They’re going to make me say it, I realize. “I am absolutely sure I want this. I want it to be both of you, but neither of you have to do it, if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t think that was ever in question.”
“If you are absolutely sure, this isn’t the right angle to do this, baby,” Mack whispers. My heart races as we all shift over so I’m on top of Aaron and Mack is behind me, between all our legs. Aaron presses his forehead against mine as he positions at my entrance. At the same time, I feel Mack glide down and press against the entrance to my butt.
My breaths come short and fast as I feel a tightness from both sides.
“Oh,” Aaron whispers as his breath hitches. Both men’s hands grip my hips, but they're pushing into me ever so slowly.
I press my head against Aaron’s, gasping through the almost too tight sensation. I’m about to tell them maybe they just won’t fit when Aaron slides into me and Mack follows right after. Just inside me, they both stop.
“Oh,” I whimper, gripping the hands at my hips but unsure whose are whose. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, a little bit of pleasure and pain, wrapped up into something I’m not sure how to begin processing.
“You okay, baby?” Mack asks as he pushes just a little deeper into me. It feels so strange and full, yet little ripples of pleasure pulse through me in a place I’ve never felt pleasure before.
Leaning back, I turn and look up at Mack and breathe, “I’m definitely okay.”
Gripping my hips, Aaron pushes up into me inch by inch, filling me.
“Any moment you want to stop, we can.”
“You two keep asking me that, but nothing in the world could make me want to stop now.” I push my hips between them.
“Slow down there, sexy,” Aaron gasps. I’m not used to there being this much—sensation.”
Our rhythm is slow at first, they each push in and out of me as I just hold on to them, then we start really moving. The pleasure builds quickly, and I find myself pushing down harder and harder on Aaron as Mack fills me from behind. Their thrusts grow deeper, and a new sort of pleasure begins to build in me.
Aaron and I kiss hungrily. His hands grip my waist while Mack’s fingers roll over my nipples.
My orgasm doesn’t build slowly as the last one did; it slams into me suddenly, and I scream at its release as intense, carnal pleasure rocks through me.
“Oh, honey...so much,” Aaron moans. His eyes roll back as he thrusts into me once more and I feel him release inside of me.
Mack is only seconds behind as I ride the last waves of my orgasm. He pushes deep into me from behind and moans out his long release. My core clenches, and another, smaller wave of pleasure surprises me, making me tingle from head to toe.
Moaning, I collapse forward onto Aaron’s chest as Mack gently pulls away. Mack rests his head on my back, and we all catch our breath in a tangle.
What. Just. Happened?
Squeezing my eyes closed, I’m waiting for the shame to kick in—but instead of shame, I feel my wolf pushing to the surface, wanting to connect with Aaron so much, it’s as if she has no choice. I open my eyes.
Aaron looks at me with a matching deep intensity.
It all happens very suddenly. We’re staring into each other’s eyes when a sharp pain carves what feels like a half-circle into my arm.
“Ow,” I say, just as Aaron flinches.
We both look down to our shoulders at the same time.
Central on my shoulder, a silver half-moon shines against my freckled skin.
“No way,” I whisper.
“What?” Mack asks, sounding dazed and happy. He rolls off me, and I scramble off Aaron as if he burned me.
“No, no, no. This most definitely was not supposed to happen.” I look desperately over at Aaron, seeing a half-moon on him as well. “What did you do?” I ask.
“It’s a...” He looks up at me, his jaw working back and forth. “It’s a Mate Mark, Scarlet.”
“No, it’s not,” I say as I crawl off the bed.
I look between the guys I just had the most amazing, intense experience with, wondering how it all could go so wrong in a split second. “What's today, Mate Mark day? Everybody gets one?”
Shock wipes away Mack’s happy expression as his eyes fix on my shoulder. His gaze darts between me and Aaron before meeting my eyes. “What does this mean?”
“Nothing,” I say, covering my arm. “This isn’t happening.” I know I’m reacting so badly to this, but panic is flooding me where happiness and pleasure so recently had been.
