Chapter 10 - Dawson
“I must leave?” I echo Yvonne’s firm determination to throw me out, my palm resting on the door that she just tried to open.
“Uh-huh…” Yvonne whimpers tentatively, nodding her head with terse determination, as if she’s struggling to speak. Her plight is evident in the way her brows are furrowed and how she hesitantly turns between me and the door.
She lifts soft, fear-stricken eyes at my face, as if she’s silently pleading with me instead of forcing me out. I narrow my gaze at her, trying to figure out what might be going through her mind, but I fail at making sense of it when I’m suddenly consumed by her sweet scent.
As I lick my lips, Yvonne’s eyes dart to my mouth, and she follows the movement of my tongue. She blinks fervently, her bottom lip parting as if she’s mesmerized by the simple act.
“What’s wrong, Yvie…?” I drawl with a hint of seduction in my tone. “Why are you kicking me out again…?”
Yvonne’s sultry silver eyes lift, veiled demurely by thick, dark lashes, slightly disoriented as a fleeting frown passes through her face. As if shaking her confusion away, she shakes her head and quickly shimmies out from between me and the door.
“I’m not—I’m not kicking you out!” she throws rather defensively over her shoulder as she scurries to the kitchen. “But you must go!” she calls out from behind the wall of her chosen hiding place. “I have to get ready for work!”
Chuckling under my breath, I hang my head at the door as a mischievous smirk curls my lips. Tapping my fingers on the door with the hand that’s braced there, I decide that I’m not willing to let this go.
This time, Yvonne won’t win. It’s as if my inner wolf refuses to be defeated, fueled by the body heat that’s spread over every inch of my being. I tap my hand once on the door to cue my mission, then set off in the direction of the kitchen.
I find Yvonne bent over at the counter, her back heaving uncontrollably as she lugs in breaths that are probably needed to calm herself. My chest swells boastfully knowing that I caused this reaction, and I knock gently on the doorframe to let her know that I’m still around.
Yvonne startles as she spins around, a hand flying to her throat as her eyes widen.
“I thought you left,” she piped, her breath coming out in faltering spurts. Her hands come to rest on the counter on either side of her, knuckles paling with how tight she’s gripping it when I begin coolly stalking forward.
“I’m still here, Yvie…” I purr as I approach her, watching the way her eyes flicker to the towel still hanging low on my hips. My lips curl to one side as I say, “I can’t be caught walking back home in a towel…”
Yvonne gulps as she lifts her eyes to my face. There’s a shy glint in her radiant eyes, her cheeks filling with a soft shade of pink. “I—I can get you something to wear.”
She tenses the closer I get, gulping again as I deliberately slow down, giving her the perfect opportunity to escape if she wants to. But when she doesn’t move, I shake my head slowly, closing the little distance between us until I’m close enough to press my hands on either side of hers.
Imprisoned by my arms, there’s no way she can run. And when she doesn’t make that attempt, her chest heaving with every long breath she takes, I know I have her cornered right where I want her.
“Nothing you have will fit me,” I simper, slowly leaning in. “Except one thing….”
Yvonne gasps when she catches on to the insinuation that the only thing of hers that will fit me is between her thighs. I know this because I’ve been there, and she knows it too, the reminder setting her pulse alight and brightening her blushing cheeks.
As much as she tries to deny it, she’s affected by my presence as much as I’m affected by hers. I’ve felt it once before, experienced it when we danced in the library and kissed. Undeniable, uninhibited sparks flew that night, almost six years ago.
I just need to know if that fire can still be reignited.
“Dawson…” she whispers as I lift a hand that hovers close to her cheek.
“Yvonne…” I return, and when she closes her eyes, I cradle her cheek, and she sighs into my palm. Smirking with satisfaction, I whisper, “You remember that night, don’t you…?”
Yvonne responds with a whimper, her brows furrowing as the thought comes to her mind. When she opens her eyes again, they’re soft and pleading, and her lips part on an exhale.
I take it as my cue, leaning in and meeting her lips. The soft, heart-shaped cushions soften my landing, and she responds with a hum as she permits me the liberty of exploring her mouth when she melts into my touch.
My tongue dives in to deepen the kiss, a hand folding around the back of her neck to draw her in as close as possible, feeling her soft, supple body melt against my rigid structure.
