13. Lily
Lily
We barely make it through the door of Alaric’s apartment before he has me pressed up against the wall, his mouth hot and insistent on mine. I cling to his shoulders, dizzy with want, as his hands roam greedily over my curves.
“Bed,” I manage to gasp between scorching kisses on my throat. “Now.”
He lifts me effortlessly, carrying me to his room and laying me across his cool sheets. When he covers me with his weight, I wrap my legs around him, shameless in my need.
“Lily,” he says roughly, hands steadying my hips. “If you want to slow down…”
“Don’t you dare.” I pull him closer by his hair.
I breathe, fingers scrabbling at the buttons of his shirt. “I need to feel you, Alaric. All of you.”
Clothes are shed in a flurry of desperate hands. His mouth trails fire down my body, lingering over my breasts. My back arches off the bed when he takes a nipple in his mouth, and I thread my fingers through his hair, holding him to me.
He maps my skin with lips and tongue and just a hint of teeth, igniting me inch by torturous inch, until I’m writhing beneath him.
When he finally slides between my thighs, I’m embarrassingly wet.
The first, slow touch of his tongue makes my body jerk under his firm hold.
“Fuck, you taste amazing,” he growls, before sealing his lips around my clit and sucking hard. “Could do this for hours.” he says, taking a short breath.
His large hand rests on my lower belly, while the other anchors my hips. He leans forward, nuzzling his face into my lips as he dives back into his task with renewed vigor.
My breaths quicken and become ragged, my moans growing louder in tandem. Each flick of his tongue feels like a thousand tiny electrical charges coursing through my body.
Then, he stretches me open with a finger, until I’m trembling, incoherent with need.
Our combined scents turn the air thick and heady.
He adds another finger, curling them both to explore every corner of my vagina.
My hips buck against his hold, but he controls the pace, driving me higher with each curl of his fingers.
The tip of his thumb dances over my clit in a frenzied pace, sparking fireworks with each brush. It’s too much. Every nerve ending screams for release I’m right on the edge, unable to hold back any longer.
“I need you inside me. Now,” I gasp, shaking with pleasure.
Something fierce and untamed flashes across his face before he notches himself against me, the thick head of his cock pressing insistently at my entrance. A sharp gasp escapes me as he pushes in, inch by inch, stretching me open. The drawn-out slide has my head falling back with a broken moan.
He buries himself fully, filling me completely, and for a moment, we just breathe. Our bodies are pressed close, our hearts hammering in sync.
Then, he moves.
Deep. Slow. Devastating.
Each thrust sends heat licking up my spine, sparks of pleasure lighting up my nerves. We fall into rhythm, our bodies finding perfect synchronicity.
Sweat slicks our skin as each thrust drives us closer to the edge.
He growls my name, his hands gripping my hips to pull me tighter against him. Sweat slicks our skin as each deliberate, possessive stroke drives us closer to the edge.
“Fuck,” I whimper as I’m about to come. Every nerve in me hums, straining for release.
Alaric leans down, trailing biting kisses along my jaw and throat, branding me with every touch. His pace intensifies. His knot starts swelling, catching at my entrance with each thrust, stretching me wider.
“Come for me, Lily,” he rasps, voice rough with need. “I want to feel you come apart around my knot.”
The command unravels me.
I shatter with a cry, pleasure crashing over me in wild, endless waves. My body clenches tight, pulling him deeper, feeling each throb of his cock. Alaric groans against my skin, his face buried in my neck as he locks inside me, filling me completely.
For a long moment, we just breathe, tangled together as his knot keeps us joined. Time stops and all I am is sensation, blissful and raw.
Alaric rolls us carefully to our sides, gathering me close. I tuck my head under his chin, listening to his heartbeat steady, marveling at how perfectly we fit.
“That was…” He clears his throat, and I glance up to find him looking at me with soft wonder. “Incredible. You’re incredible.”
I press a smile against his chest. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He chuckles, his arms tightening as if he never wants to let go. “Stay the night? I don’t want to let you go just yet.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I murmur, already drifting toward blissful sleep, tucked into his warmth. “Promise.”
