Twisting around, Hendrix’s mouth is on mine before I can blink. In the next heartbeat, my legs are wrapped around his waist and he’s pinning me against the bathroom door.
His lips don’t leave mine when he talks a mile a minute. “I am so sorry. God, Simona, I heard what you were saying, but I was a complete asshole and was focusing on all the wrong things. I promise I will never make you feel so unheard again. Please forgive me. And for the love of all this crazy chaos we’re navigating, please don’t you ever call me Mr. Torres. Or leave me.”
Each word is laden with emotion and sincerity. He is both dominant but gentle as he talks, and his eyes are full of pleading and hope. He’s right, what we share is crazy chaos. But he is here, and he is being earnest. I have to add the smallest of space between us to get enough air in my lungs. And even then, it is his scent breathing life back inside the bleak void I was drowning in.
“I’ll give you whatever you want, sweetheart. And I’m sorry it took me this long to come get you, but I needed to speak with my pack. They gave me their full blessing for us to be together however you want. We’re having an illicit affair.”
I laugh quietly, pressing my forehead to his and letting the magic of his scent and presence quell the storm that has been consuming me even as I tried so hard to pretend it didn’t.
“You told them about me?”
“They know everything about you: where we met, what I was feeling when I first scented your perfume, how devastated I was when you walked away. I will do everything in my power to hide us from the rest of the world but not from them.”
Nothing inside me is strong enough to hold back the tears of happy relief as they fall. He catches each one with the softest of kisses while his scent shifts, subtly confirming we share the same feelings.
“Go finish your lunch with your girlfriends. Text me as soon as you’re free and I’ll send a car.”
“I have an exam tomorrow.”
“And?” Hendrix buries his hands in my hair before he slowly presses his lips to mine. The smallest touch has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. With the barest of effort, I feel myself coming back to life.
Heat blossoms, and my scent thickens, he stops kissing and starts thinking. By the look in his eye, he’s coming up with lots of ideas, but I really do have a big exam coming up. “I need to study.”
“I need to be with you,” he pleads, his voice dropping lower. His presence curls around me so viscerally, I’m not sure where he actually starts and where he finishes. “I think you should stay with me tonight. I’ll help you study with quizzes, hot chocolates, and naked back rubs. Once you’ve crammed enough, I’ll let you sleep then before dawn I’ll sneak you back into Unity.”
I blush under his attention, but I don’t feel self-conscious. Hendrix isn’t finished explaining how he sees the next few hours passing. “Once exams finish there’s a small functionwhere all the faculty and the girls will be attending. I’ll meet you inside the photo lab as soon as speeches finish and before the light refreshments are served.”
“As much as I want to, I can’t stay with you tonight.” I shake my head, more so to stop myself from going back to kissing as opposed to explaining. “I most definitely can sneak away and meet you at the lab tomorrow though.”
“Why not tonight?” His hand grips my hair, stopping me from evading his kisses.
Not that I was trying too hard at all. His eyes drop to my lips but before I fall willingly to them, my explanation tumbles out. “You don’t know my girlfriends, they won’t let me go and tonight is the last night we’ll be spending together for a while.”
“Why?”
“I’m going away.”
“Okay, maybe that works better. Can I arrange a getaway for us even for a few hours?" The more he talks, the calmer he becomes. His entire presence and focus is on me, and making sure I am okay. My insides flutter like butterflies taking flight.
It’s weird feeling this unguarded around an Alpha. I already accepted his apology, and I also know I want more of the confidence he makes me feel. But knowing the girls are probably wondering where I am, I sit up higher in his arms and kiss him like I’ve always wanted to be kissed. Of course, Hendrix ups me in the kissing stakes. His nips against my lips and growls are sublime, and I feel myself responding. And then I scent my desire. I have to stop kissing him. If it’s that obvious to me, I may as well wear a neon sign back to the table because those girls don’t miss a thing.
Instead of letting me go, Hendrix flicks his eyebrows up high, locks the door to the bathroom, then sets me on the edge of the vanity.
“Will you let me look after your heady scent?”
“How?” I ask. My thoughts are racing, a hundred different possible outcomes flitting in my mind. All of them are way too salacious for the small amount of time we have.
“That wasn’t the question, sweetheart. I need a yes or no. I realise I’m asking a lot but at the same time if we’re having an affair, all of this,” he runs his hands from the tops of my head, right down to my bare calves before he continues, “is mine.”
It’s like being on a roller coaster with him, but clearly, I’m chasing the thrill which is why I went to him first. I feel a deep sense of trust in myself with Hendrix, and before I give him permission or ask him to stop, I take the time out to ask myself if this is what I want.
He stands in front of me, but there’s no impatient push of his designation and he doesn’t smell frustrated at me for not answering straight away. If anything, I see a small flame of pride in his eyes.
It’s easy to say yes with a nod of my head, but he wants my consent so the both of us hear and understand the ramifications of it.
“Yes. You get all my yesses too.”
His hand cups the side of my face, his thumb trails across my lip and as he leans in for a kiss, his hand buries under my dress before he cups my pussy.
