I glanced to his lower half. “You’re still half dressed.”
He scoffed. “If you want my pants removed, you’re going to have to work harder than that.”
A thrill coursed through me. He enjoyed this teasing back-and-forth as much as I did.
“As you wish,” I conceded.
I closed the gap between our mouths again. His soft, pillowy lips sucked me in like a siren’s song. I couldn’t get enough of kissing him.
As our tongues tangled, my hands moved down his chest. Alaric sucked in a gasp as my thumbs brushed across his nipples. I teased him until he whimpered into my mouth. For all his haughty attitude, it didn’t take long until he mewled desperately under my touch. But I had a feeling he wouldn’t show this side of himself to just anybody—only an alpha he trusted.
I wanted to pleasure him in a more comfortable position. Without stopping, I eased Alaric onto the bed, laying him down before climbing on top of him. His silky white hair spilled across the pillowcase. I removed one hand from his collar and carded my fingers through his hair. It was as soft and smooth as it looked, as wonderful to the touch as a cat’s fur.
Alaric shivered as his cheeks darkened. “Wh-who said you could touch my hair?”
“I can touch your nipples, but not your hair?” I asked with a smile. Of course, I’d only touch him in areas he enjoyed, but I knew him well enough to recognize a bratty remark when I heard one.
He swallowed, drawing attention to his creamy pale throat and the black leather collar. “Fine. Keep touching it.”
“Would you like me to stop?” I asked.
“No,” he spat. Grudgingly, he added, “I like it a lot, okay?”
I grinned. Every admission of pleasure was a success, similar to the ecstasy of adding a new book to my collection.
I followed Alaric’s encouragement and threaded my fingers slowly through his hair. His pale eyelashes fluttered shut as he breathed in and out. It struck me that this was a rare luxury few people would ever experience.
As I pet Alaric’s hair, he gradually tilted his head towards my touch, then nestled his head into my palm. A few seconds later, I heard a rhythmic, vibrating sound.
“Are you... purring?” I asked.
Alaric’s eyes snapped open. “No! You think I’d purr just because I’m a cat?”
I chuckled at his flustered reaction. “It’s all right, I was only asking. But if you did purr, that would be very cute.”
He cleared his throat. In a small voice, he mumbled, “Fine, then. Maybe Iwaspurring.”
Gods, he was adorable.
It didn’t take long for Alaric’s sassy attitude to melt away under my touch. Soon he was back to whimpering and squirming in pleasure beneath me. Touching him with my hands was no longer enough. I lowered my face to his chest and wrapped my lips around his hard nipple. Alaric squealed, lifting his torso to meet me. My tongue caressed his sensitive flesh until he was panting with need.
“You horrible alpha,” he muttered between breaths. “All you do is tease me.”
I smiled at him patiently. “It’s called foreplay. But if you’d like to skip ahead, I’m perfectly willing to do so.”
A flash of excitement lit his eyes before he reined it in. “I suppose this is all right,” he said, barely hiding his desire.
I was ready to give Alaric everything he wanted. But did his desire match mine? Doubts lurking in the corners of my mindnagged me. Sex was not romantic partnership. Sex did not make us fated mates. If physical intimacy was all Alaric craved, I would give it to him—but at the end of the day, I wanted a mate for life.
Could Alaric be that mate?
“Hey.” The cat omega’s voice broke into my darkening thoughts. “Why did you stop?”
“My apologies,” I said, putting a smile back on.
I tried to resume my task, but Alaric wasn’t having it. He put a hand on my forehead to stop me.
“If you don’t want to do this, then don’t,” he said, a sudden cold undertone to his voice. “I don’t want your pity sex.”
