CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Alex watched his mate as she pottered around his kitchen the next day. He and his beast had kept a close eye on her since they returned to his apartment. She’d flicked the new windowpane the occasional glance, but she hadn’t acted any differently than usual. She wasn’t edgy or uncomfortable—he’d have felt it if she was, since he’d now began to pick up echoes of her emotions through their bond. Still, he couldn’t help worrying about her.

“You can stop watching me like I’m a ticking bomb,” she said, pouring popcorn into a bowl. “I’m not going to break.”

He frowned. “I never thought you would break. You’re one of the strongest people I know. But everyone has a tolerance threshold. And I know Paxton hit yours hard when he fired at the window yesterday.” He’d expected her to flinch at the reminder, but she didn’t.

Sighing, she turned to face him. “Alex, I’m not traumatized by what happened. I was upset last night, yes. Now? I’m just pissed. Pissed that he’s targeting you. Pissed that he’s trying to ruin the best thing in my life. Pissed that you were shot at yet again.

“But I don’t feel anxious here. The bullets that Paxton fired didn’t get through the window. The lock he tried to bust didn’t budge for him. You didn’t leave me like he expected. He’s already tainted my house with his bullshit. I won’t let him taint this place, too. So can you stop watching me constantly, because it’s rubbing on my cat’s nerves.”

“I just want you to feel safe. To have a safe place.”

“I do. You.”

His chest tightened. “Careful, baby girl. Saying things like that will get you bent over the arm of the sofa.”

“Later. We’re going to watch a movie first and eat this junk food—which was my plan for last night, before it got ruined.”

He’d had plans of his own last night. More specifically, he’d planned to claim her ass. Maybe it was knowing she’d interacted with her predestined mate a few days back—a mate who happened to be lurking close by—but Alex’s instincts had been hounding him to secure his claim on her; to do whatever he could to make the imprint bond fully form.

“All right,” he said. “We’ll proceed with your plan. But I want to add a little something to it.”

Her brows lifted. “Oh? I’m intrigued.”

“I want you to wear something for me.”

“Hmm, and what might that be?”

Need pounding through his blood, Alex snapped open the buttons of his fly and shoved down his jeans. His cock sprang out, full and hard, and slapped the perfect little ass in front of him.

Bent over the arm of the sofa, Bree glanced at him over her shoulder. “Why am I waiting?” she snarked. Well, if she’d kept him dangling on the edge of an orgasm for God knew how long, he’d be just as prickly.

Alex inched the thick head of his cock into her pussy. “You want to be fucked now?”

Her upper lip peeled back. “Alex, I swear, if you don’t quit teasing me and just—”

He slammed home, groaning as all that tight, wet heat clamped down on him. “Mine,” he said silkily. “Always mine.” Gripping her hips to pin her in place, he fucked her hard. Each thrust was savage. Unrelenting. Possessive. Her blazing hot pussy clenched him tight, sucking him back in again and again. The mouth-watering scent of her need laced the air; he greedily breathed it in, almost able to taste it.

What made everything so much hotter was the butt plug in her ass. He’d asked her to wear it throughout the movie, intending to wait until afterwards before he fucked her. But he hadn’t been able to hold out—he and his beast had been too worked up by the idea that they’d soon mark that last part of her.

First, Alex needed to make her come, which was something she was already close to doing. He kept on slamming deep into her pussy, helpless against the driving urge to slake the carnal, primitive need that taunted them both. He knew he was being too rough, but it was hard to think past how fiercely his body demanded hers.

“Such a greedy pussy. That’s good. I like feeding it my cock.”

Bree moaned as his dick sliced through her again and again, rough and ruthless. She was wound tight after his torturous foreplay. Her skin felt raw and supersensitive. Her nipples were painfully taut; they rubbed against the black leather cushion with every hard thrust—the searing friction felt so fucking good. Even better, each move tugged at her piercings, sending sparks of pleasure straight to her clit.

She would have lifted her hips to meet each punch of his cock if she could have moved. His strong hands held her still as he used and took and fucked her. And she loved it.

“I want you to come for me, Bree.” He parted her slick folds, found her clit, and worked it hard.

And then it happened. White-hot pleasure tore through her in a rush. Her body shook and arched as she screamed. She was distantly aware of him withdrawing the butt plug and replacing it with the thick head of his cock.

Even as she continued to ride out her orgasm, she followed his directive to push out as he pushed into her ass. He moved slow and smooth, as if he wanted her to feel every inch of him going in. And then, finally, he bottomed out with a soft groan.

Panting, Bree blinked hard. She’d never been more aware of how long and thick he was. She felt so damn full. Maybe too full. But she wanted to give it a try; wanted him to claim every part of her—it was as essential to her and her cat as it was to him and his beast.

