Jerked off a lot, took a lot of cold showers, went on frequent booty calls, absolutely.
But he held that line.
He also didn’t ask Dewi. Herefusedto ask her.
He didn’t give heranyencouragement untilshefinally flat-out askedhim.Aftershe’d turned eighteen.
And he’d prayed that, one day, she wouldn’t see that as a betrayal.
She took a deep breath. “Did I force you to start sleeping with me?”
“I—” His mouth snapped shut as his brain struggled to process what she’d just said, because it in no way aligned with any of the anxieties that had started spinning up from his mental depths. “What?”
* * *
Dewi
Dewi released Beck’s hand, worried that, even now, maybe she would accidentally influence his answer. “You werenevercreepy with me. Youneverdid anything inappropriate with me. I felt safe with you, and with Badger. And I knew what creepy felt like, from guys at school, and even from teachers sometime. And—”
“Wait,what?” He suddenly looked enraged. “Whichteachers?”
“We’re off-topic,” she said. “No, none of my teachers tried stuff with me. I’m just saying I couldfeelit when one was a potential creeper, okay?”
He finally sat back, nodding.
“I’m a Prime Alpha. We all know I know get what I want. Kind of a massive part of the whole gig of being a Prime. But when we started our relationship, was that whatyouwanted? Because until I started saying something to you, I never felt that from you. I need to know if I used my Prime Alpha powers to make you sleep with me.”
He stared at her for a long moment. The snort, one at first, was quickly followed by more, until he brayed with laughter almost the way Badger had laughed the night before.
I still need to find out what the hell’s the deal with lemon meringue pie.
Wait, focus.
He was still snorting when he finally brought himself under control enough he could talk. “No, Dew. You never forced me to sleep with you. You in no way violated my consent.”
“How can you be sure? You said you loved me but knew we didn’t have a mate bond.”
“I…” He cocked his head at her. “Really? You’reactuallyworried about this? You’re not just fucking with me?”
She nodded.
He leaned forward, meeting her gaze head-on now. “When I was a teenager, I fucked around, okay? We’re wolves, and it’s not unusual. But once I was over eighteen, it’s like this mental filter showed up. I think because we all grow up in the pack knowing this rule. It’s the norm, not the exception. You don’t fuck around with minors. I mean, if kids are dating before one comes of age, and there’s a year or less difference in their ages, no one gives a shit.
“But are you asking if when you were fifteen, sixteen, I thought you were attractive? Yeah. I didn’t go jerk off over you, though. Maybe it’s because I have little sisters, I don’t know, but I, personally, can think someone is attractive without framing that in a sexual way, much less wanting to fuck them. Besides, you weren’t throwing any signals at me that you were interested in me. I know some guys—even some wolves—will try to press for something even if the woman isn’t showing interest. I’veneverbeen that guy. Even adult women, if I’d struck up a conversation, they could be the most gorgeous woman in the world but if they showed absolute zero interest in me like that, I couldn’t have gotten it up to fuck them with an entire bottle of blue pills.”
He laughed. “I wasverycareful, once you did start tossing me those signs, to make sure I didn’t allow any situations to develop that would test my willpower with you or put me in a compromising position where we’d be at risk of crossing a line. But never, not once, did Ieverfeel like you violated my consent. There was never a time I thought, ‘Gee, I donotwant to fuck Dewi,’ and then magically found you bouncing on my dick simply becauseyouwanted to.”
“What about that time in Miami when I was nineteen and we were tracking down that guy who forged a couple mil in checks from that other guy in New York? You told me no then, and then I talked you into it.”
He laughed. “Dewi, your memory is leaving out a few key details. I told you no, we both took a shower, then webothtook a nap because we were fucking exhausted. When we woke up, yeah, then I said yes. Because I’dhadanap. We were both running on about an hour’s worth of sleep in the previous forty-eight hours. That’snotyour Prime powers ‘making’ me sleep with you—that’s called I was too tired to get it up, rested, then my body was like, okay! Cool! Nookie!”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” He reached out, waiting, and she took his hand.
“Tell me if I’m telling you the truth—youneverviolated my consent. Ever.”
He believed he was telling the truth. “How would you know if I did, though?”
