Chapter 17
Monte
Coming home made me feel empty inside. I’d told Zoey that I didn’t want to take things to the next level until she was absolutely certain in our forever.
But apparently the bond didn’t care about that.
Even at a distance I could clearly feel her emotions.
It should have scared me, but in truth, I was just hoping that it would drive her crazy enough to seek me out because a night without her sounded more like a nightmare to me.
When I arrived at the house, there was a party thumping.
I groaned. Not tonight.
Then I couldn’t help but wonder if Theta was there. Would Zoey come? She was the president of the sorority after all.
Catching myself is this odd turn of thought, I laughed. How I had dreaded Theta coming over so many times. Now I was hoping they were there. The bond did some crazy shit to a man.
I walked in through the front door and those upstairs hanging out all stopped and stared at me.
“Monte!” they yelled as I entered the house.
“Dude, you shacked up with Zoey Rey?” Caleb asked. “And you said you wouldn’t tap that.”
Without a conscious thought, I hauled back and punched him in the face.
Remy grabbed me from behind and held me back.
“What the hell?” Caleb said.
“I told you not to talk about her like that,” I warned.
Braxton started laughing. “Pay up boys. I tried to tell you.”
Our pledges all started fishing twenty-dollar bills from their pockets and handing it over to him.
“Seriously?”
He winked at me. Brax was one of the only people who knew I was mated to Zoey, and he used that knowledge to screw over some unsuspecting freshmen. Asshole.
“How’d you know?” Troy asked. “Like what are the mating signs that tipped you off.”
I glared at Braxton.
“We’ll talk later,” he assured Troy.
A group of girls walked in. I glanced their way to see the usual freshmen head straight for our pledges.
I signed a quick hello to Kylie, Lauren’s little sister.
She was deaf, and Denny had insisted we all learn some basic ASL to make her feel welcome at the doghouse.
I didn’t mind it. She was a sweet kid and deserved to fit it and feel welcome when visiting her sister.
Speaking of which, Lauren detoured towards me on her way to see Kylie.
She signed something across the room to her, but it was too fast for me to comprehend.
When Kylie looked my way, I knew it had to be something about me.
That was my cue to get the hell out of there, but Remy was still holding onto me.
“Let go. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“Like punch a brother in the face?” Kellen teased.
I glared at him.
He’s not wrong, Jax said only to me through his mind crap.
He shouldn’t talk about Zoey like that.
You didn’t seal your bond. Your wolf is highly unstable.
Do you really want me to punch you too?
He burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Kellen asked him.
“Nothing,” Jax and I both said, sounding guilty as hell.
“It’s been a long week. I’m going to bed,” I finally told them.
Still, Remy followed me all the way back to my room.
“What are you doing?” I finally asked.
“Is Brax right? Is Zoey your one true mate?”
I sighed and nodded.
“What’s that like?”
“Insanity,” I told him honestly.
He was staring at my neck trying to catch a glimpse of our bond mark.
“It’s not there. We didn’t seal our bond,” I told him.
“Why not? You were alone with her for a full week.”
“It’s not that simple,” I tried to tell him.
He shook his head. “I don’t know why people fight it so much.
She’s yours. Just claim her already and stop making it so hard on yourself.
I’m certainly not going to fight it if I ever find mine.
I’m going to claim her right there on the spot and deal with the fallout later because she will be mine forever. ”
I snorted. “I can’t wait for that day. You’re going to eat those words. Trust me on that. Besides, I’m not fighting it.”
“Then why didn’t you close the deal already?”
“Because she’s not ready, and I’m not going to rush her.”
“Does she know that?”
“She does. The ball’s in her court now. She’ll either accept me or break the bond.”
“And you’d just be okay with that?”
“Hell no. It’ll kill me if that’s what she decides to do. Our bond has already grown anyway. It’s getting harder to be away from her.”
“Is that why you punched Caleb like that?”
“Caleb needs to keep his damn mouth shut.”
There was a rustle outside my window and I looked over to see it cracked open with Zoey halfway through it in her pajamas.
She froze, looked at me, then to Remy, and back to me.
“You punched Caleb?” she asked.
