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53

SKYE

D inner was a quiet affair. Griffin’s mother, Bernie, had been a gracious host, but Griffin was right; she was completely ignorant of what was happening under her own roof. She ate up Damien’s smiles and compliments, even going as far to reprimand Griffin like he was a kid when he didn’t act the part of a gracious Alpha host.

Griffin had nearly broken his wine glass when Bernie commented that his father had never been so disrespectful to visiting Alphas.

Oddly enough, my dad was the person who made everything bearable, easily deflecting comments and navigating the vicious undertow of the conversation. He charmed Bernie and even tempered Damien and Trace a few times before things could spiral into becoming ugly.

I tried to follow his lead, focusing on complimenting Bernie and outright ignoring Damien and Trace as they sat across from me. I even managed not to react when Bernie asked Damien about his mate and he casually dropped that he had already filed for divorce.

Damien and Trace had taken up the empty guest rooms in the Alpha house, which was fine. Griffin tossed his car keys to Remy when we were finished so Remy could drive us to the hotel where our pack was.

Nikolai hesitated at the front doors of the hotel after Remy parked the car.

“I’m going to head out and make sure the pack is all right,” he told me.

“Is that safe?” We were still deep in Windale territory, and I didn’t know how they would feel about a lone wolf running through their lands.

He held up his arm, the copper band Lulu had fashioned catching in the light. “They won’t even know I’m here. I want to make sure Alexei is ready in case we need him tomorrow.” His gray eyes shifted between us. “I trust you two can manage your way inside without incident?”

Remy nodded. “Yeah. Looks like Griffin’s guys are in the lobby, keeping our packs separate.”

I looked through the glass doors leading to the lobby and realized there were a dozen or so men hanging out in the seating area by the front desk.

“Very well. I will see you both in the morning.” He started to turn away.

“Dad?” I said hesitantly, stepping away from Remy’s side.

My father looked back at me with a strange smile on his face. “Yes, little wolf?”

“Thank you,” I told him. “For... everything. I don’t think we could have done this without you.”

He smiled down at me, his gaze soft. “Of course you could have. But I’ll admit I’m enjoying watching you own your power. Anything of mine you desire, you need only ask.”

I sucked in a breath and closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back, his powerful arms wrapping around me like steel bands that would shelter me from the coming storm.

He released me after a second. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I replied quietly, moving back as he turned and jogged away. I watched until his frame melted into the shadows.

Remy’s arms came around me from behind, pulling me back against his chest. I melted under his touch, letting my shoulders relax as his lips pressed against my claiming mark.

“I’m proud of you,” he murmured against my skin.

I scoffed lightly and turned in his arms so I could see his eyes. “What for?”

“I know what it took for you to open up and let him in,” he answered, lifting a hand to smooth the hair from my face. His fingertip traced my jaw and then my lips. “I’m proud of you for giving him a chance. For giving yourself a chance to have him in your life.”

“I’ve only known him for a week,” I replied, shaking my head. “But I trust him.”

“He’s your dad.”

I smiled. “Yeah. He is.”

“Let’s go figure out where our room is, and then I need to talk to Rhodes.” He kissed the tip of my nose and claimed my hand with his, pulling me inside.

We checked in with the front desk and headed up to our room. Remy let me inside, and I waited, an odd combination of amused and concerned, as he checked the room to make sure no one was in there.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” he told me, kissing me soundly before he left.

I headed for the suitcase that had been brought up and took out a pair of comfortable pajamas before heading into the bathroom and taking the world’s longest shower. I let the hot water rain down on my neck and shoulders, easing some of the tension coiling my muscles into knots.

By the time I exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam, Remy was back and waiting for me on the edge of the bed, talking on the phone. He glanced up at me with a tired smile as I pulled the knot on my towel tighter against my chest.

“No, we’re good, Dad,” Remy said, watching as I came closer.

“Tell him I said hi,” I whispered.

“Skye says hey,” he parrotted into the phone. He listened for a few more minutes. “I will. I love you, too. Bye.”

He hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. “Dad says hi back.”

I stepped between his spread legs, my fingers running through his dark hair. “Everything okay with Rhodes?”

He nodded, his eyelids drooping as my nails scratched his scalp. “Yeah. We’re all good.”

“Ten in the morning, right?” I asked, glancing at the clock on one of the bedside tables. It was after 9 p.m. now. That only gave us a little over twelve hours before the challenge.

Remy nodded. His knuckles dragged up the backs of my legs until they reached the towel. He fingered the edge of the material.

“You need to get some rest,” I whispered, wanting him to be as ready as possible.

He made a sound in the back of his throat. “I’m too wired to sleep. So much is riding on tomorrow.”

I grabbed his hair a little harder and forced him to look up at me. His dark eyes were tight with worry.

My head tipped to the side as I studied him. “Guess I’ll have to wear you out a little first then.”

