Chapter 3
Hunter
“Excuse me,” Scotty said, her voice low and husky in a way that made my heartbeat stumble over itself. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I kept my voice mild. “Just making room so we can all be comfortable, Love.” The half-truth was safer than confessing how my body had reacted the moment I laid eyes on her—like a switch flipped inside me, flooding my system with possessive need.
My fingers twitched with the need to follow the graceful line where her throat met her shoulder, to press kisses against her pulse points until my scent clung to her skin like an invisible claim no other Alpha could miss.
The urge to claim her was so visceral I had to clench my jaw against it, forcing my Alpha instincts back beneath a veneer of civility.
For now.
I didn’t loosen my hold. My hand stayed firm on her waist, fingers spread wide, feeling the heat of her through the thin barrier of fabric.
My other hand slid up into her hair, curling at the back of her head as I guided her a fraction closer until her cheek pressed against my chest. I rested my chin on her head, scent-marking her as subtly as possible.
She fit against me perfectly, like she’s always belonged there.
Which, if I was being honest, she did.
In the eight years since I designated as an Alpha, I never reacted to an Omega’s scent the way I reacted to hers.
It wasn’t just attraction. It wasn’t even just lust, though there was plenty of that.
It felt like recognition. Like something fundamental slid into place with an audible click.
Her scent wrapped around me, sweet and warm and edged with nerves, and instead of making me restless, it settled me.
Centered me. Claimed something in me I didn’t realize was unclaimed.
I didn’t need to look at Ryder to know he felt it too. His scent deepened the moment he met her, turning richer and steadier, layered with a possessiveness he rarely let slip in public.
She was our missing piece.
“This is not appropriate.” She swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper. “Please let me go.”
I bent my head toward her, my lips hovering just above her ear, close enough that each word I spoke would brush against her like phantom touches. “You’re not trying very hard to get up.”
That hit its mark.
She shifted, and that small adjustment pressed her more firmly against me. My jaw tightened as my body reacted to her wiggling around on my lap. She felt it. I knew she did. Her breath caught, and her scent spiked faintly with arousal, making my pulse kick harder.
Ryder’s hand settled on her thigh, his fingers curving like they had every right to be there. Like he was claiming her.
The rain came down harder against the windows, turning the city lights into blurred streaks. The limo slowed even more, cocooned in the storm, and I felt her register how trapped that made her—how she couldn’t escape us.
Her scent gave away how much she loved it.
She tried to sit as still as possible, clearly aware of the way her body aligned with mine, especially where she pressed against me. I respected the effort, but it didn’t help her.
Because every tiny adjustment she made translated directly into sensation. Every breath she took brushed against my chest. Every subtle shift reminded me how perfectly aligned our bodies were. My restraint frayed a little more with each second.
Across from me, Ryder’s expression shifted, something darker surfacing beneath his usual composure. A low sound rumbled from his chest, barely audible over the rain. He felt it too. Felt her. Felt the way she responded despite herself.
She pretended not to notice the tension in the air. Tried to pretend she wasn’t acutely aware of what her proximity did to us. But her scent bloomed again, her breathing losing its careful rhythm.
I let my hand slide upward from her waist, slow and intentional, until my thumb brushed beneath the curve of her breast through her shirt. I paused there, giving her time to object.
She didn’t.
Her body betrayed her first. A small squirm. A low, almost inaudible Omega whine that went straight through me like a live wire.
I dragged my thumb lightly upward, brushing over her nipple through the fabric, and the reaction was immediate. Her back arched subtly against my chest, and the sound she tried to swallow only made something territorial tighten inside me.
She responded instinctively, naturally, like her body already knew ours.
I shifted my hips deliberately, grinding against her so she felt every hard inch of me.
“Fuck, Sweetheart,” Ryder muttered, his voice rougher than usual. “Come home with us. We can take you to your dad’s after.”
“After what?” she asked breathlessly, and the fact that she asked instead of refusing did something dangerous to my restraint.
I let my mouth brush near her ear, teeth grazing softly over the sensitive skin there, before I answered. “After we take care of you. Properly.”
Her entire body reacted to that. Heat rolled off her in waves. For a second, she leaned back into me fully, like she imagined it. Like she saw it. Like part of her wanted it badly enough to consider it.
I wanted her to say yes.
She melted against me, her spine arching like a bow drawn taut, a shiver running from her shoulders down to where she pressed against my hardness. For a second, it looked like she was considering it. Imagining it.
I wanted her to say yes.
But hesitation flickered in her eyes, and then she shook her head. “I can’t,” she whispered, and it sounded like it cost her. “My dad’s expecting me.”
A flicker of irritation sparked in my chest, but it wasn’t directed at her. Just the timing.
Ryder caught my gaze over the crown of her head, his pupils blown wide with the same hunger that clawed at my insides. One sharp nod passed between us.
We’d respect her answer for now, but this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I shifted beneath her one final time, letting her feel my hard cock against the softness of her body, a wordless promise of what awaited when she finally surrendered.
“It’s an open invitation, Sweetheart,” Ryder’s voice rumbled against the tender skin below her ear. “But be a good girl and don’t make us wait too long.”
My mind flooded with visions of her between us, Ryder fucking her from behind while I watched her face as she choked on my cock. My erection strained against the confines of my trousers, and I had to summon every ounce of self-control to maintain my composure.
She’s better get on board really fucking soon, because every second in her presence only deepened my fixation. Scotty’s scent had already branded itself into my memory, marking her as ours.
And I had never been a man who allowed what was rightfully mine to escape my grasp.