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He began to bite her, sometimes soft and sometimes with a jagged edge, his teeth razing her neck, her jaw, her lips, her shoulders—even her wrists, as she clung to his shoulders.

The little pinpricks of pain cut through the liquid pleasure of him working her over his length, faster and faster, keeping her anchored to the sensations and refusing to allow her to float off and get lost in the rapture.

When she was close again, he lifted her almost all the way off his length, bending down to lick and bite at her nipples, switching between reverent tugs and claiming snaps of his teeth until a spark ignited in her chest and she cried out, her body shattering in his arms. He stood as her body grew boneless, spilling her back onto the table, the chessboard shaping to her spine as he lost his controlled, deliberate edge, grunting as he pushed into her faster and faster, jolting the table against the base of the window, his movements erratic and forceful until his breath stuttered and his hips stilled, pushing as far into her as her body would allow as he swelled and pulsed, washing her with heat from the inside.

“Fuck,” he said again, so rough and untethered that it made her realise they had been mostly silent the entire time, so focussed on each other that they had barely said a word.

Even now, she couldn’t think of anything to say.

She just wanted to hold him, to listen to his emotions through the bond.

He didn’t lift away from her, like he knew she wanted his heat and weight for a bit longer.

He blanketed her as they sank into each other, tethered by warmth and silence.

She could feel the soft ache in his chest, the swell of beautiful, thrilling love, and a hint of tingling obsession.

He was full of her, and she was full of him, and neither of them wanted it to end.

Mikel stepped out of his en suite and halted at the sight of Elijah leaning against his bedroom door. He frowned, glancing at his watch. “Are you up early or did you not sleep?” he asked, brows pinching in.

Elijah eyed the pink marks on Mikel’s shoulders and chest for a moment before releasing a strained breath. “I was … just sitting with the bond,” he admitted.

Mikel nodded, understanding. He had “sat with the bond” himself several times now, feeling the elation, desire, love, and affection that flowed whenever Isobel was with one of the others.

He could feel it even now—possession warring with warmth and contentedness as Isobel slipped back into bed between Oscar and Moses.

“What’s wrong?” he asked Elijah, towelling off his wet hair.

He hadn’t wanted to wash Isobel from his skin so soon, but it was the first time he had allowed himself to fully indulge in her, and he knew that if her sticky cherry scent remained clinging to his skin, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.

He would haul her out of that bed by her ankle and drag her back to his room like a caveman.

He wouldn’t let her go to class or practise. He wouldn’t let her eat or sleep.

“You know where I came from,” Elijah began, his tone hesitant, his eyes flicking around the room like he might find signs and clues of Isobel having been in there. He wouldn’t. They never made it to the bedroom.

“You know my background.” Elijah’s eyes finally settled on him, waiting for Mikel to nod.

“Gabe and I are similar in many ways, but … I didn’t think he would overcome it first. I didn’t think he would figure his shit out before I figured mine out.

It feels like everyone is learning how to do this except me. ”

Mikel’s heart sank for the other Alpha. He knew that feeling well. And yet … “Why are you talking to me about this, and not her?”

Elijah rolled his frosty eyes. “This isn’t something she can help me with.”

“But I can?”

Elijah’s gaze narrowed, his voice edged in wariness. “You’re a dominant. Teach me. I’ve explored kink before, but that was just a tool to separate myself from the Stone Dahlia clients. Maybe if I Dom her?—”

“The sub is always in control,” Mikel interrupted, his mouth forming a hard smile. “That’s the whole point of it. We only take because they’re giving, and it stops the second they say it stops. In Isobel’s case … it even pauses and resumes at her word, no argument. She has all the power.”

“But you feel in control,” Elijah argued. “I’ve seen you and Kalen with her. I can even feel you both now. I know how it feels. That’s how I need to feel.”

Mikel returned to the bathroom to hang up his towel and then sank to the edge of his bed, running fingers along the back of his stiff neck as he considered Elijah’s words.

He understood—he really did. At first, dominating Isobel was the only way he could get close to her and still feel safe, like he wasn’t untethering his entire existence and haphazardly tying it to hers for her to toy with at will.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Elijah said, the side of his mouth tilting.

“But you and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum. You withheld emotionally. I withheld physically. My issue is sex . Sharing my body with someone. I’ve dominated people in the Stone Dahlia, but I’ve only had sex twice.

Both times, I couldn’t … finish. So I started doing everything except sex, and the rougher I was, the easier it was. That’s fucked up, right?”

Mikel chewed on the inside of his cheek, fighting down the rage he always felt over what had happened to Gabriel and Elijah.

“No, it’s not. All of your formative experiences were aggressive and traumatising, so your mind is seeking similar aggression and trauma when you try to be intimate.

Our brains always reach for what’s familiar, even if it hurts us. ”

“I don’t want to hurt her.” Elijah stared at the floor, his crossed arms tightening, fingers digging into his biceps. “But if I flinch away from her?—”

“She’ll understand,” Mikel said, shaking his head. “It won’t change anything. ”

“It’ll make me feel like a damaged little fucking boy,” Elijah snarled, without any real heat.

“I know,” Mikel admitted.

“So teach me,” Elijah demanded. “Or I’ll learn from the internet, and nobody wants that.”

Mikel snorted. “No, we certainly don’t need any more internet Doms.”

“Give me the rules.”

“There isn’t an arbitrary list of?—”

“Spare me.” Elijah rolled his eyes. “You love rules. Quit fucking around and just tell?—”

“Trust,” Mikel interrupted, holding back a short laugh. “That’s the first thing you need.”

“She trusts me,” Elijah said, frowning.

Mikel hummed his agreement. “If they can’t trust you enough to not guard their reactions and tells, you can’t Dom them, because that’s your main job: reading their tells.

Knowing what they want without them having to say it.

Whether they get what they want is up to you.

You need to be able to read them to know how far to push and when to stop. ”

Mikel eyed the other Alpha, knowing he would look frustrated before the expression twitched across his face. Elijah had, of course, already assumed this much.

“If you want to dominate Isobel,” he said, “she’ll soften for you.

If you want to punish her, she’ll push you.

If you want to submit to her, she’ll care for you.

She’s an empath above all, and she loves you, so just trust that she’ll fall in with you, okay?

Don’t worry about the rules, don’t worry about how I did it, or how Gabe did it, just do it your way.

If you lead, I promise you, she’ll follow. ”

Some of the frustration eased from Elijah’s tight features, and Mikel could feel the sense of relief sinking into him through the bond. It was a vague answer, with no solid guidelines—exactly the sort of thing Elijah hated—but they both sensed how right the words were.

Finally, Elijah dipped his head in a nod. “Fine. Thanks.”