Alex smoothed his hands up and down her back and flexed his hips. “You okay?” he asked, his cock throbbing. She was so fucking tight and hot. Just the sight of his dick buried in her ass was enough to make his balls tighten. What amplified his need was the simple, satisfying knowledge that no one else had ever had this part of her. Only him. And no one else would ever have it afterwards, because she was all fucking his.

“I’m good,” she replied.

He pulled his hips back, grinding his teeth as her tight muscles clenched around him. Then he slowly sank deep into her ass again. He kept his thrusts soft, slow, and smooth. All the while, he monitored her through their partial bond, making sure she wasn’t in pain.

“Faster,” she moaned, her voice vibrating with the same sexual frustration pricking at him through their bond.

He pumped his hips faster, satisfied when she didn’t flinch. “Told you I’d claim your ass one day, didn’t I?” He rode it harder, possessing it. Owning it. Reminding her who she belonged to. She groaned, arched, and tried pushing her hips back. He kept her still as he fucked into her body, taking what he wanted, giving her what she needed.

Bree jolted as his palm came down hard on her ass. The fuck? “Hey, what was that for? I didn’t do anything!”

“I didn’t slap your ass because I’m pissed at you. I slapped it because I wanted to.”

And then he did it again. And again. And again, layering sensation upon sensation, winding her tighter and tighter.

He kept on changing it up. One minute he’d spank her with an open palm, the next he’d do it with a cupped hand. Sometimes it would be a quick series of short, sharp slaps. Other times it would be a harsh whack … leaving her skin feeling tingly and highly charged.

“So pretty.” He lightly scratched his blunt nails over the red flesh on her ass.

She hissed out a breath even as she tried arching into his touch.

“I’m gonna want this ass often.” Still tunneling in and out of her, Alex fisted her hair and snatched her head to the side, exposing her throat to him; giving him a perfect view of the claiming brand he’d left there.

Feeling his orgasm barreling toward him, Alex eased his body over hers and scraped his teeth over the back of her shoulder. “Make me come in your ass, Bree.” He sank his teeth into her flesh, branding her yet again. She came apart with a choked cry, and the tight muscles of her ass squeezed his cock.

Growling deep in his throat, he pounded harder, slamming deep. He felt an echo of her pleasure wash through their bond, and it acted like a trigger. Flames of pure pleasure whipped through him. He exploded, filling her ass with his come, claiming it as his own.

Contentment flooded him and his beast just as Alex collapsed on top of her, his chest burning with each ragged breath. When he could finally move, he withdrew his softening cock and lifted her. “Shower.” He carried through the apartment and into the bathroom.

Under the hot spray, they soaped each other down. “You sore?” he asked.

“Only a little.” She grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the shelf. “Told you that you wouldn’t make it through the entire movie before fucking me.”

“No,” he began, nabbing the bottle from her and squirting shampoo onto his hand, “you said I wouldn’t make it through the entire movie before dragging you to bed.” He massaged shampoo into her hair. “We never went to bed.”

“Whatever, dude, the point is you didn’t make it.”

“You knew what you were doing when you started talking about piercings,” he said as she rinsed her hair. “And it was a downright lie—there’s no way you’d let a needle anywhere near your clit, I know that. But the visual was enough to make my cock, which was already hard as steel, ache like a damn bitch.”

“You enjoyed yourself, from what I could tell, so stop whining.”

He just snorted.

“So, it’s my day off tomorrow. Anything you want to do?”

He shrugged. “I’m easy.”

“How about we have a binge-watch-TV-in-bed day?”

“Works for me.”

Satisfied that he’d be indoors for the day, Bree smiled. “Good,” she said, smoothing on her hair conditioner. She always felt all warm and languid after a bout of hot sex, but this was different. She felt … settled. Felt calmer deep inside. So did her cat.

Bree suspected that having him solidify his claim had soothed something in both her and her feline; that it had vanquished a worry that he wasn’t fully invested in the imprinting. It was a worry that Bree hadn’t even acknowledged until then. Bree didn’t doubt him, she just sometimes found it hard to truly believe that she finally had what she’d wanted for so long.

“We need to include takeout in this plan,” she said. Having takeout on a Saturday night was the law in her world.

“We’ll get Thai food for dinner.”

“And, of course, by Thai food, you mean pizza, right?”

His mouth twitched. “Of course.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve never known anyone to eat pizza as much as you do.”

She frowned. “What? It’s an essential food group.” She rinsed off her conditioner. “The only way I could adore you more is if you were made of pizza.”

“But then you’d eat me.”

“It’d only be fair—you eat me almost every morning.”

Hunger flared in his eyes. “Hmm, I do, don’t I? I’m thinking of doing it again now.”

“Like I’d object.”

He made her come with his mouth right there before ordering her to her knees so she could return the favor, which wash fine with her. They then both dried off, pulled on some clothes, and ordered both pizza and Thai food.

