Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

E than is on his knee, lacing up my rental skate, which I’m still not sure is completely sanitary. I had them show me four pairs in my size till I decided this pair met my standards.

“Tighter,” I tell him as he tugs on the laces.

“That’s what she said,” he whispers under his breath, and I shake my head.

We’re very clearly the oldest people at the skating rink at this moment and time. In fact, it must be some fundraiser tonight because all the kids are wearing some shade of neon as they skate around the rink.

“Alright, Canterbury Elementary. It’s girls vs. boys. When the music stops, you need to stop skating. If you move, you’re out.”

“Oh, the girls are totally going to win,” I tell Ethan.

“You wanna bet on it?”

“If the girls win, I pick what we do after skating. If you win, you get to pick.”

“Deal,” he says, holding out his hand. Up to his wrist is covered in tattoos, and I find myself wanting to get very acquainted with every piece of art on Ethan’s body.

I tug on his hand, bringing him closer to my face.

“Something you should know, Ethan… I don’t play fair,” I say, shoving him away from me as I hightail it onto the rink and start zooming in circles as the music plays.

His eyes widen as he tracks me and tries to catch up to me on his skates.

He’s got a lot more height on me, so it doesn’t take him long until he’s wrapping a long, tattooed arm around my waist, slightly lifting me off the ground.

“That was sneaky, Applegate.”

“Who, me? I’m not sneaky,” I protest as his fingers dig into that spot right underneath my ribs, making me laugh. “Put me down,” I wheeze out.

Two kids skate by, giving us dirty looks. “Who let those freaks in here?”

Ethan puts me down as we both laugh. The music stops, and we both don’t stop in time and have to skate to the center of the rink.

“Does our bet still count even if we’re not a part of the winning party?” he asks.

“Oh, definitely. Girls are still going to win.”

“Confident and cute?” he says, and I grab a fistful of his shirt.

“Ethan, baby. You have no idea.”

The girls next to us are whispering. “He’s a hot Beta, maybe that’s why she’s into him,” one of them says, sending a ping of frustration throughout me.

I don’t know if it’s because I need to prove it to these little brats or if I need to let Ethan know his designation doesn’t mean shit to me. But I tug on his shirt, making him bend down as I lean forward on the stoppers of my skates and give him a kiss.

“You being hot is very low on the list of why I’m here with you,” I whisper against his lips before going back down on four wheels and glancing up at him.

He licks his lips, and I track the motion.

“It won’t just be adolescent judgmental girls who think things like that,” he says, glancing at the girls who got too uncomfortable and decided to move.

“I don’t give a fuck about what other people think. You know one of my dads is a Beta, right?”

He shakes his head, and I grin, thinking about my dad. “My dad Henderson is one of the best people I know. He evens out my parents’ pack, and he is seriously the funniest. I know Betas in a pack is considered unconventional, but those closed-minded assholes can go fuck themselves.”

Ethan looks at me like I hung the moon.

“And there we have it, girls win!” the announcer says over the speaker.

Ethan seems lost for words as I grab his hand, the lights dimming as disco lights fill the space. “Come skate with me while I figure out what we’re going to do with the rest of our evening,” I tell him.

His hand feels right in mine. We continue to get a few odd looks as we skate, but I couldn’t give a single shit.

I feel like I’m floating on air as we skate, joke, and the world seems effortlessly simple.

“Sloane, this is a bad fucking idea,” Ethan says.

“Don’t worry, my dad isn’t home. Plus, we parked down the street. They won’t even know I’m home.”

He’s still reluctant but follows me in the dark as I lead us to the side entrance of the garage, and we climb up the stairs to my apartment.

Ethan looks around, taking in my space, and clicks his tongue.

“It’s very clean,” he says, and I shrug.

“Do you want a drink?” I ask as I open up my cabinet.

Ethan comes to stand behind me and glances at my options, which are organized by type of liquor and alphabetically.

“Might as well go with tequila because if your dad knows I’m here, he might fucking kill me.”

I laugh and grab two glasses, pouring us both a hefty glass.

“My death’s funny to you, Applegate?” he says, sitting on the couch as I hand him the drink.

“It’s just so funny. Everyone fears the man who would read me Franklin the Turtle books in different voices.”

“Well, we can’t all be precious little Omegas, now can we?”

“Hmm. Precious, you say?” I joke, tucking my legs under me as I rest my head against the back of the couch.

“I don’t need to have a knot or go fucking feral over your scent to realize you’re special,” he says.

I tip back some more tequila, hissing at the taste, before putting a coaster down and then my glass on the coffee table.

“Tell me more,” I say, leaning more into his space and putting a coaster down for him as well, which he quickly utilizes for his own drink.

“You’re kind, compassionate, patient, and you’re the first person in a really long time who’s believed in me,” he says.

