Chapter 3 #2
"I'm not pretending anything." Her voice came out breathy, contradicting her words. Her hips rolled against my hand despite herself.
"No?" I withdrew my fingers, ignoring her small sound of protest. Grabbed her thighs and yanked her to the edge of the bed. "Then look at me while I fuck you. If you're so indifferent, it should be easy."
I freed myself from my pants and positioned myself at her entrance. Her eyes widened slightly—the first real crack in that composure. I could smell her arousal, thick and sweet, mixing with roses. My wolf snarled in satisfaction.
Mine. Ours. Claim her.
I pushed in slowly, watching her face. She bit her lip, trying to stay quiet, but a whimper escaped anyway. She was tight—so damn tight it took everything in me not to just slam home.
"Breathe," I said, surprising myself with the gentleness. My hand found hers, squeezed. "Relax."
She did, gradually, and I sank deeper. The feeling of her wrapped around me was almost too much. The mate bond sang between us, every nerve ending on fire. I could feel what she felt—the stretch, the fullness, the edge of pain giving way to something else entirely.
When I was fully seated inside her, I stopped. Gave her a moment. Her chest heaved, breasts rising and falling rapidly. That damn birthmark seemed to glow in the moonlight.
"Cedric." My name on her lips sounded different. Desperate.
"What?" I pulled out almost completely, then thrust back in. Hard. She cried out, hands flying to my arms. "What do you want, Alice?"
"I... Nothing." She was still trying to maintain that distance, even now. Even with me buried inside her.
Fuck that.
I set a punishing pace, driving into her again and again. The bed creaked beneath us. Her moans filled the room no matter how hard she tried to contain them. I gripped her hips, angled her so I could go deeper, hit that spot that made her scream.
"Say it," I demanded, feeling her tighten around me. She was close. "Say you want this. Want me."
"No." The word came out as a sob. Her eyes squeezed shut.
I stopped. Completely. Stayed buried inside her but didn't move.
Her eyes flew open, confused and frustrated. "What are you—"
"Look at me," I said. "And tell me you don't want this. Tell me you feel nothing. If you can do that, I'll stop right now."
She stared at me. I could see the war in her eyes—pride fighting need, determination battling desire. The mate bond thrummed between us, demanding completion.
"I..." Her voice cracked. "I can't—"
"Can't what?"
"I can't say it." The admission seemed torn from her. "I can't pretend I don't—" She stopped, as if shocked by her own words.
Something fierce and possessive roared through me. I captured her mouth in a brutal kiss, started moving again. This time she met me thrust for thrust, nails raking down my back. The careful control she'd maintained shattered.
"That's it," I growled against her lips. "Give in to it. To me."
She was lost now, completely given over to sensation. Her legs wrapped around my waist, pulling me deeper. I could feel her climbing higher, her inner walls fluttering around me.
"Cedric, I'm—oh God..."
"Come for me," I ordered, reaching between us to stroke her clit. "Let me feel it."
She shattered with a scream, body convulsing around me. The sensation dragged me over the edge with her. I buried my face in her neck, breathing in her scent as I spilled inside her, marking her as thoroughly as any bite could.
For a long moment, neither of us moved. Just breathing hard, tangled together. The mate bond hummed with satisfaction, my wolf practically purring.
Then reality crept back in.
I felt her body tense beneath me, that careful distance trying to reassert itself. I raised my head, looked down at her. Her face was flushed, hair mussed, lips swollen from my kisses. She looked thoroughly ravaged.
And her eyes were already shutting me out again.
Morning light stabbed through the window. I woke disoriented, head empty for a moment. Rich rose scent wrapped around me.
But Alice was gone.
I sat up. Last night replayed in my head without permission. Alice's moans, her burning skin, the way she'd finally stopped pretending and surrendered to it. All of it addictive.
My wolf stretched lazily in my chest, content. Satisfied.
"Damn it..." I cursed under my breath. I couldn't let her get under my skin. Didn't need to care about her feelings. What she became had nothing to do with me.
I dressed and pushed the door open, ready to leave. Then I saw her in the garden.
Alice had changed into a pale blue dress, hair braided over her shoulder. Morning light bathed her in a soft glow.
And beside her stood a man.
Caspar.
My most trusted beta. He was saying something to her. And she... she was laughing. A bright, easy smile. Genuine.
My chest constricted. She used to smile at me like that. Right after the mate ceremony, looking at me with shining eyes, like she'd gained the whole world.
Now she gave that smile to someone else.
My wolf roared. Snarled. Fought to break free, to separate them, drag Alice back, make her look only at me, smile only for me. She's ours!
"Calm down," I told myself, fingers digging into the doorframe. Alice was just talking to Caspar. That's all.
But my body moved toward them anyway, beyond my control. Just as I reached Alice's back, I heard her voice. Clear. Firm.
"Once I'm pregnant, I'll divorce him."
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