Chapter Six
Mark
She walks past me like she owns the place, even though she is in my apartment.
At almost midnight. When she shouldn’t even know where I live.
Clearly, she had to do some investigating to find out.
I should tell her to leave, but I find myself unable to.
I’m too damn curious how this is going to play out.
She’s coiled tightly, like a spring that is going to snap back at any moment.
As she moves, I catch the slightest hint of her scent.
I’ve never smelled it before. A light citrus scent of some kind.
Oranges, maybe? It’s so muted that it’s hard to tell, but it does something to my alpha.
I want to get a better read on it, which is something I’ve never felt before.
Normally, I find most people’s scents somewhat overbearing.
Unfortunately, when I feel uncomfortable, I tend to run my mouth. “So, are you here to critique my furniture, or does this little stalker visit have a purpose? I’d like to go to bed soon,” I say dryly.
Her head snaps towards me, eyes sparking. “You know damn good and well why I’m here. You crossed the fucking line today.”
“Come on, Ava. Like you’ve never gone for the jugular in front of the jury,” I say with a roll of my eyes. “I got my ass publicly chewed by the judge, and the media is having a field day. Why are you actually here?”
Her jaw works, as if she’s biting back words, and she doesn’t answer right away. Interesting. She tips her chin back. “I’m sick of your shit. That’s why I’m here. A chance for us to take the gloves off and just really get it all out in the open.”
I shake my head and push off the door, taking a few steps closer, slow and deliberate, and watch her take a step backwards before she realizes what she’s doing and forces herself to stop.
It triggers something in me, almost a predator instinct, and I prowl closer.
“No, I don’t think so. Doesn’t add up. You could have told me off at the courthouse.
Or used your investigative prowess to get my phone number and call.
Instead, you show up here to tell me in person. ”
She scoffs. “Awfully full of yourself, counselor. I came to tell you in person because I want to see your face. And I couldn’t risk causing a bigger scene than you already had at the courthouse.”
I agree with an exaggerated nod and purse of my lips. “Right. That must be it.”
“Oh, fuck you, Mark.”
I laugh. “You’re such a brat. No, you’re here because I landed a hit and you can’t let it go.”
“Bullshit. You’ve landed plenty of hits when we go toe to toe. This was personal. A dirty tactic that I’d expect from one of the bitchass alphas down at City Hall. I guess I thought you were better than that, though I don’t know why.”
That lands closer than I’d like. “Ava, not a damn person in that courtroom actually thought you were unprepared or emotional,” I growl. “If anything, it made me look like an asshole.”
“You are an asshole,” she hisses.
I grin, feeling more alive than I can remember in a very long time. I don’t know what it is about fighting with this woman, but it is addicting. “And yet, you’re here. In the middle of the night.”
She opens her mouth, then shuts it again, eyes narrowing like she’s trying to decide the best place to strike.
I tilt my head and lower my voice. “Did you come here to yell at me, Ava… or to prove to yourself you could?”
She rolls her eyes. “What the hell does that even mean? I think the fact that I’m here proves that I can. I told you, let’s take the gloves off. Say what you need to say to me so it’s out of your system and we can get some damn work done.”
I stalk forward another step. “And what do you think I’m holding back? That I think you’re an ice queen who lives to grind people to dust under her Louboutins? Because I do.” Even as I say the words, while they are true, I know it isn’t all I think about her.
Her lips twitch, just shy of a smile. “Finally, some honesty. Took you long enough to admit it.”
I laugh. “I never hid those opinions. Just couldn’t say it out loud so directly in the settings we typically find ourselves in. You aren’t special. Bit predictable, really.”
“Predictable? Please. As if you aren’t. Do you know you linger and follow me out of the courtroom every single day? You can’t stand not having the last word.”
I hate the truth in that. “Probably because you never shut up long enough to let anyone else have it.”
She lifts her chin, smug. “Maybe because you don’t say anything worth hearing.”
I’m right in front of her now, close enough I can see how deeply green her eyes are, and the tiny flecks of gold within them.
Like the woods back home at the height of summer, with sunlight dappling between their leaves. The thought catches me off guard with its poignancy.
My voice drops, rough. “Careful, Ava.”
Her eyes spark and narrow. “Or what? You’ll hit me with another second-rate insult?”
