Chapter 12
Gia
Wreck’s mouth felt so good working against mine.
Hot.
Demanding.
Hungry in a way that made every nerve ending in my body light up all at once.
Heat pooled low in my belly instantly, spreading through me so fast my knees nearly gave out.
I’d been feeling hurt not two minutes ago.
Embarrassed.
Insecure.
Slightly jealous, too.
But standing there wrapped in this massive male’s arms while he kissed me like he physically couldn’t help himself?
I didn’t want to think about any of that right now.
All I wanted was him.
The big, grumpy Bear who looked at me like I was something special.
Like I was something precious instead of something he settled for.
Something his.
A soft sound escaped me when his hands slid down my back.
Wreck growled low against my mouth immediately, the sound vibrating through his chest and straight into me.
Mine.
The word wasn’t spoken.
I felt it.
In the way he touched me.
The way his huge body crowded mine against the cabin door.
The way he kissed me harder every time I made a sound.
Somehow I got the door unlocked.
Honestly, I had no idea how, because the second it swung open, Wreck backed me inside without breaking the kiss once.
We stumbled together through the dark cabin in a tangle of hands and mouths and heated breaths.
Thank Goddess for Shifter night vision because otherwise I absolutely would have killed myself tripping over furniture.
Wreck guided me backward effortlessly.
One large hand braced at the small of my back while the other slid lower.
Over my hips.
My ass.
Every touch was possessive enough to make my pulse race harder.
The cabin door slammed shut behind us.
The sound echoed through the darkness.
Wreck’s mouth dragged from mine to my jaw.
Then lower.
My throat.
I gasped softly when his teeth scraped my skin.
The reaction from him was immediate.
His entire body tensed, and I felt that part of him, hard and heavy and throbbing against my belly.
A rough sound tore from his chest like he was losing some internal battle by the second.
“Gia,” he rasped against my neck.
The way he said my name nearly melted me.
I curled my fingers into his shirt helplessly.
His scent surrounded me completely now.
Smoke.
Pine.
Male heat.
Something wild beneath it all that made my magic stretch toward him instinctively.
Wreck’s hands tightened on my hips suddenly.
Then one slid between us.
Between my thighs.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Mine,” he growled, flexing his fingers on my panty-clad pussy like he owned it—like he owned me.
The word rolled out of him rough and primal.
Moisture pooled between my legs, and I ached for him.
Everything inside me told me this was right. This was good.
I was so empty, so damn hollow without him. I knew only one thing could stop this burning, aching, yearning I felt.
I needed to be filled by him.
Needed that massive cock I felt pulsing beneath his jeans inside of me.
Now, I needed it now.
Before I could process any of this, Wreck was already moving.
He lifted me effortlessly with one arm.
I wrapped my legs around his waist automatically, heart pounding wildly while his forehead pressed briefly against mine, like he was trying to hold on to the last thread of control he had left.
His breathing sounded uneven now.
Dangerously rough.
Like every instinct inside him was awake and clawing to get closer to me.
I touched his face gently.
“Wreck,” I moaned.
His eyes flashed in the darkness.
One brown.
One glowing green.
And so beautiful, he stole my breath.
This wasn’t normal.
It wasn’t just sex.
This felt big.
Terrifying.
Wreck was completely focused on me with that wild, intense gaze locked onto mine.
“You should tell me to stop,” he growled hoarsely.
I blinked.
“What?”
His jaw clenched violently.
“Because if I keep touching you, Honey, I’m gonna have you. I don’t know how much control I’ve got left.”
Heat curled lower in my belly at the confession.
Not because it scared me.
Because it didn’t.
Which maybe should have concerned me more.
Instead, I brushed my fingers through the dark hair at the nape of his neck and whispered, “I don’t want you to stop. I need you, Wreck. Please.”
Wreck made a sound like that answer physically hurt him.
Then he kissed me again.
Harder this time.
Like he was starving or desperate, or both.
Like something inside him had finally snapped.
His hands roamed my body reverently and possessively all at once, gripping my thighs tighter while he carried me deeper into the cabin toward the bedroom, tearing off clothes as he went.
The bond between us pulsed hotter with every touch.
Every breath.
Every kiss.
And somewhere beneath the heat and desire and growing need, I felt it clearly for the first time.
This wasn’t casual for either of us.
This was something bigger.
Older.
Dangerously inevitable.
Wreck laid me gently against the mattress like he was terrified of breaking me despite the way his huge body practically shook with restraint.