The exhaustion in his gaze slowly burned away, replaced by hunger as he looked at my mouth. His hands reached for the front of my towel, and his grin turned wolfish when I didn’t stop him from easily pulling the material from my body.

“I love the way you think,” he murmured roughly, leaning forward to kiss my hip as he dragged a hand up the inside of my thigh.

With a sigh, I stepped out of reach. “No.”

He blinked at me and then frowned. “No?”

“I said you needed to be worn out,” I elaborated with a saucy grin.

“Oh, do I?”

“You do,” I said firmly, my eyes raking over his form. I licked my lips, my breath catching as I squeezed my thighs together, the sudden surge of arousal making me clench around nothing.

I swallowed roughly. “Strip.”

His eyes flared with heat a second before he stood up, his body brushing against mine intentionally. His shirt was first, revealing a playground meant only for me that made my mouth water.

I resisted the urge to touch him, to map the ridges and planes and muscles I knew so well.

His pants went next, simultaneously with his boxers. He kicked them off, grinning as I devoured him with my eyes. The thickening length aimed directly at me was making my brain fritz out.

With a low chuckle, Remy reached for me.

I planted my hands on his chest—God, I loved his chest—and shoved. He fell back into the bed with a laugh that abruptly ended when I sank to my knees in front of him.

“Skye— fuck ,” he hissed as I took him in my hand, stroking up his shaft and sucking his tips between my lips.

I smiled to myself as I licked the pulsing vein on the underside of his dick and his entire body locked up. I took my time, alternating between sucking him into the wet heat of my mouth and using my hand.

I loved working him up like this, watching him groan and pant as I took control. It was a head rush, knowing that I was doing this to him. One hand clutched the edge of the bed and the other tangled in my hair, guiding me.

“Skye,” he muttered, “get your ass up here.”

I gave his length one last, dragging suck before doing what he said. I straddled him, keeping my aching center off his lap while he crushed his mouth to mine. He licked into my mouth, tasting himself on my tongue, as we dueled for dominance over the kiss. The mate in me wanted to submit, but the Alpha in me craved his submission.

Reaching between us, I angled him at my entrance and slowly sank down until he was buried inside my body. We both groaned, the sounds twisting into one as they merged between our fused mouths.

I rocked my hips, loving the feel of him filling me up at this angle and the way my chest pressed to his.

Remy let me set the pace but then one of his talented hands wedged between us, slipping against the side of my clit and messing up the rhythm I had set. I clenched around him at the sharp pleasure, wringing a hiss from his lips.

He did it again, sliding his finger in lazy strokes around the tiny bundle of nerves at my center until I forgot I was supposed to be making him crazy. I convulsed around him, groaning my release into his shoulder.

I had barely finished before he flipped us over, pressing my back against the mattress and planting his feet on the floor for leverage as he drove into me. I glanced over his shoulder, my eyes going wide as I realized I could see us both from this angle in the mirror. The erotic pumping of his hips as his hips snapped against mine would be forever seared into my memory.

His lips seized mine in a slow, burning kiss that made my toes curl. He commanded the kiss and I lost myself to the chaotic bliss of sensations he was wringing from my body.

His moth left mine, peppering kisses across my jaw and down my throat as his fingers teased one of my nipples. A second later, his mouth closed around the tight bud.

I whimpered against him, lifting my hips to meet him and groaning as he ground his pelvis against mine, lifting one of my legs to sink deeper into me.

“God, Remy,” I moaned, feeling myself starting to topple over the edge again.

He kissed my throat, his teeth grazing the claiming mark. “Let go, baby.”

I shattered around him, almost missing his low groan as he jerked inside me, his body shuddering as he fell apart with me.

Still gasping, I absently kissed his shoulder. “I was supposed to be seducing you ,” I mumbled.

He smiled against me. “Pretty sure you did.”

I groaned again as he rolled us to the side, slipping out of me. My center clenched around nothing, missing the way he filled me.

“Are you tired now?” I asked, unable to stop my own sleepy yawn. A stress filled day on top of still being drained from Lulu’s magic and two orgasms? Sleep was inevitable for me, but I would fight it to stay awake with Remy and soak in whatever time we had together before the challenge.

His thumb brushed against my lower lip. “A little, yeah.”

“Good,” I managed.

He chuckled and the bed dipped as he got up.

I stretched an arm out for him. “Come back.”

“Hang on,” he laughed, going into the bathroom and emerging a second later with a damp washcloth he used to clean up the mess we’d made between my thighs.

Little ripples of pleasure echoed through my body as he gently cleaned my oversensitive folds. He tossed the towel aside and lifted me higher into the bed, tucking me under the covers and climbing in beside me.

He snuggled my back against his chest, kissing my shoulder before he rolled over to turn off the lights.

“I’ll always come back to you,” he whispered as I fell asleep.