Chapter 50
chapter
fifty
Pride isn’t necessarily a foreign emotion for me.
I felt proud when Jonah’s team won the Super Bowl last year. When Tristan won his election. Even when Avery got called up to the UFC.
But nothing compares to watching Serena shake hands with the dean of my university. Watching him smile and nod while she shyly tells him she’s always wanted to study psychology. And my delighted surprise when she shares the idea of becoming a mental health counselor one day.
She’d be fantastic at that. Her special blend of kindne ss and sharp humor would probably help people feel comfortable. She’s also been through a hell of a lot more than the average person—which would make her uniquely qualified.
It only takes a couple of hours to get her squared away. Since the semester is just beginning, she’s able to choose two beginner psych classes to start with. They’re simple courses, taught by some of my kinder colleagues. A perfect place for her to start.
And, I note with an unfamiliar burst of wicked satisfaction, if she stays on this track, she’ll have to take one of my courses next spring.
Her class has its second lecture of the semester today, so I walk her over and drop a kiss to her cheek before stepping away. Shock blinks across her features, as if she’s surprised that I’m leaving her alone, giving her the freedom to go into her class and find me afterward.
When I think about what she’s told me, I guess that makes sense. She’s probably never been allowed to walk around a public place to her heart’s content.
Which is why I want to give her this.
It’s also why I wait outside the building for ten minutes before secretly peering into the lecture hall to make sure she’s safely inside. When I find her sitting beside another omega, chatting with a timid smile, my chest gives a hard twinge.
Is this what a heart attack feels like?
No , I think. I’m fairly certain a clogged artery wouldn’t make me grin like an idiot.
Whatever satisfaction I felt at seeing her happily ensconced in class is long gone two hours later.
The longest two hours of my entire career.
Haven’t I spent countless days sitting in my office, at this very desk, without so much as glancing up? Now, I can’t seem to last longer than ten minutes.
My focus constantly shifts to the arched window behind me and the clouds rolling overhead.
Damn it. I should have left her an umbrella. But surely, she’ll call me if she needs me to come collect her? Maybe I should just wait for her, either way. Or would that be overbearing?
The tracking app I snarled at Tristan about is shamefully handy. I keep it open while I attempt to work, glancing at it and the gathering storm until finally— blessedly —her glowing blue dot starts to move toward the building that houses my office.
A light sprinkle has just begun when I hear a quiet knock on my door. “Come in, Miss Swanson.”
Our omega slips into the dim room a moment later. I see she did get a little wet, but not much. Her hair is slightly damp, and a few beads of water cling to her perfect skin as she shuts the door behind her.
“Lock it.”
The command snaps out before I can stop myself. I don’t know why I said it, but she casts me one of her surprised little smiles and obeys anyway, turning the deadbolt.
While I drink her in, reassuring the beast inside me that his mate is here and whole and safe, she turns to the bookshelves built into the nearest wall, running her eyes over them.
“A lot of your textbooks are part of my library already,” I realize. “We can use the copies I keep at home.”
She bites the corner of her lip and nods. Those big green eyes sweep over to the worktable stationed opposite the books. They land on the chessboard laid out there—and the abandoned match set on top of it.
A charge snaps between us, her curiosity lighting my blood. “Who are you playing?” she asks, eyes dancing.
I narrow my gaze slightly. “Myself.”
No doubt she’ll wrinkle her nose at me. Or just nod and pretend I’m not odd .
But her pretty lips spread into an even lovelier grin. “Who’s winning?”
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I laugh . The startled sound scrapes out of me before I can help it, and Serena’s gaze twinkles in reply.
“If you ever want a real match, I used to play against myself all the time, too,” she adds, stroking over one of the ivory pieces. “I bet I’d win.”
With anyone else, I might scoff. But that sharp, curious glint in her gaze reminds me how intelligent she is. And gives me the distinct notion that she may be correct.
Even more unthinkable—I hope she’s correct.
That strange, prideful feeling swells inside of me again. Only, this time, it’s layered with fondness. Appreciation, really, and?—
Hell. I’m pretty sure it’s just love.
I… love her.
Even without her scent permeating the air, like it does at home. Even after losing a full day of work to show her around and get her settled and worry about her for no good reason…
I love her.
