Chapter 10 Ethan
ETHAN
Walking back into the kitchen I see Sophie run out the back door, muttering something about needing to check on something in the barn.
She bolted from the room like the walls themselves were closing in on her.
Her scent lingers in the air—sweet and sharp with a bitter tang of anxiety, a heady blend of arousal and confusion that wraps around my senses and urges my Alpha to both protect her, and have her naked beneath me.
My Alpha is restless and demanding, claws at me to follow her, to claim her, to make her mine.
I glance at Brodie and Tyler. Brodie’s gaze is fixed on the door Sophie just fled through. His face is calm, but there’s a tension in his jaw that betrays his thoughts.
Tyler stands nearby, one hand on the edge of the table, his face a mask, but I can smell their familiar scents mixing together and know that they are moments away from following. The room feels heavy, charged, like a storm waiting to break.
“ I…I think I may have moved too fast,” Tyler says, looking frustrated. “God. It’s all I can do not to fucking run after her and take what everything in me says is mine.”
“You should go,” Brodie says finally, clearing his throat, his voice rough with something unspoken.
His amber eyes meet mine, and for a moment, they blaze with need.
There’s an understanding there that only comes from years of knowing each other.
“If all three of us crowd her right now…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but he doesn’t have to. We all know it.
“She’s overwhelmed,” Tyler agrees, his tone softer than usual, though the edge of teasing isn’t completely gone. “One Alpha’s probably more than enough for her right now.”
He gives me a pointed look, his grin tilting slightly. “And if I go it won’t stop at kissing.”
My jaw tightens, my Alpha roaring at the truth in their words. They’re right, and it grates against every instinct I have not to charge after her immediately, not to pull her into my arms and let her know she doesn’t have to run.
My fists clench at my sides, the struggle to rein myself in a battle I’m not sure I can win.
“She’s freaked out,” Brodie adds, his voice quieter now, but his words hit harder than I expected. “You’re the one she trusts right now, even if she doesn't know it. Don’t fuck it up.”
The weight of their words settles over me, grounding me just enough to make a decision. Without another word, I nod sharply, turning on my heel and heading for the door. My Alpha growls with approval, pushing me forward, urging me to find her, to comfort her, to make her feel safe.
As I step into the cool night air, her scent is waiting for me, pulling me like a lifeline. It’s softer now, threaded with uncertainty, but it’s enough.
I follow it, the barn door ahead swinging slightly in the breeze, and I know she’s there, waiting. And for now, it’s just her and me.
The cool night air bites at my skin, but the storm inside me burns hotter, drowning out the chill.
I can’t stay away, not when her scent lingers in the air like a beacon, pulling me toward her.
It’s sweet and grounding, with an edge of something raw and untamed—it cuts through the crisp night, setting my body on high alert.
I step inside the barn, my boots crunching against the dirt floor, and pause. The faint rustle of movement draws me around the side of the barn.
There she is, in the dim light spilling from a nearby bulb, wrestling with a plank of lumber nearly twice her size.
Her shoulders strain, her grip unsteady, as she tries to drag it across the uneven ground. A spike of protectiveness flares through me, white-hot and impossible to ignore. She’s so goddamn determined, even when it’s obvious she shouldn’t be doing this alone.
“What the hell are you doing?” I bark, my voice laced with authority as I stride toward her.
Sophie startles but doesn’t let go of the plank. Her eyes flash as she looks up at me, her Omega dancing under her skin, wanting to please me. But she fights it.
“I’ve got it,” she snaps, her tone daring me to argue, her grip tightening as if to prove her point.
I don’t stop. My Alpha won’t let me. “You shouldn’t be lifting this on your own,” I say, my voice low and firm. I reach for the plank, my fingers brushing hers as I take it from her grip.
“I’m perfectly capable, Ethan,” she bites out, her chin lifting in defiance. Her cheeks are flushed, her scent spiking with irritation—but there’s something else beneath her annoyance, something warmer, headier.
“Don’t be stubborn, Sophie,” I counter, setting the plank against the barn wall and closing the distance between us. She has to look up at me, and I can see the flushing in her cheeks and the pulse beating at her neck.
My tone is rough, carrying the weight of my Alpha. “You could hurt yourself.”
Her scent wavers—softening for a heartbeat as her Omega instincts respond to my authority. She falters, her shoulders loosening, her lips parting as though she’s about to concede.
But just as quickly, she fights it off, squaring her stance and glaring up at me. She brings her palm to my chest as if to push me away from her.
“I don’t need you to swoop in and save me,” she says, her voice shaking with frustration. “I’ve got it covered.”
The fire in her eyes, the defiance in her stance—it stirs something primal in me. “You’re stubborn as hell, you know that?” The words come out before I can stop them, my tone a mix of exasperation and admiration.
I press into her palms, daring her to push me away, but her hands curl in the fabric of my shirt as her breath nearly pants out of her.
“And maybe I’m tired of everyone thinking I need saving,” she says back, her voice breaking slightly but strong enough to pierce through my defenses.
