briar partnered with Nick Wythers for a group assignment. I… overreacted to her talking to another wolf." He meets my gaze, regret heavy in his eyes. "I'm sorry about what I said, Briar. You're doing great for just getting your wolf—way better than I did."

My mouth pops open in surprise at his apology. "You're not going to say something mean?" I blurt. As soon as I say it, I close my eyes in embarrassment.

Of course I just have to say something to ruin Xander being nice to me. I always put my foot in my mouth when it comes to him. It's bordering on being a superpower how, without fail, I always say the wrong thing around him.

He likes my wolf so much, maybe I should just be a wolf permanently. I won't be able to say anything awkward when I'm a floofy forest creature. As far as plans go, it really isn't the worst one I've ever had.

Nodding to myself, I'm digging my plan more and more—at least until Dido chimes in. "You would like to shift now? Should you not finish your… intimate moment with your mates first?"

Oh my god. Why? Why do I have such a knack for making uncomfortable situations even worse?

If the universe is accepting smiting petitions, I nominate myself. Getting intimately acquainted with a lightning bolt sounds pretty good right now.

I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to call you. I was just thinking to myself, not actually trying to shift , I tell her.

"Very well. Carry on." Dido disappears from my mind's eye. I feel like I'm going to laugh at the absurdity of my life and cry at how I constantly mess things up at the same time.

I open my eyes to see Xander staring at me with concern. "Where'd you just go?" At his question, a hysterical giggle slips out. I slap my hand over my mouth and shake my head at him. There's zero chance of me telling Xander that I accidentally summoned Dido. He flicks his eyes between mine for a moment before sighing heavily. "I'm sorry."

That's definitely not how I expected Xander to respond. Yelling or insulting me is more like it. "For what?"

"For conditioning you to expect me to hurt you whenever we talk." A tear slips down my cheek. I manage to hold the rest back, but Xander gently swipes it away with his thumb. "Don't cry, sweetheart."

"Sorry," I whisper, not wanting to break the fragile moment between us.

His lips twist up in a ghost of a smile. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. Just because I can't mate with you doesn't mean I want to hurt you."

My stomach drops as I process what he said, and my heart splinters so hard at his rejection that I wonder if they can hear the crack echoing around his office. I knew Xander didn't want me, but I didn't realize he wasn't ever planning on giving me a chance.

His words shouldn't hurt so much. It shouldn't feel like my heart's been ripped out, plunged into an acid bath, and nailed to a wall. His words shouldn't make a broken howl ring out in my mind, my wolf's pain adding to mine.

But they do.

"For absolute fuck's sake, Xander! You were doing so well for a second, but you had to go and ruin it. Fucking hell!" Bastian shoves his twin out of the way before kneeling down and gently sliding my underwear and shorts back into place. Once I'm dressed again, Bastian grabs the back of my thighs and lifts me up. Pressing my head to his shoulder and securing my legs around his waist, Bastian snarls, "Get your fucking head out of your ass, Xan, before you lose the best thing to ever happen to you. Permanently."