Chapter 10 #2
As Aaiden’s bedroom door clicks shut behind us, his pheromones surround me, concentrated, pure Alpha, with none of the dilution the open spaces of the house provide, and a flush spreads across my skin in response.
I hover in the doorway, uncertain now that we’re alone, my earlier confidence wavering. My heartbeat quickens, and I shift my stance, aware of my growing arousal. My sock-covered toes curl in the lush rug covering the floor.
Aaiden moves past me, his shoulder brushing mine as he walks to the dresser and removes his watch. The casual contact sends electricity through me, and I remain frozen, watching him through the reflection in the mirror while trying to drag air into my lungs.
“You can breathe, Jade,” he says without turning. “Nothing happens here that you don’t want.”
The reminder both calms and excites me. I draw in a shaky breath, taking in his personal space. The king-sized bed dominates the center of the room, its dark blue comforter turned back in invitation. My imagination races at the sight, and I harden further, my scent thickening in response.
Aaiden’s nostrils flare, and he turns to me, his eyes traveling down my body to pause on the visible evidence of my arousal. “Do you want to shower?”
I shake my head. “I showered before the meeting.”
Aaiden’s gaze travels over me again. “When did you last take care of yourself?”
I blink, not sure I understand. “What?”
“When did you last masturbate?” he asks without a hint of embarrassment.
Heat floods my cheeks. “I don’t see how that’s—”
“Answer the question.”
My mouth snaps shut, the Alpha Command rolling over me. “I… It’s been a while.”
“How long?”
I suddenly find the pattern of his carpet fascinating. “Before I was taken.”
Silence stretches between us.
“That’s not healthy,” he says at last.
I snort. “Neither is most of what I do.”
Aaiden unbuttons his cuffs and rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing muscular forearms. The simple action shouldn’t be so captivating, but I can’t pull my attention away.
“Take off your shirt and pants,” he says. “Keep your underwear on.”
My heart slams hard. “I thought you said—”
“I said no sex today. I didn’t say anything about you touching yourself.”
His clarification sends a jolt through me. This isn’t what I expected when we talked about him taking control, but the thought of him watching, maybe even directing, sends my pulse thundering in my ears.
“Your body needs release,” Aaiden continues. “You need to reclaim it.”
“And you need to see me do it?” I challenge, as my fingers find the hem of my shirt.
“I need to know you’re taking care of yourself. In all ways. And you need to know that pleasure isn’t something to fear.” He sits on the edge of the bed, his knees spread. “I won’t touch you. But I will be present. I will direct. And you will obey.”
The shirt comes off faster, falling to the floor at my feet. My hands move to my belt next, frantic to strip before he changes his mind.
“Slower,” Aaiden says, dropping into a growl.
I comply, working the leather through the buckle with more deliberate movements.
The rasp of my zipper sounds loud in the quiet room.
I push my jeans down my legs and step out of them, standing before him in my boxer briefs.
My hard dick strains at the front of the thin material, a damp spot forming at my tip.
The cool air in the room raises goose bumps on my heated skin. Scars mar my body, most from before my capture, but a few I gained during my time of imprisonment. Aaiden has seen them before, but this is different, with him no longer fighting not to stare at me.
“Come here.” He gestures to the space in front of him.
I move forward until I stand between his knees, close enough for the heat of him to reach me without touching. His pheromones surround me, making my head spin.
“Sit on the bed,” he instructs, standing to give me room. “Back to the headboard.”
I climb onto the massive bed, the mattress dipping beneath my weight as I settle againt the wooden rungs of the headboard. His pheromones cling to the sheets, and heat pulses through me as slick trickles from my ass.
Aaiden shifts to sit in the chair near the bed, close enough to see everything but far enough that he can’t reach me without moving.
“Touch yourself,” he directs. “Outside the fabric first.”
My hand moves before I overthink it, palm rubbing over my straining erection through my boxer briefs. The damp fabric clings to my swollen cockhead as I trace its outline with trembling fingers. The contact sends electric currents racing up my spine, and I bite my lip hard enough to taste copper.
“Don’t be quiet.” Aaiden’s pupils dilate. “I want to hear every desperate sound you make.”
My lips part, and the next time I stroke my throbbing length, my needy whimper hangs in the air between us. His nostrils flare as he inhales my thickening pheromones.
“Good,” he murmurs, shifting in his seat and knees spreading as his own scent grows headier. “Now slip your hand inside.”
I obey, fingers sliding beneath my waistband to wrap around my aching dick. Pre-cum pearls at the tip, slicking my fingers as I stroke downward. My hole clenches around nothing, more slick gathering. After months of deprivation, the dual sensations overwhelm me, and my hips buck into my fist.
