I remained quiet, understanding that anything I added here would only fuel his anger. But no matter how many times I told myself to get it together, I couldn’t look away.
I was drowning in his whiskey gaze and the screaming chasm of pain in their depths. One look at Finley had me wanting to crawl into him and never leave. His pain called to my pain, but we were not kindred spirits. We couldn’t be.
He didn’t fight when Kellan strode over to grasp his shoulder, leading him from the room. As they left, a hint of vanilla and cherry reached me, clean and sweet, hidden under the alcohol and floral toxicity.
My heart clenched at the knowledge of where that cloying, flowery scent most likely came from, but since I had no right to care or let the hurt show, I forced myself to turn away and stare at the screen. The movie still played, but I no longer had any interest in watching it.
The joy and excitement I’d felt was long gone, leaving me flat and broken. I hated how life kept kicking me in the teeth, happiness so brief and fleeting, while the disappointments remained deep and consistent.
I decided to leave before Kellan returned, and I raced through the house and up the stairs to lock myself in my room. My first day hadn’t been as bad as I’d expected, but it had ended on a low note. Still, I was alive and unbonded.
In my situation, I really couldn’t ask for more than that.
Finley had interrupted Kellan before he could kiss me, which was…really lucky.Yep, even if all I could imagine was tasting the alpha, wondering if he’d be as sweet as his caramel-cinnamon scent…It’s better not to know. The second I kissed one of them, it’d all be over. No way to resist once I’d had a taste.
Dragging myself into the bathroom, I drowned myself in the fancy shower with its three different showerheads and steam bar. Like with the bath, there was already an array of bodywashes and shampoos lined up on the shelf, the fancy kind without lab-made scents, leaving my nose unbothered as I lathered up.
When I ran my hands between my legs, my clit pulsed at me, reminding me of the needs I’d been neglecting since I ran from Florida. Spending time with these alphas and their enticing scents had left a hollow ache pulsing in my core, and there was no way I’d sleep while this wound up.
Releasing a resigned breath, I slid a finger into my damp heat, using my arousal to rub against my clit. My breaths came out faster, and I bit my lip to keep the sounds from growing any louder. In a house full of shifters, it wouldn’t take much for one of them to hear me.
The pulse strengthened with each stroke of my finger, and when I closed my eyes I didn’t imagine my hand touching me. It was an alpha’s touch, thick fingers pushing into the tight muscles of my pussy.
“Goddess be damned,” I sobbed under my breath as the intensity grew and my orgasm ripped through me. I silently rocked against my fingers, drawing out the pleasure until my knees weakened and I had to use the tiled wall to remain upright.
It took me a few minutes to recover as I sucked in silent, ragged breaths. When I was finished, I stepped out feelingexhausted and ready for the day to be done. Grabbing two of the soft, teal towels, I proceeded to dry my hair and then body, skin extra sensitive to the touch.
The pack had provided me with essentials, so I brushed my teeth and lathered on face cream, before wandering out into my room with the towel still wrapped around me.
“Holy fuck,” I gasped, sliding to a halt at the sight of Kellan’s big body draped across my bed. Clutching the towel to ensure it didn’t unravel, I said, “What the hell are you doing in here?”
He pushed himself up on his elbows, using what were surely impressive abdominal muscles to hold himself in place. When he leveled his gaze at me, I almost took a step back at how dark his eyes were. “I came to check and make sure you were okay after Fin’s drunken tantrum.”
My first instinct was to defend the stupid bear, which was ridiculous because he’d done nothing to warrant that, and clearly hated my guts. It was just that pain in his eyes. I couldn’t forget it.
Swallowing hard, I attempted to sound more normal than I felt. “Haven’t you heard of knocking?”
Kellan swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood, and my gaze was immediately drawn to his gray sweats. Or more accurately the clear outline of his massive erection ingray sweats.
Oh my.
I jerked my gaze up, but short of a sharp blow to the head resulting in amnesia, there was no way I’d ever forget what I saw.
He prowled toward me, and I tucked the joined sections of my towel tighter, anticipating that he was going to touch me. Kellan grabbed my hand and lifted it to his nose, taking a deep breath as he groaned. “What were you doing in the shower, pretty girl, that has this room smelling like a candy factory?”
I understood his tension now, and why his beast flickered in his eyes. He’d heard me in the shower finger-fucking myself.
He’d scented my arousal.
Not that I hadn’t been aroused around them before, but not to the extent of tonight where I’d brought myself to orgasm.
Caramel strongly scented the air, and I barely resisted the urge to drop my towel and climb him. “I… I need you to leave.”
As my body thrummed, I decided that I absolutely deserved a medal for that statement.
Kellan’s features were shadowed, matching the inky sheen coating his blue eyes. He released me and clenched his hands at his sides, sucking in a breath he didn’t release, before turning to stride from the room. My door slammed shut as I collapsed to the floor, once again clutching my towel.
Thank the goddess I didn’t just prance out here naked—the towel had been the sole barrier stopping me from making a terrible mistake. If I’d thought kissing Kellan would be a point of no return, then sex would irreversibly seal the bond. In the thrall of our first time, I’d be desperate for his claiming bite, and there’d be no chance either of us would have the rational thought to refuse.
