Chapter 36
36
LANDON
I knew you’d come.
Her faith in me is undeserved.
I’ve done absolutely nothing for her to think that or to have called me out of all the guys when she was in danger.
Yet, she did call me, and I have this unyielding desire to give up the predetermined and unfair opinion of her that I’ve made so that she always will.
I never have my phone on me when I’m at the rink.
It’s kept tucked inside my bag because the only people who ever contact me are at my side on the ice.
But it was another strike of perfect timing that had me changing out of my gear early to meet with the team physio when she called.
The terror I felt when she first said my name could have debilitated me had I not been shot up with adrenaline.
I pulled on my workout clothes and tore out of the dressing room without a care as to how slick with sweat I was or how deep the ache grew in my knee.
The pain disappeared the moment I heard her say she needed me.
I’m a shitty driver on a good day, but our mailbox will be full in the coming weeks with more red light and photoradar tickets than I’ve ever received.
The weight of her in my arms as I carry us through Ronan’s family home is like finally holding something I’m never supposed to let go of.
Like releasing her will rip something vital from my chest.
I clutch onto her a little tighter, hoping she doesn’t notice.
Kira doesn’t need to keep pushing me on accepting my omega.
It’s not as simple as forgoing all of my propositioned feelings and jumping headfirst into a courtship.
I want to believe that acceptance isn’t in the cards yet, but continuing to refuse what my mind and soul are telling me feels wrong.
That much has been made clear with how one simple plea to come to her rescue has me here right now, unsure what my next move is and how I’ll take it.
Briar has had me upside down and backward since the moment we met, and I don’t know how much longer I can take the world no longer making sense.
“I hope I didn’t ruin your day.”
Her soft, hesitant voice wedges the dagger that’s been living between my ribs deeper, moving it side to side.
“Practice was already over when you called.”
She nods into the crook of my neck, the ghost of her lips skating over my throat makes my arms shake.
The reactive squeeze of her thighs around my hips when I start down the stairs has me on a fucking hair trigger.
“How’s your knee?” she asks.
Gritting my teeth, I turn my head to the side and breathe in the chemical-ridden air.
“I can’t feel it.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Neither.”
“You can set me down now.”
The thought alone pisses me off, so I ignore it.
“What did you and Kira talk about?”
“You want to hear about our gossip?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You don’t seem like the chitchat type,” she states.
It’s blunt but honest, and I respect that more than if she’d cushioned her words for my benefit.
Outside of my packmates, it’s hard to have a genuine conversation with someone without feeling as though they’re constantly trying to pat my ego.
I have no doubt that’s one thing I’ll never find with Briar.
“I’m not,” I confirm.
The ground floor of the building is silent as I move us around the corner and toward the entrance to her apartment.
Not going there the moment I stepped inside felt wrong, but not being at her side as fast as possible was worse.
I could have called one of the other guys to check out the place while I went up and got her, but I couldn’t risk losing this time with just us.
It couldn’t be more obvious how fucked up everything is when I would rather risk running into danger with her behind me than see her falling into arms that aren’t mine.
My packmates aren’t my competition, but right now, anyone who could steal her attention is.
“So, I’m going to take that as I help bring out your talkativeness, then,” she says, slightly teasing.
“If I confirmed that, you’d never let it go, would you?”
“Nope.”
“Figured as much.”
A moment of silence passes before she crosses her feet at my back and pulls her face out of my neck.
With her soft hands pawing at my shoulders, she fixes pale blue eyes on my darker ones and quirks her mouth into a smile.
The soft indent in her right cheek is barely a dimple, but it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“We were talking about you. Me and Kira,” she reveals, expression completely open.
My throat tightens up, a tug growing deep in my chest. “What about me?”
“I want you, Landon.”
Four words.
They rip through me, tearing through flesh and blood and imbedding themselves into my bones.
Briar’s name joins them, a permanent brand like the one my teeth ache to give her throat.