I feel the last thread of my restraint snap. With a growl, I grab her by the back of the neck and crush my mouth to hers.
She freezes for half a second, caught off-guard, then grabs the front of my t-shirt and pulls me to her.
The kiss is more like a collision than some passionate embrace.
There’s no romance, only heat. Her nails dig into my chest, and I shove my hand upwards to grip her hair and tilt her head back so I can get better access to her mouth.
I back us up so that she’s pressed to the wall, plunging my tongue past her full, plump lips. That muted scent of oranges strengthens slightly, until I swear I can taste it. So fucking sweet.
I want more. My alpha needs more.
I release her hair and reach down to cup her ass with both my hands, hauling her upward so that she’s forced to wrap those impossibly long legs around my hips as I hold her. The position forces her skirt upwards on her thighs, and I feel the heat of her pussy against the front of my pajama pants.
It makes me nearly feral. I’ve never really understood when they describe an alpha rut before, but I think I do a little more now. I want to tear the fabric between us away. How dare something separate me from what’s mine?
That thought sobers me some, the possessiveness in it confusing. I almost pull away, but she makes a needy whine in the back of her throat as her tongue slides along mine, her fingers twirling into my hair and tugging.
And I’m lost again.
I carry her to my bedroom, never breaking from the kiss. I toss her onto my bed, rougher than I usually would. “Take off your fucking clothes, Ava,” I demand.
I expect her to fight me. To tell me I’m insane.
Instead, she captures her bottom lip with her teeth, and a beautiful flush stains across her cheeks. Oh, she enjoys being bossed around, at least a little. Noted.
She quickly scrambles out of her jacket, tossing it off the side of the bed, and unbuttons her shirt as she pulls it up and out of her skirt. This reveals a pale, icy blue bra that looks like it’s made up of very expensive lace and the twinkle of a tiny diamond in her belly button.
It pulls another growl from my mouth. Ava has a penchant for pushing the boundaries of fashion, and I’ve actually seen a fair amount of her body in various gowns. But here in the seclusion of my bedroom, with only my eyes feasting on her, it feels different. Special. More intimate.
I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside before quickly pushing my pajamas off my hips so they pool on the floor. Her eyes widen as she looks over me, and it makes me smirk.
I work out as a stress reliever, and I enjoy playing sports. I know I have a good body, and I’ve been told by a decent amount of women that I have an impressive cock. Something about Ava responding to me, though, makes my alpha preen.
I press a knee to the mattress and grip her skirt with my hands, tugging it off. The thong matches the bra, because of course it does, and the straps look like they are made of a ribbon-like material.
I want to fucking wreck her.
I lift my eyes to hers, and I know they have to be completely dark with desire. “Yes or no, Ava? You don’t get to claim you didn’t want this.”
Her eyes flash at the challenge, her chest rising rapidly as she breathes. For a second she doesn’t answer, and I think she’s changing her mind. Then, she hooks her thumbs into the waistband of that delicate thong and drags it slowly down her thighs, never breaking eye contact.
“Yes,” she says at last. It doesn’t sound as needy as I’d like. Almost a challenge. It rolls through me like gasoline on a fire. My jaw clenches. She’s giving me permission, but still fighting me in a way.
I crawl over her, bracing my hands on either side of her head. Her eyes flick briefly to the flex of my arms before her lids flutter shut, and her scent sharpens just a fraction.
“Say it again,” I growl, testing her.
Her nails rake down my chest, sharp enough to sting. “You heard me,” she breathes. “I won’t repeat myself. Either fuck me or get off.”
I slam my mouth back to hers, kissing her like I want to devour her—because I do. She bites my lower lip, hard enough to draw a grunt from me, and I shove my hips forward, my cock nudging against the slick heat waiting for me.
It’s still a fight, even now. And I’m losing.
I don’t break the kiss as I fumble blindly for the nightstand drawer, fingers closing around a condom at last. My alpha snarls at the thought of anything between us, but I ignore it.
I may have snapped, but I’m not a monster.
Bareback requires a conversation neither of us will ever have. Hell, this can’t even happen again.
I roll the condom on quickly, then drag my fingers down to her slick folds. She’s so hot and wet. A needy groan slips from my throat, betraying me. I don’t want her to know how much power she has over me.
