Chapter 14 #3
My head snaps towards Aiden’s pointed finger and my heart lurches so hard it almost bursts out of my chest. But when I turn, there’s nothing there.
“Seriously, Julian? You fell for tiger?” he chides. I turn back to face him with a hand clutched to my chest. “A tiger? We live in the woods, Jewels.”
I gaze at the idiot Goddess has allotted me for a mate, letting him take in the lack of amusement written all over my face before I keep walking.
“How are you so immature?” I toss over my shoulder.
“Oh, come on. I was trying to distract you,” he says, moving to catch up to me. When I don’t slow, he grumbles as he jogs ahead and turns so he faces me, running backwards. “Don’t be so uptight.”
“I am not uptight,” I say with a touch of offence.
“You talk like an eighty-year-old professor, and I’ve never once seen you let loose before today,” he argues with a pointed finger. “It’s always work and that cold, emotionless face.”
Aiden fixes his expression into what was supposed to be my “cold, emotionless face,” and a snort escapes me without my permission.
“I do not talk like an eighty-year-old man, you dimwit.”
“See!” he exclaims, barking out a laugh. “Normal people would’ve said ‘asshole’ or ‘prick.’ You called me a dimwit and regularly call me an imbecile. You barely even curse. You’re an elder, Jewels,” he shrugs. “Better to just accept it.”
“And you’re about to trip over a rock,” I say glancing down, which is all Aiden needs to snap his head back in search of the non-existent rock.
Tripping over his feet, he crashes to the ground hard enough to make Alex wince, but I can feel his amusement tangling with mine. I press a hand to my lips, but it barely muffles my laughter as I watch Aiden roll over and spit out some dirt.
“When I get my hands on you, Julian …” Aiden scrambles to his feet while I take off at full speed without a second thought.
We race down the large road before cutting through the trees, following the overgrown path that leads to his pack’s outer barriers. Having done this dance enough throughout our lives, the few patrol wolves that spot us stay out of our way as we race on.
My heart pounds in my ears, almost drowning out the sound of Aiden’s heavy steps behind me, but one glance at his heaving self shows how terribly he’s struggling to catch up. Chuckling, I try to keep running, but laughing and running isn’t a good mix, and Aiden starts gaining on me.
I think to make a sharp turn, but Aiden lunges and tackles me to the ground before I can. We tumble together, rolling off the path and into the tall grass that lines its side with a groan. It hurts, but I’m still laughing as we come to a stop with Aiden on top of me.
I open my eyes, trying for air that flees from me as I look up and find him dressed in blades of grass and dandelions. I lose it.
“What?” Aiden asks, his eyes glittering with delight that I see clearly since he thankfully lost his shades at some point.
“You look … like a hippie,” I manage in between my giggles. Between the two of us, I’m the one more suited for a tree-loving lifestyle and yet here Aiden is—one with nature.
I reach up to pluck a twig from his hair, and as I flick it away, my snickers start again.
Aiden is quiet, only watching me while I clean him, dusting the grass from his hair. But then his face softens, and he lays a gentle smile on me before he says, “You should laugh more, Julian.”
“Then you should just fall more.” Before long, I’m hiccupping as my mind runs a replay of him turning around in a panic before he was on his ass. “Y-you were like ‘ahh,’ and then you were spitting out dirt.”
My laughter fills the woods as I let my head fall, but it’s cut short when soft lips press to mine.
I freeze, startled, then melt, burying my hands in Aiden’s grassy hair and pulling him to me.
He groans against my mouth, making me smile against his lips as he sinks onto me, braced on his elbows, his weight pressing me into the earth.
I tighten my grasp, tugging the strands of his hair until he gasps, letting me slip my tongue between those parted lips. He hums as I deepen the kiss, and I groan, already losing myself to him and how good he makes me feel.
He takes the lead, like he has before—but this time, I don’t fight it. This time, I let him. When his hand finds my hip, fingertips grazing the skin exposed by my raised shirt, I don’t bite back my moan.
“Fuck,” Aiden groans into my mouth, and the sound makes me burn hotter.