Of all men, I don’t want Aaron Knight to be my true mate. I just escaped from a relationship with a man who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, and that's Aaron’s infamous reputation in a nutshell.
Glancing up into his face, I see hurt fall over his expression, and though guilt hits me hard, I can’t change how I feel.
This is so very bad, in every sense of the word.
“I’m going to...I need a shower.”
I back toward Aaron’s door until I bump into it. Only when I’ve hurried halfway across the apartment do I remember I’m completely naked and break into a run.
When I’m safely in the bathroom, I pace back and forth, hyperventilating, for a full minute before I remember to turn on the water.
A soft knock comes at the door just as I’m about to get in.
“Um...occupied.”
“Scar, it’s me,” Mack calls through the door.
Sighing, I open it slowly to face my best friend. He’s fully dressed in his jeans and T-shirt but carrying his shoes.
“Hey.” I make way for him in the bathroom and reach out to pull him inside.
He wraps his hand around mine before tugging me into a hug. Mack squeezes me to him, so tight I can hardly breathe. “Are you—okay with everything that just happened in there? We probably shouldn’t have done all that on the day you and Zane broke up.”
“No, Mack, you gave me something really special. Don’t feel bad about it.” I wipe at my eyes. “You made it safe for me to lose my virginity in a way I wanted to lose it after Zane controlled me for so long. I promise you, I was fine with every single moment until the last one—and that had nothing to do with you.”
“Okay,” Mack says with a long exhale. “Do you want company, or do you need some time alone to process all of this?”
I run my hands through my hair, feeling like I’m losing my mind. Did that just happen? Arching my back to look at him, I admit, “I might need, like, a day to figure out my head. It’s nothing to do with us, Mack—you and I will always be solid. It’s just werewolf stuff.”
“Werewolf stuff,” he says with a nod, surprising me with how little he’s pressing me for information. Truce or no, Mack always tries to get me to fess up. Maybe he needs a little space as well, I realize.
Hopefully in a day or so, we’ll really actually be solid again.
Going to my tiptoes, I kiss him gently once on the lips, then immediately hope I didn’t just cross some unspoken boundary of our friendship. Patting his chest, I whisper, “I love you so much. You are pretty much the person I’m closest to in this world, you know that, right?”
“You’re my best friend, too, Scarlet.” Leaning in, Mack gives me a light peck on my forehead before stepping back. “I’m going to come by tomorrow, okay? And will you call me tonight...actually call?”
There’s the Mack I know and love.
“Yes,” I say.
He leaves me a second later, and just as I’m about to step into the shower, I have to battle a sudden urge to go after him. But, I tell myself firmly, Mack really seems like he wants space as well.
So, I step into the hot spray and attempt, fruitlessly, to wash away my anxiety about what’s coming.
Chapter Twenty-four
Mack
I’m not a violent man, but right now I have to use all my willpower to resist smashing my fist through the wall.
There is no reason
for Scarlet to follow me.
I don’t want Scarlet to follow me, but as my boots hit the pavement on the ground floor of the Meadows apartment complex, I look back toward the stairwell and listen to see if Scarlet is there. But only silence trails me.
Of course.
Fuck my life.
After being in love with one woman for eight years, I got one night with her—no, not even that long—I got one afternoon with her, and then she found her true mate. The best part is, her true mate is a guy she met five days ago. Scarlet doesn’t even know Aaron.
Slowly, I slump down and sit on the bottom step, staring into my hands. I’d lied when I said there wasn’t going to be any changed feelings after being together. I hadn’t realized I was lying, but I should have known. The problem isn’t that I love Scarlet any more now than I did before; the problem is, for just a few minutes, I finally indulged in the idle hope I’d always pushed aside: that we could truly be together. I’d set that dream free, unleashed it. In that moment, with Scarlet coming apart in my arms, all I could think about was righting the wrongs that fucker Zane has inflicted upon Scarlet for so long.