It was after they’d eaten that he suggested they have a “friendly game” of poker. She might have vetoed it, but the glint of challenge in his eyes made her accept.

Sitting on the living room rug an hour later, Bree slapped her cards on the hardwood floor with a sneer. “You cheated.”

Humor lit Alex’s eyes. “No, you just lost.”

Worse, she’d lost in a spectacular fashion. Bree hated to lose—she got that from her father. Her cat wasn’t a fan of it either.

“It’s a shame for me that we didn’t play strip poker,” said Alex, putting the deck of cards back into their packet. “Then you’d have been a naked loser.”

“Fuck off.”

“It was just a game.”

She nodded sagely. “And death is just a long nap.”

Alex dumped the pack of cards on the coffee table. “I did warn you I’d win.” He lifted her and set her on his lap so that she was straddling him. “I’ve never lost at poker.”

“Never? Not once?”

“Nope. Not even when playing against my uncles, and they’re masters at it.”

“Hmm.” She loosely hooked her arms around his neck. “That does make me feel better.” His eyes dropped to a bite mark near the hollow of her ear, and she almost jerked because … “Wow, male smugness just echoed through me.”

She liked that they could feel each other’s emotions now—mostly because it meant that the imprinting process was progressing. Sometimes she felt a ghost of an emotion. Sometimes it was like a mere flicker of feeling in her belly. Other times the emotion was so strong it was hard to tell if it belonged to him or her.

“Does it bother you that I can sense what you’re feeling?” she asked.

Alex frowned. “Why would it?”

“Some would consider it an invasion of their emotional privacy.”

“If it was anyone other than you, I wouldn’t like it.” He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. “What about you?”

“I thought it would bother me, but it doesn’t.”

“Good.” He flicked her hair over her shoulder. “The only thing I don’t like about our situation is that the bond hasn’t fully formed yet. I’m not a patient man. I like to have what I want when I want it.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she said dryly.

Alex gave her hair a light, punishing tug. It both puzzled and aggravated him that the bond remained incomplete. He’d claimed every part of her. He’d been open with her in a way he hadn’t been open with anyone else. He didn’t hold back from her or the imprint bond.

She was just as open and honest with him, and he knew she was totally committed to him and their relationship. He could never doubt that she cared for him—she didn’t hide it from him or anyone else. It was in her eyes, her smile, her voice, in everything she did.

His beast was just as confused that the bond wasn’t yet complete. It angered the animal that he wasn’t fully bound to his mate. Alex suspected her cat was just as annoyed.

“I’ve asked myself if I could somehow be messing with the bond’s ability to form,” said Bree. “But if I am, it’s not on a conscious level. Are you sure you’re definitely okay with the whole imprinting extravaganza? I mean, it hit us out of nowhere.”

“What is it with you and idiotic questions? I told you I want the imprint bond. I don’t say what I don’t mean.”

“I know. But wanting it and being ready for it—they’re not the same. That’s all I’m saying.” She tilted her head. “Haven’t you once worried that maybe I have doubts?”

“No. You’re not someone who’d fully commit to something unless you’re in it all the way. Neither am I.” Alex swept his hand up her back to palm her nape, letting his eyes drift over her features, drinking her in. He loved to just look at her. She was so fucking beautiful she stole his breath sometimes. “You know, I don’t think I’d have been as open to imprinting if it hadn’t been for Mila and Dominic.”

“Why?”

“My parents have a strong, solid relationship—the kind that makes you long to find your own true mate. I didn’t realize an imprint bond could be just as rock-solid and intense until Mila mated Dominic. But I still would have wanted you, Bree. I still would have wanted to make this work.”

Bree bit her lip. “You might have held out for your true mate if you hadn’t known for sure that she’d sadly died.”

He shook his head. “You’re wrong, Bree.”

“But—”

“Would you have held out for Paxton if you hadn’t known he was a twisted fuck? Would you have turned me down on the off-chance that you’d one day find your true mate?”

“No,” she answered instantly—it wasn’t something she even needed to think about.

“Then you understand.”

Yeah, she understood. Her cat settled a little at his response—Bree hadn’t even realized until then that the feline had tensed up as she waited for his reply. “Have you asked yourself if maybe you might be finding it hard to fully imprint because of what happened to Freya? I’m not saying I believe you must be blocking the bond. It’s … well, you watched her die, Alex. That must have left its mark on you. It would leave a mark on anyone.”

“Yeah, it marked me. I felt like I’d let her down in every way possible—I didn’t recognize her as my mate, didn’t claim her, didn’t save her. But it didn’t make me shut down. It woke me the fuck up. It made me see that I hadn’t had my priorities straight.

“Do I worry that I might one day find you dying right in front of me? Yes. But it doesn’t make me hold back from you. It makes me that much more determined to bond with you, because then I wouldn’t be so helpless if you were ever hurt; I could help keep you alive. And if I instead died trying, I wouldn’t care. Watching Freya die marked me, just like you said. But watching you die would end me.”

