Page 351 of Claimed By the Rival Alpha

She turned in my arms and clung to me, still weeping but more quietly this time. I allowed my own tears to fall. It was impossible to keep them at bay.

Eventually, we went to the recliner. I took up most of the space, but Bryn lay on top of me. The chair wasn’t made for two, but when I pulled the handle that made it recline, it felt much less cramped. Bryn removed the blanket from her body and covered us with it. Her warm, naked skin pressed to mine was so soothing, I could have cried again.

The version of me from a year ago, the one who had been on the warpath for my birthright, wouldn’t ever have stopped to shed a tear. He would have lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and kept going even when the grief ate him up inside. But Bryn had taught me that it was okay to grieve and worry and cry. Her compassion and the strength of her conviction had proven to me that being strong all the time was a weakness. In this silence, I understood that how I used to think made me a hell of a lot closer to being like my father than how I thought now. I was glad I’d moved past it, even if it meant giving myself time to feel these deep emotional wounds.

“I won’t let Troy win,” Bryn vowed.

“Neither will I.”

She flinched. “Sorry. I thought you were asleep.”

I looked down at her and brushed the hair from her forehead. “I thought the same about you.”

The corners of her mouth lifted. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it wasn’t that anguished frown, either. So that was an improvement.

She took my hand and knitted our fingers together, putting our twined hands on her stomach. We listened to the sounds of quiet snoring, of someone walking on the cabin’s main floor.

This cabin did not feel like home. Not at all.

We jumped when the baby kicked at our intertwined hands, and when we looked at each other again, our smiles were genuine.

“You know…” I murmured. “All of this will feel worth it when I set eyes on our pup for the first time.”

“I think I have to agree with you.” She squeezed my hand. “All of this is for them. For our pack. If we can get past this, we can get past just about anything.”

“Yes.” I lowered my head, intending to kiss her forehead, but she looked up at that moment and our lips met. We hesitated and looked into each other’s eyes, searching each other’s gazes for permission. When we found it, we kissed again, deeper this time.

Her tongue brushed mine as she shifted position to straddle me. I rubbed her thighs, one of my hands heading upward until my fingers reached the wet heat of her pussy. Moaning, she reached down to stop my hand.

“I wantyou,” she whispered against my lips. “Please.”

“Yes.” I kissed her again, then again because she tasted so sweet. “But we have to be quiet.”

Her answering grin was outright wicked. “I’ll try.”

I hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt, so all I needed to do was slide the gym shorts I wore down my legs. She steadied herself with her hands flat against my chest as she eased down on me, and Ibit my lip. Being inside her was a bliss that took me aback each time I experienced it. We just fit so perfectly together.

She rode me slowly, enticingly, and the recliner squeaked at her pace. I smoothed my hands up her warm, creamy thighs and held her by the waist. My breaths left me in light pants as I watched her. It had been a little while since we’d had sex facing each other. It was my favorite way to be with her. It allowed me to see the pleasure contorting her face, her bouncing breasts, and her blush slowly spreading from her cheeks to her shoulders. She was so beautiful…so completely mine.

I closed my hand over one of her breasts. It molded to my palm, as if it was made to fit my hand. Bryn squeaked when my thumb circled her stiff nipple. That sweet little sound went straight to my cock. I wanted to ravage her, to make her scream and squeak again, but my men deserved their rest. And my mate, of course, ought to set the pace.

“Too much?” I asked in a breathy whisper.

She shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulders. “Do it again.”

A slow smile spread across my face. I released her breast so I could push her hair over her shoulder. “Good girl,” I murmured as I caressed her cheek, then brushed my hand down her throat to feel her lovely breast again.

She let out another squeaking moan and pressed herself into my palm. “Night,” she panted as her pace quickened. “Night, Night, Night…”

Each time she said my name, my cock twitched with pleasure. “Bryn, I fucking love when you say my name like that.”

“Mm, yeah?”

“Yeah.” My fingers dug firmly into her breast, then her waist. “Drives me fucking crazy.”

She gave me that wicked smile again. “You can,” she said, pausing to wince with pleasure. “You can let loose a bit…”

Just a bit? She must have no idea what she was asking…then again, her smile said otherwise. Even in this situation, my mate was testing me. Well, I could play that game, too. I smirked and eased my hands down her stomach so I could grip her waist again.