Chapter 16 #2
With a wicked look in her eyes, she turned her face purposefully into my hand, smearing her cheek until my fingers were filthy too.
“Hey now,” I teased, secretly loving that she was comfortable enough with me to let me see this playful side of hers. “No need for violence.”
“Well, I am a Cristenello… It’s in my blood. You’re not afraid of a little dirt, are you, Beta?”
“Nah.” I closed the last inch between us. “I don’t mind getting dirty with my Omega.”
She went still, blinking up at me with those heavy lashes. Rainwater jeweled her cheekbones. I could practically see the decision flicker across her face—whether to let me in, or redirect the moment with humor or bravado. Her defenses, always so quick to reform, crumbled for just a second.
“You always do that,” she murmured, her gaze so direct it made something inside me go taut. “Flip the script before I can push you away.”
I shrugged, letting my thumb sweep a line from the corner of her mouth to her jaw. Much as I wanted to, I didn’t kiss her. Not yet. I let the anticipation ride, close enough to feel the rush of her breath ghosting over my lips. “I like to keep you guessing.”
She huffed out a breath, but there was a smile behind it. “Mission accomplished.” She didn’t move away. Not even a little.
Her eyes flicked from my mouth to my eyes, and then, as if she’d caught herself right before stepping off a cliff, she grinned and yanked the umbrella straight out of my hand.
She was quick, I’ll give her that. One second, we were inches apart, the next she was sprinting down the slick cottonwood path, umbrella held like a shield, shrieking as she nearly lost her footing in the mud.
I just watched her go for a beat, grinning like an idiot as rain hammered my face and the woman I wanted more than anything in this world slipped and skidded away from me through the trees.
Then I gave chase.
She didn’t scream again, but her laughter echoed through the grove, loud and wild, the sound of it so fucking alive it made my heart beat double-time.
I was bigger and faster, but she had the element of chaos on her side.
Every step she took was unpredictable, every turn in a new direction unexpected as she doubled back, dodging around the half-dead shrubs and underbrush like she knew this land better than I ever would.
I caught up right as she hit the edge of the grove and spun.
It happened so fast. She lost her footing, and I lunged, catching her and rotating us as we fell so I’d take the brunt.
Air left her lungs in a whoosh as she landed on my chest and the umbrella rolled off to the side, forgotten from her grip.
Slowly, giving her plenty of time to protest, I rolled us in the wet grass, taking the position on top.
My fingers grazed over her forehead and down her cheek as I pushed a wet lock of hair back from her face.
She looked up at me, her expression wide open, almost vulnerable. With the flat of my hand, I cupped her cheek, letting the moment stretch. I wanted to kiss her. To wipe away every doubt she’d ever had about where she belonged and who she belonged to, but I also didn’t want to rush her
“You gonna do it, Rhodes, or just make me wait all day?” she whispered in challenge.
I smirked down at her. “And here I was tryin’ to be a gentleman.”
“Overrated.”
“Noted.”
I couldn’t wait another goddamn second. Lowering my head, I closed the distance between us and captured her mouth.
Julia tasted like citrus, cherries, and sugar, better than any woman I’d ever kissed before.
She tasted like my future, like my last first kiss.
The cold air sharpened every sensation as I claimed her with my lips and tongue.
Her mouth was hot and hungry beneath mine, and she kissed me back hard enough to bruise, hand fisting in my shirt, pulling me down as if the only thing she needed was more.
Heat rushed through me, need rising so fast it shook me, but she met it, matched it, her tongue slick and bold against mine.
My hands found her waist, spanning it with ease, and I felt the tremble that ran through her as I pressed her down into the wet grass.
Her hips arched up, meeting me in the middle, and I finally let myself grind in enough to let her feel exactly how much I wanted her.
She gasped and bit my lower lip, hard, and I groaned into her mouth.
Her scent spiked between us, and every instinct I’d ever tried to keep on a leash snapped loose at once.
I may just be a Beta, but suddenly, I wanted to mark her, claim her, make her forget every man who’d ever made her feel second-best. I wanted to ruin her for anyone else except my pack and I, and from the way she clung to me, nails digging through my shirt, her body soft and pliant beneath mine, responding eagerly, I knew she wanted the same.
The world narrowed to the heat of her body, the way she writhed under me, her thighs spreading, her pulse hammering at the base of her throat.
Unable to help myself, I kissed her harder, bruising and desperate, like I could memorize the shape of her mouth if I kissed her long enough.
Her hands left my shirt, raking up into my hair, holding me there, not letting me up for air or mercy.
I made myself break the kiss before I lost control, pulling back just enough to see her face—the way her brown eyes had gone molten and her cheeks flamed with heat, even under the cold assault of the storm.
In fact, where I was chilled, she was nothing but heat, and it made me wonder if I’d accidentally triggered a pre-heat flare.
I filed the observation away for later. Pre-heat flares were normal when an Omega came off suppressants, but I needed to make sure the others were watching for the signs too.
It might not be something she could control, but it was something we could help her through.
I’d pull Stetson aside tonight, maybe Boone too, tell them to spread the word.
Make sure they understood what to look for, how to keep her comfortable, how to be what she needed when her body started demanding things she wasn’t used to asking for.
“You’re staring,” she said, her voice husky in a way that did dangerous things to my self-control.
“You’re worth staring at.”
She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed darker. “How many pickup lines do you have, Rhodes?”
“They’re not lines, Sweetheart. Not with you. Never with you.”
I leaned down and kissed her again, softer this time, slow and thorough, until she was breathless and clinging to me.
“See?” I murmured against her mouth, “Told ya I didn’t mind getting dirty. I knew you’d be worth the mud.”
She laughed, the sound bright and startled, and shoved at my chest. “Ass.”
“Your ass,” I corrected, and her breath caught, her eyes going wide enough that I realized what I’d said.
I should’ve walked it back. Should’ve made a joke, given her an out, played it off like I hadn’t just claimed her in such an outright way.
Instead, I simply pushed up off the wet grass and offered her my hand again.
This time, she took it without hesitation.
I grabbed the discarded umbrella, though it was useless now, and tucked her under my arm to guide her back through the trees toward the house, where I planned on running her a bath she could lounge in for the rest of the day.
She fit perfectly against my side, her head tipping against my shoulder as we walked.
But even through our soaked clothes, her skin burned against mine like she’d swallowed the sun.
I pressed my lips to the top of her wet hair, breathing her in. Her scent had sweetened, ripened, setting every Beta instinct I had on high alert.
She shivered against me, and I pulled her tighter, my jaw setting as the house came into view through the rain.
I definitely needed to talk to the guys sooner rather than later.