Chapter 06
XANDER
“Are you here of your own free will?”
What. The. Fuck.
I was so close to freedom, well, more accurately the interim step to freedom.
There was the shitty matter of the mating to go through first, but after that I’d at least be free of my uncle and his threats.
As Alpha Mate, I’d surely have plenty of freedom and if I didn’t like it here, I’d just piss off once I’d gathered enough resources to see me through.
So what was this shit about? Did he think I wasn’t good enough for him?
Now that he'd actually seen me, was he looking for an easy out of this arrangement?
Well, I wasn’t going to give it to him. It wasn’t my arrangement but I sure as hell was going to get what I wanted out of it.
No-one had asked for my opinion, not my uncle, not this sexy-as-sin alpha who was so arrogant he couldn’t be bothered meeting me privately first to see if we were compatible or at least give some sort of pretense of this being a real match.
And he hadn’t bothered to dress up, despite insisting I wear a suit…
as though I had to impress him, or was it to make me feel awkward standing here overdressed in comparison?
And he couldn’t even be there to greet us himself, leaving his PA - was it?
– to do the job for him. Was this a deliberate strategy to make me understand my place?
That I was nothing but a business transaction and shouldn’t expect more?
I marched off ahead of him, determined that he shouldn’t see the tears of frustration and rage in my eyes. And maybe the disappointment too. There was no doubt there was something about him… and for the briefest moment I’d wondered if maybe … but no, forget that.
I caught up with my uncle and the other guy – what was his name? Zendius? - as they neared the car. They were talking but I paid no heed as I marched past them to the trunk and yanked my suitcase out. Suddenly the weight lifted out of my hands.
“Let me take that.” It was Darius. I’d been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard him catch up with me. I scowled and let him take the suitcase, not wishing to embarrass myself by struggling over it.
Zendius was shaking hands with Uncle Maxim. He turned towards me.
“When you’re done saying goodbye, I’ll take you back to the office while Darius finishes up here,” Zendius told me.
I shrugged. I didn’t need to say anything to Uncle Maxim, and I sure wasn’t interested in anything he had to say to me.
“Let’s go,” I said and headed towards the house.
Zendius’s eyebrows rose just the slightest, and I didn’t miss the faint frown and speculative look in Darius’ eyes, but he said nothing.
I swear I felt his eyes following me as I walked away, but no way was I going to give him the satisfaction of looking back.
I lifted my chin and strode as confidently as I could towards my new home.
In truth, my legs felt weak and shaky, my shirt damp under my armpits, but I refused to give in to my anxiety…
at least, not until I was alone and could afford to fall apart.
I was never going to show weakness. I gave a cocky flick of the head, trying to portray an insouciance I didn’t actually feel, and concentrated on my breathing, the deep slow breaths helping me calm myself.
By the time we’d reached the front door, I had control of myself again.
Zendius led me back to the office, but it was barely moments later that Darius joined us there.
“Thanks, Zendius,” Darius said, his dark piercing eyes locked on mine, sending a little shiver down my spine. “I’ll take it from here.”
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from this handsome man, even though I hated him. I was barely aware of footsteps retreating from the room and the soft thud of the door closing.
I was alone with the handsome alpha. I swallowed hard. My heart pounded; I swear I felt the pulse kicking away in my neck.
Eyes fixed on mine, Darius advanced towards me until he was standing right in front of me, large and dominant and sexy; he was so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
I shivered. My body swayed towards him. Warm hands cupped my chin.
I felt the callouses against my softer omega skin, but his hands were gentle.
“I know what we’re here for,” he whispered softly, his breath warm and tantalizing across my face. “But you can stop me anytime. Understood?”
I nodded. My heart was pounding, whether in anticipation or fear, I wasn’t sure. “Y-yes,” I gulped.
One hand curled around the back of my neck, riffling through the short locks and coming to rest with his skin against mine. Where we touched, my skin was afire. A wary tendril of desire snaked in the pit of my stomach.
When I didn’t pull away, he moved closer, pulling me in as he did so, until our lips met. His were warm, full and gentle at first, as they moved against mine, exploring. Unconsciously, I responded, my lips moving, my mouth opening as his tongue licked there, savoring this gentle discovery.
