Page 16 of Forced Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #3)

Collapsed against the couch, eyes closed, I let my breath heave in and out of my chest as every muscle in my body trembles with release. I’m so shattered that I see bright, spinning lights behind my eyelids, as if I’ve just been hit in the head or run myself to exhaustion.

I think my body definitely did get pushed to its limit. That was even more shocking than almost dying in the snow.

The painful memory cracks through my pleasure, forcing my eyes open. I wait for a rush of anger to taint my afterglow, but it doesn’t happen. The only feeling I have towards Damon right now is tenderness.

A mind-bending orgasm will do that to you, I guess.

The couch bends a little as Damon sits down beside me and wraps his arms around my shoulders. I relax against his hard chest, letting the echoes of pleasure run through me, wishing it would never fade.

It doesn’t have to. I could just give myself to him, right now.

As I snuggle against his chest, I feel the chains clink together, and it wakes me up a little.

That was, without a doubt, the best few minutes of my life. But is it enough to make me stay? That was way too close. If we actually fuck, I’m bound forever. And I don’t know if I want that.

“Are you okay?” Damon asks. “Can I get you anything?”

“No,” I murmur, snuggling against his chest so I don’t have to look up at him. “I’m fine.”

Seeing his face, his eyes, would make this too real. Right now, it just feels like pleasure without consequence. That’s what I wish it were.

I can feel the tight cuffs on my wrists, and I know they aren’t the chains that are keeping me here.

The ones keeping me here are of my own making—and they just got stronger. How can I walk away from this feeling?

The confusion is starting to collide with my serenity, making me teary. I snuggle a bit closer to Damon, wishing the moment wouldn’t end, but knowing that it already has.

“There’s an official dinner tonight,” he says. “I can’t remember if I told you. We’ll need to get ready soon.”

No one told me, but the news isn’t surprising. A big fancy party is a common thing for the elders to do after the ascension of an alpha. It gives him the opportunity to impress other pack leaders and demonstrate his authority over the pack.

Of course, Regina is probably hoping to make a fool of him. Damon has presence by the bucketload, but he can’t keep control of himself in formal situations. It would be easy for her to embarrass him, and it wouldn’t look good in front of the other packs.

“Did you hear me?” he asks.

“Yeah, I heard you,” I reply. “I’m just not ready to get up yet.”

“That’s okay. Take all the time you need. It’s not like they can start without me.”

I can’t help grinning, and I snuggle a bit closer to him as he gently strokes my hair.

I do enjoy his wit. He’s so quick and smart. He can also be very gentle. Are any of the stories about him really true?

It’s a disturbing thought. I don’t have any evidence of him being a terrible person, only secondhand or thirdhand stories.

He hunted me in the snow… but I did just run from the meeting without any warning. By the time he came after me, I was in deep trouble. I would have died if he hadn’t come, and he risked his own life, too.

It doesn’t escape me that Damon sent back the other members of his pack and put himself in danger for me without risking anyone else.

He tied me to the bed, kept me in chains… I was bound at my own wedding!

I can’t excuse this, no matter what kind of mental gymnastics I do. It seems entirely irrelevant, though, because I actually enjoy being tied up.

No one’s more surprised about that than me!

Anything else Damon’s been accused of—petty crime, violence, fights—all of it could have been shaded by whoever told the tale. I know absolutely nothing about him. Not really.

Maybe I should get to know him before I condemn him.

“Damon,” I whisper. “Why did you become alpha?”

His hand pauses briefly, then continues to stroke my hair and back.

“I’ve dreamed about it my whole life. My mother and I didn’t have a nice life here when I was a kid, and my father was dead. I always felt it was really unfair how the council treated my mom. She was ostracized… because of me.”

“Because of you?” I echo. “But you were just a little kid! How could it be your fault?”

I feel him shrug. “I personally heard Regina say it enough times. She seemed to make a point of finding my mother in public places and abusing her. This bled into the next generation, until I just couldn’t catch a break in school.”

“Oh,” I say, remembering all the gossip Krista shared with me. Whenever she told me a story with Damon in it, she was brutal in her assessment of him.

And I just believed it. I assumed he was dull, slow, and stupid. But he’s none of those things.

“You left school, though, didn’t you?” I ask.

“Yeah. My mom left me with my uncle, and then she disappeared. We found out later that she died, but I don’t really know how. I came back for the funeral, but the whole pack acted like I didn’t have the right to be there.”

“At your mom’s funeral?”

“Well, in town at all. I think the only reason I wasn’t driven straight out was because it was a funeral.”

“But then what? Did they actually run you out of town?”

“I didn’t give them a chance. I took off.”

I’m tempted to ask about the next few years, which is apparently when he built his gang and started a life of crime, but I shy away from that topic.

Maybe I just don’t want to know. It would clash with the “Damon’s a great guy” cheer squad I’ve got going on in my head right now.

“So, what about Valentine Creek?” I ask. “Why do you care so much about them if it was never your home?”

Damon tenses up, and I wish I could see the look on his face. Being snuggled against him seems to have helped him open up a bit, though, so I stay where I am.

