17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

J ackson watched Laya take another step back and cursed the beast inside him. Cain was being a hypocrite.

‘She's mine,' Cain growled.

‘She's a healthy young woman, and sex is natural. Of course, someone fucked her!'

Cain growled again and tried to force himself out, but he shoved the beast back.

He had lost count of how many women he'd fucked. They were all equally enjoyable, even if he forgot their names the next day. Cain loved to fuck. After ripping heads off in battles, it was his second favourite thing to do.

Then in walked little Layla, who dared to admit that she wasn't pure and the neurotic beast was ready to kill any man in the vicinity. His only options were to kill everyone or fuck Layla. There was no middle ground with Cain. All his plans went out of the window just like that so he could control his wolf's murderous urges.

"What... What do you mean?" Layla asked. "It's the wrong time of the month, and I haven't started taking the—"

"Don't lie to me, Layla," he cut in as he took a few steps forward.

The whole purpose of going to Doctor Richards had been to figure out if Layla's biology was like a human's or a wolf's. Would he have to wait until she ovulated, or would she go into heat? But that didn't matter now because Cain was done waiting. No one could stop him.

No one had ever told him that the mating bond was like this, that it took over someone so completely. Every atom in his body was calling out for Layla. To touch her, to taste her. To fuck her until she forgot every other man she'd ever been with.

He wanted to claim her. Ruin her for all others. And he wasn't sure if these were his thoughts or Cain's.

He should never have brought her here. Wanting her that much ruined everything.

Layla backed away until she hit her bed with the back of her legs like she had done last night. He could tell she was nervous because she kept pulling on a loose strand of her hair. That mass of curly red hair was the first thing he noticed about her when he first saw Layla at the hotel. And then, at their second meeting, her tits had distracted him, laid out in the open the way they'd been. They looked big enough to fit in his palms, and he had huge hands. And then those eyes had captured him. A green so vibrant and full of life, the complete opposite of what he was.

She was beautiful; he couldn't deny that. But she was still human. And he was still dying.

"Why would I lie about that?"

"Because you think that will stop what's about to happen," he said.

He knew his voice sounded lower with the effort it took to hold everything in. That was one of the reasons he never fucked humans. Cain didn't know how to hold back; he would be too much for Layla.

"And what exactly is that?" Layla whispered.

Her heart started to pound, but it wasn't fear he smelled in the air. He knew it was involuntary—Layla had no idea the goddess had made her for him. She had no idea she was wired to react to him on every level. And he had been made for her. Made to sink into her flesh. To satisfy all her desires for the rest of her life. They were both slaves to their bodies.

In another life, maybe he wouldn't have fought this.

"Take off your clothes and I'll show you."

Layla's gaze lowered, and then her eyes widened. He strained against his sweatpants at the attention, not bothering to hide his reaction or take his eyes off her.

Layla's breathing hitched, and her cheeks flushed.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" Layla asked breathlessly.

"You're twenty-one. Surely you know how babies are made?" he drawled.

"But you're... What does Dylan think about all this?"

"To be honest, he doesn't approve," he answered with a smirk as he closed the distance between them.

Layla moved away before he could touch her, escaping to the living area of the bedroom.

"This isn't how surrogacy works. You can't just... You're a stranger! It's not right. This isn't what I agreed to do. Let's get that whack job of a doctor to do the procedure properly."

"And where would the fun be in that?" he chuckled as he pulled his top off.

Layla's eyes immediately lowered to his chest, and her lips parted as she drew in a breath. He could see her need as clear as day in her eyes.

"Admit it. You've been wondering how it would feel to ride me from the moment you laid eyes on me. I bet you're wet right now," he said huskily.

Soaking wet. He was salivating already.

"I'm not!" Layla said. He could see how difficult it was for her to pull her gaze from his chest. "You're gay, and you hate me. Stop pretending you've changed your mind about that all of a sudden. What the hell is going on here?"

"We don't need to like each other to fuck," he pointed out as he started advancing on her again. "And I never said I was gay."

Layla frowned and stepped away again.

