Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Emily
The thermos burns hot within my palm as I raise my other hand to knock on Leif’s hotel room door, but my knuckles hover inches from the wood, frozen in midair as doubt creeps in.
Last night, I put a stop to his kiss because he was intoxicated, even though my body had screamed at me to seize the moment. It was the right thing to do, which Jared reconfirmed when I told him about it later in our bed.
But what if Leif hates himself this morning and hates me for not going with the flow after he initiated?
I shift my weight, the insulated bag I carry swinging. The hallway carpet muffles my nervous shuffling.
What if he’s still asleep? What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if stopping last night was the right decision, but coming here this morning is the wrong one?
Before I can talk myself out of it, I knock, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.
A thump sounds from inside the room, followed by soft footsteps, the chain sliding, and the lock disengaging.
The door swings open, and my prepared greeting dissolves on my tongue.
Leif stands before me, hair mussed from sleep, bare-chested with only a pair of gray lounge pants hanging off his hip bones.
The smooth planes of his torso catch the light from the hallway, highlighting the subtle definition of muscle underneath pale skin.
A thin trail of mauve hair disappears beneath his waistband, drawing my eye downward before I catch myself.
“Emily,” he says in surprise.
“I brought breakfast,” I blurt, lifting the bag and thermos like offerings. “Biscuits and gravy. And coffee. I should have called first, but I wanted to talk about last—”
His hand shoots out, fingers curling around the nape of my neck with unexpected strength. His palm cups my skull, warm and certain as he pulls me toward him.
His mouth covers mine with none of the hesitation or gentleness I would have expected. Instead, his hungry lips part mine, demanding a response I’m only too eager to give.
The bag slips from my fingers. The thermos hits the carpet with a muted thud. My hands find his waist, skin hot beneath my palms as I step into the circle of his arms. The scent of sleep-warm skin and sun-warmed cedar floods my senses, drawing me in further.
His tongue traces the seam of my lips, and I open to him with a soft sound caught between a sigh and a moan. One of his hands slides down my back to pull me closer, our bodies flush from chest to thigh.
As suddenly as it began, Leif breaks the kiss, pulling back far enough to meet my gaze. His breath comes quick and shallow, matching my own.
“I’m sober,” he says, rough with desire. “And I still want you.”
Heat blooms beneath my skin. “I still want you, too.”
His thumb traces my lower lip. “We need to talk about this. About what it means. But first—” He pauses and swallows. “Jared. Is he—”
“He knows I’m here,” I say. “We’ve talked about this.”
“And he’s okay with it? With us?”
I nod, my heart racing at what we’re about to do. “More than okay. He’s been encouraging me to be more open with my desires.”
Leif studies me, searching for any sign of doubt. Finding none, he bends to retrieve the fallen food, setting it on the desk beside the door. His movements are controlled, but the rapid rise and fall of his chest betrays his excitement.
Then he turns to hang the do-not-disturb sign on the knob, the motion stretching the muscles of his back, and my fingers itch to trace each ridge and valley. The click of the lock slides through me like an electric current.
When he faces me again, the hunger in his eyes steals my breath. Here in the privacy of his room, with the morning light filtering through the blackout curtains, his beauty strikes me anew. The soft mauve of his hair falls across his forehead, catching on his lashes.
“I’ve thought about this,” he confesses, stepping closer. “About you. For months now.”
His fingers brush my cheek, trail down to my neck, and pause to rest over my pulse point. “But I was…cautious.”
“And now?”
“Now,” he says, sliding his hand to cup the back of my neck once more, “I’m done being cautious.”
His mouth finds mine again, and this time there’s no mistaking his intent. This kiss is deeper, hungrier, edged with a need to match my own. His hands explore with increasing boldness, slipping under my jacket and pushing it from my shoulders.
I respond in kind, my palms mapping the contours of his pecs, his shoulders, his back. His skin burns beneath my touch, and a needy whine comes from his throat that has my thighs clenching with desire.
The cedar of his pheromones intensifies, calling to mine, drawing out my own crushed clover and warm flannel to twine with his. And for once, I don’t fight it. I surrender to the pull between us, letting myself fall into the gravity of what we’ve both been circling for months.
