Page 17 of Forsaken Desire (Ruthless Wolves #1)

H e pumped his fingers inside me, sending rippling ecstasy through my veins. I whimpered, digging my fingers into his wide, bare shoulders. My hips wiggled without rhythm, moving with frantic twitches for more of his touch.

“Come for me, Princess.”

His husky voice catapulted me into a body-wracking release. Moans and cries mingled and blended. I couldn’t think past the decadent sensation. He was so utterly mine .

Mate. I clawed his skin, leaving the rasp of my nails behind.

I growled and slid my hand into his hair and bunched it.

He continued shoving his fingers inside me, dragging out the aftershocks of my orgasm.

I wasn’t sure how many I’d had, but finally the sensitivity became too much, and I gasped, trying to close my legs.

Pointless, since his knees pushed against my thighs, keeping them wide open.

My ragged breathing reached my ears. Every muscle in my body was numb. I couldn’t move. He finally stilled and pulled his fingers out of my core.

Without taking his gaze from mine, he slipped both fingers into his mouth. Pleasure rippled over his features, his eyes thinning, and a shudder wracked his body.

“My mate’s pussy is perfect,” he murmured and leaned to kiss my forehead.

“Is that why you ran off?” I muttered, my voice sounding winded. I pushed at his chest, uselessly. By the second shove, he moved an inch, but it was enough to allow me room to scoot my clothes down. “And lied?”

I moved back a few more inches and rolled to my feet. My dress fell to cover my bare ass. The detached hand lay on the floor. I’d seen worse in prison.

All I did was shake my head and turn to the exit.

“Josephine,” he snapped. “Not another step.” I didn’t stop, widening my strides. There was too much in my head, and I needed to be alone. Lucy was collecting toys into a bin. I angled right for her.

“Can you give me a ride into town?” Lucy hugged the basket of toys.

“Sure,” she said, smiling. “What happened to Alex?—”

She cut off, her eyes widening at what I was sure was Lucian storming toward us.

“Leave,” he ordered.

“Yes, Alpha,” she muttered and hurried deeper into the center.

I gritted my teeth and whirled.

“Fine.” Then I’d shift and get out of here. I was almost to the clear doors when Lucian grabbed my arm and yanked me to face him. I thwapped against his bare chest.

“Look at me,” he snapped.

I kept my attention on his sternum. He sighed, and his arm wrapped around my back, and he urged me out through the doors.

The vehicles had all dispersed except for his Mercedes and another small car.

I tried slipping to the side, but his arm tightened.

In a smooth movement, he pulled me into his arms, carrying me like a child.

“Alpha, put me down,” I spat, my temper slipping past the cage of my defenses.

His jaw twitched. Still, Lucian didn’t listen.

I gritted my teeth, shoving at his chest uselessly.

Skillfully, he jostled me to one side, balancing my weight with ease as he popped open the car door.

Once he set me on the passenger seat, he leaned over to buckle the seat belt, his smell enveloping me.

I swayed toward him. As soon as I caught myself, I snapped back, pulling myself out of the haze of his allure.

A click of the seat belt later, he gripped my jaw sternly, but no less gently.

“Do not fight me on anything, Josephine. You won’t like where it gets you.”

He’d lied. He was the Alpha, and he’d lied. “You had plenty of opportunities to tell me.”

His lips twisted, and the corners dipped. “I?—”

“No, lies by omission are still lies.” I had no urge to hear him out. “Just take me home.” The two-story house in the distance flitted in my memory. “ My home.”

He sighed, and his breath kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to lean into him. The only reason I knew he slipped into the driver’s seat was the bang of the door shutting and the engine roaring to life. I kept my eyes shut.

“Josephine,” he whispered.

I said nothing, focusing on breathing.

He sighed, and pebbles crunched under the tires.

I settled into the ride, trying not to spiral. Not only was he the Alpha, but he’d had a mating arrangement. He could have told me from the beginning, yet he chose to keep it hidden.

A hand settled on my thigh, and I growled.

He squeezed once, and his touch slipped away.

His lips thinned, and his jaw visibly twitched.

He didn’t look okay, but I didn’t care how upset he was.

Not after what I’d discovered. A few more minutes passed, and his sleek car bumped over the dirt road. He didn’t make another reach for me.

