Page 30 of Breaking the Alpha (Serpent’s Tongue Ink #2)

“Grey would lose his shit if he saw us hollering at each other,” he sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

River’s shoulders relaxed a bit and he limped closer to the wall, leaning on it for support. “He’d be calling Winter to rat us out.”

“I never could break that tattling streak of his.” With a tight smile, Birch exhaled a shaky breath.

“I shouldn’t have lost my cool. I just…Winter trusted me to be the one to give you two a decent chance.

Instead I managed to get Grey kidnapped, you beaten to a pulp by a drug gang, and both of us signed up to work as narcs for the Feds.

I don’t think this is the chance he was hoping you’d have. ”

She could tell River’s frustration was deflating, the muscles running along his forearms no longer primed and tensed for action as he slumped against the wall.

“You got Grey through his first engineering degree and halfway through his second, Birch. We’re gonna have a fucking PhD in this family in a few years.

And you got me out of Epson, just like you promised Winter you would. ”

Birch went silent for a moment. “And when this is over and Grey is home, you’re going back. You have a life away from this place. A life you busted your ass to build.”

River glanced over at her, his expression unreadable while he muttered in half-hearted agreement.

*

As midnight approached, River left Birch sitting at the kitchen table, his silent phone in hand and Jocelyn at his side. With his mind heavy, he abandoned his crutches in the foyer and hobbled up the stairs to his room, the scent of Angelina’s lavender lotion hitting him when he opened the door.

“Any news?” she asked quietly as he walked in and his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Pulling his shirt over his head, he tossed it toward his hamper.

“Nothing. Birch is going to wait up for another hour but I doubt the cops will have any breakthroughs.” He plugged in his own phone and set it on the bedside table, every thought and movement feeling robotic and dulled. “But I have my ringer on in case.”

He could make out the silhouette of the spaghetti-strapped nightie she was wearing as she approached him, the blue one with the flowers. “Did you remember to take your meds?”

“Jocelyn stood and watched me take them as soon as you got in the shower.” Leaning into the wall for balance, he pulled his jeans off, grunting when he accidentally yanked at the dressing on his thigh.

She was at his side in an instant, kneeling down in the dim moonlight and smoothing her fingers gently along the tape holding the gauze to his leg. “We’re going to redress all of these in the morning. I want to make sure everything is healing up properly.”

Standing, she skimmed her hand along the cuts on his face then pressed her wrist to his forehead.

He took the opportunity to capture her hand in his and brought it to his lips before ducking his head down for a kiss, the numbness he felt since Birch’s outburst sliding away faster than he could process.

He could feel the day’s desperation and frustration rising up as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to him, his need to connect with her becoming almost painful.

Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers and squeezed his eyes shut, his breathing ragged. “We better not start this,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “There isn’t a calm or controlled bone in my fucking body right now and I’m scared as hell I’ll hurt you.”

Instead of backing away, she rose onto her toes and nipped at his throat, her hand reached between them to cup his erection through his boxers. “You won’t. I promise. I’m more worried about you hurting yourself .”

“What if—” He arched his head back and looked at the ceiling, his precarious control moments from snapping. “Angel, I’m really messed up tonight. I…I need the to feel the pain.”

“I told you I was going to be everything you need me to be during this,” she replied, flicking her tongue along his jugular. “Trust me enough not to hold anything back from me.”

*

Angelina clawed at the mattress, moaning as River lifted her hips and held her in position while he continued to pound into her from behind.

Her legs had given out two orgasms ago as his relentless domination over her body continued.

Her skin was damp with sweat, her hair a tangled mess falling into her eyes.

River’s fingers dug into her hip bones before he released her and flipped her over, hiking her legs onto his shoulders and thrusting back into her in one fluid movement.

The new angle hit something deep inside her and she grasped at his hand, her spine arching off the bed while she rode the crest over the peak again.

He slowed his ruthless rhythm while she came down, his breathing rough, his eyes locked on hers with the same mesmerizing intensity he’d had when he’d taken her on his dresser and on the floor.

Moving her legs from his shoulders to his waist, he crawled up her body and dropped his head into the crook of her neck.

His speed picked up again, his hand winding through her hair before gripping it gently.

His back arched as he let out a low groan and released inside her, finally collapsing onto his elbows and dropping his forehead to hers.

“I love you so fucking much,” he panted. “So fucking much.”

She struggled to get her own breathing under control, tuning into his until they fell into sync. “Do you think it’s too much too soon? This? Us?”

“I don’t think it’s too much or too soon,” he replied quietly as he rolled onto his back.

“Being here has reminded me of some of the messed-up crap we dealt with and the first person I wanted to talk about it with was you. Not Birch, who lived it and gets it. Not Grey. Not Winter. You. And that is scary as fuck.”

He tossed the blanket over them and dragged her in tightly to his side. Within minutes he was out cold, his arm wrapped around her while she lay awake and wondered how long they had before he would return to the life he’d built a thousand miles away.