He stared down at me, breathing hard.
Then slowly reached up and brushed his knuckles against my cheek.
“So beautiful,” he murmured roughly.
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
No one had ever looked at me like this.
Like I was the answer to something.
Like he couldn’t quite believe I was real.
His gaze dropped lower.
Following the dip of my bra down to the top of my utterly ruined panties.
His gaze lingered there.
Heavy.
Hot.
Like he physically couldn’t look away.
Wreck traced every curve of my body with that stare alone, and somehow it felt more intimate than being touched.
His mismatched eyes moved slowly over me stretched across the bed beneath him.
Over my breasts rising too fast with every breath.
Over the softness of my stomach.
Over my hips and thick thighs spread instinctively for him without me even realizing it.
The growl that left him this time sounded almost painful.
Like restraint physically hurt him.
And when he finally looked back at me again?
There was absolutely no mistaking the hunger in his eyes.
Not just lust.
Need.
Raw and consuming and terrifying in its intensity.
“Last chance,” he said roughly. “If I start this, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop.”
Heat curled low in my belly again despite the seriousness in his voice.
“Why?”
Wreck closed his eyes briefly like the question itself hurt him.
“Because I want you too much, Honey.” His voice dropped lower, rougher. “My Bear wants you.”
The way he said it sent a shiver through me.
Not fear.
Awareness.
Like something ancient paced just beneath his skin, watching me with possessive, glowing eyes.
“No,” I whispered softly. “I mean… why would I want you to stop?”
His entire body went still.
The silence stretched between us heavy and charged.
Because suddenly this wasn’t just attraction anymore.
This was something bigger.
Wreck swallowed hard, muscles flexing in his throat.
“Because I’m not just a Shifter,” he said carefully. “I’m a… True Alpha.”
I frowned slightly.
The term clearly meant something important, even if I didn’t fully understand it yet.
I could hear it in the tension roughening his voice.
See it in the way his massive body stayed coiled tight above me like he was bracing for my reaction.
“And you call to me, little Omega.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
His hand slid slowly along my thigh, possessive and almost reverent all at once.
“Your magic,” he murmured. “Your soul. I can feel it every time you look at me. The way your scent wraps around mine. The way my Bear reacts to you.”
His mismatched eyes locked onto mine intensely.
“You carry the Omega trait, Honey.”
The words sent a strange shiver through me.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Like some hidden part of me already knew.
“And if I take you,” he continued roughly, “if you choose me… that means something.”
My pulse skipped.
“What?” I asked quietly. “What does it mean?”
For the first time since I met him, Wreck looked uncertain.
Not weak.
Never that.
But vulnerable in a way that felt enormous coming from a male like him.
“It means claiming,” he admitted finally.
The word wrapped around me warm and dangerous.
His nostrils flared slightly at my reaction.
“It means taking my knot,” he continued hoarsely. “And I… I don’t know if that would hurt you.”
My breath caught.
I didn’t fully understand what he meant, not really, but the seriousness in his expression made my stomach tighten.
Fear and desire warred inside me instantly.
Because yes.
Part of me was scared.
Not of him.
Never him.
But of how intense this already felt.
How quickly he’d rooted himself somewhere deep inside me.
How my magic kept reaching for him like it recognized something my brain still couldn’t fully understand.
And yet—I wanted him so badly it burned.
I craved his touch.
His mouth.
The rough possessiveness in his voice when he called me Honey.
I wanted the massive, terrifying male above me who looked at me like I was the only thing in the world keeping him tethered together.
“I don’t believe you’d ever hurt me, Wreck,” I whispered honestly.
Wreck made a rough sound low in his chest.
“You should.”
“No.”
“You don’t know what I am. What this would mean,” he said, voice rough with tension.
His eyes flashed strangely then.
The green one glowing brighter in the darkened room.
Predatory.
Beautiful.
“Then tell me,” I challenged softly.
That seemed to hit him somewhere deep.
His jaw flexed hard.
The huge male leaned down slowly until his forehead rested against mine.
“You keep looking at me like I’m safe,” he murmured.
“Aren’t you? Aren’t I safe with you?”
The question seemed to wreck him a little.
Because beneath all the dominance and growling intensity and barely controlled power…
I realized something then.
Wreck was terrified.
Not of me.
For me.
His hand slid slowly up my thigh, rough palm spreading heat everywhere it touched.
The movement was deliberate.
Controlled.