My heart breaks immediately, and I do my best to hide how much it hurts. But I’m terrible at hiding my emotions as Ethan cups my face.

“I didn’t say that to make you feel bad.”

“It just makes me sad you felt overlooked.”

He laughs, resting his arm against the back of the couch. “Betas might take up most of the world population wise, but it’s an Alpha and Omega-run world, and we all know it.”

My heart fractures a little more as I grab his chin. He doesn’t have a lot of facial hair, not like Bram. It’s more scruffy like a soft five o’clock shadow around his jaw and chin.

“I think you might be pretty precious too,” I tell him.

He surprises me by taking control after the soft words leave my lips. His hand cups the base of my throat as he kisses me passionately. I do my best not to compare him and Bram, but I notice instantly how fervently they both kiss.

But whereas Bram has a lot of self control, thankfully Ethan does not. He pushes me down, a whoosh of air escaping me as I fall onto my back, and Ethan crawls on top of me. His knee presses against my core as his elbows rest against the sides of my face.

His fingers tangle into my hair as his kisses become more exploratory, kissing my jaw, neck, and collarbone.

I’m not sure how to explain it, but his touch feels like worship. His knee shifts against my core, and I moan, wanting more than just friction.

His dark hair is soft in my fingers as I try to direct his head further south.

The Beta doesn’t need the push as he lifts my shirt up and starts placing soft kisses against my torso before tugging down the cups of my bra, folding the material under my small breasts.

“Fuck,” Ethan hisses before sucking a nipple into his mouth, making me arch my back and dig my nails into his scalp.

His tongue is deliciously indecent as he tastes, nips, and sucks on my skin.

He circles back to my mouth, my bare breasts rubbing against the soft fabric of his hoodie, which I grab at the hem and tug over his head along with his shirt. I pull away from his mouth to get a view of the body he hides away under an apron or his costume.

“God, you’re beautiful,” I tell him as I glance down at his lean torso that’s decorated with black and gray tattoos.

“You’re gonna give me a fucking complex,” he says, grabbing my chin and kissing me hard, his tongue swiping in my mouth, the sweet and earthy taste of tequila thick in my mouth as he does.

He goes back to kissing my face and neck, stopping right behind my ear. “You’re going to make me fucking addicted to you, aren’t you? As soon as I get a taste of your peachy cunt, I’m going to be hooked for life, aren’t I?” he asks.

My perfume goes absolutely feral as I grind my pussy harder against his thigh.

I can’t deny that his words strike a chord with my desires. It’s what I’ve been searching for, what I’ve always wanted. He doesn’t need to be a scent match or a fucking Alpha; he just needs to be obsessed with me. And the way Ethan is touching and speaking to me right now, I think he’s already halfway mine.

He doesn’t ask permission or wait for my go ahead as he pulls up and unbuttons my jeans before leaning farther back to tug them off my legs. He grabs my foot, shucking off both of my socks, before kissing my instep and working his way up my leg.

Ethan’s pretty amber eyes don’t leave mine as he torturously kisses his way to exactly where I want him. He licks the outside of my panties, making them wetter than they already were. A deep hum of pleasure rumbles from his chest when he does, and it only makes me even more turned on.

There are no pheromones, no outside factors. I just want this man in the most carnal of ways.

He sucks my clit through the cotton of my panties, and my fingers tangle in his hair. Ethan holds my hips, his fingers dancing around the hem of my underwear as he eats me out with my panties on.

It’s the best kind of torture.

He shows mercy on me, finally sliding the crotch to the side, and his lips press a delicate kiss against my clit before he starts ravishing me.

Ethan Heart eats my pussy like it’s his last meal.

He sucks, slurps, and moans around my wet and needy cunt. All I can do is hold his head and let desperate whimpers fall out of my mouth.

His fingers are just as deft as his tongue as he pushes two inside of me. His half-lidded eyes glance up at me, and I fall apart as he sucks on my clit, curling his fingers inside of me.

As badly as I want to keep eye contact, my head falls back as a wanton moan escapes me.

I don’t untangle my hands from his hair, and he still lazily explores me with his tongue before sliding his fingers out of me and putting my panties back into place.

He kisses my thighs as he moves to sit back on the couch.

“Can’t say I wasn’t warned,” he says.

“What?” I ask. Clearly I don’t have post-orgasm clarity just yet.

“Definitely addicted,” he says, and I laugh.

I lean forward and press a gentle kiss against his lips, tasting my release and liking the way I taste on him.

When I pull back, Ethan is looking at me in a way that I always imagined my future packmate would. It’s then I realize I haven’t been completely honest, and a pang of guilt shoots through me.

“Ethan, there’s probably something I should have told you before you did that.”