She’s wet enough to take me, soaked honestly, but I want her undone first. Because once I’m inside her, I doubt I’ll last long. I slide down her body, hook one of her legs over my shoulder, and drag my tongue along her slit.
She moans hotly, arching her hips so her pussy grinds against my mouth, forcing me deeper. Suddenly her taste, her scent, the very essence of her fills me.
Fuck. This was a mistake. Because now I don’t want to stop. I think I could spend the rest of my life right here, my mouth between her thighs. I’ve never really done drugs, but this? This could easily be my first addiction.
What started as a way to make sure she got off before me turns into something else entirely.
I wrench three orgasms from her, and something happens to her scent that I can’t fully explain.
It intensifies to where I’d describe it as an orange dreamsicle.
Like I’d expect from an omega. Which I know she isn’t, but it’s the closest thing I can compare it to.
My alpha loses his mind, and what’s left of my frayed control snaps. I don’t give her a chance to come down. She’s practically crawling her way up the headboard, making the neediest sounds I’ve ever heard, when I seize her hips and drag her down the mattress.
One hard thrust buries me inside her.
We both moan loudly.
She’s so tight. So perfect.
Rut. Knot. Bite. My alpha roars in my skull, and my teeth ache with the strain of holding him back.
I drive into her, not with frantic, sloppy thrusts, but hard, measured strokes that bottom out, pressing my knot against her entrance with every snap of my hips.
God, I wish I could knot her. I’ve never truly wanted to do it since a disastrous experiment in college, but I do now.
I want to tie her to my body and force her to hold me.
I fist her hair and drag her mouth back to mine, not caring that my face is soaked with her juices. I kiss her hard, deep, never breaking rhythm, never letting up.
Ava comes for me again, her nails raking down my back hard enough to break skin. I hiss, feeling the sting and the wet warmth of blood, then suck in a breath of the intoxicating scent I still can’t decipher.
I’m so caught up in it, I don’t react fast enough when she shoves at my shoulder. For a split second, I panic. If she’s changed her mind, I’ll stop, no question. But the thought of being left this close to the edge almost kills me.
Instead, she uses the momentum to roll me onto my back and straddle me. Relief crashes into desire, my chest heaving as she plants her feet on the mattress and sinks down on me.
I tug down her bra, desperate for the view of her breasts bouncing as she rides me. She gives me an indulgent, wicked smile and reaches behind her to unhook it, letting it fall away.
Her breasts are full for her slender frame, freckles lightly scattered across their tops and petal-pink nipples that are begging for my teeth and tongue.
She tips her chin upward, her fiery red hair cascading down her back as she moves.
Maybe I died earlier tonight, and I’m in heaven. Because this has to be the most beautiful goddamn sight I’ve ever seen.
She rides me like she’s determined to break me, her nails gripping my chest, leaving little half-moons in their wake. Every thrust drives me deeper inside her, and I groan.
“Fuck,” I grit out, grabbing her hips, trying to guide her pace, but she swats my hands away.
“Don’t,” she pants, strands of sweat-dampened hair clinging to her cheeks. “I’m not done with you yet.”
If I didn’t die earlier, she might kill me now. She grinds down, rolling her hips until my vision whites out. My alpha howls inside me, demanding I flip her, pin her, claim her. But the vision of her on top, using me like this, has me wound so tight I can barely breathe.
She leans forward suddenly, bracing her hands on either side of my head in a mirror of how I did her earlier. Her breasts brush against my chest as she slams herself down on me again and again. Her scent thickens, coating the back of my throat, and it’s all I can do not to bite her.
“Ava—” I choke out, warning, plea, threat. I don’t even know.
“Shut up,” she snaps, but her voice breaks on a moan as she clenches around me.
That’s it. My hands clamp down on her ass, dragging her harder against me as I thrust up to meet her, each stroke deeper, rougher, my knot swelling and pressing hard at her entrance.
She cries out, back arching, and then she’s coming apart above me, spasming so tight around my cock I lose it completely.
I roar her name, bucking hard and spilling into the condom as my vision goes black. The world narrows to the sounds of her cries, the feel of her body writhing on me, and the scorching heat of my release.
We collapse together, her chest heaving against mine, sweat slick between us. My alpha is still snarling for more, for the knot, for the bite, but I force him down.
For now, this is enough. It has to be enough.