The orgasm tears through me like a wildfire consuming dry brush. I cry out his name as wave after wave of pleasure crashes over me, and my inner walls clench around his fingers as he works me through every last tremor. It goes on and on, longer than any orgasm I’ve ever had, until I’m gasping for breath and seeing stars behind my closed eyelids.
He crawls up my body and kisses me deeply. I can taste myself on his lips, tangy and sweet, and something about that makes the heat roar back to life between my legs like the first orgasm was just a warm-up. He’s hard against my thigh, so hard I can feel him twitching with need, and I want him inside me more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life.
“I need you,” I tell him as I reach down and wrap my fingers around his length. He groans into my mouth as I stroke him from base to tip. “I need you inside me. Now.”
He positions himself at my entrance, and the thick head of his cock presses against my slick folds. Our eyes meet, and the mate bond sings with approval as he starts to push inside—
I wake with a gasp.
My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears, and my skin is flushed with heat from head to toe. The ache between my legs is a hollow emptiness that demands to be filled. My underwear is soaked through, and it’s clinging to me in a way that makes me want to squirm with embarrassment even though no one can see.
It was a dream. Just a dream.
But my body doesn’t seem to understand that. My nipples are hard peaks beneath my sleep shirt, and every nerve ending feels like it’s been set on fire. I’m trembling, actually trembling, from a dream about a man I’m supposed to hate.
I press my palm against my forehead and try to slow my breathing. The mate bond is still vibrating with satisfaction, clearly pleased by what my subconscious chose to conjure up while I slept. Traitor.
Footsteps in the hallway.
I freeze as I hear Bryan moving toward my door. His tread is slow and hesitant, nothing like his usual confident stride. He stops right outside, and I know—I know—that he felt something through the bond. He knows exactly what I was dreaming about and exactly how my body responded to it.
I hold my breath and wait.
The seconds stretch out, each one longer than the last. I can sense him on the other side of that door again. Part of me wants him to come in. Part of me wants him to push open that door and finish what the dream started, to give my body the release it’s so desperately craving.
But he doesn’t.
After what feels like an eternity, his footsteps retreat down the hall. I hear him settle back onto the couch, and then silence descends over the cabin once more.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding and stare up at the ceiling.
My body is still thrumming with unfulfilled need, still aching for something I refuse to let myself have. The wetness between my legs is uncomfortable, a constant reminder of what I was dreaming about and how much I wanted it.
I could take care of it myself. I know that. My hand could slip beneath the covers and finish what the dream started, giving me the release I need to finally fall back asleep.
But I won’t. Because if I touch myself while thinking about Bryan, if I come with his name on my lips and his image burned into my brain, it will mean something. It will mean I still want him. It will mean he still has power over me.
And I refuse to give him that satisfaction.
I roll onto my side and curl into myself, pressing my thighs together to ease the ache. Sleep feels impossible now, but I close my eyes anyway and try to think about anything except the man in the next room.
The mate bond pulses between us, once again unsatisfied and demanding.
I ignore it. Just like I’ve been ignoring it for ten years.
Chapter 9 - Bryan
The pack house conference room smells like anxiety and stale coffee.
I’m positioned at the front of the room beside Nic, which puts me directly in the line of fire for every suspicious glance and whispered question. These wolves don’t know me anymore. To most of them, I’m either a ghost story or a stranger who showed up out of nowhere and immediately caused problems. The fact that I’m about to deliver bad news won’t help my reputation.
Skylar slipped in a few minutes ago and found a spot near the back, wedged between Ruby and Fern. She hasn’t looked at me once. I can feel her through the bond, but her face gives nothing away. She’s gotten good at hiding what she feels.
I used to be able to read her like a book. Now she’s written in a language I’ve forgotten how to speak.
“Thank you all for coming on short notice.” Nic’s voice cuts through the chatter and settles the crowd. “I know there are rumors circulating about what happened two nights ago near the eastern border. I’m going to let Bryan explain the situation, and then we’ll discuss our response.”
Every head in the room turns toward me. I’ve briefed military commanders and agency directors and wolves with more kills under their belts than anyone in this room. None of that prepared me for the weight of my former pack’s scrutiny. These aren’t strangers I can walk away from when the mission ends. These are the people I grew up with, the people I abandoned, and they’re looking at me like I might be the thing that finally destroys their fragile peace.
