Page 242 of Alpha Mates

By the time he removes his hand, there are unshed tears in my eyes, and I need him. I whine with frustration, and he tries to soothe me with kisses while he hastily looks around. There’s no lube here, but there’s oil, and Aiden parts to grab it before he returns quickly, blanketing my body with his warmth and his love.

He kisses me gently before he pulls back to look at me. We’re both panting, both barely keeping our souls contained within our bodies, but when Aiden looks at me, I think I might return to the Plains.

There’s only love in Aiden’s eyes—love for me, love loyal to me, love that makes me feel so safe that it forces my tears to slip free. He kisses them away, holding me close until I’m ready, and begging him with my soul to sink inside me.

Aiden lathers himself with the oil, working some past my entrance before he stops to look at me again. I nod quickly, smiling for him, and as his lips find mine.

The head of him is the hardest part, but I’ve taken him before, and as I breathe through it and he slips inside, I moan as the rest of him follows. We pant against each other, holding tight once he’s completely buried inside.

I shudder beneath him, tears slipping free in abundance now as pleasure wafts through me in waves. He’s not even moving yet, but he’s here, with me, and it’s what we’ve both desperately needed for so long.

Aiden takes me then—slowly, carefully—and though it’s nothing like our times before, it shatters my mind with pleasure in entirely new ways. I cling to him as he thrusts deeper, and we moan together as he hits the spot that makes me see stars.

I throw my head back as he rocks inside of me, keeping his pace slow and devoted. It’s like a gentle lull that carries me out to sea, a measured thing that builds and builds, until it’s nearly blinding.

I feel myself verging towards the edge too soon to stop it, not that I want to.

I gaze at Aiden through slitted eyes, and he’s already there and ready for me, ready to catch me.

I love you,I whisper through our link.

I love you too,he vows, kissing me as I come, releasing all over my chest with a sharp cry.

Aiden is right there with me, emptying himself deep inside me. I whine, trapped in the pleasure, shuddering beneath him as his hips slow.

Aiden sinks to his side, and I follow him, keeping his cock inside of me as he gathers me up against him. Lying on our sides, we stare at each other for a long time, transfixed, happy.

It would be okay. It might not feel like it, but eventually, it would. Because Aiden’s here, and Aiden would protect me. He’s the only one who always did.

I lean forward and kiss him again, smiling when his leg slides over mine, and I hear our hearts beating in the same quiet rhythm.

Chapter 49

Aiden

“Would you stop looking at me?”

Julian asks the question without glancing up, so I come to the completely logical conclusion that he’s not talking to me. While he waits for a response from his imaginary friend, I keep staring.

He makes it to the sixty-second mark before his stubbornness cracks and he looks up at me—well, glares at me. He looks annoyed as fuck, but it’s also the most he’s looked like Julian in days.

“Aiden.”

“What?”

He gives me a look like he actually expects me to reply to his first question.

“I don’t think I can.”

And just like that, the frown disappears, and colour spills into his cheeks.

If I loved Julian’s blushes before, I fucking adore them now.

He fixes his attention back on the menu with mock determination. He pretends to read it, so I pretend not to know what I’m doing when I rub my ankle against his under the table. He jerks in surprise before his wide eyes jump up to mine again. The glare returns in short order, and it’s like I’m falling in love all over again.

Jewels’ blue eyes dart around every inch of the low-lit restaurant we chose for dinner, scouting for witnesses. Unbeknownst to his anxiety, nobody here gives a damn about us, and even if they did, the long tablecloth draped over our table keeps them from seeing a thing.

Still, Julian was and always would be a goodie two-shoes, so he gives me a warning look before returning to the menu. I continue my teasing, inching my foot higher, but he doesn’t falter again. He acts like nothing’s happening.