I got up and walked over to help her the rest of the way, grinning like a loon. Boy was I glad she came to me, because I knew I wouldn’t have lasted much longer before I tried to sneak over to her place.
“Yes, I did.”
“Why? Caleb’s sweet.”
I growled.
“You probably shouldn’t mention other guys around him,” Remy advised.
Zoey blushed.
“Why are you sneaking in through his window? There’s a party going on. You could have just walked through the front door,” he told her.
“She’s not here for a party, asshole,” I said.
“I can see that. More like a sleepover. Should I go and get my PJs on too?”
I glared at him which only made him laugh.
“Denny’s gonna fuss that you skipped out on another party.”
“Denny doesn’t even know I’m here.”
“Lauren knows you’re home, so he does too.”
“They’ll get over it. Besides, he of all people will actually understand.”
“Low blow. Not all of us can be so lucky. Good night, Zoey.”
“Um, good night, Remy.”
He let himself out, and I finally calmed down some once the door was closed.
“Miss me already?”
She threw herself into my arms and kissed me. “Yes,” she confessed.
“It’s loud and a bit crazy here.”
“Why did you hit Caleb?”
“Not gonna let that one go, are you?”
“Nope.”
I dropped a kiss on her nose.
“He said something I didn’t like.”
“About me?”
“An insinuation but yes.”
“People talk, Monte. You can’t go punching everyone, especially not your brothers.”
“I’ve warned him before.”
“Oh really. He talks about me often?”
I growled.
“I don’t care what people say about me.”
“Well, I do.”
“I hated being away from you,” she confessed, completely changing the subject. “That’s ridiculous, right? It’s only been a few hours.”
“If they hadn’t intercepted me, I would have already sought you out.”
“I did try to go to sleep, and when I gave up, Chloe found me sneaking out. We had a good talk, but I’m exhausted and not sure I can sleep, um, alone.”
I grinned so big my cheeks hurt.
“Do you want to stay here?”
“My room would be a lot quieter right now, but wherever you are will do.”
“Give me a minute.”
I left her in my room to seek out Denny.
“Heard you were back and mating Zoey Rey.”
I rolled my eyes. “Rumors spread quickly.”
“You know, that’s what I was thinking too, but you aren’t denying it.”
I just looked at him for a moment, not willing to say it out loud in a room full of shifters all listening in but also knowing he would understand.
“It’s plugged in next to the nightstand,” Lauren said as she walked over and hugged her mate.
I grinned and Denny shook his head.
“That’s what you wanted?”
“Absolutely. Thanks Lauren. You’re the best.”
I ran off to collect the dampener that seemed to have been passed down to each president through the years. I had no idea where it originated from, but in that moment, I was thanking the stars for it because I wanted Zoey in my space, my room, my bed.
Finding it quickly, I unplugged the thing, took it back to my room, and plugged it into the wall. Like magic, all the noise from the party faded away.
“Is that a dampener?” she asked.
“It is. Denny let me borrow it for the night.”
“Wow. I’ve heard about them but never expected to see one. They really can’t hear us outside of these four walls?”
“Nope. It’s as close to being all alone as possible in a fraternity house like this.”
“So cool.”
I was sure to lock my door just in case one of my asshole brothers tried to interrupt us and then pulled her into my arms and kissed her like I hadn’t seen her in months. I was desperate for her.
She was already in her pajamas, and while I’d been courteous enough to sleep in a T-shirt and sweatpants at the lodge, I typically only slept in boxers at night.
Without giving it much thought, I stepped back long enough to strip down to just that.
Zoey’s eyes widened as she checked me out with open curiosity just as she had that day in the bathroom when I’d been naked.
That felt like ages ago.
When she licked her lips, I was done. Five seconds later I had her in my arms, in my bed. I pushed the covers away, not wanting her to stop looking at me like that, but also needing to feel her body against mine.
Why the hell did she have to wear so many damn clothes to bed?
I needed her with terrifying desperation, but I was determined not to rush her.
So I kissed her, pouring my heart into it as I explored her mouth with my tongue until she was moaning in pleasure in my arms.
It would be so easy to touch her. I sank my fingers into her soft sides and held on for dear life, afraid to give myself even an inch more, knowing I was teetering on the brink of my breaking point.