As if to protest the very first romantic notion of my life, her scent begins winding through the small office. With rain soaked into the creamy coconut, she smells like a perfect summer storm. Fresh and bright, but lush and sweet.
It’s mythical .
Ambrosia and sunlight and some piece of me that got lost, somehow, somewhere—but it’s back now. Returned to make me whole.
Instead of overriding my feelings, it adds a sensual bent to the emotions swirling through me. My cock hardens before I even swivel my desk chair, leaning back and opening my arms.
“Come.”
Serena obeys, sauntering over on her sexy heels and gracefully settling sideways across my lap. Like a tease, she angles a taunting smirk at me. But she’s still a good girl, keeping her hands in her lap, w aiting for my subtle nod before she smooths them down my dress shirt.
It’s getting easier for me to let her do as she likes. Maybe because I trust her now.
Instead of fear or aggression, all I feel as her fingertips trace my buttons are the tingles they leave in her wake. On the other side of my sternum, a purr rumbles to life, layering my words with rough reverberations.
“How was your first class, Miss Swanson?”
She flashes a sweeter smile, her eyes dropping to her bare legs. “It was good, I think. I met another omega, and she invited me to a study group. I—If that’s okay?”
My chest burns for her, the purr deepening while I tuck her closer. “Of course it’s okay, darling. I’ll bring you to your study group any time.”
When our eyes meet again, all traces of humor flee her face, leaving it stark with emotion. Her hand trembles as she reaches up and strokes over my cheekbone. “Thank you, Spencer.”
My darling girl.
I cup her hand in mine, turning it to press a kiss to her knuckles. “It was my pleasure.”
Gradually, her expression turns from sincerity back to teasing. “Your pleasure, huh?” She flicks her gaze pointedly to the erection trapped under her thighs.
I see the exact moment an evil idea hits her. “Professor,” she starts, running her hot little hands down my chest again. “Didn’t you say you wanted me to come to your office after class for a special lesson ?”
The way I scowl isn’t put on—at first. I’m embarrassed that it takes me a moment to realize she’s playing a part, acting for the ongoing game between us.
But once I catch up, I keep the disapproving expression in place. “You kept me waiting.”
The reprimand isn’t entirely false. I truly got no work done while I waited for her .
She must see the honest frustration in my face because hers is instantly contrite. “I’m sorry, Professor,” she replies, sweeping her gaze to the side in supplication. “I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”
“Hmm,” I hum, unimpressed. My hungry gaze roves over her body. “I was going to ease you into today’s lesson, but now we have no time for that. I suppose we’ll just have to get right to it.”
Her pupils expand, edging out her gorgeous green-gold irises. “Yes, Professor.”
Fuck, but that makes my knot throb .
I’ve tried to make sense of this too many times to count. Hundreds of students have called me Professor and I’ve never so much as blinked.
But Serena is special. Something about the honest trepidation and carnal interest filling her face—the way she knows exactly when to look me in the eye and when to demur.
She’s just… perfect.
Perfect for me.
My mate.
Ignoring the fresh ache tugging at my chest, I lift my chin. “Go stand at the side of my desk, Miss Swanson. And remove your panties.”
A shiver moves through her as a burst of sweet perfume wafts into the air. She moves off my lap, leaving my dick aching in protest, and gingerly makes her way to the side of the large mahogany desk.
With her usual sleek grace, she glides her hands under her skirt and shimmies her underwear down, stepping out of the ivory lace before turning to me for further instruction.
I slide a stack of books to the other side of my desk and point to the wood.
“Today’s lesson: Presenting.”
Her quiet gasp makes my shaft jerk. As I push to my feet, she does her best to follow my unspoken command, hinging at the hips to present as best she can while standing. Her breasts flatten into t he unforgiving wood, along with her stomach. Her dress rides up, barely keeping her bare ass covered while she turns her head to wait.
She’s so pretty like this.
But not quite perfect.
I tsk , circling her with my hands behind my back. To her, it probably looks as if I’m inspecting a troublesome sight, but really, I have to lace my fingers together to keep from running them up the backs of her trembling thighs.
I finally allow myself one caress, smoothing my palm from her ass cheek to the back of her knee as I hum, “Hmm. No. This won’t do.”
