Chapter 20
twenty
brIAR
The enormous masked beast standing between my legs visibly loses his breath.
I watch the wide, scarred expanse of his chest stutter. Candlelight dances across his tattoos and catches in the cut lines of his abs when his torso clenches. The thick length pressed into the seam of my thighs twitches beneath his jeans.
They’re soft. Worn denim that doesn’t chafe as I hook my calves over his hamstrings, arching my back.
If there’s one thing ballet taught me, it’s the importance of posture. I make sure mine is pretty, poised to show him exactly what I’m offering.
Dane’s ocher eyes remind me of a fire pit. The golden warmth smolders and seethes, flames licking in their depths. He looks dangerous. Huge, stacked in strength, covered everywhere with evidence of the trauma he’s survived. Pain endured and inflicted.
And that mask.
My body shivers, perfume spilling from my pussy as it tightens on air. A pang of painful longing spirals through my core. My Omega whines, the sound escaping along with more slick.
Dane’s dark brows snap together. His deep growl pricks my nipples. My back arches more, presenting my aching breasts to him. Not knowing what I need or why but praying—please, God—that he understands. That he’ll know what to do.
The alpha gives a low snarl, his focus flickering to my tits. With measured intent, he places the tips of his fingers against my sternum and slowly skates them down. Tingles ripple from his touch, tweaking the pink nipples to the point of pain.
He watches them stiffen, gliding his hand to the right one. Cupping me in his huge, raspy palm. When he gives a solid squeeze, my lungs stop working.
His fingertips pump the sensitive swell before closing around the tip. Pleasure pours through my torso, bubbling heat echoing in my pussy. The exposed nub at the top of my slit throbs in the cool air, sending goosebumps across my thighs.
“Responsive,” Dane grunts to himself, eyeing my core. His cock visibly strains while he starts to unclasp his belt. Those melted honey irises snap back to mine.
“Last chance, little girl,” the alpha husks. “Once I’m inside you, I won’t stop until you come all over this cock.”
My pussy tightens and his jaw hardens under the mask. Dane’s voice drops lower as he roughs, “Maybe not even then.”
He means it as a warning, but it feels like a promise. Especially when he rips his fly open and snaps his hand to my hip. Sliding it to the heat between my legs, cupping the molten, melting softness. He teases my opening with two fingertips and rests his thumb at the top of my clit.
I mewl and buck. Intensity darkens his eyes. “Ask me.”
The command barely registers before I obey. “Please.”
His tongue clicks. He gently rolls his thumb over the bundle of pulsing nerves and watches me choke on a gasp. “Mmm,” he hums. “You’re going to be a good little girl for me, aren’t you? I didn’t expect that.”
Honestly, neither did I. But something about him—the way he observes me, weighing every move with the careful grace of a trained predator—makes me feel less safe and more protected than ever.
It’s a heady combination; adrenaline racing in my veins, the solid warmth of security anchored in my center.
Dane grasps my chin, using his other thumb to trace my lips. He locks his gaze onto mine, peering into me. Seeing too much, damn him.
But at least he’s looking. Trying to understand.
It’s more than anyone else has ever given me. And it’s enough, for now. For this.
I spread my legs wider, tilting my pelvis to show off my wet slit. He gives my chin one last squeeze before breaking our stare. His attention leaps down to my pussy, heat flaring over his visible features.
“Okay,” Dane murmurs, surprisingly tender. “You can have it, baby.”
I whimper as he gives my clit a final brush, moving to yank his gray boxers out of the way. An impressive cock bobs free, the thick erection roped with veins and glistening at the tip.
It’s hard to see his knot in the dim room, but he clasps his dick in his hand, stroking down to the swollen flesh at its base. Squeezing hard enough for the muscles in his tattooed forearm to pop.
My jaw falls slack, perfume and arousal gushing out of me. Dane rumbles his approval, eyes tracking the thick, liquid desire. “That’s it,” he encourages, rasping. “Make more slick for this big alpha cock.”
Oh fuck.
My core feels so hollow, I could cry. A wild whine rips from my throat, spurring the enormous alpha into action. A feral gleam fills his gaze as he peers at me over the metallic edge of his mask. “Does it hurt, little girl?”
I pant, trying to muster any sound aside from a moan. All I get is another whimper.
Sparks fly through Dane’s eyes. “I can fix that for you.”
With one smooth punch of his hips and a deep groan, the alpha buries half of himself inside me.
Pleasure pulls taut through my lower belly.
Everything between my legs clenches against the burning stretch.
I try to gasp, but my lungs shudder uselessly, eking out a pained squeak as my eyelids squeeze shut.
Dane is frozen. Bent over my lower half with one palm flat on the mattress and the rest of his body locked into utter stillness. Air finally flows down my scratchy throat. The bridge of my nose tingles from a sudden rush of tears.
I’m not sure what’s worse—the pain or the thought of this alpha ripping himself away. My hands fly out, instincts screaming. Needing to hold on to him.
I wrap my fingers around his biceps. His gaze flicks to mine instantly, the gold seething with horrified disbelief. When he sees my tears, his brows knit. “Briar—”
Frantic, I shake my head, digging my nails into his rounded muscles. “P-please,” I beg. “I—I want it to be you.”
I’ve said that already, but now he knows exactly what I mean. The words hit him as visibly as a slap. Some of the outrage drains from his expression, softness blurring the surprise. Consternation colors his tone. “You could have told me.”
The tears come faster, vulnerability welling under my diaphragm as I whisper the one truth I have left. “I can’t tell anyone anything.”
Dane stares hard, thinking. My insides clutch him, and a garbled growl catches in his chest. I hook my heels around the backs of his knees, crying harder.
“Please, Dane. Just—take me.”
The menacing alpha pauses for a long beat, then sighs. Nodding. With a gentle tug, he lifts my hips from the bed. “Come here.”
The world blurs before my swimming eyes. I blink, realizing he’s flipped us. Now the big man is lying on the mattress below me. One huge hand guides my face to the curve of his neck while the other clasps my waist, repositioning my burning core and his throbbing cock.
Our bare torsos collide. Dane goes rigid. His skin heats, burning my belly while he gasps. The stinging stretch in my core ticks wider. Fuller.
“Fuck.” He exhales hoarsely and pulls in another deep breath, soothing, “Shhh. It’s okay. You’re alright,” when my body tweaks tighter.
Slow, languid caresses slide over my side. Thick, calloused fingers tangle at my nape. They rub soft, tingling circles and my wet lashes flutter. Some of the stiffness seeps from my spine.
“That’s a good little girl,” he murmurs, gruff. The palm spanning my waist slips down to my hip, carefully guiding me through a small thrust. “Like this, okay?”
It still burns, but I’m so wet that the top half of his cock easily dips in and back out, until the wide, rounded head is the only part in me. The friction seems right, somehow. The deepest parts of me ache for more while my clit buzzes.
“You’re going to move however feels good for you,” Dane says. His deep voice rumbles under the scarred skin pressed into my breasts. Solid alpha energy smoothes the dizzy dread in my middle. “I want you to learn.”
My stomach flips and my body clenches. He grunts, the sound reverberating in his throat. My Omega pushes to the surface and I find myself nuzzling his hot skin, wanting his deep, woodsy scent all over my face.
When my lips skim his pulse, Dane’s fingers tense against my scalp. The rattling growl in his chest smooths into a sound I’ve never heard before. Something calming and sonorous. A hypnotic hum that loosens all the tension coiled in my muscles.
He’s purring, my Omega whispers in wonder. For us.
I let her answering moan tumble out, burying it in the crook of Dane’s neck. He turns his head to rest his chin on my crown, lifting my hips in a roll. Showing me how to move on top of him.
My tight muscles burn, but by the third rock of his body into mine, the girthiest part of his shaft rubs a circle of nerves near my entrance. Euphoria flutters into my belly. Everything deep inside stutters, aching to clamp on to the thickness. I cry out, the sound edged with desperation.
“Right there, huh?” Dane pants. “That’s where this sweet little pussy will take our knots. Once you’re used to this, I can show you that, too.”
I picture the knot expanding at the base of his cock, locked into the flexible ring of pure bliss throbbing for more. Slick squelches from my pussy, and my hips do a swivel all their own, seating him farther than ever.
Dane hisses, but his purr projects pure approval. “That’s it, little girl. Use this alpha cock. Rub your clit all over it or pull it deeper. Whatever feels good.”
His mask muffles the words slightly, but I hear them echo in his chest. I nestle closer and he purrs louder, until the rattle vibrates all the way into his cock. And my pussy.
The remaining pain unspools around his buzzing erection. The burn dissipates, leaving a molten puddle of want. It melts the straining muscles, relaxing them as fresh slick dribbles onto his knot. He curses, the hand on my hip clamping tight to reposition me slightly.
When the warm swell of his knot rubs my clit, I gasp, “Dane!”