“Don’t tell me that right now,” I half snarl, half beg.
The wall next to her doorway meets her back as I slam us against it, rattling the boring, cheap paintings hung close by.
The harsh movement has her jostling against me, her thighs tightening despite the way she slips down my front.
The length of my stiffening cock presses against the thin material of my workout shorts, and I know the moment she feels it digging into her.
I bite down so hard that my gums pulse as I press myself flush to her front and adjust my hold higher up her thighs.
The backs of my knuckles meet the curve of her ass.
She gasps, her scent ripening until it’s so sickly sweet I pick it up over the chemical de-scenter.
“It’s true. I want you, and I know you want me. Whatever it is that’s keeping you from accepting me, I want to know so I can help convince you how wrong you’ve been. We’re meant for each other, Lan. Biology doesn’t lie,” she declares fiercely—so fucking beautifully.
“You can’t rely on biology for everything,” I argue.
It’s a pathetic attempt at it.
She touches my face, palming my scruffy jaw with a gentleness I’ve never felt before.
“Not everything. Just this.”
“I admire your loyalty.”
“Stop that. Don’t try to diminish what I’m saying. Whatever it is that’s keeping you from trusting fate, let me change your mind.”
“How do you plan on doing that?”
Her lashes flutter when she leans in close and murmurs, “Kiss me.”
I nearly choke on a moan, knot throbbing.
She wiggles her hips, encouraging our middles to meet, her leggings hot in the centre.
I’m trapped in her hold, fully aware that I could set her down, but with limbs refusing to do just that.
One thrust and I’d be grinding against her pussy.
“What will a kiss prove?” I ask, voice full of smoke.
“Everything.”
She pulls my face close until the rounded tip of her nose rubs along the bridge of mine.
I can taste her perfume in the air, and my head fogs, an intense drive to give in to her poking and prodding at my brain.
“One kiss will do that?” I ask.
“Maybe.”
It’s enough for me.
Fuck, is it ever enough.
I grab two handfuls of her ass and press her harder against the wall before slanting my mouth over hers and tasting her lips for the first time.
The world keeps turning, but it’s different.
The air brushing my skin is crisper; every sound is louder, clearer.
My heart beats the same, but it’s steady, like for the first time in nearly three decades, it’s finally figured out the perfect tempo, and while it’ll thrash again, it won’t be as out of control, searching for a person who I hadn’t found yet.
Briar tries to pull me closer, but it’s impossible.
The only way we could be closer is if we were naked, my cock inside of her and my knot?—
A low grumble spills from my mouth into hers, and she’s ready for it, swallowing it immediately.
My ears prickle, an awareness there and gone as I pin her against the wall with my hips.
She nods in response, nails digging so sharply into my shirt that they pierce through to scrape at my skin.
“Inside,” she whines.
I sink my teeth into her bottom lip, balls pulling up in pleasure.
“One kiss.”
“Not anymore.”
No, not anymore.
I’m not sure it’ll be one kiss ever again.
“Inside,” she repeats when I don’t move.
It’s a reminder of why I’m here.
There’s a crack in my resolve as I lower her to her feet, hating every second that it takes to peel her off me.
Especially when she tightens her grip on my shoulders and shakes her head, eyes half-closed and dazed.
“Nobody is going inside until I make sure it’s safe,” I soothe her.
Or try to. Shit, my voice is cracking.
“I need you to be safe.”
She sighs, head rolling back along the wall behind her.
“Hurry, Superman.”
“Funny,” I deadpan.
“Mm, not funny enough to make you laugh.”
I leave her where she is and use the toe of my sneaker to push the door the rest of the way open.
It already being cracked and unlocked for anyone to help themselves to her place doesn’t sit well with me.
It may piss me off more than her living in his apartment building in the first place.
Before I enter, I look at her over my shoulder.
Her eyes are still on me, simmering with a need I want to sate.
“Do you want me to laugh for you, Briar?”
She shrugs, trying to play it off.
“I don’t think you’ve even smiled at me before.”
Regret is an emotion I’ve grown familiar with when it comes to Briar.
It still hasn’t gotten any easier to swallow.
“I’m ticklish,” I blurt out.
Her brows fly up. “What?”
“I’m ticklish. Everywhere. My armpits, thighs, feet.”
“Are you— Do you want me to tickle you? Is this an invitation?”
It might not be the full thing, but the noise that escapes me is as close as I’ve gotten in a long time to truly laughing.
At least this time, I don’t try and stifle it.
The crook of my lips pulls at my cheeks, using weakened muscles.
Briar’s answering grin is everything I needed to see.
“Give me a minute to clear the apartment, and then you can try and give it a shot,” I say.
“I’m pretty sure the place is empty.”
“I’m not risking anyone but me smelling you like that.”
She glances down her body, cheeks pink.
“Like what?”
“Like you meant what you said back there. That you want me.”
“I’ll prove it to you,” she dares.
I squeeze my eyes shut and fight back the visceral reaction that nips at me.
“Don’t move.”
“You got it, Superman.”
The nickname doesn’t bother me.
It might be the best one I’ve ever had, if only because she gave it to me.
Leaving her alone is hard, but I make my inspection of her place as quick as possible.
It’s a disaster, personal belongings destroyed and walls punched.
My gut screams at me that this wasn’t a simple robbery.
The shredded curtains, slashed couch cushions, and the spray paint on the bed make this feel personal.
Even her nest, or what’s left of it in the corner of her bedroom, has been upturned, and I’m hoping she didn’t see that when she first got here.
An open desk drawer in her bedroom calls my attention, and I find folders belonging to Harbour of Hope patients inside of it, a few papers scattered atop the dresser.
The name on the top folder makes me curse.
Leaving them there, I join her again, a new tension in my shoulders alongside a gnawing sensation that I’ve been kept out of the loop about something.
Her eyes latch onto me when I step into the doorway and hover there, my expression plain.
“Did you find a burglar under the bed?”
“Has your friend ever been here before? Sadie?” There’s no teasing quality to the questions, only a firm demand for answers.
She swallows, dread creeping across her features.
I don’t miss the realization, either.
“No. Why?”
“The files in your room were messed with. You mentioned her at dinner last week.”
“She is a patient. We’re waiting for her to go into labour any day now. I had her birthing plan in my desk drawer because I like to take them home and study them to make sure I know everything off by heart.”
My feet carry me to her.
She holds her breath as I approach before releasing it all out in one long, forced exhale.
“You’re coming home with me,” I state, leaving no room for argument.
“Uh, okay. Yeah, I don’t think I could sleep here tonight, anyway. Not with the state of it. I’ll have to, what, file a police report first?”
“No. I mean you’re coming home with me, and you’re moving in. I’ll handle everything else from here.”
She snorts a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I’m serious, Landon. I should file a police report and get a cleaning crew in. I’ve got renters insurance, so hopefully I can get most things replaced that were destroyed.”
“If you think I’m going to watch you walk back into this place when someone targeted you . . .” I swallow, nostrils flaring with a deep breath.
She watches me with beautiful wide eyes as I trap her against the wall again, this time stealing her move and taking her face in my hands.
“We’ll take care of you. Take care of all of it. Just move in to the pack house.”
Her lashes flutter with slow blinks as she asks, “You want me to live with you?”
“With all of us. Everyone’s been keeping things from me, haven’t they? That’s why you aren’t surprised that Sadie’s information was touched. You know who did this.”
The pink in her cheeks pales.
“I assumed Ronan would have told you what happened.”
Fucking Ronan.
“Tell me everything while you pack.”
A single eyebrow curls upward.
“I haven’t said I’ll move in yet.”
“What do you need from me to say yes?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
I dip my head, bringing my mouth to the underside of her jaw and nipping at the soft, smooth skin.
“Say it.”
“Finish what you started.”