I finally relaxed, settling into the drive once I made sure he wasn’t trying to take me to his house.

With my eyes closed, I leaned back, sinking into the buttery leather of the seat.

I’d never directly asked him if he was the Alpha, but now I could pinpoint how he avoided my questions.

I’d been such a fool.

I pressed my lips together so hard it hurt.

Despite everything he’d lied about, I couldn’t help but feel at fault somehow. I should have thought to ask, but how would I have known? I knew the most basic shifter information from Tate, but she was the only wolf interaction I’d had in prison. Now I understood how lost I was.

Even after the event I’d just experienced, it was all new to me.

Who was I? And where did I come from?

My temples throbbed, and I sucked in a hard breath through my nose. Once I arrived at home, I needed to shift or the discomfort crawling over my skin would drive me crazy.

The rest of the drive went by without a word, just as I preferred.

I only opened my eyes once when the car revved onto an incline and halted.

The car headlights illuminated my duplex.

Once I undid my seat belt, I hopped out of the car and strode to the slab of cement now adorned with a gray, ribbed doormat, fished in my pocket, and unlocked the door.

Anything new that popped up around the house shouldn’t surprise me so much.

The car shut off, and I sighed, slamming the door behind me.

His large palm stopped me from shutting him out.

I spared him a brief glare and went directly for my room, shucking my clothes as I went, shifting in a burst. My limbs burned and stretched.

Now on all fours, I padded over to the bed and jumped onto it.

The mattress creaked and bounced under my paws.

I plopped down against my pillows with my back to them, keeping my head turned to the rest of the room.

Footsteps thudded in the living room. I moved my ears, focusing on the heaviness of the steps, tensing as they approached.

He strode into my bedroom, tugging his jacket off, watching me with intense focus.

“Josephine—”

I growled deep in my throat, letting the vibration shake my body.

His lips thinned, and he finished removing his coat, laying it across the end of the dresser.

He loosened his cuffs with aggressive tugs.

The moonlight caught his eyes, and they seemed to glow gold, the reflection of his wolf eyes glinting.

Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his silky, muscled skin.

My eyes dropped to his flexed abdomen and lower, to the line of hair running into the waistband.

With two wide strides, he was at the edge of the bed, directly across from where I lay against my pillows.

The corner dipped under his weight, and I growled again.

He jerked, and a short rumble echoed in his throat.

My warning didn’t stop him. His weight fell onto the surface and I stiffened, lifting my head.

“Fine,” he growled. He rolled off the mattress, and I settled back in my spot. His gaze hadn’t moved away from my ears, and I bared my teeth at him, groaning and grumbling. I settled into bed, lowering my head on my front legs.

He paced near the edge of the bed, running his hands through his locks. Each movement rippled the muscles of his body.

I could see why he was so desired.

All those women who had crowed about the Alpha’s sexual prowess weren’t wrong, but now that I knew it was him, it was hard.

No wonder he seemed upset that I wasn’t experienced. I must have been a crappy lay after all the women he’d fucked.

This male pacing at the end of the bed seemed so different from the cold, cruel Alpha who had been on the stage.

I’d heard him clearly deny any claim to Cierra. If only he’d told me about everything.

It’s only been days since you met . . .

No! We were fated. How could he not tell me?

I exhaled in a gust.

Lucian stopped his pacing.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” He speared his fingers through his hair, mussing the strands and making some stand upright. He’d seemed different on the stage. Cold and harsh. Nothing like the doting male who stood in my bedroom.

I didn’t know what to believe.

With so much uncertainty in my life, this only unbalanced me further.

Could I trust my mate?

Lucian sighed again, strode over to the wall across from the bed, and lowered next to the dresser, settling with his back against the wall. Once he propped his knee up, he rested his arm over it. At this angle, his upper body was cast in shadows, allowing me to see only the glint of his eyes.

“Josephine.” He paused. “Princess, you are my fate. I will wait for you.”

He said nothing else, and his promise echoed in my brain.

Would he really?

I tucked my tail closer to my body. It’d been a long day. Fortunately, I wasn’t due to work tomorrow until the late shift.

At the hotel my Alpha mate owned.

Great, what would the Alpha think about being fated to a felon?

My stomach roiled. Everything had already been complicated, and it was only worse now.

Eventually, exhaustion took over, and I slipped into undisturbed sleep.