I don’t let myself overthink it. I like this—like him—and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Rolling us over, I pin his wrists above his head, and I catch a flash of red before I kiss him again—hard, greedy.
The kiss turns desperate as my free hand roams over his shirt just to feel the shape of him.
His body trembles beneath me, beneath my touch, and the power of it is intoxicating—raw, unfiltered pleasure drowns out the world and all its noise, until there’s only him and me.
There’s nothing to think about, and so there’s no hesitation as I slide my hand under his shirt, needing bare skin and warmth beneath my fingertips. His body is art, even without the ink. It’s all sculpted strength—and it’s all mine.
Between ragged breaths, Aiden rolls us again, positioning himself between my legs and pressing in close until I can feel him. He drags my thigh around his hip, rocking against me, and the sensation rips a curse from my lips.
“My Goddess.” I curse as he kisses down my jaw and neck, licking, biting, like he means to mark me right here on the forest floor. My cock bucks at the thought.
He hauls me upright, settling onto his knees with me straddling his lap. The feel of him steals the breath from my chest. I grind down and he rolls his hips, taking me apart, bit by bit.
“Aiden!” I cry out when he licks the spot behind my ear, the one that always seems to make my brain fizzle. My eyes roll to the back of my head as I tighten my grip on him, trying to draw him back. “W-we should stop before—”
He slams his lips back onto mine, silencing me while his hands find their way to my ass. He squeezes me like every inch of me belongs to him, forcing moans from my mouth that fall onto his to keep.
“A-Aiden,” I stutter as he draws back to drag those sinful lips over all the right places. “Someone could see—”
“Too late.”
My heart, and Aiden’s mouth, stop. The lust crackles to a halt as we snap our heads towards Isabel, who stands in the middle of the path we’d been on, an open bag of chips in her hands.
“How-how long have you been there?” I croak, frozen in place, which unfortunately happens to be in Aiden’s lap.
“Long enough to finish this bag,” she says, crumpling it up and stuffing it in her pocket. “I was walking home, and well, I didn’t expect a full show, but I enjoyed it.”
“For the love of our Goddess, Isabel!” I bark, trying to twist free, but Aiden refuses to let go.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m leaving.” She waves a lazy hand and keeps walking, clearly not rushing. “Not my fault y’all went feral in the open.”
Embarrassment licks up my spine while we watch her go. I wait until she’s out of sight and out of earshot before I whip my glare back to Aiden.
“Oh, no. No,” he says, shaking his head. “That took two. Do not blame me.”
“I tried to make you stop!”
“You’re too fucking hot,” he mutters, eyes dropping to my lips. “I don’t know how to stop.”
“Well, you better learn,” I force out, despite the blazing heat in my face. “We need to get to my place, so this”—I gesture between us—“will have to wait.”
Aiden’s shoulders slump, but he nods. “Guess I can wait until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I narrow my eyes. “What’s happening tomorrow?”
“I told you, Jewels, I’m kidnapping you for the weekend,” he says with an eager smile. “We’ve been working nonstop since the coronation.”
“We’re alphas,” I remind him. “It’s our job.”
“Yeah, and I love it, but it’s not all we are,” Aiden replies, grabbing my chin so he can make sure I look solely at him. “I want time with you, Julian. No pack work if we can help it. No human homework. Just you, me, and a good time for the rest of the weekend.”
“I don’t know, Aiden,” I say, already thinking of my parents and their disapproval when they return.
“Come on, Julian,” he begs, his voice falling into something more earnest. “Can’t we just have two days for us?”
I look at him, remembering every time he’d tried to get me to spend time with him, and all the times I’d said no.
I had work to do, but Alex had said not to forget the work I had to do with my mate too.
And I feel how badly he wants this—how much I want it too.
A weekend of rest and fun, just us. It sounds like a dream, and he’s offering it, so what’s stopping me?
“Okay.” I surrender, sliding my fingers back into his hair.
“Really?” He perks up like a pup.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Just me and you. My weekend is yours.”
His smile makes the yes worth it. But the slow, tantalising kiss that follows and makes my toes curl, promises me I never stood a chance.