***
CRASH!
I jolt awake, heart hammering. Beside me, Alaric is already leaping out of bed.
“What was that?” I whisper, fear lacing my voice.
“I’m going to find out.” He tugs on a pair of sweatpants and moves swiftly to the bedroom door. “Stay here.”
“Be careful,” I plead, clutching the sheet to my chest.
He gives me a grim nod as he pulls the door closed behind him, slipping into the dark hall.
My ears strain for any sound, but for a moment, I only hear the thunderous pounding of my heart.
The apartment is terrifyingly silent.
A sudden crash of splintering wood startles me.
Angry shouts, the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. Each impact makes me flinch, imagining Alaric hurt, bleeding.
Oh god, what’s happening out there?
Something shatters, followed by a thud that rattles the bedroom door.
They’re almost to the bedroom.
Panic claws up my throat, my instincts screaming at me to run to my Alpha as I struggle to shove them down.
But an eerie silence suddenly falls.
I’m about to look for something heavy and charge out when low voices rumble through the walls. One is menacing, the other defiant. For a few minutes, there’s a series of thuds, hisses of pain.
Then, heavy footsteps approach.
I scramble back, searching frantically for a weapon.
The door swings open, and I nearly collapse with relief when Alaric appears in the doorway. He’s rumpled and winded, but mercifully unharmed.
I throw myself into his arms, nosing his throat to breathe in his protective scent. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” he soothes, dropping a kiss to my hair. “The police are coming. I subdued him. You should probably see for yourself.”
He leads me to the devastated living room, his aura heavy with protective rage.
It looks like a warzone: most furniture are smashed, the bookshelf is splintered, and books are scattered like confetti.
In the center, an Alpha lies face-down, hands duct-taped behind his back. His scent is sharp with aggression.
“Who is he?” I whisper, pressing closer to Alaric’s warmth. “What does he want?”
Alaric’s jaw tightens. “That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.” He crouches beside the intruder, yanking his head up by the hair. Blood trickles from a cut on the man’s cheek.
“Talk,” Alaric orders, his voice deadly calm. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
The man spits blood onto the floor. “Fuck you.”
Alaric’s scent darkens dangerously, making me whimper. “You broke into my home. Threatened her safety.” His voice drops to a growl that sends shivers down my spine. “Keep testing me, and I’ll break each of your fingers. One by one.”
Fear overwhelms into the intruder’s scent. His eyes dart to me with revulsion. “I was hired,” he mutters.
My stomach drops. This can’t be happening.
“By who?” Alaric demands.
“Don’t know. Anonymous job.”
“What were your orders?” Alaric’s control splinters. “What exactly were you hired to do?”
The intruder pauses, conflict flickering in his eyes. Alaric leans in, his face now mere inches away, his presence coiling with menace. His voice drops to a deadly calm. “Choose your next words very carefully.”
The intruder closes his eyes, words coming out like they pain him. “I was supposed to take the girl. Subdue and extract her. Deliver her to a secondary location for pick-up.”
Horror turns my blood to ice. Alaric lets out a roar of fury and slams his fist inches from the man’s head, making him yelp. He looks ready to tear the man’s throat out.
“Deliver her where?” he snarls. “Who hired you?”
The man’s scent spikes with terror. “I swear, I don’t know! Just an address for handoff—some warehouse in the industrial district. 1329 Eastwick, by the docks. That’s it! That’s all I know!”
“If I find out you’re lying to me,” Alaric seethes, “that you know anything more… I will hunt you down and make you regret the day you were born.”
Police sirens finally wail closer, but I barely hear them through the roaring in my ears.
***
Only when the police lead the intruder away does the adrenaline desert me. My knees buckle, and Alaric catches me with his strong arms and puts me against his chest.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs into my hair. “You’re safe, Lily. I’ve got you.”
But I’m crying too hard to respond, great heaving sobs torn from somewhere deep and primal.
This has to be Damian. He found me. He’s coming for me.