“Baby girl, please listen, that’s not…”
She cut me off. “Well, that’s fine. I’m sure those women are still there, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Just go fuck them.”
I growled, anger shooting through me. Josie’s eyes grew wider as I stalked towards her, unwilling for there to be any space between us. She took a few stumbling steps back until she was pressed against the brick wall. Her eyes were wide, and I was momentarily worried she was afraid of me when I caught her sweet scent deepening with arousal.Fuck, this whole time, I’d been holding back because I thought I would frighten or trigger her, but maybe I had gotten it all wrong.
“You want me to fuck another woman?” I growled, crowding her against the wall. “You’d be okay if I went back and fucked a beta in the bathroom? You would be fine with me putting my hands on someone else? Because baby girl, let me be crystal clear—if you ever touch someone outside of our pack, I’ll fucking kill them. You. Are. Mine.”
She was breathing rapidly now, her pupils dilating.
“That’s barbaric. And possessive.”
“Fuck yes, it is.” I ran my hands up her body before capturing her hands and pinning them to the wall over her head. “And you like it.”
She scowled and shook her head no, but her little whimper as I pressed my body firmly against hers gave her away.
“I’ve never in my life wanted someone like I want you. My thoughts are filled with you every single waking moment. I’m fucking obsessed with you, baby girl. I want to do anything I can to make you happy, to keep you safe. And to give you more pleasure than you’ve ever experienced.”
Her hips rolled against mine.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I said as I pinned her harder, my lips hovering an inch from hers. “Do you want me to leave to fuck someone else?”
Fire blazed in Josie’s eyes. “Never,” she said fiercely.
“Mmm, you sure about that?”
“You’re mine,” she said in an omega growl so adorable I had to bite my cheek to keep from smiling.
“Damn right I am,” I said, closing the gap between us and kissing her.
I cupped her ass with one hand, squeezing it until she whimpered, pressing her firmly against me. My other hand had a possessive hold on her neck as I deepened the kiss, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. She threw her arms around me, one hand curling into my hair and pulling my face tightly to hers. I ground against her core, wishing I could rip her dress off of her right now.
I forced myself to pull away. We were both breathing heavily, and Josie’s pupils were dilated. She whined at the distance I created, trying to pull me back. I was tempted to throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed.
“Hold on, sweetheart, we need to talk.”
She made a frustrated sound as I led her to a chair and sat down, pulling her so she was straddling my lap. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hard nipples peeked through her dress. It was almost enough to make me abandon my plan of having a rational conversation, but I remembered her tears and knew we needed this.
“What happened back there?” I asked, playing with a strand of her hair. Her head tipped towards my hand, greedy for my touch. I forced myself to keep my touch light when all I wanted was to twist her hair around my fist as leverage to guide her where I wanted her.
“There were some betas in the bathroom, and one of them said that you used to sleep with them and that you like BDSM, and that I’m not your type and wouldn’t satisfy you in bed.”
My blood pressure and self-loathing rose in equal measure. I had a feeling I knew exactly who had cornered Josie in the bathroom, and I fucking hated them for it, but ultimately it wasmychoices that had made my mate feel crushed and rejected.
“I’m so sorry they said that to you, but you have to know they don’t know what they’re fucking talking about.”
“So, you’re not into… dominating me?”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. That was not the question I expected her to ask. I needed to be honest, but I was scared shitless that I would make her afraid of me.
“Well, I mean, I am. But I would never push you to do something you didn’t want or do anything to hurt you. I promise I will never abuse you. I don’t need to have that kind of sex and don’t want you to feel…”
Josie placed her hand over my mouth, cutting me off. My chest tightened, sure that this was when she would leave me when I noticed a small smile playing across her face.
“You’re panicking without letting me respond,” she said.
I immediately went to say something, but her hand still covered my mouth. She arched an eyebrow. Josie was here with me. She wasn’t running away or yelling, even though I wouldn’t blame her if she did both. I gazed into her deep green eyes and nodded slowly. Then, because I couldn’t resist, I licked her hand. She let out a startled laugh and scrunched up her nose before wiping her hand on my shirt. Her laughter loosened the tension I was carrying in my chest, and I couldn’t resist pulling her in for a quick kiss.
“I’m listening, sweetheart,” I murmured in her ear, allowing her vanilla cupcake perfume to soak into my clothes and calm me further. The burnt edge to her scent had dissipated, and she was relaxed and pliant in my arms.