The way her scent shifts—edging into something darker—only adds to our game. As does the way she looks to the floor. “Teach me, Professor. Please?”
A current snaps up my spine, drawing a growl from my chest. “Very well.”
“To present properly,” I begin, dropping into my typical lecture voice. “An omega must be on his or her knees. Chest flat, arms stretched out overhead.”
I hear her breath catch, but a moment later, she moves. Carefully folding her knees up onto the desk, tucking them close to her abdomen while she follows my instructions.
When she settles, her dress is halfway up her naked ass. And, from behind, I can see every inch of her wet, wanting pussy.
While I stare at the dark, glistening lips, her tight little entrance quivers. I want to see her asshole do the same. And technically, proper omega presentation would give me the perfect view of everything .
“Lift your rear,” I murmur, too husky to snap. “Push your hips back.”
She obeys beautifully. A textbook presentation that puts her glorious cunt and rounded ass just over the edge of the desk, hovering above the cock-teasing heels she has crossed under her .
Fucking hell .
Serena whines, but there’s no distress in it. Only soft pleading. I smooth my hand over her warm, perfect skin again, sliding her dress to the small of her back.
“How does it feel, omega?”
“Good,” she swallows. “Professor.”
“Mm. Tell me: Do you like presenting for your professor, Miss Swanson? Showing him this pretty, slick cunt?”
“Y-yes.”
I can’t decide if I should spank her for that or reward her. What starts as a firm slap to her ass ends with me trailing my fingers through her heat, sucking in a gasp of my own when I feel how wet and soft she is.
Goddamn it .
Well, I did tell her this would be quick.
Stroking my thumb against her clit, I drop my voice lower. “This cunt pleases me, Miss Swanson. That means you get to come on my fingers before I fuck you.”
She whimpers, rearing up slightly. “ Please, Professor .”
I unhook my belt with one hand, pulling it through the loops. “Give me your wrists. Place them against your back.”
She shifts, balancing carefully while she moves into position. I secure the leather around her wrists in a loose loop, stroking her pulse as I go and pausing to check in with her. “Good, darling?”
Her nod is fervent. “Yes, Professor.”
My voice stays quiet. “I want to knot you,” I say, admitting it to myself as much as her.
She moans softly. “Please, Spencer. Please .”
I can see how much she wants it—how her body literally flutters at the thought. My thumb slides up from her clit to tease the clutching muscles. “Okay, darling girl. You can have my knot, hmm? Take it in this beautiful cunt until you scream for me.”
Her sloping spine rises on an inhale. “W-won’t everyone hear us, Professor? All your colleagues… and my?—”
“Yes,” I grit, shoving at my pants until they bunch around my quads. “You’ll scream while I knot this pussy, Miss Swanson. You’ ll scream loud enough for every one of your other professors to hear you and know you’re mine .”
Possession roars through my blood. I’ll be damned if any of the assholes I work with think they can take what’s mine . And she needs to know, too.
I’ll show her.
Teach her that this game is only for me.
Starting with my hand around her throat.
The second I close my fingers around the claim mark branded into her neck, her perfume explodes. A dense fog of arousal, so sweet I swear I can taste it in the air.
My pulse throbs in my dick and my knot, twitching in the open air behind her exposed pussy. I slip my touch back over her clit, licking my lower lip and pulling it between my teeth while I watch her clench and writhe into the pressure.
When she comes, a gush of slick slips out of her sex. And I can’t restrain myself one second longer.
“Very good, Miss Swanson,” I growl, lining myself up at her pulsing core. “Now, can you pull my knot into your pussy?”
She pants, nodding. The hand at her throat tenses as I press forward, sinking the first few inches into her glorious warmth. She starts to whine but muffles the noise against the desk.
I strangle a groan, speaking over it while I land a slap to her ass. “What did I say about hiding your moans?”
“Sorry, Professor,” she demurs, shifting to take more of me. But I hold still, making her beg. “I’ll be good,” she breathes. “I promise.”
I smile, knowing she can’t see me. “Hmm. All right then.”
Plush heat slides around my cock as I push deeper. Another snarl sloughs out, met by a gorgeous keen from Serena.
