Chapter 10
Ten
WILLOW
Something unrestrained and dangerous glinted in his eyes. My omega spurred me forward when I wanted nothing more than to run away.
It was too intense. He was too intense.
I was drowning in his scent—intoxicating and soothing and disarming. My stomach tumbled, and gooseflesh prickled along my arms.
I couldn’t help it. I perfumed.
A needy growl grew louder as he placed the bottle of vodka on the counter.
Despite every instinct telling me it was a bad idea, I closed the distance between us. Shallow gashes spanned his knuckles. I reached out, ghosting my fingers over the wound, but not touching.
I hated seeing him injured. I wanted to take care of him.
The backs of my fingers dusted over his well-kempt beard, the hair coarse against my unblemished skin. A raspy breath rattled in his chest as his eyes darkened, tracking my movements like a panther stalking its prey.
We were a duo of contrasts, and yet, I couldn’t help but contemplate how we would mold together. The tip of his tongue slid along his lips as the strong column of his throat bobbed. My hand fell from his face, moving to the silkiness of his tie, rubbing it between my fingertips.
It had been days since I’d seen him, and the memory stitched a fragmented part of me. I always knew I was broken. Unwanted and damaged. But how messed up did I have to be to be drawn to an alpha like Kaelen Finnegan?
My heart galloped like stampeding wild horses. Nibbling on my raw lower lip, I dared to graze my thumb over his bloody knuckles. He didn’t hiss or pull away, instead, simply watching me.
“Did you kill someone?”
The hushed question fell from my lips, and I realized I didn’t really care what the answer was. I already knew what he was capable of. And it didn’t scare me. I felt safer with him than I had with anyone else.
A strand of auburn hair fell over his hardened features, and for the first time, I allowed myself the pleasure of brushing it away.
A shiver danced over his shoulders as his face remained impassive.
“Not tonight.”
Nodding, I raked my fingers through his beard, and he groaned.
The points of his teeth flashed a brilliant white in the yellow glow of the light over the sink.
My fingertips prickled, and every hair stood on end.
I turned the faucet on, testing the water temperature before guiding his hand into the stream.
He didn’t resist, allowing me to clean his injuries properly.
“Why waste vodka when there is water right here?” I scolded, gently working debris out of the wound.
“Apologies, sweetheart. Liquor disinfects as well as cleans.”
Blood whooshed in my ears, drowning everything else out. I teetered on a precipice I couldn’t come back from. Images from the articles I read flashed in my mind. The newspapers hadn’t even published the worst of them, from what I found.
All I knew was that Kaelen Finnegan was dangerous, lethal, and mine.
I was certain of it.
The anxious pitter-patter in my chest wasn’t because of who he was, but rather, who he was to me.
“But you have killed? That man who was found mutilated outside a club a few years ago—that was you, wasn’t it?”
Double jeopardy was in play. Whether he confirmed it or not, didn’t matter. He nodded, and I sucked in a breath. With his free hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his large hand cupping my face.
“My brilliant omega.” A shock zipped through the pads of my fingers as he stroked the swell of my cheek. I leaned into his touch, wanting more of it. All of it. “Does that scare you?”
“No.” It really, really should, but I had seen far more terrifying things. Kaelen didn’t hide who he was. All of him was laid bare for me to see. To take. If I wanted it. “What did he do?”
“Are you asking if he deserved it? Would that make you feel better if he did?” I stiffened, and his hand drifted to my neck, his fingers flexing over my drumming pulse. “What if I told you he owed the Family a debt, and when he didn’t pay up, I collected from his flesh?”
I searched his face, annoyed by the expressionless mask.
“Seems a bit extreme. Dead men don’t pay.”
He snorted.
“True.” A darkness settled into the recesses of his eyes. His thumb pushed into my chin, tilting my head back until our gazes met. “He raped Torin’s little sister. I made it hurt. He screamed and begged for mercy, still alive when I sliced my knife across his gut.”
The grip around my throat tightened, his massive hand squeezing ever so slightly. If anyone other than Kaelen held my neck like this, I’d be on the verge of crying. But with him, I relaxed into his touch, letting his massive palm surround me.
My pulse quickened, and my vision blurred around the edges. He swept along my lip before he released me, leaving a hollow feeling in its wake. I licked my lips, relishing the faint taste of him as I aimlessly brushed the cuts on his hand.
“Now. Tell me again, are you frightened?”
Fingertips pinched my hip, pulling me closer until we were flush. His heart beat steadily beneath my hammering one. His eyes bore into mine—warm and molten—making me melt in his hold. I looked away, now nervous for an entirely different reason.
