Chapter 20
Iwoke to Glade lying peacefully in my arms, which was exactly where she should be. I knew, by how it smoothed every shard of the Alpha instincts that had, for years, been lodging deeper and deeper into my soul.
For far too long, I’d ached for this. Being apart from her had been unnatural, but this completed me: having her in my arms, knowing she was safe and alive. Feeling it from the warmth of her skin and hearing the slow rhythm of her breaths.
My pack was half of me, and she was the other half. She had been since the first moment I’d laid eyes on her.
That moment had been something like this, with her dark lashes brushing her cheeks, a faint pinch between her brows as she slept, hair tumbling around her in a huge bed.
She’d been hugging a pillow close then, instead of a cat, and she was covered by nothing but a silk sheet draped over her like liquid. The summer air had been warm, even this late, and the moonlight filtered through her window, reflecting silver pools along each curve of her perfect figure.
Her scent turned the world upside down. It was a lightning storm, heavy in the air; a drug trickling bone deep, halting me in my tracks and changing everything forever.
I knew, to the others, she smelled like cardamom (whatever the hell that smelled like), but to me, she was static in the air, rain in the wind, a clap of thunder in the distance.
I’d been awake with her in my arms for a while now, and below us the smells of breakfast cooking wafted up. The TV was always on down there, but I heard one of the others flicking through channels. It ended up on boxing, which meant it was Zed who was awake.
Still, Glade slept, which I took as a great sign. I was safe for her.
She smelled like me, and I loved it. A few times in the night I’d been woken to nails digging into my arms, her body tense and eyes squeezed tight shut. I’d purred, holding her closer and marking her with my scent until she relaxed.
Finally, nearing midday, she woke, rubbing her face and peering around blearily.
“Morning,” I breathed, nipping her ear.
Pretty chestnut eyes blinked up at me as she turned, disturbing Lucy, who was sprawled out beside her, fluffy belly up and paws curled.
Glade seemed, for a moment, lost for words, lips parted, a faint frown creasing her face as if she couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“This isn’t a dream,” she said faintly.
“No.” I grinned. “I’ve claimed and captured you. You’re mine.”
Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she stretched as best she could with the cuffs still on her wrists. My gaze snagged on the flashes of her body visible as the robe parted. She was wearing pretty black panties with what might have been a normal tank top if it wasn’t made to hug her breasts so tight.
I wanted to pounce on her right now, but I’d let her settle in a bit.
“Bag in the bathroom should have everything you need—toothbrush, hairbrush, and all that.”
“No one came up?” she asked as she got to her feet and peered over the side of my room.
“I’m sure they’re plotting,” I snorted. “But I can keep them out.”
Zed was wrong. I had way more than two tasers up here.
While she was gone, I peeked at my phone, and sure enough it was blown up by texts and calls from Zed. He’d given up last night, going back to sleep, but I knew he’d be trying to get her back down before long.
I got to my feet, peering over the side of my pad that overlooked the rest of the living space.
Zed was on the couch, laptop beside him, while Knight was eating an early lunch at the table. Knight’s eyes flickered up at the movement, but he dropped his gaze instantly, clearly set on ignoring me completely. Oh boy, that meant I was in trouble.
“You’re so fucked when you come back down here,” Zed growled up at me.
“I’m stocked for days,” I told him.
He scowled, but deliberately turned his attention back to the TV as if I wasn’t worth his time.
I turned as I heard the bathroom door open.
Glade was stepping out, glossy thick waves looking freshly brushed.
“What are we gonna do about the cuffs?” she asked, glancing down at them and then back to me.
“Bolt cutters are down there,” I said, nodding toward the rest of the warehouse as I stepped toward her.
“Was that on purpose?”
“I do like the cuffs,” I admitted, hands brushing her waist before I drew her close. I loved how her lips parted, chest heaving all of a sudden. “Does that get you hot?” I asked, hooking my grip around the chain and tugging her hands above her head as I stepped closer. “Thinking about all the things I could do with you at my mercy.”
Her pupils dilated as I stepped us both back and pressed her wrists against the wall, caging her in.
“I want you,” I breathed. “Say I can, Sweet Oasis, or I’m gonna die of thirst.”
She let out the sweetest bubble of a laugh. “We… shouldn’t. I’m not staying?—”
I clamped my hand over her mouth, a low growl in my chest. “You think I’d ever let you go?” Never. Not now that I had her back.
Her eyes were wide, and for a moment, glassy. I knew she didn’t believe in safety. One day soon, I’d fix that, but until then, we’d make do.
“Pretend, while you’re up here, that none of those nightmares are chasing you.” I dropped my hand from her mouth, taking her chin and tilting her face toward me. “It’s just me and you and no one else.”
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what those nightmares were made of—who they were made of.
The last loose thread I could now tie up.
Now I’d seen her, I had my answers. I’d known she wanted us from the moment we’d caught up to her.
“Take a chance with me,” I murmured. “I’m going to keep you safe.”
For a second, those beautiful chestnut eyes were vulnerable as her brows furrowed. I saw a flicker of defiance, and her voice was breathy. “Okay.”
There she was. My girl.
I swept her off her feet and set her down on the bed, hooking the cuffs over one of the metal railings fixed to the wall.
“You set this all up?” she asked, eyebrow cocked as she peered up at me, but because she was so fucking perfect, she didn’t even try to get away.
“Maybe.”
“This isn’t exactly private. The others?—”
“Are losers,” I purred. “Forget them. Now, rules, Oasis? Or I’ll ruin you my way.”
She swallowed, chewing on her lip. “The shirt stays.”
I frowned, trying to figure out the significance of that, but shrugged. “That’s all?”
Dangerous.
But she said nothing else, instead letting out a low moan as I ran my teeth along her thigh. She was not to be underestimated when she was all heels and curves, muscle and weapons, but here she was mine, chained up, with that sweet body at my mercy.
I slipped my finger beneath her panties, nudging them aside to an outrageous amount of slick. “When was the last time you were this wet for an Alpha?”
I shouldn’t have asked that. There was a distinct possibility I was adding an innocent to a hit list, but her back arched, chestnut eyes fixed on me as she let out the cutest little moan.
She didn’t answer, and I didn’t push it.
Fuck, she was stunning as she wriggled against my touch, scent rising catching fire as I added a second finger and lowered my lips to her centre.
I worked her, hand clamped over her stomach, right up until she was shivering, body tense, the addictive taste of her cunt sending me to fucking heaven.
This was years of dreams condensed into a cluster of seconds that I didn’t think would last long enough.
“Kyan—oh!” She gasped, thighs clamping around my ears just like I dreamed of. I didn’t stop. Loving the noises she made—and the sharp spike of irritation and lust from both Knight and Zed down the bond.
They could hear everything, loud and clear, and even Glade grinned, breathless, as the volume of boxing suddenly turned up to deafening levels.
That wouldn’t fucking do.
I drew back, tense, and she let out a low growl of derision.
Right.
I’d stopped just before the best part.
But I was unhooking the cuffs and tugging her up.
If my brothers thought, for one second, they could get out of being a part of this, they had something else coming.
“Kyan,” she hissed. “What are you doing?” she asked as I drew her into my arms.
“I want you screaming for them, too.”