I ordinarily hate noise—but this ? The fact that every cry from her lips means she’s mine, screaming and gushing on my dick for every last person in this building to hear?
My Alpha roars with approval and desperation. She feels the twin sensations beating in the air and perfumes again, a fresh burst of slick swirling around the head of my cock like a silken whirlpool.
Fuck. FUCK .
When she squeals, I realize I’ve clamped my fingers around her throat again. I let up, dizzy as I smooth a soothing touch over her hammering heartbeat.
She whimpers, trembling with want but doing her absolute best to stay still. To be good for me.
“I know, darling girl,” I husk, pride and tenderness bleeding into my chest. “I know.”
She pants as I slip my free hand underneath her, pressing two fingertips flat against her clit. The swollen bud throbs against my touch while I snap my hips, bottoming out.
Goddamn it. How does she feel so good ? It’s beyond perfection. Mythic, just like her scent.
The smooth, slick glide. Heat and snugness that slips over every inch of my hardness, right down to the knot twitching fuller by the second.
I grind it against her pussy lips, groaning when their warm wetness kisses my stretched skin.
Her next moan breaks off in a high-pitched cry. “Please, Professor. Alpha! Please .”
Knotting isn’t foreign to me, but this is the first time I’ve done it without a single thought in mind. It was an experiment before. Data, not desire.
But this? Now?
My instincts lunge, sinking my knot past the tight ring of muscle at her entrance.
Good. Holy. God.
All the pressure and heat bathing my cock absolutely strangles my knot.
It’s incredible . Almost too incredible. Every thought I’ve ever had evaporates. And—for one long moment—I’m lost. My spine locks straight as my lungs heave, fighting to breathe. Waiting for my mind to blink back online .
The brush of fingertips against my dress shirt brings me back into my body. I glance down, finding Serena’s hand twisted in its belt cuff. Gently touching my forearm. Grounding me.
When I look into her eyes, though, I don’t just find Serena. Her pupils are completely blown, her expression caught between dazed pleasure and something much deeper.
It’s her… and her Omega. Comforting me. Knowing that I need it.
That bursting, bleeding sensation floods my abdomen again.
Love .
It has to be. Nothing else could feel like this.
It’s the only emotion I’ve ever had that I don’t feel the need to question or understand. The single strand of chaos that I want to allow in my existence.
I feel it pouring out of her, too. Serena—and her Omega. They love me.
And my Alpha.
The beast I’ve kept chained for decades.
But, for her…
I let him snap forward for the first time in as long as I can remember. Ready to rip the reins right back. Ready for him to rut or ruin this, somehow, because that’s what beasts do ?—
But he doesn’t.
He just… looks. Our eyes connect—her soul to mine. And the hand around her throat moves without my permission?—
Soothing her. Loving her. Caressing down the beautiful line of her spine. Over to the side of her hip, the small of her back.
“Mine,” I say.
We say .
Her dark eyes glitter with approval and tenderness. “Yours, Alpha,” she breathes, pressing back slightly, her body begging along with her mouth. “ Please .”
Yes .
The thought belongs to both parts of me—enemies who finally agree on something .
One thing. This .
I knot her deeper, shoving the last bit of myself into her glorious heat, groaning when her inner muscles tug at the thick swell expanding inside of her.
I pump my hips harder, and Serena shrieks again. The sound echoes through my office, blending with the patter of rain. Fitting, since my scent has swelled to fill the room like a thundercloud all its own.
Knowing we don’t have much time before we’re sealed together, I rut her faster and reach back down to stroke her clit. It beats between my fingertips as I rub her in firm circles, snarling when her pussy clamps around everything I have.
“Spen-cer!” she cries, kneading my knot and drawing my cock as deep it will go. “Alpha! I—I?—”
“ Come ,” I command. “Come on my knot.”
Her body obeys, slick heat caving around my cock in fierce spasms. I loose a shout of my own, bending over and sinking my teeth into the blank stretch of her shoulder, jaw shaking while I barely manage not to break her skin.
Fuck, fuck, fuck .
I’ve never come so hard or so long. My release blasts her cunt, filling her depths until she’s squelching. Squirming. Whimpering my name. Flooded with my scent.
Mine .