Chapter 11 Caelan #2
Morning came slowly, gray light filtering through the curtains. The storm had passed, the world continued, and I was still lying in Riley’s bed, holding my mate, pretending to be just a friend. Just a normal man.
Riley stirred. I closed my eyes quickly, feigning sleep. Some instinct told me to give her a moment. Let her wake up, orient herself, decide how she felt about this without the pressure of my attention.
I felt her go still as she registered where she was. Who she was with. How we ended up tangled together in her sheets.
A long pause.
Then, slowly, she relaxed. Her fingers, curled against my chest, uncurled and curled again. Testing if this was real. Her body settled more deeply into mine.
She didn’t pull away.
For a long moment, she just lay there, and I could feel her watching me. Her gaze traced my face. I could almost feel it physically, a warmth sliding over my cheekbones, down my jaw, lingering on my mouth.
My cock, which had been half-hard all night from her body pressed against mine, decided this was an excellent time to swell fully, throbbing painfully against the thin fabric of my boxers. Precum leaked from the tip, soaking a spot that I knew she’d feel if she shifted just right.
Fuck.
Riley’s leg shifted. Maybe accidental, maybe stretching her muscles after sleep.
But her thigh brushed against my extremely obvious erection, the soft flesh dragging slow over the rigid length, and I couldn’t stifle the low groan that rumbled from my chest, hips bucking up instinctively into the pressure.
She froze.
“What are you doing, little menace?” I asked, my voice rough with sleep and the raw edge of arousal, eyes still closed as I fought to keep control. My wolf paced inside, his claws out, demanding I flip her over and rut into her heat.
Silence. Then: “I was just moving.”
“Moving.”
“Stretching.”
“Uh-huh.”
Her leg moved again. Deliberately this time. Pressing against my cock through the thin fabric of my pants, and I hissed through my teeth, my hips jerking involuntarily into the contact.
Her leg moved again. Deliberately this time, pressing firm against my cock.
The heat of her thigh seeped through the cotton, rubbing up and down in a slow grind that sent sparks shooting up my spine.
I hissed through my teeth, my hips jerking forward, cock pulsing as it sought more friction, more of her.
“Someone’s in a good mood this morning,” she teased, her voice laced with false innocence, but I could hear the huskiness, the way her pulse quickened.
I opened my eyes.
She was looking up at me, green eyes bright with mischief, cheeks flushed pink and spreading hot down her neck. She knew exactly what she was doing, teasing the beast, pushing until I broke, and fuck, she was enjoying it. Her lips were parted slightly, tongue visible as she licked them.
Two could play this game.
“I’m waking up next to you,” I said, meeting her gaze head-on, letting her see the hunger in my eyes, the way my pupils had blown wide. “Of course I’m in a good mood.”
Her flush deepened, creeping down her neck, disappearing beneath the collar of her loose shirt. I wanted to follow it with my tongue, lap at the salt of her skin, suck marks into her collarbone until she arched and moaned.
Her leg moved again. Pressing harder. Rubbing in deliberate circles now, the pressure building friction that had my balls tightening, cock leaking steadily.
My hands tightened on her waist, fingers digging into the soft flesh there, nails biting just enough to make her gasp. My wolf howled inside, a feral demand: closer, more, take her, pin her down, fuck her raw until she’s dripping with my cum, marked inside and out.
“Riley.” My voice was a warning, a plea wrapped in growl. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Maybe I like fire.”
Gods, I wanted her.
The thought wasn’t new. I’d craved her since that first scent in the bookstore, her essence wrapping around me like a leash. But this was different. Primal. My wolf and my human side locked in sync, both snarling the same command: take her now, claim every inch. Make her ours.
I wanted to roll her onto her back, knees shoving her thighs wide, settling my weight between them until she felt my cock nudge her entrance through our clothes.
Wanted to pin her wrists above her head with one hand, the other yanking her shirt up to expose those perfect tits, nipples hard and begging to be sucked, bitten until she whimpered.
I wanted to kiss my way down her stomach, teeth grazing the dip of her navel, tongue dipping in to taste her sweat until she was squirming, hips lifting, pussy soaking through her panties.
Wanted to bury my face between her legs, nose grinding against her clit as I licked her folds, sucking her swollen lips into my mouth, tongue thrusting deep to fuck her with it while she thrashed.
Wanted to make her come on my tongue, thighs clamping my head like a vice, fingers fisted in my hair, pulling hard as she screamed my name, juices flooding my mouth, coating my chin. Lapping it all up, greedy, until she shuddered through the aftershocks.
And then I wanted more. Wanted to strip her bare, flip her onto her stomach, ass up, and slide my cock along her slick slit, teasing her entrance before slamming in deep. Feel her pussy clench around me, stretching to take every thick inch as I bottomed out, balls slapping her clit.
I wanted to watch her face twist in pleasure when I pulled her up against my chest, one arm banding her waist, the other hand between her legs, fingers circling her clit while I pounded up into her, relentless, until she milked me dry, cum spilling hot inside her, filling her until it leaked out around my shaft.
Wanted to fuck her slow and deep, grinding against that spot that made her eyes roll back, or hard and fast, bruising her hips with my grip, making her forget every other touch, every other man. Make her mine in body, soul, and everything.
My cock throbbed harder, straining against my pants, the head pushing insistently against her thigh, desperate for release.
“If you don’t stop...” I couldn’t finish the sentence, breath ragged, control fraying at the edges.