He growls, his cock rubbing in a slow-but-steadier rhythm. “Good omega. Just like that. Grind your clit into my knot while this pussy takes my cock.”
I thought I knew what an orgasm felt like, but this is something completely different. The sensations swarming my body are stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced. More delicious and addictive. Overwhelming in the best possible way.
He’s everywhere. Flexing strength underneath me, fingers scraping my scalp. The tug of my hair, the rattling purr prickling my nipples. Hot skin grazing my slick clit on every. Single. Glide. His thick cock. So fucking full. Bursting. Bliss—
I cry out as a wave of pleasure swallows me whole. My body spasms, tugging his girth as deep as it can while I clench around it. The tension in my core detonates, shattering into a thousand tiny shards. Catapulting glitter into my veins.
Dane’s body bows and he roars, the sound so raw and unfiltered that renewed rapture rolls through me. My toes curl, my pussy locking down on his pulsing length for one perfect moment before he tears out of me.
Savagely palming his knot, Dane aims the torrent of pearly white cum surging from his cock. Painting my thighs and lower abdomen in washes of white. Melding his release into my paleness. Making a mess of me.
More of a mess of me.
Dane’s tightly laced abdomen flexes, holding his body in a half-curl. He pants through his mask, his chest heaving as he watches himself mark me with those uncanny gold eyes.
Seeing the evidence of what we’ve done, the way he very much did not use this vulnerable experience to try to get his pack an heir…
The big man looks directly into me. And I swear I still hear the words he doesn’t say.
We won’t tell anyone.
I don’t notice the blood until Dane barks a low curse.
In a blink, he’s flipped us back around and silently dropped into a crouch. I have no idea how someone his size moves so gracefully, but my mind can’t really ponder much of anything at the moment. It’s too busy absorbing the euphoric warmth singing in my bloodstream.
Dane uses his discarded shirt to wipe me clean, thoroughly examining everything between my legs until I blush. His gaze is frank and his fingers are gentle, carefully probing to make sure I’m not injured.
“I feel okay,” I murmur, resisting the urge to squirm. “Can I—would you hand me my robe?”
Dane rises to his feet, brows folded together. He nods without a word, those heavy boots disturbingly soundless as he ghosts to the closet door and takes the lacy black confection off its hook.
Instead of tossing it to me, he comes back to the bed and holds it open. My cheeks and chest turn pink. I duck my face and slide to my feet.
He settles the delicate fabric on my shoulders, his fingers briefly lingering along my collarbones. I hear a quiet purr, but by the time I turn around, he’s gone. I blink, thinking he’s abandoned me, until I hear the bathtub thunder to life.
Does he… want to clean himself off?
Why does that make me want to cry?
The big man reappears on the threshold of the bathroom a second later, though.
Still in his mask, jeans, and boots. Shirtless.
Littered with burn scars, healed slices, and bulging muscles.
He’s tied his hair back, showing off the carved lines of his massive shoulders and the thick, stubbled neck I couldn’t stop nuzzling.
Dane crosses his arms, jaw ticking as he nods at the bath. “Epsom salt bath. That will help. So you don’t get too sore.”
Oh.
I bob my head and lick my lips. Something tugs at my middle. The voice there whines, willing me to cross over to him. Maybe slide my arms around his waist.
And do what? I ask my Omega, a sudden wave of despair swamping me. It’s not like I can kiss him. And, clearly, he doesn’t want to cuddle.
The thought shakes me out of my melancholy moment.
Because, honestly? Cuddling? What the fuck is wrong with me?
I force my shoulders back, not bothering to tie my robe’s sash before striding toward the open bathroom door. He observes, a new glimmer filling his gaze. Just before I reach the en suite, a thick, muscled forearm bands around my waist, halting me.
Dane steps into my side, capturing my cheek with his free palm when I whip my head to face him. He strokes his thumb over the ridge of my cheekbone, burning his golden beams into my eyes.
My resolve softens. Unexpected gratitude floods my chest, rising to block my throat. “Thank you,” I manage, nearly croaking. “For not— For—” I release a deep, weary sigh. “Just… thank you.”
Dane listens, nodding slowly. Instead of replying, he skims his attention down my exposed body, lingering in ways that have me perfuming all over again.
When he senses my arousal, the bastard has the audacity to chuckle. His dark amusement should outrage me—but it only sends a fresh flutter through my belly.
“I’d offer to stay,” he murmurs, bending to briefly brush his forehead against mine. When he pulls away, a new kind of light shines in his eyes. “But my thirty minutes are up.”