And now her chest was aching. Those honest declarations truly felled both her and her cat every time, but only ever in a good way.

“Maybe you worry you could never be as vital to me as my true mate could—which would be pure bullshit,” he said.

Bree thought about it for a moment. “If I do worry about that, it’s not a conscious worry.” Because he’d never let her doubt how he felt about her. “If it is me who’s blocking the bond, please know that I wish I wasn’t.”

“I know you wouldn’t do it purposely, just as I wouldn’t.” He rubbed her back. “We’ll figure out what the issue is eventually; we’ll power through it. I won’t accept anything less.”

“You can’t control everything.”

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“You say a lot of stupid shit.”

She gave him a mock glare.

“The bond’s progressing, so there’s that.”

“The process can reverse itself, though—there’s nothing either of the couple can do to stop it,” she reminded him. “It happened with Drina and Giles.”

“Because, as you yourself pointed out, she wanted the bond more than she wanted him. That’s not the case with us, is it?”

“No. I’ve wanted you since I was fourteen.”

Alex blinked at the reluctant admission. His beast, just as stunned, tilted his head. “Yeah? You were good at hiding it.” He never would have guessed.

“I had to be. I was just family to you back then. I figured it’d freak you out if you knew I had a crush on you. Plus, I didn’t think I’d ever have you. Not even the kiss gave me hope. Which is why the declaration you made in the break room shocked the shit out of me.”

“You really didn’t see that coming, did you?”

She shook her head. “I knew you wanted to fuck me, but I didn’t think it was anything more than that for you.”

Alex felt his brows snap together. “You knew you mattered to me.”

“No, I knew my safety mattered to you—and I figured that was mostly because I was your cousin’s predestined mate. I didn’t think you cared about me.”

Fuck, how could he not care about her? She was everything he’d ever wanted and didn’t even know he needed. He craved her. Admired her. Trusted her. Adored her.

She just … made everything better. He could lie with her—saying nothing, doing nothing—and be completely at peace. He didn’t even want to imagine what his life without her. He was determined that she’d never doubt how much he cared for her.

He caught her face with his hands. “You’re the only person I’d ever want to take as my mate—I know that without a doubt. And if something happened to you, if you were taken from me, I’d never move past it. I’d spend my life alone.”

Her brow furrowed. “No, don’t say that. I wouldn’t want you to be alone, I—”

“It would be fair to a woman to have her in my life but never give her all of me? It would be fair to her that I’d spend every single moment of every day wishing she was you?”

She snapped her mouth shut.

“You might not be my true mate, Bree, but you were always meant to be mine. No one could ever be what you are to me. No one. Got it?”

She nodded. “Got it.” The words sounded choked out.

“Good.”

Her eyes wet, she swallowed. He could see that she wanted to say something equally profound. He also knew she was too choked up with emotion to do it.

She lightly grazed his jaw with her nails. “If we’re ever on a malfunctioning airplane, I’ll totally help you put on your oxygen mask and life jacket before I put on my own.”

Alex felt his mouth twitch. “Now that’s devotion right there.” He slid the hands framing her face into her hair, tangling his fingers in the silky strands. “Although it has to be said that if we’re on a malfunctioning plane, we’ll most likely hit the ground like a goddamn dart, so those oxygen masks and life jackets will probably be worth shit.”

“But it’s the sentiment that counts.”

“True.” Alex sipped from her mouth, savoring that addictive taste, loving how she melted into him. His beast let out a contented growl and rubbed up against her. “Hungry?”

“Not even a little. I’m still bloated from dinner. You’re honestly hungry again?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you ate half my large pizza and a Thai three-course takeout that could have fed five people. It was almost fascinating to watch.”

“Watching your ass take my cock was fascinating to watch.” He’d been riveted by the sight—just the memory of it made his blood pool low in his body. “I’ve wanted to get my dick in your ass since before we mated. I wanted it to belong to me. Wanted every cell in your body to belong to me.”

“You took your sweet time acting on that. But I’ll be all magnanimous and forgive you, since you provide me with outstanding orgasms on a regular basis.”

“Like you said, a girl’s gotta eat. Can’t have my mate going hungry, can I? Speaking of hungry … I’m gonna need you to move, because I really do need to go grab a snack.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. And it’ll no doubt be beef jerky, your favorite thing in the whole wide world. I’m just flattered that I come second.”

“I’d give up beef jerky for you. For like a day. Or maybe just half a day. Probably.”

She snorted. “I feel so adored.”

“You should, because you are.”

“Aw, that was sweet.”

“Now move.”

Shaking her head, she slipped off his lap and sat back on the rug. “Far be it for me to get between a wolverine and his beef jerky.”