"I saw you the other night. We clearly interrupted something!"

"You saw what you wanted to see," he pointed out. "Come on, Layla. We're adults, we can do this, and it doesn't have to get messy."

"I need to think about this," Layla whispered.

Now that was the one thing he didn't need her doing. After Dylan had scared her before breakfast? And how his pack looked at her like she was riddled with diseases? Anyone in their right mind wouldn't want to stay here.

"There's nothing to think about. I want you, and you want me," he said gently as he brought his hand up to her braid and started to undo it. "You can't deny that there's something between us, and there's no reason we can't take advantage of that while we're trying to get pregnant. This deal doesn't have to be a chore, Layla. And I can admit it, even if you can't. I'm curious. I want to know if you taste as good as I think you will. I want to know how deep I can go and how tight you'd feel around my cock. I want to know if you're a screamer. Are you a screamer, Layla?"

Layla sucked in a breath and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. He hadn't noticed how long her lashes were or how smooth her skin was. Her hair unravelled and fell in curls over her shoulder. It was longer than he'd expected, and it made her look completely different. Like a siren. A seductress that he had no hope of resisting. He felt his heart kick-start in his chest and took a step back.

For the first time since he met her, he didn't see just a vessel for his seed. He saw a young, innocent woman who had no idea how damned she had been, even before she'd met him.

She needed to say no. She needed to insist on returning to her sister before Cain ruined her.

‘How can I ruin her when she's the other half of me?' Cain howled.

‘Because we're dying, Cain. Half of nothing is nothing.'

"So how exactly would that work? We do it until I'm pregnant?" Layla asked softly.

So softly, he almost missed it. His whole body reacted when he realised she was giving in. It was too late now. All his senses zoomed in on her as if he had tunnel vision. There was no one else. Nothing else.

"Yes," he answered.

He'd meant to say no, but the word got caught in his throat. And somehow, his fingers ran through her hair against his better judgement. And then he couldn't help running them down her arm, feeling the heat and the softness of her skin. The contact sent a jolt through his body that took him by surprise.

In the back of his mind, he knew it was because of the bond. With too much of this, he would mark her and take her life before her time. But he was too far gone to worry about that now.

He was too far gone to worry about anything.

Layla stepped back from him and lifted her top, exposing her smooth skin. And when she threw it on the floor, his eyes became glued to her chest.

"Okay," Layla said.

She sounded shy and unsure but he didn't wait for another invitation. He closed the gap between them and covered her lips with his, begging for entry immediately. And when she let him in, he knew he had bitten off more than he could chew. The urge to mark her hit him instantly, but he couldn't stop. The heat of her mouth and her skin against his sent a wave through his body that was almost unbearable, and it boiled everything down to just moments.

The taste of her lips. The feeling of her fingers in his hair. Her scent all around him, inside him. The whirlwind of sensations rocking through his body as he pressed himself against her. He had no idea how she ended up on the bed on her back, but he was drunk on his lust as he peeled her jeans and panties off her legs.

And then she was bare, like a feast before him. Perky tits, rosy nipples, the shaved triangle between her legs... all his for the taking.

He pushed his sweats off and settled between her legs in record time. Layla whimpered as he took a nipple to his mouth, and she arched her back to press herself against him. He could feel how much she wanted him; it was like an aphrodisiac. It was too much. He wouldn't last long, so he kissed her soft skin, going down her body, lowering himself to where he knew she wanted him. His only hope was to prolong this sweet torture a little longer.

She tasted even better than he had imagined. Layla called out his name as he feasted on her, and her thighs nearly choked him. He hadn't had enough of her, not even close, when her fingers tightened their grip on his hair and she came on his tongue, making the most exquisite sounds as she rode his face.

His balls tightened as the pressure built up. It took all his willpower to hold himself back and keep Cain caged at the same time.

She was a screamer. And she tasted like sin.

Fuck.

The Goddess had taken everything he loved in a woman and wrapped it up in one package called Layla Carlysle. Cain would never let her go.

He was utterly screwed.