Chapter Thirty-Seven
Her chest felt like it was going to split open from the inside.
Breath came too fast, too shallow, each inhale scraping like broken glass.
The room was still buzzing behind her, whispers, movement, the echo of Tyson’s scream, but it all blurred together, distant and unreal.
The visions lingered like after images burned into her mind, refusing to fade.
Joshua swore under his breath. “Fuck this.”
He caught Elowen’s eye across the room and gave a sharp, decisive nod towards the door. The professor glanced at his watch, then back at Anabelle, really looked at her this time, and nodded once in return.
That was all it took. Joshua’s hand closed around hers, firm and steady, and he guided her out of the classroom before anyone could say a word.
The hallway was mercifully empty. He didn’t stop until he found a nearby supply closet, tugging the door open and pulling her inside, shutting the world out with a soft click. The space was small, dim, smelling faintly of parchment and polish. Joshua turned to her immediately.
Her breathing was still too fast. Her eyes were squeezed shut, lashes damp, shoulders drawn in as if she were bracing for another blow.
“Hey,” he said gently, voice low and urgent all at once. “Ani, baby.” He cupped her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks. “What do you need? Tell me what you need...let me help. Please.”
She swallowed hard, words tumbling out in a rush. “I need...” Her voice broke. “I need to distract my head. Anything. I need those visions to stop.”
Joshua didn’t hesitate. One moment his hands were steadying her, the next he guided her back until she met the wall of the closet, not rough but decisive, grounding. His mouth found hers, warm, consuming, unmistakably real.
The kiss was intense, unrestrained, all urgency and heat, as if he were trying to pull her fully back into her body. His presence flooded her senses, his scent, his warmth, the solid press of him anchoring her in the here and now.
For a moment, the world disappeared. No classroom. No illusions. No broken memories. Just this.
Her thoughts temporarily scattered, dissolving under the force of it, breath hitching as she clutched at him, desperate for the silence it brought. But then...completely unwanted, insidiously slow, Tyson’s voice tried to claw its way back into her mind.
Her lips trembled against his as she whispered, barely audible, “More… please. I need more.” Not because she wanted anything reckless.
But because, right now, this...he...was the only thing keeping her from shattering.
Her chest still heaved, but Joshua's kiss was the only anchor pulling her from the abyss.
She kissed him back with a ferocity that matched his own, feverish, desperate and all-consuming.
Her lips crashed against his, parting to taste the salt of his skin as she trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down the column of his neck.
She nipped at the pulse point there, feeling it thunder beneath her tongue, a rhythm that drowned out the chaotic echoes in her mind.
He grunted low in his throat, a raw sound of pleasure that vibrated through her body. His hands tightened around her waist, fingers digging into the soft fabric of her shirt with possessive strength, drawing her flush against him.
She could feel the hard lines of his body, the evidence of his arousal pressing insistently against her hip, grounding her in the raw, undeniable reality of him. Then, one hand slid lower, slipping beneath the hem of her shirt to find the small of her back.
The moment his palm met her warm, bare skin, a soft growl rumbled from his chest, primal and unrestrained, like his wolf was stirring from within. He captured her mouth again, deeper this time, tongues tangling in a heated dance that left her breathless.
His kiss was a claim, a distraction woven from fire and need, and she melted into it, her visions fracturing further under the onslaught.
Then his free hand ventured lower, trailing agonizingly slow over the curve of her thigh, inching up her skirt with deliberate torment.
The air between them thickened, charged with anticipation, her skin prickling as his fingers ghosted higher, brushing the edge of her panties.
He paused there, just for a heartbeat, feeling the damp heat soaking through the thin fabric.
Fuck, he thought. She was drenched, the realisation that her body was responding to him made his blood roar. He growled into the kiss, the sound feral against her lips, and pushed her harder against the closet wall.
The shelves rattled faintly behind her, forgotten relics in the dim space, but neither one of them cared.
