Chapter 11 - Rael #3
He complied, but didn't remove his hand. Just let it rest there, warm and possessive, while they finished dinner.
By the time dessert was served, Alanis had relaxed considerably. She was laughing at one of August's stories, her eyes bright, and Rael realized this was the most at ease he'd seen her since she'd arrived at the pack.
This was what he wanted. This ease, this belonging, this sense of family. He wanted Alanis to feel like she had a place here, people who cared about her.
He wanted to build a life with her that looked like this.
Elle was in the middle of describing Isa's latest painting adventure when Rael noticed Alanis shift uncomfortably in her seat. Her hand tightened on his, and when he looked at her, he saw tension in her jaw.
"You okay?" he murmured.
"Fine," she said, but her voice was strained.
A moment later, she shifted again, her thighs pressing together under his hand. Her breathing had quickened slightly, and a flush was spreading across her cheeks. She abruptly stood. “I need to leave.”
Everyone looked at her in surprise, including Rael.
"Is everything alright?" Elle and Rael asked simultaneously.
"Everything's fine," Alanis said quickly, giving Rael a tight smile. “I am just not feeling well.”
Rael stood, feeling confused. “I should take her home."
"Oh, of course." Elle stood as well. "I hope you feel better soon, Alanis. Thank you for coming tonight."
Alanis managed a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring but came out strained. "Thank you for having me. Dinner was lovely."
They made their goodbyes quickly—Sara giving Alanis a hug, Isa demanding a promise that Alanis would come see her paintings soon, Silas and August nodding their farewells. Even Javi managed a curt nod, though his expression remained guarded.
Then they were outside, heading down the path toward Rael's house, and Alanis was moving faster with each step.
"Alanis, slow down."
"I need to get inside," she said tightly. "Now."
They reached the house in record time. Alanis went straight for the stairs, and Rael followed, confused and concerned.
"Alanis, what's wrong? Did something happen at dinner? Did someone say something—"
She reached her bedroom door and pushed it open, then turned to face him. "I'm fine. I just need to be alone for a bit."
"Like hell you're fine." Rael stepped closer, studying her face. "Talk to me. What's going on?"
"Nothing. I just—" She broke off, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Please, Rael. Just give me some space."
"Did I do something?" The question came out more vulnerable than he'd intended. "At dinner, was I too—my hand, I shouldn't have—fuck, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to touch you, and I didn't consider that it might make you uncomfortable—"
"Rael." She cut off his rambling, and there was something in her voice that made him stop. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Then what—"
The scent hit him then, powerful and unmistakable. Sweet like peaches, warm like honey, laced with arousal and need. It filled the hallway, making his wolf surge forward with immediate, primal recognition.
She was in heat. Again. And from the intensity of her scent, it was worse than before.
"Oh," Rael breathed. "Alanis—"
"Don't," she said, backing toward her door. "Don't say anything. I just need to... I can handle this. I'll be fine."
"You're in pain."
"I can handle it."
"There's only one way to fix it for good." The words came out rough, barely controlled. "You know that, right? This isn't going to keep getting better with just my fingers. Eventually, you're going to need—"
"I know what I need," she interrupted, her cheeks flushing darker. "But I don't... I can't..."
"Why not?" He stepped closer, unable to help himself. Her scent was driving him crazy, making his cock hard and his wolf howl with the need to claim, to mate, to take care of what was his. "Is it me? Do you not want me?"
"That's not—" She laughed, but it sounded almost hysterical. "God, Rael, that's not the problem at all."
"Then what is?"
She looked at him, her gray eyes stormy with conflict and desire and something else he couldn't place.
"I'm scared," she admitted quietly. "Of how much I want this.
Of how much I want you. This isn't supposed to be what this is.
We're supposed to be... I don't know. Strangers forced together by circumstance.
But you're not a stranger anymore, and I'm not sure how to handle that. "
Rael's heart clenched. He closed the remaining distance between them, stopping just short of touching her. "I'm not going to push you into anything you're not ready for. I told you that before. The choice is always yours, Alanis. Always."
"And if I choose this?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "If I choose you?"
"Then I'm yours," he said simply. "For as long as you want me."
She searched his face for a long moment, and he let her look. Let her see everything he was feeling—the desire, yes, but also the tenderness. The care. The growing certainty that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Then she moved.
Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him down, and her mouth crashed into his with desperate hunger.
Rael groaned into the kiss, his hands coming up to cup her face, angling her head for better access. She tasted like berries from the tart and wine and something uniquely her, and he couldn't get enough.
She walked him backward until his back hit the wall, and then she was pressing against him, all soft curves and heat. Her hands were everywhere—his hair, his shoulders, sliding down his chest.
He broke the kiss long enough to gasp, "Are you sure?”
"Shut up," she breathed, and kissed him again.
This time, Rael let himself go. His hands slid down her sides, finding the hem of that fucking dress that had been torturing him all evening, and then he was gripping her ass, kneading the soft flesh through the thin fabric.
She moaned into his mouth, and the sound went straight to his cock.
He spun them, pressing her back against the wall, and she wrapped one leg around his hip, grinding against him. He could feel the heat of her even through their clothes and how wet she was.
"Fuck," he groaned, his hips jerking forward involuntarily. "Alanis, we should slow down.”
"No," she panted, her hands working at the buttons of his shirt. "I need you now."
His control was hanging by a thread. He wanted to take his time with her, wanted to worship every inch of her body, wanted to make this good for her. But the heat combined with his own desperate need was making it hard to think straight.
"Rael." Her voice was pleading now. "Please. I need—"
He kissed her again, hard and claiming, and hooked his hands under her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist immediately.
They tumbled onto her bed together, and Rael braced himself above her, looking down at her flushed face, her swollen lips, her dilated eyes.
"Last chance," he said, his voice rough. "Tell me now if you want me to stop."
"Don't you dare stop," she breathed, pulling him down into another searing kiss.