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. She’s right. She’s always been right. But that doesn’t stop the need coursing through me, the overwhelming drive to protect her, to take her burden and shoulder it myself.
I push into her, closing the distance between us, and she takes a step back. Her Omega instincts are warring with her will—I can see it in the way her pupils dilate, the way her breath catches as I advance.
The way her scent thickens with need and want.
Her back hits the side of the barn, and for a moment, the world narrows to just the two of us. Sweet vanilla, warm earth, and the unmistakable musk of slick flood the space around us. The scent is in the air, clinging to her skin, and it’s driving me out of my goddamn mind.
Her scent engulfs me and the realization of how she’s responding hits me like a thunderclap, my Alpha roaring to the surface. She’s aroused, her body betraying her even as her words push me away.
“Sophie,” I growl, my voice low and rough, “you’re going to drive me insane.”
Her lips part, her breathing quickening. Her scent thickens even more, wrapping around me like a drug, and I can’t stop myself. I lean in, my cheek brushing against hers as I drag my nose along the soft curve of her neck, scent-marking her without even thinking.
My stubble is rough as I run my cheek and nose along her neck, cheeks, and shoulders. Her Omega reacts instantly, her body going still, her scent spiking with need. I’m drowning in it.
“Ethan…” she whispers, her voice trembling, unsure.
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur, my lips grazing the sensitive shell of her ear, sending a shiver through her. “Tell me you don’t want this.”
But she doesn’t. Instead, her head tilts back, her neck bared to me in a silent, instinctual act of submission. My Alpha roars its approval, the primal need to protect, possess, and claim surging through me like wildfire.
I press my lips to hers, and the kiss is everything I’ve been holding back—raw, consuming, and laced with years of frustration and longing. Her lips are soft and yielding, parting for me as her hands clutch at my shoulders.
I lift her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around my waist as I press her into the barn wall. Her soft moan vibrates against my lips, fueling the fire already raging in my chest. Her arms circle my neck, her fingers threading through my hair, pulling me closer, deeper.
Her scent floods my senses, her slick soaking through the fabric of her leggings where she’s pressed against me. My hips grind against her, instinct taking over, desperate to feel her closer, skin to skin.
“Ethan,” she gasps as I break the kiss, my lips trailing down her jaw, her neck, to the delicate hollow of her throat. She tips her head back further, giving me access, her soft whimpers spurring me on.
I bury my face in her neck, inhaling deeply, the scent of her arousal more intoxicating than anything I’ve ever known. My teeth graze her skin, in a warning that is also a promise, and she arches into me, her body trembling with need.
“Please,” she breathes, her voice breaking on the word, and it’s the only permission I need.
My hands slide under her shirt, finding the soft curve of her waist, her skin warm and smooth under my fingertips. She shudders at the touch, her nails digging into my shoulders as my thumbs brush the underside of her breasts.
“You’re perfect,” I whisper against her skin, my voice rough with restraint. Her Omega whimpers and writhes under the praise. “You’re so good for your Alpha.”
Her hips buck against me, her slick soaking through to my jeans as I press her harder against the wall. My hand dips lower, under the waistband of her pants, finding her heat.
She’s so wet, her slick coating my fingers as I slide them through her folds, teasing her entrance. My thumb teases her clit.
“Ethan,” she moans, her head falling back against the wall, her body arching into my touch. Her hands grip my shoulders, her nails biting into my skin as I push a finger inside her, her walls clenching around me.
“You feel so good,” I rasp, adding another finger, the tight heat of her driving me to the edge.
She’s gasping now, her breaths coming in shallow pants, her hips moving against my hand, chasing her release. Her Omega is begging for more, and my Alpha is desperate to give it to her.
“Look at me,” I demand, my voice thick with need. Her eyes flutter open, her pupils blown wide, her lips parted in a silent plea.
“You want this,” I whisper, my thumb brushing over her clit as I curl my fingers inside her, hitting the spot that makes her cry out. “Say it.”
“Yes,” she gasps, her voice trembling. “I want this. I want you.”
Her words snap the last thread of my control. I bury my face in her neck, my hand working her harder, faster, as her cries grow louder, her body shaking in my arms.
She comes with a broken moan, her walls fluttering around my fingers, her nails raking down my back as she falls apart. Her scent is overwhelming, sweet and sharp and completely hers, and it’s all I can do not to lose myself in her right here.
I hold her tightly, my forehead resting against hers as she catches her breath, her body still trembling against mine. Her scent is everywhere, wrapping around me, marking me as much as I want to mark her.
“Ethan,” she whispers, her voice soft, unsure.
Her Omega is still calling to me, her body pliant and willing in my arms, and every instinct in me is screaming to take her, to claim her, to make her mine.
But the weight of reality crashes down like a cold wave, and I pull back, my breathing ragged, my body still aching with need.
“I’m sorry,” I say, the words catching in my throat as I step away, leaving her leaning against the barn wall, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen, her eyes wide with confusion and longing.
Her scent clings to me as I turn and walk away, every step a battle against the primal need to turn back, to take her, to make her mine in every way. But I don’t. I can’t.
Not yet.