“You don’t know that!” Reed said, his voice rising. I could hear the desperation in it, but he was looking away from me, so he wouldn’t have to meet my gaze. “You don’t know anything about me!”
“Bullshit.” I released his hand so I could lift his chin with my fingertips, so that his gaze met mine once more. I didn’t feel anger or fear any longer. Instead, there was just a burning desire to show him he was wrong about himself. I wanted him to see himself the way I saw him—because he was, despite his flaws, still perfect exactly as he was.
“Look, you’re obviously brave when it comes to fighting monsters. But more importantly, you’re kind. And you respect boundaries. You believe in what you’re doing. You want to do good. You want to protect other people. And you’re a pretty sweet guy, in your own way.”
“Sweet, huh?” He shook his head. “Not sure I’ve ever been accused of that before.”
“It doesn’t make it any less true.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but kindness, respecting boundaries, and being an all-around sweet guy doesn’t exactly make you a good alpha. It’s kind of the opposite.”
“Who the hell told you that?”
“Jeremy wasn’tsweet. He made a lot of bad choices, but he was strong. An alpha-hole, even. But strength is what matters.”
“This power—it chose you for a reason. Maybe the pack doesn’t need an asshole right now. Maybe it needs someone who tries to be kind and compassionate, who respects boundaries and who really believes in doing good things, because it’s the right thing to do. Maybe it needs someone who cares about protecting the people around him. Hell, maybe being a good leader isn’t about pushing people away—it’s about letting them in. If you can’t be an alpha-hole, don’t be. Just be you.”
My speech left him staring at me, the anxiety in his expression melting away to a strange softness, a light in his eyes I’d never seen there before.
“Fuck, Harris,” he whispered roughly, awe in his voice.
Without thinking about it, I kissed him.
His lips were warm and soft, but when I traced my thumb along his jaw, his skin was rough with stubble. His lips parted for me easily, allowing me to deepen the kiss. His tongue met mine and he tasted both spicy and sweet, the scent of pine needles suddenly everywhere around us like a soft embrace. My cock hardened as I kissed him.
When I pulled back, there was a mixture of hunger and need on Reed’s face and his eyes flashed gold.
“Harris,” he growled. “I want—”
He broke off when I stood up. I wasn’t consciously allowing myself to think about what was coming next. The time for thinking and fears had long since passed. Now it was only what we felt, what we wanted, and what we both needed.
I held out my hand and he took it wordlessly, letting me guide him up from the couch.
Feeling steadier than I might have ever imagined, I led him across the room to the bed.
“Harris, are you sure? Because we don’t need to—”
I kissed him again, cutting him off. I knew he was about to tell me we didn’t need to do anything I didn’t want to do, but I did want whatever came next. Emotion burned hot and bright in my chest, a mix of fire and longing, tenderness and lust.
“I want to,” I told him when I pulled back, my eyes locked on his. They flashed gold again, but it was gone so quickly I might’ve imagined it.
He flashed me a—well, wolfish—grin. “Yeah?”
I nodded, reaching for the top button of his shirt. “Yeah.”
Reed copied me, motion for motion, undoing the buttons of my shirt at the same pace I did his. When my torso was exposed, his gaze swept down my chest and back up again. “I want to touch you,” he murmured.
“Do it,” I said, undoing the last button on his shirt. It fell open, revealing lean muscle and that seductive dusting of dark chest hair.
His hands were warm—almost hot—when they touched my bare skin. Reed brushed my abdominal muscles with his fingertips, then his hands climbed and his palms caressed my chest, drawing a shiver of pleasure from me.
I put my hands on his chest and found his chest hairwassoft to the touch, but the skin below it was hard with muscle. A thrill of excitement raced up my spine, but I didn’t want to do anything else except whatever came next.
I pulled his shirt off and dropped it to the floor.
He did the same with mine.
We reached for each other’s belts in the exact same moment, then made eye contact and grinned at each other.