I knew our relationship wouldn’t be instant. She needed time to live out all of her fantasies, and I could give her that. I knew her fantasies better than anyone. Scarlet was subtle in her hints, but I’d been paying attention for nearly a decade. Then, I had every intention of telling Scarlet exactly how I felt about her. I wanted the full deal: dating, marriage, and babies. I believed we had a real chance.
But a werewolf mate bond?
How can I even begin to compete with that? It would be wrong to even try.
I let my head fall into my hands and grip my hair until it hurts. Another arrow to the heart is the fact that out of all three brothers, Aaron is the most like me in personality and temperament. Shit, we even look a little similar, and I’d instantly liked the guy. When we were all together like that, I’d felt a bond.
Aaron is the werewolf version of me, which makes him perfect for her.
Shit.
Our similarities make it feel as if in a parallel world, Scarlet could be my mate. But I don’t live in that world—I can’t be stuck in this funk for another eight years, constantly waiting to make my move, then getting interrupted.
“Prince Macklin Banrigh, I was hoping to talk to you.”
I lift my head to look up into a somewhat familiar face, though I can’t quite place why the man’s features are so familiar. The man possesses the type of beauty my mother likes to surround herself with at court—the kind of beauty that requires so much maintenance and exhausting commitment, the people possessing it rarely have time for anything else. Dark hair surrounds the man’s chiseled face. The guy’s piercing blue eyes make me think of ice shards. He’s physically intimidating, larger than any human or werewolf I’ve ever seen.
“You were hoping to talk to me?” I ask. “Have we met before?” There’s something so familiar about him.
“Not yet, but I think you’ve met my brothers Lance, Aaron, and Darrel.” A disarming smile spreads across the man’s lips, and he leans down, offering me a hand. “My name is Jacob, Jacob Knight. Has Scarlet mentioned me?”
I stand slowly, brushing off my legs and trying to remember any mention of a fourth brother. “Sorry—she doesn’t tell me about the werewolf side of her life. I know your brothers because I happened to be here.” After what had just happened with Aaron, that’s the oversimplification of the year. But I don’t want Scarlet to get in trouble with her pack if I give out vague answers that could be misinterpreted as her telling too much. “Did you say you wanted to talk to me? Because I was just heading out. Perhaps I could give you some contact information and we could arrange a time to talk.”
I don’t want to be rude in case this man is some sort of authority figure over Scarlet, but I’m not going to talk to a complete stranger about her either. Also, I’m feeling emotionally drained in a way I haven’t in a long time—much too tired to make small talk with someone I might unintentionally insult.
A muscle ticks in Jacob’s jaw, but the flicker of annoyance smooths out almost instantly. “Of course. I’ll give you my card. Are you heading out or up?”
“Out.” I step out of the way. “Are you...?” I gesture up the stairs.
“Well…” The big man shrugs. “Jack sent me over to check on Scarlet—but judging from your smell, her injuries aren’t life-threatening.” Jacob’s full lips turn up into a knowing smile that has the littlest bit of an edge to it.
I take an involuntary step back but stop myself from backing away any further. The mention of Scarlet’s smell on me makes me want to deck the guy. It’s way out of line. And now I realize that I am turning into a violent man today, after all. Maybe werewolves talk openly about sex and I’m taking it the wrong way…but I don’t think so.
“Scarlet is taking a much-needed day off. But her injuries are better.”
“Well, then, let me walk you out,” Jacob Knight says.
I may not want company, but I find I want this dude to walk me out just to make sure he doesn’t head up to check in on Scarlet. I’m not sure what it is about this man, but something feels off.
It could just be that the guy is so obviously a werewolf dominant, but I don’t think I’ll be calling him to arrange a chat any time soon.
I gesture toward the door. “After you.”
The west-heading sun blinds me as I step out into the back parking lot. I keep close to Jacob’s back, for some reason, going on the instinct that if someone attacks, the big man’s body will block me.
That instinct probably saves my life, as ten giant men emerge from behind cars with guns trained on me.
