Page 9 of Heart of the Rebel Mate (Wolf Billionaire #5)

CHAPTER 9

ELARA

T he night air is cool against my skin, but it does nothing to quiet the heat still thrumming beneath the surface. My grip tightens on the railing, my pulse an unsteady rhythm in my ears.

I can still feel him.

Adrian.

The way his presence consumed the air between us at the library. The way his voice, sharp and low, sent something trembling through me. The way I should have pulled away—but didn't.

I press my fingers to my lips, as if that could erase the memory of his breath ghosting over them. A shiver runs through me, but it's not from the cold.

This shouldn't be happening.

Whatever this is—this pull, this unbearable awareness—it's nothing. It has to be.

I close my eyes, exhaling sharply. Focus. The Council. The project. Cassian. There are bigger things to think about, bigger problems to face.

But no matter how hard I try, my thoughts keep circling back.

To him.

To the way my pulse betrayed me when he looked at me like that—like he saw through every wall I'd built.

I turn away from the railing, shoving a hand through my hair. I need a distraction. Work. Research. Something.

But before I can take another step, a sharp knock echoes through my apartment.

My breath catches.

I don't need to ask who it is.

I already know.

The door swings open, and he's right there .

Adrian.

For fuck's sake! Can't he leave me alone?

The dim hallway light catches in his silver eyes, shadowing the sharp planes of his face, his jaw locked tight, tension radiating off him in thick, invisible waves.

I grip the edge of the doorframe, breath locking in my throat because seeing him like this—raw, frayed at the edges like he's barely holding something back— does something to me .

And I hate it .

The bond pulses between us, unseen but felt , wrapping around my ribs, pulling tight .

My stomach clenches, and my heart betrays me with a sharp, stuttering beat.

For a second, neither of us moves.

Neither of us speaks.

We're standing too close, the small space between us heavy with heat and tension and something I refuse to name.

My throat dries and my fingers tighten around the door. "For fuck's sake," I breathe, dragging myself back into my body, away from whatever this is. "Can't you just leave me alone ?"

His nostrils flare slightly, his jaw tightening even more, but he doesn't step back.

I shake my head, exhaling sharply. "I'm tired, Adrian. Tired of hearing you rant about Cassian, the Council, all of it ." My voice wavers slightly, but I don't stop. "Just for once, I don't want to talk about them. I don't want to think about them."

Something flickers in his gaze—something unreadable, something dangerous.

His shoulders rise with a slow inhale, controlled, measured. His fists clench at his sides, his chest rising and falling a little too fast.

And then?—

His eyes darken. His lips part, breath coming faster now, like something inside him is slipping.

"Elara," he says, his voice strained, almost rough. "The bond—" He grits his teeth, dragging in a sharp inhale like it physically hurts to say it. "It's driving me insane ."

Heat licks up my spine.

"I can't take it anymore," he continues, his voice hoarse, uneven. "I can't take you walking away. I can't take you leaving ."

Before I can react, before I can even register the shift?—

He moves. Fast.

One second, we're apart. The next, his hands are on me— rough, desperate, claiming. His fingers dig into my waist, pressing me back as his lips crash against mine.

I gasp, instinctively pushing at his chest, but the moment my fingers meet the heat of his skin, my resolve shatters.

The bond slams into me, roaring through my veins, burning like fire in my blood.

He feels it too.

His breath stutters against my lips, and then—he devours me. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, demanding , his grip tightening like he's afraid I'll pull away.

But I don't.

I can't.

I arch into him, my hands sliding up his chest, fingers curling into his shirt. His growl vibrates through me as his grip firms , lifting me with effortless strength.

My legs wrap around him, instinct, need, surrender.

We hit the wall, the cool surface a shock against my fevered skin. He groans, pressing his forehead to mine, his hands roaming—possessive, unrelenting. His fingers skim under my shirt, dragging over bare skin, setting me ablaze.

"Fuck," he rasps, his control fraying.

I pull him down into another kiss, fierce, punishing. His response is instant—his hands everywhere , lifting my shirt, tossing it aside without care.

His lips blaze a path down my throat, his tongue flicking over the dip of my collarbone before trailing lower. He palms my breast through lace, then yanks my bra down, his mouth replacing his fingers, tongue swirling, teeth teasing—ruining me.

I gasp, my head falling back against the wall as pleasure crashes over me in waves, sharp and dizzying.

I want more .

My hands slide down his torso, over the ridges of muscle, nails dragging just enough to make him hiss through his teeth. I reach for the hem of his shirt, but he beats me to it, yanking it over his head in one fluid motion.

My breath catches .

The sight of him—his broad chest, the firm lines of his stomach, the muscles flexing beneath inked skin—is too much .

He looks wild .

Untamed.

His hands grip my thighs again, hoisting me higher, his hips grinding against mine, the friction blinding . My head spins, my body burns , the bond roaring between us, demanding we close the last bit of space.

"Tell me you want this," he rasps, his voice wrecked, his forehead pressed to mine. "Tell me to stop, and I will."

I meet his gaze, my nails digging into his shoulders, my breath coming too fast, too shallow.

"I don't want you to stop," I whisper.

The moment Adrian presses me into the mattress, his weight solid against me, I know there's no turning back.

A sharp inhale, his silver eyes darkening as they sweep over me.

"Beautiful," he mutters, his voice thick with something almost reverent.

Then his mouth is on me .