“No,” I mumbled.
“You should be.”
The water rinsed clear as I poured it over his scraped knuckles. My thumb traced the tiny cuts, the air between us becoming heavy and making it hard to breathe.
“Did this guy deserve it?” I asked, his scarred hand rough under my fingertips.
Kaelen bracketed my hips and walked me back into the wall. I swallowed a lungful of air, the room getting small too quickly. My vision tunneled on him, my palms splaying across his chest and tracing the taut lines of muscle.
His nose trailed over my pulse, making my breath catch. Was he going to scent-mark me? When his teeth grazed the thin skin near my ear, I mewled. A powerful voice was over me, and pleasure coiled in my belly, slick sticking to my thighs.
“He’s lucky I didn’t slit him ear to ear. I showed a mercy I am not known for.”
“Why?” I asked.
For a moment, he froze, his hands slipping up to my waist as he stroked the jut of my hips. Indecision flashed in his gaze, a vein pulsing in his neck.
“Business,” he mumbled. “I promised someone I wouldn’t kill him.”
“Good to know your word means something.”
“It is everything,” he said, his voice raspy and strained. “You’re everything. Precious. Pretty. Strong.”
All the air was sucked out of the room, the space between us charged with an electrifying current by his declaration. I was not on the verge of heat. My pheromones weren’t clouding his or my judgment. Every nerve in my body crackled with a sudden, surprising energy.
Warm breath fanned over my lips, his mouth hovering above mine. A desperate longing curled around my heart, my omega yearning for me to relinquish control, to give in to an alpha. An alpha I could trust. A frigid dread seeped into my bones, whispering warnings, pushing all my fears to the surface.
About to push him away, his hands covered mine. His beard brushed against my face, his lips resting on the corner of my mouth.
“Tell me to stop, mo chroí.”
My retort died, burrowing into the depths with all my worst fears. I squashed them down, wanting to bathe in his scent and the beautiful burning sensation that he elicited inside me. My fingers closed around the collar of his shirt, daring to tug him closer. A wide grin split across his lips.
“Don’t,” I whispered, his breath mingling with mine. “Please. Kaelen. Alpha.”
My omega crawled to the surface. So often, I brushed her aside, not wanting to give in to her. I liked to pretend she didn’t exist. But for once I wanted to give in to my omega, to Kaelen, and trust an alpha to care for me.
I was tired of doing it on my own.
Two hands cradled my face, so soft, I almost forgot who Kaelen was and what those hands were capable of.
He tipped my head back as his lips brushed mine.
I braced myself for something demanding, something that mirrored the unyielding way he carried himself, but the press of his lips against mine was unexpectedly gentle.
It was a tender exploration as his tongue coaxed my mouth open, sending a tremor through my small frame. His hands fell to my waist, anchoring me, like he was afraid I’d float away.
A long, shaky exhale fell from me, and fingers dug into me more. His tongue licked inside, deepening the kiss.
“My Willow,” he whispered, holding me close.
He tasted of chocolate and whisky, pure decadence on my tongue. It wasn’t the forceful claim I expected. It was something far more disarming, something that stirred feelings inside me I didn’t know existed.
I bucked my hips forward, moaning when his dick rubbed against my thighs. It had been over a year since I had slept with anyone, and never an alpha. Slick coated my legs, imagining his knot. Teeth dug into the swell of my lip, nipping before he pulled away with a restrained hiss.
Labored breaths heaved in his chest, his eyes pure obsidian. My fingers trailed over my swollen lips, a swirl of emotions making me sway.
“Easy, little omega.”
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, the ice from earlier encasing my heart and closing me off. I should have listened. I should have run.
This was a mistake.
“You don’t want me?” I murmured, hope splintering as icy fear eclipsed the delicious heat from only moments ago.
“No. Shite,” he hissed, stealing a brief, bruising kiss. “Are you mad? Of course, I want you. You’re mine. But I want to savor you. Worship you. Court you. I won’t treat you like some whore.”
As if to punctuate his point, his stubbled cheek brushed against mine, something between a purr and a growl lodging in his throat. I melted in his hold, going lax as he marked me with his scent. I sighed, nudging my cheek against his to return the motion.
His fingers slid through my hair, gripping the strands.
“Do you trust me?”
Such a simple question.
One I should have immediately answered, but I froze. If I admitted it out loud, it would be like giving over the last piece of myself. The most important piece. The one that would give him the power to shatter me.
I was already broken, so why not risk it?
“Yes. I trust you,” I whispered, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake.