AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I felt pinned beneath that gaze, split open and raw. I wanted to submit to him and let him take everything, all the weight, all the loneliness and the burdens. Even all the secrets. Take them and shoulder them for me, even if just for a moment. So I could breathe.
But more than that, I just needed him.
My silence frustrated him and he all but growled at me.
“Lex,” he rasped, looking like he wanted to shake the answer out of me.
Or maybe spank it out of me, I thought, as his other hand stole around behind me and gripped my ass almost aggressively while pulling me closer to him.
I gasped at his firm hold on me, and he stared at my open mouth in a way that lit me on fire.
“I need you to kiss me,” I moaned, sounding unlike myself. And yet I felt more myself in this moment than I could remember being in a long time. I was completely at his mercy right now and unable to hide a single thing from him.
He groaned, long and low as the hand on my ass spread out possessively and the one on my chin slipped around to grip my neck. His eyes, though, never left my lips.
“Fuck, Lex. Do you have any idea what you do to me?”
“Please,” I begged, feeling empty and almost desperate. The sensation was so overwhelming and the need to beg was so foreign, yet persistent. If he didn’t kiss me right now, I would never forgive him.
He seemed to sense that, as whatever internal barrier had been holding him back disappeared and his gaze turned molten.
“Forgive me,” he murmured so low I only barely heard him, as he brushed his lips tantalizingly over mine. Before I could do more than register the words, he was kissing me as if he was staking his claim.
The kiss was possessive, firm, and delivered with intent. Dave was in control and I was completely at his mercy. It was nothing like our first kiss, which had been all frenzied heat and pure abandonment. This kiss was purposeful and designed to make me his. He kissed me like he owned me.
My body was a riot of sensation as he held me immobile while he ravaged my lips. I completely submitted to the feelings he stirred up in me and let him take the lead, knowing this man would never hurt me. It was liberating and heady.
I had no idea how long we kissed. It could have been five minutes or five hours. I lost track of all time until a pointed cough had us both freezing. Dave released me with one final, dark, possessive look that made me want to push his boundaries and see what kind of punishment he would deliver.
Dave tucked me in behind him as he turned to face our intruder. I peeked past him and noticed Pala standing between two trees on the opposite edge of our little glade, with Ziggy on his back.
“What happened?” I cried out, probably way too loud, as I pushed past Dave and stepped toward them. Ziggy slid off Pala’s back, looking embarrassed. Either at the piggyback or busting us kissing, I wasn’t sure. He was standing like a typical slouchy teenager who didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He didn’t look injured.
“He’s fine, as promised,” Pala said to me quickly. “I just wanted to move quickly and stealthily through the forest in case anyone else was out here.”
“Oh,” I said. It was my turn to look embarrassed. Dave and I had definitely not been on the lookout for people wandering through the forest. I suddenly realized I had kissed both men within an hour and now they were standing, watching each other carefully.
I refused to be embarrassed about that, though. My omega was firmly in control right now, and it seemed she was a thirsty creature.
“What happened with Ziggy’s mom and the woman in the safe house?” I asked Pala, moving things right along.
“You don’t know who was in the safe house?” Pala asked, confused.
I shook my head. “No, I get an alert when a code is used to enter, but I didn’t stop to look up whose code it was and I couldn’t see her clearly on the video feed.”
“Her name was Romaine. Ziggy’s mom seemed to know her. She refused to go with me and leave Ziggy behind when I told her I could only take one person right now. She insisted he come with us to the farm and she’d stay with the other women instead.”
Pala hesitated and turned to look at Ziggy, concern written all over his face, but kept talking. “Romaine’s boyfriend tried to trade her to the alphas for food, but she escaped. Ziggy’s mom hadn’t gone to the safe house because she thought with the power out, the electronic door key wouldn’t work. Romaine said she was desperate for a hiding spot and was going to break a window, but tried the lock on a whim and was surprised when it worked.”
Shit. I should have told the women more about the off-grid setup of the safe house, but it hadn’t seemed important back then. She also wouldn’t have been able to break a window. They were bullet proof glass.
“We got them the extra food those alphas were hoarding and the safe house had plenty of water. They’ll be fine there for a few days. You’ve got a great set-up there.”
He looked at me, and his eyes gleamed in the darkness, as if it impressed him. It gave me a strange fluttery sensation in my chest.
I wanted to go to Pala. The pull I felt to him was intense at this close distance. It felt all kinds of wrong to be standing so near, yet out of reach. My body ached for him and needed reassurance that he was okay. Yet, the fact he had just witnessed me kissing Dave held me back.
This is why I always kept things casual,I thought to myself. Until Leif and Max, I’d had no examples growing up of a positive relationship. I didn’t know how to navigate one, let alone with multiple men.
