Chapter 25 Casey #2
His arms hang by his side, and I take three seconds more before I find the strength I know I have inside me and step back.
Without looking at Khaos, I lick my lips and speak. “Can you sort out the rest of dinner?”
“I’ll get someone on it,” Khaos says gently.
I walk stiffly out of the room and head to my bedroom. Getting ready is something I do slowly, taking my time to prepare myself, and then I go out and get into the truck, Khaos sitting beside me.
“Are the others sitting this out?”
“I think it’s for the best.”
I start the truck and pull out of the drive, heading into town.
“You can’t encourage them,” Khaos says.
I whip my head in his direction, sure I misheard him.
“I’m not encouraging them.”
“You are, maybe you don’t mean to. But they can’t help but want you. But if you want this to work, you can’t form attachments with them.”
“I hear you, Khaos.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. No attachments. Got it.”
“Good.”
We fall silent until we get to town. “I’ll park here. I’m meeting, what’s this guy’s name? Frank? Yeah, Frank in that café.”
I breathe through my nose and loosen my fingers on the steering wheel.
“Why are you so nervous?”
“Uh, because I don’t date, and you keep setting me up with weirdos. Just wondering what disaster is on the menu today.” I glare at him and push open my door. I take a deep breath and slip out of the truck.
I can tell instantly that none of the pack are here. The town has a whole feel when they are present. My nerves twang, though, and I hesitate when I normally wouldn’t. The memory of Jonas’ rage has me gun-shy.
I walk into the café, looking for the man I dimly remember from the photos. He stands up when he sees me, his eyes running over me, and his expression closing off.
I take the seat he offers, wincing inwardly as he steps back. His eyes light up when another woman walks past though, following her as she walks through the café.
Ah, I get it. I lean back in my chair and watch him carefully. I should be annoyed to be wasting my time, but it gives me some breathing room from the oppressive scents and sounds of the pack.
“So, uh. I can see you’re pretty nervous,” he says quietly, still not quite looking at me.
“Yep. I don’t do this.”
“I think maybe this is too much stress for you. Maybe we should end the night here. Yeah, I think that’s for the best. You are way too wound up. It won’t be pleasant for you if we can’t talk. I’m doing this for your benefit, thinking only of you.”
I stare at him, astounded. His hands twitch on the coffee table, and his eyes dance around the café, barely pausing.
“Are you strung out?”
He jerks his head. “NO! Of course not. I can just tell, feel how anxious you are. There’s no point going on a date with someone who can’t be themselves.”
I’m not nervous, though; a deadly kind of calm has come over me.
“Fine. I’m going to go.”
“Good. I mean, it was great meeting you, and I really hope you match with someone when you feel less stressed.”
It’s a good thing I’m wearing boots because if I were wearing stilettos, I might put them through his skull or the café floor.
I get back into the truck and sit there. Ten minutes pass, and I see another woman walk into the café. Fifteen minutes later, the thin, beautiful redhead and he leave together.
Booty call. I wasn’t even good enough for a booty call.
The passenger door opens, and Khaos hops into the truck. “Over already?”
I start the truck; he just gets the door shut before I drive off. I don’t say a word. My anger is next level. A throbbing mass of insecurities, pain, and self-loathing.
He tries to speak to me several times, but I’m lost in my thoughts, lost in my rage. We get home, I get out of the truck and walk into the house. I’m immediately confronted by four giant alphas. I recoil and then push my way past them.
“Casey!”
“Leave me alone!” I shout.
I go into my room and lock the door, but because I can’t keep them out, I go into the bathroom and lock that door, too. I stare at myself in the mirror and scream in rage.
The door flies open, and Wrath appears in the dark rectangle of space. Our eyes meet, and I turn, lifting my fist. He grabs it and pulls me close.
“What did he do?”
“Nothing,” I snarl. “He took one look at me and rejected me. He thought I was fat. Ugly. I don’t know, just not what he wanted. And then he said it was because I was too stressed. I was too anxious. But I wasn’t. I was angry. I hate these dates and that they make me feel so unworthy.”
Wrath snarls back at me. “Who cares what he thinks?”
I tug myself free, pacing in the small space. “I hate feeling like I want to hurt people.”
“Really, I love it.”
I stare at him and then lunge forward, grabbing his neck and crushing our lips together.
“I’m not supposed to form attachments. I’m not supposed to want you.”
“Fuck everyone,” Wrath growls back.
Wrath tastes like violence and aggression. He seizes control of the kiss while his hands find the button on my jeans, flicking it open. He drags them down, while I rake my fingers through his silver hair, pulling hard. His fingers slide inside me, and I hiss, biting his throat.
He growls, and the sound vibrates against my teeth. He viciously pulls me off him, turning me around.
“Is this what you need?” Wrath hisses, shoving his jeans down and leaning over me.
“Yes,” I snarl back.
In the mirror, the light of my wolf shines through my eyes.
He slams inside me. I arch back against him, crying out. This is what I need. I didn’t even know I needed. He bites into my shoulder, and I throw my head back as his hands grab my breasts, kneading them hard, the pleasure is pain, and the pain is the most exquisite pleasure.
“Fuck these people who don’t want you. Fuck them all. I want you. I want you so much I could spend the rest of my life buried right here in this spot and never come out again.”
I clench around him; the words seeping past the poison, past the wall of rage, and reaching deep inside me.
I cry out; the orgasm comes too fast and sudden to anticipate. He holds me through it, continuing to thrust slowly into me, never stopping.
“Good, that’s good. Feels better, doesn’t it?”
He reaches around me and rips open my shirt, then snaps the front opening clasp of my bra. He reaches up and pulls and teases my nipples, sending heat coiling inside me.
“That’s it, tighten around me, you little tease. Tell me you like it.”
“I like it.”
“I need more,” Wrath purrs.
“I really like it, now move, Wrath.” I whine. With a frustrated growl, I grab his hand and slide it down to my clit.
He strokes my clit with painful slowness, then with a dark chuckle, thrusts up into me, bringing me to my toes.
I let out a strangled groan as I feel so full, so complete. This feels right. Khaos be damned.
“Right, put your hands on the sink and hold on now.”
I let go of his wrist and brace myself on the mirror instead. He smiles evilly over my shoulder. He starts moving again, slowly, and then with increasing thrusts, pounding into me. I hang on as best I can as my body coils tighter and tighter.
He starts growling, growing steadily more feral, his thrusts becoming erratic. His hand dips between my thighs, skating over my clit. My body tightens instantly, almost locking onto him.
“Look at me!”
I force my eyes open as the tide of my pleasure spasms through me. He thrusts twice, out of control, deeper than before, and then I feel his hot seed pumping into me. His groan is one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.
And still, our eyes remained locked.
He pants and kisses my shoulder. “That’s how much I want you.”
Over his shoulder, Angel appears, studies us, and disappears again. I shift my gaze back to Wrath and try to understand why Angel looked so satisfied with Wrath being buried inside me.
But then Wrath pulls out and drops to his knees, and I stop thinking altogether.