The way she melts into my touch is reminiscent of the way she melted into my arms when we danced in the library that fateful night.
I’d pulled away then, and become mesmerized by the heady glow of her silver eyes, and I’d kissed her without thinking, discovering a fire that burned even brighter than the one raging outside during the ceremonial bonfire.
That fire exists even now, burning like hot, flickering flames that spread throughout my body, reigniting the deeply buried sensations I’ve been trying to avoid.
Yvonne responds by arching her back and pushing her breasts toward me, as if she remembers, too.
As if she craves the burning desire that’s been pent up for half a decade, she folds her arms around my neck, allowing me to feel the way her nipples erect against the firm wall of my exposed chest.
The towel around my waist threatens to fall off, but I’m not ready to break the kiss just yet. The taste of Yvonne’s sweet, delicious mouth is the only sustenance I’d ever crave, and I don’t want to stop drinking in the soft moans she makes.
So I escalate those moans, selfish because I want her very breath, as if it’s the lifeforce I need for survival.
With my free hand, I grab her thigh and hook it over my waist, grinding into her to keep the towel up while my erection burns into her core.
Drinking every moan, every breath as it slips through my lips, I only release when she mewls and needs to catch her breath.
Her chest heaves uncontrollably, her cheeks flushed and lips swollen from the feverish kiss. My chest swells with pride, knowing that I wasn’t imagining things when I thought the fire that once burned between us could be reignited.
I just proved it to myself, letting her leg down and pressing into her with my rigid erection. I want her, and there’s no denying it. But as Yvonne catches her breath, she looks up between the dark veil of her lashes, and my heart plummets.
Her eyes take on a weary softness, her brows furrowing as something striking crosses her mind.
“Wait…” she says, shaking her head as she closes her eyes, clearly facing some kind of internal struggle as she flattens her palms on my chest and gives a firm push. “This is wrong.”
“Wrong?” I ask dumbfoundedly, my lips still tingling from the kiss, palms too sweaty to make any attempt to imprison her between my body and the kitchen counter. That’s how she’s able to step aside, her defensive walls climbing back up as her shoulders become tense again.
She’s scowling at me with a furiously accusing glint in her eyes, the silver beads like blades that cut through me, prompting me to defend myself.
“How is this wrong, Yvonne?” I ask, panting and failing to get my voice composed as I stare disbelievingly into her eyes, gripping the towel to my waist. “You said your mate is long gone. It doesn’t matter—”
“This isn’t about him!” she roars. “This is wrong because you rejected me before!” she throws back disdainfully. “You did this before, and then threw me under a bus as if I meant nothing to you!”
My heart skips a nervous beat. Of course, I was expecting her to bring this up, and I’d been prepared for it. Though it is in the heat of the moment, I gather my thoughts quickly, letting the heat subside from my core as I take a cautious step forward and lift a pleading hand.
“Yvonne…” I begin tersely. “It’s not what it appears to be. I can explain.”
“Explain?!” she retorts with a vulgar scoff, her eyes narrowing into daggers that pierce my soul with their frightful intensity.
“There’s nothing to explain, Alpha Dawson.
” My name leaves her tongue with bitter derision as she lifts a hand in front of her face dismissively. “I don’t want to hear a thing.”
Before I can say another word, Yvonne doesn’t spare me another glance before she spins and bolts out of the kitchen, leaving me feeling defeated as I clutch the towel closer.
Her walls are back up again, and she won’t listen to a word I say.
Sighing discontentedly, I drag my feet out of the log cabin, treading the snow barefoot as I head to the main house.
Despite Yvonne’s resistance, I know what I felt when I kissed her.
She can try all she wants to deny the incessant pull between us, the heat that builds every time we’re close, but I’m sure of what I felt.
She’s only angry about the past, and that’s why those walls come up around me. I just need some time with her, time to let those walls slip down so she can fully immerse herself in this burning desire.
That’s when I’ll tell her the truth, knowing that right now, she won’t listen to reason. It’s patience I must exercise, even though my time is running out, because the elders are pressuring the three unmated alphas to find their mates amongst the pack.
There’s no one else I’d want as my mate, except for Yvonne. I just need her to see that.