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IRIS
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“Eli,” I sighed, pressing my head back into the pillow. It was just as luxurious as I’d imagined it — not that I’d have been imagining what it would be like to lie in Eli’s bed with the alpha on top of me or anything. Certainly not. But it was so much better than when we’d simply been side by side. His scent surrounded me, the thick musk of birchwood and leather permeating the air. The silky bedsheets. This close, I imagined I could almost taste it if I shut my eyes.
The alpha hummed and rolled his hips, now fully seated inside of me. My eyes fluttered back open with a sharp intake of breath. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them. Eli looked down at me with his steely blue eyes, something warm in them as he tipped his head to one side. His fingers were still pressed into my hips.
I knew I’d have bruises there tomorrow. I didn’t care.
Some part of me was even thrilled, electrified by the idea that he’d leave a mark I could look at, well after the deed was done. I stretched out beneath him, rocking my hips up to try meeting his thrusts, but he was having none of it. I could have wrestled him for more control, but there was something captivating about the fact that he was so much stronger than any man I’d ever been with before. So much morepowerful.
I’d never even slept with another shifter before, much less an alpha. I hadn’t wanted to. They made me uncomfortable enough that any sexual appeal fizzled out before it went anywhere. But Eli?
He shifted his position slightly as his cock brushed against a sensitive spot buried deep within my core. All lines of thought were derailed, immediately and without fail. I was left blissfully devoid of anything but pleasure, delightful shivers running up and down my spine. Eli was murmuring something into my ear, but he could have been speaking in French or Spanish or Gaelic for all I knew in that moment.
I opened my mouth, but all I could do was whimper. I felt so full, and not just physically (though I had no complaints aboutthat). It was all I could do to grasp at the sheets beneath me and hold on desperately, or I might float away. Get lost to the tides of simplyfeeling. Being. I’d drift away and never be found again.
My orgasm hit me so powerfully I was pretty sure I might have blacked out — not that I’d admit to as much. Some of Eli’s ego seemed to have been tempered the more I got to know him, but he certainly didn’t need to return to being the alpha who puffed out his chest every time I had an idea that was better than his.
I lay in the sheets, skin damp, panting as I tipped my head. My wolf was practically thrumming, pleased and sated. She’d never felt so close to me, even when Eli and I had shifted together. Were I a little less tired, I might have considered her a little more thoughtfully, but…
I stifled a yawn, a sense of satisfaction blanketing me. I had almost dozed off by the time Eli returned, the mattress dipping under his weight as he gently reached over, cleaning me off with a damp cloth. The chill made my body shiver, the first tendrils of thought starting to return, even though I kept my eyes shut.
“Don’t feel like working anymore, do you?” Eli hummed. I heard the towel plop against the floor as he discarded it, worming his way into the bed.
I was already on my side, and he had no trouble slipping in behind me, pressing his naked frame to mine. Another quiver ran through me when a stray thought crept back into my skull.
What are you doing?
“Shh,” I said to Eli instead, not wanting to ruin the moment of peace. I had so few of those. I just wanted it to last a little while longer before the doubt could reemerge.
“Sleeping,” I said, the corner of my mouth twitching as he wiggled closer. Even I deserved a moment of peace.
I wokewith a start and a sharp gasp, squinting and shielding my eyes as the cold, bright light glared at me. The bed beneath me was also cold, and hard…except it wasn’t a bed at all. As I set my hand down to push myself upright, I realized I wasn’t in Eli’s room at all. I wasn’t even in Eli’s condo.
The reality of the situation crashed down on me like the changing tide in the Turnagain Arm, and I was left shaking on the tile as if I’d been doused by the rushing water.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
My brain just kept repeating the same thing over and over again, incapable of summoning anything else as the memories came back to me with frightening clarity. I hadn’t stayed in bed with Eli that night — oh, no. That would have been too easy. Too straightforward.
I’d freaked out when I’d woken up in his bed a few hours later. Freaked out, and had made somereally bad choices.
I sat up, groaning quietly. Twenty-three was hardly old, but my bones really didn’t appreciate lying on a stone-cold floor for…how long had I even been here? I had no idea. There were no windows, and the flickering, buzzing lights only seemed to have one setting: bright as hell. They hurt my eyes, and they weren’t even particularly sensitive.
Why didn’t I leave a note? All I had to do was leave a note! I know better than to just leave!
For all I knew, Eli thought I was some kind of flake: get laid and then bounce. I mean, I wouldn’t blame him if he did. Ididleave in the middle of the night without a word otherwise, but…
What if he thought it meant something? What if he thought it didn’t mean anything at all?
Did it mean something? I mean, does sleeping with someone have to mean something?I ran my tongue over my chapped lips as I wrestled with the possibility.Do Iwantit to mean something?
The very idea sent a tremor through me, enhanced by the fact that I already had goosebumps.Focus, Iris. How you feel isn’t going to mean a thing if we can’t get out of here.
I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself — whether I wanted something to mean anything with Eli or not, it wouldn’t matter as long as I was trapped here. And that’s what I was. Trapped. I didn’t know where “here”wasyet, but I was a professional at this sort of thing. I would at least be able to figure that out once someone actually showed themselves.