“Slow down,” Aaiden orders. “This isn’t a race.”
I force myself to slow, squeezing the base of my dick to stave off the building pressure.
Each deliberate stroke sends waves of pleasure radiating outward, my rim fluttering with each upward pull.
Aaiden’s breathing grows ragged, his massive erection visible through his pants, but he remains seated as the room fills with the intoxicating scent of arousal.
“Tell me how it feels,” he says.
“Good,” I manage, throat tight. “Intense.”
“Because it’s been too long?” he asks. “Or because I’m watching?”
“Both.”
A rumble of satisfaction comes from him. “Take off your underwear. Show me everything.”
I push the fabric down my trembling thighs and kick off my boxers.
“Scoot down and spread your legs,” Aaiden orders, sending a shiver of desire through me. “Let me see how wet you are for me.”
I obey, sinking lower on the mattress, thighs falling open in shameless display. My rim flutters under his scrutiny, glistening with arousal. Aaiden’s hungry eyes fix on my entrance, and my ass clenches around emptiness as I imagine him inside me.
“Continue,” he says, nostrils flaring as he drinks in my scent. “But don’t finish until I tell you.”
I wrap my hand around my dick again, feeling every vein throb as I stroke from base to tip. Pre-cum beads at the slit, easing the glide.
“You’re beautiful like this,” Aaiden growls. “Do you want to touch your ass tonight?”
The question sends a jolt of both desire and terror through me, and my hand falters.
“I…” My dick starts to soften in my grip.
“In this bedroom, you will only ever speak the truth,” he Commands.
“It scares me,” I whisper. “Not because I don’t want it, but because I’m afraid I’ll freak out again and end up sleeping alone.”
Aaiden’s tongue sweeps over his lower lip. “We’ll leave that for next time. Continue with the front.”
I work myself back to full hardness with determined strokes, twisting my wrist below the crown where I’m most sensitive. My dick swells again, flushed dark and leaking.
“Aaiden,” I gasp, balls drawing tight as heat gathers.
“Not yet.” His voice cracks like a whip. “Slow down.”
I force my pace to a torturous crawl, teeth breaking the skin of my lower lip as I fight for control. Sweat glistens on my chest and thighs, muscles trembling with the effort of holding back my orgasm.
“Look at me,” he orders.
I raise my eyes to meet his, finding them nearly black with hunger.
“Who do you belong to?”
“You,” I breathe, the admission easy after all these years of wanting him. “Always you.”
His nostrils flare at the spike in pheromones, and he leans forward in his chair, the powerful muscles of his shoulders bunching beneath his shirt.
“Come for me,” he Commands. “Now.”
My release crashes over me like a tidal wave, pleasure spiking through every nerve ending as I cry out his name. Wave after wave wracks my body, more intense than anything I’ve experienced before, leaving me trembling and gasping for air.
When I float back to awareness, Aaiden is standing beside the bed, a warm washcloth in his hand. I hadn’t even noticed him fetch it from the bathroom.
“May I?” he asks, holding it up.
I nod, unable to form words yet.
He cleans me with reverent care, the warm cloth gliding over my cum-slick abdomen and softening dick. His touch is tender yet possessive as he wipes away my spent pleasure, his fingers brushing my still-sensitive flesh and sending shivers through me.
When he reaches between my thighs to clean the slick from my quivering hole, the intimate act is its own kind of claiming, and his scent wraps around me, marking me as thoroughly as if he’d fucked me.
When he finishes, he draws the blanket over me before he disappears into the bathroom and returns with a glass of water, which he holds out to me.
“Drink,” he instructs. “Then rest.”
I take the glass with shaky hands, gulping down water I didn’t realize I needed. Aaiden moves around the room, turning off the overhead light, leaving only the soft glow of the bedside lamp. I watch him through heavy lids as exhaustion begins to pull at me.
He slips into the bathroom again, and I hear the shower running. When he emerges, he now wears sleep pants, and his chest is bare. My eyes trace the lines of muscle, the light dusting of hair across his pectorals, the clock and gears tattoo that hugs his lower abdomen and wraps around his waist.
He slides beneath the covers on the other side of the bed and reaches over to turn off the lamp. “Sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”
The darkness wraps around us, and I settle into the mattress, surrounded by his scent. I expect awkwardness and discomfort at sharing such an intimate space after what just happened.
Instead, I feel safe.
Aaiden’s breathing evens out beside me. He’s not touching me, but he’s close enough for me to reach if I want to. Close enough that no one gets to me without going through him first.
This arrangement isn’t what I thought I wanted when I demanded he stop keeping his distance.
It’s worse, because now I know what I’ve been missing.
And it’s better, because I’ve never been closer to belonging to him.