“My uncle Leroy told me about it. He said it was a very small, beautiful town. A simple place. Mostly farmers, not much modern civilization. It wasn’t easy for him to leave, and once he escaped, he couldn’t get back through the sentries posted by the Eyrie.”

“Why did he leave?”

“Mostly because of the feud. Besides, after my father died, he had no reason to stay, and it wouldn’t have been easy for him to do so, considering the circumstances.”

“What do you mean? How did your dad die?”

“He was killed in the alpha’s challenge.”

I go quiet, feeling Damon’s heart beating through his chest right next to my cheek. I can feel how tense he is now. All of his muscles tighten up as his heartbeat gets stronger.

I want to ask him how he feels about all of this and what it was like for him to end up out in the woods with his uncle, literally between the two towns, belonging to both but having a home in neither. But I don’t want to tread all over his pain.

He’s not just an outcast from both places, though. He could heal the rift! He has royal blood from both packs, and if he could rule both, he’d reconcile them.

This realization is as shocking as a bucket of ice water tipped over my head.

No wonder Regina sees him as a threat!

My mind is full of even more questions now. If Valentine Creek really is a peaceful place, then it would be for the good of everyone to stop the fighting and bring peace.

What if they are all thieves and murderers, though? Then it would be the end of Gryphon Eyrie. And Regina is a champion of righteousness. I mean, they did kill Damon’s dad.

Yeah, in an alpha challenge. Just like the one here, where Damon killed nine wolves to ascend.

My head is suddenly aching, and I sit up, rubbing my temples. All the good feelings are gone. I’m so conflicted, I feel sick.

“Are you alright?” Damon asks gently. “Do you have a headache?”

“Yeah,” I say. “It’s not too bad, though.”

“You haven’t eaten since breakfast. Do you need something now, or can you wait for dinner at the manor?”

I examine him closely, and I can’t detect any false concern. When he acts like this, he seems entirely genuine in his desire to care for me.

“I could use a snack,” I admit.

“Sure,” he says, getting up. As he walks across the room, I notice his natural grace, apparent in his every movement.

It’s a crime this man never got to dance ballet.

The idea of Damon in a tight leotard makes me giggle, but when I think a bit harder about it, the idea of his hard, bulging muscles lined by slick white Lycra distracts me so much, I have to shove the image out of my mind with brute force.

Now I’m horny again. I’ve never been this turned on by anyone.

Damon comes back into the room with a cup of tea and a small plate of biscuits. He puts them down on the table instead of handing them to me. When he stands in front of me in complete silence, I look up into his eyes to see him scowling.

What the fuck?

He grabs my chain, and I brace myself for the worst. But to my shock, he pulls out the key and unlocks the manacles.

“Thank you,” I say, stunned.

“Yeah,” he mutters, sitting down next to me. “I still don’t trust you, but it just doesn’t seem right to leave them on.”

“Because it was right to put them on in the first place?” I challenge.

He doesn’t answer, just gives me a brooding look. There’s so much going on behind his eyes, I feel my anger dying down a bit. I focus on my tea and biscuits instead, my headache fading a little. But my inner war only gets worse.

I want him too much. I can’t think straight. Maybe I should get away from him for my own good. I know my desire could lead me to do something stupid. Then we’d be stuck with each other for life.

If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t like the idea, but I also know if I refuse to consummate our marriage and he loses his position, it’s not like we could just start dating.

Is he a bad guy or not? I just don’t know.

I finish my tea with a little slurp, and Damon gets up.

“We should get ready,” he says. “Dinner will be starting soon, and we’ll have to put on a good show for the other packs. Are you ready?”

No.

“Yeah,” I say, standing up. “I need a shower… and a nice dress.”

“I had one of my guys bring your things from your car. The bags are up in our room.”

“Oh, you guys found my car?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles. “It’s not like it was well-hidden.”

“Oh, okay. Well, thanks.”

“No problem.”

The mood turns awkward as I follow him up the stairs.

He goes straight to the bathroom and turns on the water, and a bit of the confidence I felt this morning returns to me.

I pull off the black gown and push past him, claiming the warm stream of water for myself.

I expect him to back off, but he takes off his clothes and joins me.

Seeing him naked affects me a lot worse than it did before. My body is throbbing again, all the areas he recently stimulated begging for his touch. My body is craving him, and the sensation is intoxicating.

I finally understand how women get themselves into situationships with the wrong guys. I can’t ignore the rush in my veins, the tingles on my skin. I just want to feel that way again.

Damon rubs soap across his chest and shoulders, his ivory skin gleaming as his muscles bulge. Wet, black strands slick down his neck, framing his sharp cheekbones. In the harsh fluorescent light, his eyes look extremely dark, without a hint of the gold brought out by sunlight or flame.

When he leans towards me, I step closer, running my hands across his wide chest. He kisses me, his lips hot and sweet under the flowing water. I feel too exposed, as if allowing him to pleasure me without the restraints is too real. Too much like a decision.

And I haven’t chosen… not yet. I don’t know if I’m following my heart or just my desire.