Couldn’t articulate what I’d do, because I didn’t trust myself not to snap, to rip her clothes off and fuck her into the mattress.
Because if she pushed one more time, I would take.
I would claim. I’d breed her deep, mark her as pack, as mine.
And she wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t know the truth of me, that the wolf lurking under my skin, teeth sharp, was ready to bite and bond. Didn’t know that the man in her bed was a predator, and right now, the wolf was very, very close to the surface right now.
She must have heard the warning in my voice, because she stopped and pulled back slightly, created space between us. The mischief faded from her expression, replaced by uncertainty.
“Sorry,” she said. “I was just playing. We’re friends. I shouldn’t have...”
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t okay, it was torture. Every cell in my body was screaming to pull her back, to show her exactly how okay I was with what she was doing.
“It’s okay,” I said again, because I had to fill the silence.
She sat up. Her eyes dropped like she couldn’t help it, and I saw her gaze catch on the obvious bulge in my pants, her lips parting, her breathing stuttering.
Then her eyes snapped back up to my face, her cheeks crimson.
“Right,” she squeaked. “You should probably...”
“I should go. Yes.” I stood, and the movement made my situation even more obvious. The front of my pants was tented, my cock straining against the fabric.
Her eyes dropped again, widened, and came back up to my face with what looked like pure shock.
“That’s...” She gestured vaguely at my crotch. “That’s... a lot.”
“Yeah.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of you.” I didn’t look away or try to hide it. I let her see exactly what she did to me. “Always you.”
She swallowed visibly, and I saw it. The way her pupils dilated, nearly swallowing the green. Her breathing getting shallower, her thighs pressing together. She wanted me too.
My wolf rumbled with satisfaction.
“I should go,” I said again, even while every instinct was screaming at me to show her exactly what she did to me.
“Right.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Her eyes kept dropping to my cock, then jerking back up. “Going. Good idea. Very good idea.”
I forced myself toward the door. Every step was agony. My wolf was clawing at my ribs, howling in protest.
At her bedroom door, I paused. Turned back.
She was still in bed, hair a mess, wrapped in her blanket like armor. But her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was uneven, and she was looking at me like I was water in a desert.
“Thank you,” I said. “For letting me stay.”
“Thank you for everything.” Her voice was husky. “And for coming when I called.”
“Always,” I said, meaning it with every fiber of my being. “I’ll always come when you call, Riley. No matter what or when. You call, I answer. That’s how this works.”
I left before I could do something stupid like climb back into that bed and never leave.
The walk back to my apartment was even more torturous. Every step reminded me of what I was walking away from. She might not be ready to admit it, might still be hiding behind the word “friends,” but now I knew she wanted me.
I made it through my door, slamming it shut behind me with enough force that the frame rattled.
The apartment was dim and empty, curtains drawn against the midday sun, but I didn’t bother with lights.
My blood roared in my ears, every nerve lit up from the morning’s torment.
I couldn’t wait. Hell, I didn’t even make it past the entryway.
My back hit the wall hard, pants shoved down in a frantic yank, cock springing free, thick and veined, already slick at the tip from the ache that hadn’t eased since her thigh ground against it.
I wrapped my fist around the base, squeezing tight, the rough drag of my calluses pulling a grunt from my throat.
Stroked up slow at first, then faster, desperate, base to head in punishing pulls that made my balls draw up.
I replayed it all, her body flush against mine in the sheets, the deliberate press of her leg rubbing my length, the way her breath hitched when she felt me throb under her touch.
Her voice, husky and teasing: “That’s a lot,” eyes wide, lips parted like she was already imagining them stretched around me, cheeks burning pink.
Fuck, Riley. I pumped harder, thumb swiping over the slit to smear precum down the shaft, hips thrusting into my grip like I was fucking her hand instead.
I imagined bursting back into her place, climbing over her in that bed, pinning her down with my weight, her wrists caught in one of my hands above her head.
Sliding my free palm down her stomach, under the waistband of her panties, fingers finding her pussy soaked, lips swollen and parting for me as I traced the seam.
I’d circle her clit slow, teasing the nub until she bucked, then dip two fingers inside, curling them against that front wall, stroking in and out while she clenched around me, wet sounds filling the room.
Her moans, my name gasped out as I worked her open, drawing it out, making her drip down my hand, thighs quivering.
I’d watch her face, the way her eyes fluttered shut, mouth open, begging without words for more.
Then I’d free my cock, line up at her entrance, and-
The fantasy hit me like a freight train and I came in under thirty seconds, a guttural groan ripping from my chest as ropes of cum shot over my fist, splattering the wall, dripping hot down my knuckles.
My knees buckled, vision blurring, cock jerking with aftershocks that left me panting, spent but still half-hard, the wolf inside snarling for the real thing.
Pathetic. Absolutely fucking pathetic, blowing my load like some horny kid from memories alone. But gods, she wanted me. That was enough to make the shame burn away, replaced by a fierce satisfaction.
I cleaned myself up, then picked up my phone, and called every electrician in Lysmont until I found one willing to do an emergency immediate call.
I paid triple the rate without blinking.
Gave them her address, her name, specific instructions to fix whatever was wrong and not to mention who sent them.
“Anonymous donation,” I told the confused woman on the phone. “Just fix her electricity. That’s all that matters.”
Three hours later, an electrician showed up at her door, fully paid. Problem fixed. No questions asked. Because that’s what friends do.
Right?