We stumble toward his rumpled bed, lips never parting for more than a breath.
Leif’s hands tug at my clothes with an urgency that surprises me, his fingers working buttons and zippers with unexpected aggression.
This isn’t the cautious, controlled Omega I’ve come to know.
This is someone wilder, needier, as he reveals a side of himself never glimpsed before, but one I crave to see more of.
My shirt hits the floor, followed by my bra. Leif pulls back to look at me, his periwinkle eyes darkening to midnight as they travel over my bare skin. His pheromones flood the room, so strong they make me dizzy with want.
“You’re beautiful.” His palms slide up my ribs to cup my breasts, thumbs circling my nipples until they tighten into hard peaks.
I reach for him, but he catches my wrists as he guides me backward onto the bed. My jeans come off in one fluid motion, his hands sure as he strips me bare. The contrast of cool sheets on my heated skin pulls a gasp from my lips.
Leif kneels between my thighs, still in his lounge pants, the outline of his arousal visible through the thin fabric.
A flush spreads across his chest and up his neck, staining his cheeks with color.
His hair falls forward as he bends to take one nipple into his mouth, the wet heat of his tongue sending sparks of pleasure down my spine.
I arch into the contact, my fingers threading through his hair, holding him close as he sucks and licks.
His teeth graze sensitive flesh, the slight edge of pain heightening the pleasure.
One hand slides down my stomach, pausing at the juncture of my thighs before dipping lower to explore my slick heat.
“So wet already,” he breathes against my breast. His fingers trace my folds, teasing without entering until my hips rise of their own accord, seeking more.
When he finally slides one finger inside, my body clenches around him, hungry for the intrusion.
He adds another, stretching me slowly, his thumb finding the bundle of nerves at the height of my sex.
My breath comes in sharp pants as he works me, his mouth never leaving my breasts as he switches from one to the other.
As he touches me, his brow furrows with concentration, a flush rising to his cheeks, and his lips part on each exhale.
His pupils dilate further with each gasp from me, his own breathing growing ragged as my pleasure builds.
The intimacy of his gaze locked on mine while his fingers move inside me is almost too much to bear.
“Leif,” I groan, my hips rocking into his hand. “I need you. Now.”
A smile curls his lips, confident and a little wicked. “Not yet.”
His fingers curl inside me, and stars burst behind my eyelids when he finds my sensitive spot. My back bows off the bed, a cry tearing from my throat as pleasure crashes through me in waves.
Before I can regroup, I push him back and roll us, claiming the position above him. Surprise yields to hunger as I straddle his thighs. I pull his pants down, quick and impatient, and he lifts his hips to help.
His cock springs free, thick and flushed with need. I wrap my hand around him, feeling him pulse in my grip, watching his head fall back on a groan that vibrates through us both.
My thumb traces along the underside, toying with the subtle ridges of his reproductive slits, still closed but darkening on his skin. I circle one with a gentle touch, then add more intent, watching his stomach muscles clench as the sensitive tissue begins to swell beneath my fingers.
The first slit opens like a flower, slick and shining, and a light brush of my fingertip sends Leif’s whole body jolting. I move along the line, encouraging each one to unfurl, captivated by the way his body answers my Alpha pheromones, readying itself for me.
The sight of this powerful Omega laid bare beneath me, his most vulnerable anatomy surrendering to my touch, sends a fresh surge of wetness between my thighs.
“Emily,” he pants, hands finding my hips. “Please.”
His plea unravels the last of my control. I position myself over him, the blunt head of his cock notching at my entrance. Our eyes lock as I sink down his length, the stretch and fullness drawing moans from us both.
When he’s seated inside me, we pause, adjusting to the sensation of being joined. His hands grip my hips tight enough to bruise, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. The connection crackles between us, primal, more intense than I expected.
I begin to move, lifting before sliding back down, establishing a rhythm that has him bucking up to meet each downward stroke.
The sound of skin against skin fills the room, punctuated by our gasps and groans.
His hands move to my breasts, squeezing and caressing as I ride him with increasing urgency.