6
Felix
I felt like throwing up from excitement.
Across the coffee table, Elijah mulled over my words. There was no mistaking the look on his face. Surprised, but pleased, like he had the unexpected opportunity to use a winning move in a game of chess.
I didn’t feel any sort of anxiety or regret when I’d said it. Instead, my blood ran hot with the promise of arousal. The alpha in front of me was smoking and sexy, hitting all my buttons in a way that Larry never did. Elijah was just my type--tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, with a dry sense of humor and a gentle kindness that I’d never felt radiating from my ex.
Elijah leaned forward in his seat. He faced me squarely, pinning me to the spot like I was a butterfly in a display. His expression was so intense and smoldering that a shiver convulsed through my body.
An unmistakable ache grew in my groin as my pants tightened. My mouth grew wet with anticipation and I clenched my fists on my knees just to havesomethingto do with my hands.
How did he have such a powerful effect on me?
I’d heard about alpha auras before--the effect of an alpha exuding strength and protectiveness so fiercely that it was almost atangiblefeeling--never knowing if they were true or not. But now, feeling it for myself, I was convinced it was real.
Elijah was pure alpha, and he wanted the same thing that I did right now.
Suddenly, he stood and walked over to me, stopping a foot away. With Elijah standing at his full height and me sitting down, the size difference between us was enormous. I felt small, but not intimidated. Unlike Larry and his posturing, Elijah wasn’ttryingto intimidate me. It was a passive show of power, like a lion shaking out his magnificent mane in front of the pride he protected.
He held out an upwards facing palm. An invitation.
Without a second thought, I took it.
Before I knew it, Elijah led me to his bedroom. Even in the mild haze fogging up my mind, I was distantly aware of River trailing us, but he didn’t enter. Instead, the dog curled up outside the door threshold.
Elijah smirked and closed the door. “He doesn’t need to see this.”
My heart fluttered. When I spoke, I tried not to sound as breathless as I felt. “And what isthis,exactly?”
“Playing coy, now, Felix?”
Elijah reached out to touch me and I froze. I whimpered as his finger traced from my neck to my jawline, then tipped up my chin. The blood roared in my ears and thrummed so thickly in my veins that I was almost sure Elijah heard the rhythmicthump, thump, thump.
“Well?” Elijah prompted.
“No, sir.”
When the word slipped from my mouth, my blood ran cold. I don’t know what prompted me to say it. I’d never called my past partners that before, so why was I doing it now? I bit my lip. Something about Elijah’s alpha aura had kindled a submissive flicker in the pit of my stomach, and I yearned for him to stoke the flames.
“Sir, is it?” Elijah said slowly. “Are you into that sort of fantasy, Felix?”
“I mean, it’s not something I’ve ever tried before,” I admitted. “I don’t know why I said it. I’m sorry if I made things weird.”
“Not at all. In fact, I kind of like hearing you say it.” He ran his finger over my lips, making me shudder. “I want to hear it again.”
I swallowed hard. “Okay, sir.”
Elijah nodded, taking in this new turn in our quickly deepening relationship. “Good. Then before we go any further, let’s establish ground rules. I won’t do anything to you without your consent. We’ll useredas a voiced safeword.”
Safeword?I thought as my heartbeat intensified. I’d never been in a sexual experience where I’d had to use a safeword before, but then again, my past partners had never taken the time to explain consent and boundaries to me either. I found myself growing fonder of Elijah by the second.
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
The corners of his lips twitched into a satisfied smirk. “There’s a good boy.”
My cock throbbed. It took every fiber of my being not to throw myself to my knees in front of him. But that didn’t stop the tiny whine that escaped me.