The need hit him like a tidal wave and he hooked his fingers under the edge of her panties, shoving them aside with urgent need.
His thumb circled her clit first, once, twice, slow and teasing, drawing a gasp from her that he swallowed with his mouth.
Then he slid lower, parting her folds with ease, inserting one finger deep into her wetness.
She clenched around him instinctively, her hips bucking forward.
He added a second, pumping them in a rhythm that curled just right, hitting that spot inside her that made stars burst behind her eyelids.
Her moans spilled against his lips, muffled and desperate, each one fueling the fire in his veins.
Joshua broke the kiss, trailing his mouth to her neck, licking at the sensitive skin with broad strokes of his tongue. His wolf clawed at the edges of his control, rising unbidden, canines elongating just enough to graze her throat, a dangerous thrill.
Fuck, this is my mate, the thought thundered through him, possessive and aching.
I'd do anything...anything...for her. But she asked for a distraction.
So he reined his wolf back, teeth grinding as he forced the beast down.
He couldn't risk it, not here, not like this.
No accidental mark, no claiming bite before she was ready.
With a ragged breath, he pulled back momentarily, eyes dark and glowing faintly with restrained hunger.
Before she could protest the loss, he sank to his knees in the cramped space, the scent of her arousal, sweet, intoxicating mixed with her natural wildflower scent enveloped him like a drug.
His hands gripped the hem of her skirt, hiking it up slowly, reverently, exposing the pale expanse of her thighs. He pressed kisses there, soft at first, then hotter, more insistent, nipping at the tender flesh as he worked his way inward.
Then he stilled, breath catching. There, on her inner right thigh, stark against her skin: their bond mark.
A rotating spiral made of four curved arms that erupted from the center, which turned inward as they flowed outwards.
Gods, it was breathtaking, a siren's call to his wolf, right there like a brand of fate.
Fuckkk, what a sight. His cock throbbed painfully in his pants, but he shoved the thought aside, focusing on her.
With a low, hungry sound, he leaned in, licking once over the soaked fabric of her panties, tasting her through the barrier.
The flavour exploded on his tongue, sweet, musky, intoxicating, but he couldn't wait any longer.
Gripping the side of her panties with one hand, he ripped them clean off in a sharp tear, the sound echoing obscenely in the tight confines of the closet.
Cool air kissed her exposed core for only a second before his mouth descended.
He licked her fully then, flat and broad from entrance to clit, savouring every inch.
She bucked against him, a whimper escaping her lips.
His tongue circled her clit with expert precision, slow laps building to flicks that made her thighs tremble, before he sucked gently, drawing it between his lips.
The suction was perfect, pulling moans from her that spurred him on, her hands fisting in his hair, urging him deeper.
Joshua didn't hold back. He slid one finger inside her again, then another, pumping in time with the rhythm of his mouth. Her walls fluttered around him, slick and hot, clenching as he curled them upward, stroking that sensitive ridge relentlessly. He ate her out like a man starved.
Her moans grew louder, unrestrained now, bouncing off the walls: breathy cries, gasps that bordered on sobs.
"Josh... oh gods, yes... don't stop..." The visions were gone, obliterated by the blaze of sensation.
Her body arched, hips grinding against his face, chasing the release building like a coil ready to snap.
He growled against her core, the vibration sending shockwaves through her, his free hand pinning her thigh wider for better access. Sweat beaded on his brow, his own control fraying at the edges, but he poured everything into her pleasure, both wolf and man united in devotion.
Anabelle's climax hit like a thunderclap. She shattered with a keening cry, thighs clamping around his head as waves of ecstasy ripped through her. Her release flooded his mouth, and his fingers slowed until every last tremor from her dissipated and she sagged against the wall, boneless and spent.
He rose slowly, eyes locked on hers, dark, satisfied, still smoldering. "Better?" he murmured, voice rough as gravel, pulling her into his arms.
The closet felt smaller now, warmer, the world outside forgotten.
For the first time in what felt like hours, her mind was blissfully, beautifully silent.