“But he disrespected you,” Cole growls, his chest heaving.
“I’m okay.” I curl an arm around him. “Let him go.”
He doesn’t calm, pacing back-and-forth, until his father’s car is a blot in the distance.
“I’m so sorry he talked to you like that, Faye.” Cole hangs his head in shame. “My father is a…” A dark expression crosses his features. “Well, you’ve met him. You now know what he’s like.”
“He cut you off because of me.” I struggle to swallow past the lump of guilt clogging my airway. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” Cole holds my face in his hands. “I’d rather be penniless and have my—our—pack.”
“And what he said about power?—”
“Power is everything to him.” Cole pushes out a long exhale. “He’s never experienced a scent match like ours. He’s never even known love. In fact, I don’t think he’s capable of feeling it. I’m nothing like him, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that I’m not.”
Chewing on my cuticle, I nod faintly.
“What is it, little omega?” Cole asks, tipping my chin up. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Am I…?” Uneasiness has replaced my earlier outspoken courage. “Am I really going to be enough for you?”
“Enough?” A small smile graces his lips. “I’ll never get enough of you, Faye. I’ll always want more.” He strokes my cheek tenderly. “You’re everything to me. You, our pack, our future. That’s all that matters. It’s not enough, it’s everything. And this house? This is the first step of the rest of our lives. Don’t let my father ruin this moment. He’s already taken enough from me.”
I see his gray eyes flash with pain, weighed down by years of toxicity. Cole overcame a past where he was made to feel that he wasn’t ever good enough, dealing with lofty expectations, and impossible to meet demands. I can’t even fathom the tough memories of all that he endured. Even though we’re not bonded, I feel his agony so acutely.
“He won’t take anything else from you,” I proclaim. “You’re a strong alpha but an even better man. A better man than he’ll ever be.”
“And I’ll keep trying to be better.” He pulls me into his arms. “For you. For us. For our family.”
Our lips meet, and he both literally and figuratively sweeps me off my feet, carrying me back into our new home and shutting the door behind us. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pushes me against the wall. His kiss is urgent, fevered, packed with longing and desire to prove how much he cares, even though he doesn’t have to.
As his knot pulses against my core, I inhale the sweet spot behind his ear, drowning in the aroma of his deep arousal. My lips skim down his neck, my teeth lightly grazing his skin and sending a shiver of longing through me. His knot swells against me as he squeezes my ass, holding me close.
“Fuck, little omega,” he murmurs. “You make it so hard not to claim you.”
“Then do it.” I nip his neck without breaking the skin, letting him know how badly I want this. “Claim me.”
He lifts his head, eyes bouncing between mine. “Are you sure?”
He defended me in front of his father and put everything on the line for his family. I don’t want to wait any longer.
“Yes.” I lace my fingers behind his neck, pulling him in for a kiss that I hope shows how strongly I feel for him. “Make me yours, alpha.”
“Fuck,” he groans, carrying me to the kitchen where he sets me onto the counter. “Are you comfortable?”
“Right now, all I want is your bite, alpha.”
“Be patient, little omega.” I feel like I just won a contest, seeing the gorgeous smile stretching his lips.
With his smoldering gaze searing into me, he undoes my dress, one button at a time, before sliding it from my shoulders. I shiver as he gently strokes my bare arms, making them tingle. Eyes fluttering closed, I melt into his touch.
My panties are drenched in slick already. My breath falters as his hands glide lower, resting at the hem of my underwear. With a wolfish smile, his finger traces along the lacey edge.
“More, alpha,” I huff impatiently.
He skates one finger down the top of my panties, making me purr. Shit, have I ever done that before? Whatever it is, the noise unlocks his inner alpha. His chest rumbles. The teasing is over.
His hot mouth is on my neck, his breath making my thighs tremble. I don’t know how much longer I can wait. Every instinct in my body screams that this alpha is mine, and every fiber of my being wants to belong to him.