She clung to me, only this time, her hands moved up and down my back as she began to explore me. Her hands were a little shaky and uncertain at first, but when I moaned in appreciation, she grew bolder.
Our lips never broke their connection, but this was all new territory to us both.
I rolled to my back, pulling her on top of me. I thought she’d stop and save a bit of my insanity, but instead her hands moved from my back to my front.
Her soft touch was my undoing.
I growled and kissed her deeper. My body was already strung tight, but a small smile played across her lips, and I knew that she knew she was torturing me, and she liked it.
Her lips left mine as she trailed little kisses across my cheek to nibble on my earlobe.
I shivered when she lightly blew her scent there before continuing a path down my neck stopping at the juncture of my neck and shoulder as if she were picking the spot to mark me as hers.
That may have been presumptuous of me, but that’s how it felt. And then she kissed me hard there and blew her scent on the spot before continuing even lower.
Her fingertips played across my chest and the planes of my abs as her kisses followed.
My head was spinning in desire.
“That feels so good,” I whispered. “Don’t stop.”
She licked me and I moaned.
I looked down just as she glanced up at me and smiled.
It was the most sensuous and beautiful sight. It took my breath away.
“Don’t stop, doll.”
She smiled against my skin, shooting waves of awareness through me. I grew instantly hard and knew I was flagpoling. If she moved just a little to the right, she’d know it too.
I watched for that moment and loved seeing her eyes widen in surprise when she realized how crazy she was making me.
She looked down at it and licked those damn perfect lips once more.
“Touch me,” I begged in a ragged voice.
She shook her head.
I gulped, feeling the pain of rejection.
“Touch me first,” she whispered boldly.
I sucked in a sharp breath, but she didn’t have to ask me twice.
Rolling her off of me, I repositioned her once more as we moved to face each other side by side.
I stared into her eyes as my hand slid under her shirt to feel her soft skin.
She gave a shaky sigh, and I knew that touching me had equally affected her. And even better, I could feel her emotions and her needs as I explored her body for the first time.
My head dipped to capture her lips once more, then I pulled back and lifted her shirt over her head.
Her nerves picked up as she lay there, bare chested before me. Somehow, I knew she was trying to cover herself too.
I looked down to drink in the sight of her.
“So beautiful.”
She relaxed a little until my hand slid up to cup her.
“Perfect,” I praised, watching her as my thumb skimmed over her nipple.
Her head dropped back and she closed her eyes, elongating her neck before me. As wolves that was only something one would ever do with absolute trust. My heart swelled and I leaned down to kiss her neck.
Just as she’d done to me, I found the perfect place to mark her and kissed her there, then I sucked sharply on her skin, marking her there without actually sealing our bond.
She gasped and wrapped her leg over mine, pushing herself against me.
The sensation of her being so intimately close to me made my vision cloud and my wolf surge, demanding I seal the bond.
Unsure if she was ready for that, I pushed it aside and kissed downwards until I captured her nipple in my mouth and swirled my tongue over it.
She moaned and rocked against me.
There was no more shyness or uncertainty.
“Mine,” I murmured against her as I found the other.
“Monte,” she cried out.
I knew what she needed. I just wasn’t sure we were ready for that. But then she reached down between us, pushed my boxers down and wrapped her hand around me.
“Zoey,” I moaned in a strained voice.
She started to stroke me, and I lost of sense of why I was holding back to begin with.
Unable to keep my hands gentle any longer, I nearly ripped her pajama bottoms and underwear from her as I found her soft heat.
She threw her head back in ecstasy. “Yes!” she cried out.
My emotions were tangled up with hers until I didn’t know which was which.
My fingers teased her before dipping inside. She was hot, wet, and tight.
“I need you. I need you so badly,” she whimpered.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded her head. I rolled her to her back and positioned myself between her legs.
“You’re sure?” I asked once more, because once I was inside her, there was no going back.
She answered by thrusting her hips up and taking me inside of her.
I froze, and then I growled.
It took a lot for me to keep from biting her and bonding myself to her forever, but I refrained for now and settled into a fast-paced rhythm, seeking my own release. She was right there with me every thrust.
Her whimpers and moans were driving me crazy in the best way possible.
I didn’t just want her; I needed her with every fiber of my being.