Chapter 29 #3
Before she fully makes it out, her phone starts ringing with the horror movie track, and she pulls it out with a frustrated grunt. A string of curses and mumbles follow her out of house.
Alex Harwood is definitely not someone I ever want to mess with. Or want in my pack.
By the end of the meeting, the details are sorted out, moving a lot smoother without Alex’s caustic input.
Dahlia and Tristen will be mated as soon as possible in a small, intimate ceremony.
Dahlia doesn’t argue with any of the plans.
She sits there, holding onto Tristen’s hand like it’s a life line.
Her match. Her mate.
I’ve learned a lot about the Alpha in the short time he’s been here. He’s also a musical prodigy, specializing in piano, violin, cello, and French horn. And he was born with a heart defect, which I suspect is the reason Alex had mentioned him being sheltered.
But despite the challenges he’s faced, he seems to be a kind-hearted, passionate type of guy.
I don’t want children. I’m not sure I ever have, but if I was in Dahlia’s shoes… Then what?
It doesn’t matter, because I can’t have babies with Reece.
But for the first time in my life, I’m jealous of one my siblings.
Not that she found someone she loves—I have Reece—but because she’s getting exactly what she wants.
Things are moving as smooth as they are fast for them. Everything clicked into place.
Being with Reece publicly has more challenges. Telling everyone we are madly in love won’t be enough to erase the fact that he’s a Delta.
When the Harwoods leave, I wander around the house to find the Delta in question. He isn’t in either of his usual spots, outside or in the kitchen. He’s in the library, sitting on the floor, with open books surrounding him and one he’s flipping through on his lap.
The moment I step into the cool darkness, letting the door swing shut behind me, he jumps to his feet. “Sorry, I was…” He glances down at the books.
“You don’t need to apologize.” When I creep closer, I realize the books he’s been reading are all about all biology or mechanical engineering. “Double checking everything, just in case?”
“More like quadruple checking.” He smiles sheepishly. “And hiding from Derrick.”
I laugh. His brother can be overbearing at the best of times. Not someone we need to deal with now.
“Have things calmed down? With your sister and the Harwoods?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah. I thought Heath was going to rip the sister’s head off at one point, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said she wouldn’t have deserved it. She was a bitch.”
Reece snorts a laugh at my curse. “The entire situation is a bit unbelievable. Isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I never thought Dahlia would break bad, of all people. Iris, sure. Rue, okay. But Dahlia?”
“It just shows you. The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“We know that better than anyone,” I say, stepping over the books to close the space between us.
Even with blocker on us, our scents explode as in the air around us, and to me, that means something. I shouldn’t be able to smell him, but it’s like he’s branded inside my nostrils. I can’t escape his graphite and fresh paper scent.
“But we’re not them,” Reece says, pushing the words through stiff lips. “I’m been thinking a lot about it and what this can mean for us.”
I don’t like how he’s talking. I don’t like the way he won’t meet my eyes, his gaze darting down to his feet.
“And what is that?”
Then he kisses me. It’s hot and fierce and full of wild emotions that feed the flames inside me. He breaks off to whisper against my lips, “I don’t want to cause your family more pain. They’re going through so much right now and—”
“We could run away.”
He sighs softly and kisses my forehead. “That would be worse. You know it.”
He’s right and I hate it.
“So what? You’re going to give up on us?” Panic squeezes my lungs, making my next breath in more difficult to grab.
“Of course not, sweet Mari. I’ll never give up on us. I just think we may need to give it some time before we tell everyone about us.”
So, pretend like we aren’t in love. Pretend like things are like they used to be. Pretend Reece isn’t the one helping me through this heat.
I don’t know if I can do that.
“Mari…” He pulls me closer to him, and I breathe him in. My heartbeat is racing behind my ribs, my body reacting to his nearness, his touch. “I wish I was what you need.”
“You are.”
“I love you,” he says. “But…we can’t, not right now. Not after…not after tonight.”
“Then when?”
“Let me have my meeting with Mr. Stockton. Now that I’m sure the device works, I know he’ll be interested in it. If I can get some money for the idea, then…” Reece trails off.
I press a hand to his cheek, and there it is—a zap of desire that makes my pussy throb and slick dampen my panties. So much has been going on with Dahlia, I’ve been too distracted to pick up on the heat cues, but now that we’re alone, together, my body is being ramped into overdrive again.
Reece must sense it too because I can feel his dick stiffening against my stomach. Every one of my senses is suddenly awake and ready to fuck him again.
Temptation itself is in front of me, making me an offer I can’t refuse.
I should. We are in the house’s library, with no closed doors, and open for anyone to walk in and see us at any moment… And Reece had just said we need to keep our relationship secret, at least for a little while longer, but how can I when he’s the reason my heart beats?
“Mari…”
“Should I go?” I whisper.
He closes my eyes a moment. “Yes. But I don’t want you to.”
“You just said we—”
“I know what I said, but kiss me.”
I do. It’s bitter, sweet, and it shatters my heart.
I don’t care what he says. I’m not letting this go.
He loves me and I love him.
The kiss grows to something primal. I open my mouth, and he groans low, our tongues tangling.
When he pulls back, it’s only for a second to say, “I want…” He sucks in a breath, pulling my hands behind me and spinning me so my ass is pressed hard against his erection.
I gasp as everything in me lights up with a million tiny suns.
He guides me to the closest bookshelf and presses me again the leather spines.
“I want to strip you down, tie you up. I want to worship at your feet, and I want, more than anything, to make you come like an Alpha can.”
“But I don’t need that.”
“Maybe you’re right,” he murmurs as he kisses my throat, trailing soft kisses along the delicate column. “I’ll make you come like only a Delta can instead.”
His words light a spark. “That’s better.”
I try twisting and tugging at my hands to gain some freedom, but he squeezes, just a little. This kind of restraint is different than being tied with ropes, but it pushes the same thrill through me. I shudder and press my throat hard against his mouth as I push against his cock.