I had never been kissed before. It was sweeter, gentler, than I’d thought it would be.
And I hadn’t even considered this happening.
Under the circumstances, I hadn’t thought there’d be anything tender, such as kissing, just assumed there’d be fucking and mating and that would be the extent of it.
This was a surprise, a very welcome surprise if my body’s response was anything to judge by.
My whole body trembled, flushed with heat, and as I opened my mouth and his tongue slipped inside, I nearly collapsed against him, except his strong arms quickly wound themselves around me, supporting me as he possessed my mouth. In that moment I felt safe and protected, even as I melted into him.
Eventually we drew apart, my lips swollen and burning, my breathing shallow and fast. I shook my head and blinked to regain awareness of my surroundings. It was satisfying to see Darius was similarly affected, his pupils dilated and his breaths ragged.
“I… Wow,” he sighed. “You’re amazing.”
His eyes flicked back to my lips. I didn’t wait.
Maybe I’d get back to hating him again later, but right now, I wanted more of this.
Diving in, I kissed him again, almost frantic in my desire to have more, more of this, more of him.
Darius’ tongue stroked confidently into my mouth, tangling with my tongue, sucking and…
“Mmm,” I groaned, unable to stop myself.
When we separated a second time, he took my face in one hand, while the other arm held me up against his powerful lean body.
“I want to take you out tonight,” he murmured. “Tell me you will this time.”
“Mmm… okay.”
His hands traveled down my back, over my ass and back up again, completely disengaging my brain.
I knew I’d agreed to something, but right now, with this man’s hands on me, I’d agree to anything he said.
I melted into him, clinging to his shirt for support, as he backed me up until my hips were flush against the desk.
There was a clatter of scattering objects as Darius reached around me and cleared the desk, then I was lying over it, while he all but ground his hips into mine.
His lips kissed and sucked behind my ears and down my neck, and instinctively I tilted my head sideways, exposing the place near where my neck and shoulder joined.
It was the place where the mating bite would be made.
Darius licked the spot, his teeth grazing across it lightly. His hot breath huffed on the damp spot.
I moaned.
The sound seemed to break the last of Darius’ control and he grabbed my shirt, ripping it open, buttons flying.
I yelped in surprise as his hot wet mouth latched around one nipple and my back arched up, muscles straining as he laved at the nub.
My breaths came hard and fast, as he transferred his attention to the other nipple, bringing his finger and thumb onto the first one and tweaking it.
I gasped, struggling for breath, all my muscles clenching.
A whimper filled the space between us. It was my own. Those intense dark eyes pinned me to the desk as Darius leaned back, pausing with his hand on the button of my pants.
“Yes or no?”
I struggled to articulate, thrusting my pelvis towards him as a substitute for words. He waited.
“Y-Yes,” I stammered, finally, a small corner of my brain surprised that this man, the Alpha, and the most powerful man of his pack, would go no further without consent.
I didn’t have long to think about it though as he flicked the button open and ran the zip down, flicking aside the flaps of my fly.
A firm hand grasped my package, his grip warm through my underwear. Oh fuck, the unmistakable scent of slick filled my nostrils. I wanted…
The door flung open and Zendius strode in.
Darius swore and moved to cover me from sight.
“What the fuck, Zendius? Can’t you knock?”
“Ah, sorry, Darius. They need you down at the omega house. It’s urgent.”
“You handle it. I’m busy.”
“No. They need you. Said it’s urgent.”
“Fuck!” Darius swore again. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”
Zendius disappeared, the door closing behind him.
“I’m sorry,” Darius sighed, helping me up from the desk. He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “We’ll get back to this later. Let me get you settled. I’ll sort out this problem and be back as quick as I can.”
Silently, I tried to pull myself into some semblance of decency. I didn’t want to walk down the corridors half-naked and smelling of slick. Any shifter I met would know what had been going on and I didn’t want to be the laughingstock of the pack.
Darius grimaced. “I think I owe you new shirt,” he said. “Here.” He stripped off his own shirt and held it out to me. “You can wear this for now.”