Heat engulfs me as his tongue flicks over my nipple, teasing, testing. His teeth graze sensitive skin, and I gasp, my fingers threading into his hair, pulling when he sucks deep, his grip tightening around my waist.

Pleasure coils inside me, sharp and demanding. I press my thighs together, desperate for relief, but he notices.

His low chuckle is wicked .

"Patience," he murmurs, his mouth trailing lower, his breath hot against my stomach.

Patience?

I want to tell him to hurry the fuck up , but then his fingers hook into the waistband of my pants, and the thought vanishes.

He strips them off in one swift motion, leaving me bare beneath him. The cool air kisses my overheated skin, but it's nothing compared to the heat of his gaze as he drinks me in.

I should feel exposed. Vulnerable.

Instead, I feel powerful .

Because he's losing control .

And I love it.

His hands grip my thighs, spreading them apart as he settles between them, his lips pressing open-mouthed kisses along the inside of my thigh, teasing, dragging this out on purpose .

Then his breath fans over the most sensitive part of me, and my whole body locks up .

"Adrian—" My voice is raw, desperate.

He groans, like hearing me like this destroys him, and then?—

His tongue flicks .

A cry tears from my throat as pleasure explodes through me, hot and sharp. My back arches, my fingers clutching the sheets as he devours me, his mouth moving slow, deliberate, working me apart with each deep, sinful stroke.

My thighs tremble around his head, but he holds me down , his grip firm as he pushes me higher until I'm gasping, writhing, begging for release.

It builds. Tightens. A storm inside me, on the verge of breaking.

Then his fingers slide inside me, curling, stretching, preparing .

A choked moan escapes my lips as he works me open, his tongue still teasing, his pace unrelenting.

"Fuck—Adrian?—"

His name is a plea, a prayer, a demand.

He growls against me, sending vibrations through my core, and the sensation wrecks me. The pleasure snaps , a violent, shuddering release that leaves me breathless, my body shaking beneath him.

But he doesn't stop .

His fingers are slow and gentle now, easing me down, but the fire between us is nowhere near extinguished.

By the time he rises over me again, his face dark with hunger, his breathing wrecked , I need him.

My hands reach for him, dragging his pants down, desperate to feel all of him.

His body is a masterpiece—strong, defined, muscles flexing as he hovers over me, his control hanging by a thread.

"Elara," he rasps, pressing his forehead against mine. His hands settle on either side of my head, bracing himself. "Tell me to stop, and I will."

I meet his gaze, my body aching, my pulse racing.

" Don't stop ."

A sharp inhale, a sound that's almost a groan, almost a curse. Then?—

He enters me, slow, stretching, filling.

My breath catches , a sharp gasp escaping as I adjust to him, the sensation bordering on too much, too intense.

His body tenses above me, his arms shaking as he holds himself still, as if giving me a second to breathe, to adjust, to feel .

Then, when my nails dig into his back, when I move against him, urging him on?—

He snaps .

His control shatters , and he thrusts deep, burying himself inside me completely.

A strangled moan slips from my lips as pleasure explodes again, raw and all-consuming.

Adrian sets a rhythm— deep, unrelenting , each thrust sending fire licking up my spine, each movement pushing me closer to something vast, something inevitable .

The heat between us is unbearable, an inferno that consumes everything. Every touch, every sound, every shared breath is amplified by the mate bond flaring wild and hungry , demanding to be completed .

And I can feel it.

The way it coils deep in my core, tightening, pulling , the unseen thread between us stretching impossibly taut.

His hands grip my thighs, his fingers digging into my flesh like he's losing control , his breath ragged, his groans sharp and unrestrained.

I can barely think, barely breathe —all I know is him.

His heat. His scent. The way he moves inside me, fills me so perfectly, like he was made for this, like I was made for him.

The pressure builds, sharp and searing, an unbearable pleasure curling deep inside me, winding tight . My nails rake down his back, a moan spilling from my lips as his pace falters, stutters —and then, his body locks up .

His arms shake, muscles straining, his chest rising and falling in sharp, ragged breaths.

"Elara—" His voice breaks, rough and desperate like he's fighting something.

Then I feel it.

A sudden, insistent pressure at my entrance, a thickening inside me, stretching me further, filling me.

I gasp , my body tensing as instinct collides with reason, as something primal ignites between us.

Adrian curses, his hands gripping my hips hard , his forehead pressing against mine, his breath coming in short, uneven pants. "Fuck?—"

The sensation of him swelling inside me, locking us together is too much, pushing me straight into blinding pleasure.

I cry out, my body shuddering beneath him as I break apart, stars bursting behind my closed lids, my walls gripping him tight .

Adrian lets out a guttural growl, his entire body tensing as his release slams through him.

Adrian's breath is ragged against my throat, his body still locked to mine, the aftershocks of his release shuddering through him. His grip on my hips loosens slightly, his fingers brushing against my skin with something softer now—almost tentative .

I can still feel him inside me, still stretched , still full , the thick base of his knot keeping us joined .

I squeeze my eyes shut, my chest rising and falling too fast, my mind spinning .

What the hell did we just do?

I should move. I should push him away, should put space between us before this gets even more tangled than it already is.

But I can't .

His warmth surrounds me, his heartbeat a steady thrum against my skin, and for a moment, just a moment, I let myself feel it . The way we fit , the way our bodies are still tangled, the way my name just left his lips like a prayer.

Like I matter .

What the fuck did I just get myself into?