Chapter Twenty-five
Scarlet
After forty minutes of talking to myself in the shower, the water runs so cold as to be intolerable, and I force myself to get out. Under the sink, I find lush towels large enough to probably cover the Knight brothers’ massive bodies. I wrap a towel around me three times before tucking it in.
Staring at the door, I whisper, “Get it together, Scar.” But then I can’t help reminding myself, “It’s a little hard when everything is falling apart around me. And…you know you’re really a mess when you start to respond to yourself—or when you start to lecture yourself about talking back to yourself—ugh.”
I open the door, glance around to see if the coast is clear, then rush to Aaron’s room. Peeking inside, I sigh with relief and let myself in. My suitcase isn’t where I left it, and it takes me a few seconds to realize Aaron shoved it under his bed, and when I pull it out, it’s empty.
I find my things folded in the drawers Aaron cleared out for me.
Even though I want to be annoyed at the presumption, looking at my clothing nestled in the oak drawers when I feel so untethered makes a small pulse of relief burst in my chest. Part of me expected Aaron to have chucked my stuff out his door after I so callously and unfeelingly threw our mate bond in his face.
Instead, he put my things away and set my toothbrush in a cup by his mirror.
Dressing in yoga pants and a loose shirt, I venture out into the living room and pad through. I follow my nose toward a delicious chocolatey smell and halt in the kitchen doorway.
Central in the kitchen, next to a preheating stove, Aaron beats a big bowl of rich brown batter. On the counter, a greased pan sits beside an open box of brownie mix.
He slows his movements to peer over his shoulder. “Hey.”
“Hi…uh, are you making brownies?”
“Brownies? No, these aren’t brownies.” I can only see a little of his profile, but from what I can see of his face, he seems to be smiling.
Stepping into his line of sight, I roll my eyes a little. “Okay, fine, stupid question. I’m just a little surprised, I guess, as I thought I was the only adult in the world who thinks a tray of brownies is a normal lunch.”
“Hmm,” Aaron says, still smiling. He turns the brownie bowl over the pan and starts ladl
ing the batter in. “Maybe it’s a true mate thing.”
I groan. “Okay, fine, I deserve that.”
Chuckling, Aaron pushes the tray into the oven and washes out the bowl. He sets the clean bowl upside down on a towel before wiping off his hands and turning to me. “Okay, I’ll confess. Before Macklin left, I asked him what I could do to make you not kill me when you came out of the shower.”
“I wasn’t planning to kill you—I was more plotting ways to get around an apology while easing my conscience,” I admit as I lean into the counter next to him. “What I mean to say is—I’m so sorry, Aaron, I acted like a complete asshole back there.”
“It’s not a big deal, Scarlet, it’s fine.” He’s smiling as he says it, but I can see hurt buried not too deeply in his amber eyes. “Do you want to watch a show or something while the brownies cook?”
What I want to do is apologize more—apologize until Aaron doesn’t look like he’s hiding hurt feelings, but I don’t. I follow him to the couch and am a little surprised when he sits right next to me and throws an arm over the back of the couch.
“Can we—talk about this? I’m sorry. I’m just really bad at letting resentment fester. I just want to have it out, or I won’t think about anything else.”
Aaron pauses, halfway in the motion of reaching for the remote, then settles back. “Okay, Scarlet,” he says as he leans his cheek into the pillow to look at me. “To be honest, I never imagined I would get a Mate Mark—but I guess part of me hoped if I ever did, the woman would be stoked and not look like she was ready to chew off her own arm to be rid of it.”
“I swear to you, I had no plans to chew off my own arm,” I say, hands held up in surrender.
He cocks one dark brow. “You sure about that? You looked pretty upset that it was me.”
Wiggling deeper into the soft couch, I fold my legs under me and turn fully toward him. “I was—”
“And you had sex with me, even though you had absolutely no interest in us being anything more or longer lasting than that hour or two.” He says the words as if they’re fact.
Dirty Alphas Page 19
