Page 18

Eli

The walk back to my cottage passes in a haze of anticipation and disbelief. Jolie’s hand in mine is soft, warm and trusting. It also feels like a miracle.

She chose me. Not Romeo. Not the scent match that biology demanded. Me.

The wind chimes sing their gentle melody on the porch, welcoming us back to my sanctuary. My heart is racing, my Alpha instincts warring between protective tenderness and desperate need.

“Second thoughts?” Jolie asks quietly, noticing my hesitation as we reach the front door.

“Never,” I say, turning to face her. “Just...making sure you’re certain. Once we cross this threshold, everything changes.”

She steps closer, her amber eyes steady and sure. “I told you by the lake, Eli. I’m choosing you. All of you.”

The conviction in her voice breaks the last of my restraint. I unlock the door and guide her inside, immediately pulling her into my arms. This time, when our lips meet, there’s no hesitation, no gentle exploration. Just hunger and need, and three years of loneliness finally finding its answer.

Jolie melts against me, her hands fisting in my shirt as she kisses me back with equal fervor. Her scent—that impossible sunshine warmth—fills my cottage, mixing with the familiar smells of home to create something entirely new. Something that feels so right.

“I’ve wanted this since that first night in the garden when I found you with Romeo,” I confess against her lips, my hands roaming over her back, memorizing every curve. “Wanted you.”

“Then you have me,” she whispers, and the simple offer nearly brings me to my knees.

My mouth lands on hers as I guide her toward the living room.

We stumble slightly as we dance around the furniture, laughing breathlessly against each other’s lips.

When the back of my legs hit the sofa, I sink down, pulling her with me.

Jolie settles onto my lap, straddling my thighs.

The position bringing our bodies into perfect alignment, and I can feel the heat of her even through our clothes.

My hands span her waist, holding her steady as she rocks against me.

“You’re so beautiful,” I murmur, trailing kisses along her jaw to a spot just below her ear. “So perfect.”

She shivers at the contact, her head falling back to give me better access. “Eli, please...”

The breathy plea undoes me completely. My hands find the hem of her hoodie, tugging it upward. She raises her arms without hesitation, letting me strip the garment away. Underneath, she’s wearing a simple cotton bra that somehow looks more erotic than the finest silk.

“Your turn,” she says, her fingers already working at the buttons of my flannel shirt.

I help her push the fabric from my shoulders, watching her eyes darken as she takes in my bare chest. I’m not gym-buffed and hairless like my brother.

My body is hard from working the land and I don’t care to shave.

She seems to like it. Her hands explore tentatively at first, then with a growing confidence, she maps the planes of muscle and the scars that tell the story of a life lived outdoors.

“You’re incredible,” she breathes, leaning down to press kisses across my collarbone.

The feel of her mouth on my skin makes my Alpha purr with satisfaction.

This is what I’ve been missing, what I’ve been denying myself for years.

Not just the physical pleasure, but the emotional intimacy, the sense of completion that comes from being with someone who truly sees me.

I roll us over, pressing her back into the soft cushions of the sofa. She looks up at me with such trust, such desire, that my chest tightens. “Are you sure about this, sunshine?”

“Don’t call me that,” she says, but there’s no heat in it. “It makes me feel too much.”

“Too much what?”

“Like I might fall in love with you.” The admission hangs between us, raw and honest.

I cup her face in my hands, studying every detail of her features. “Would that be so terrible?”

“Terrifying,” she corrects softly. “But not terrible.”

I kiss her. She responds eagerly, her legs wrapping around my waist to pull me closer. The new position brings us into intimate contact, and we both groan at the sensation. My hands explore the soft skin of her torso, reverent and worshipful.

When I reach the clasp of her bra, I pause, giving her time to object. Instead, she arches against me, silently granting permission.

When the bra falls, the sight of her bare breasts takes my breath away. She’s perfect—all soft curves and creamy skin that flushes pink under my attention. I lower my head to worship her properly, drawing one peaked nipple into my mouth.

“Oh God,” she gasps, her back arching as her hands fist in my hair. “Eli, that feels…"

I lavish attention on her breasts, alternating between gentle kisses and firmer pressure until she’s writhing beneath me. Her slick is soaking through her pants as her scent grows heavier, richer, telling me exactly how much she’s enjoying my ministrations.

“I need more,” she pants, tugging at my hair to bring my mouth back to hers. “Please, I need more of you.”

She pushes at my shoulders, and I pull back, confused. But then she’s sliding off the sofa, sinking to her knees on the soft rug between my legs. The sight of her there, looking up at me with dark eyes and swollen lips, nearly stops my heart.

“Jolie,” I start, but she’s already reaching for the button of my jeans.

“Let me,” she says simply. “Let me take care of you.”

Her fingers make quick work of my zipper, and then her small hands are freeing me from the confines of the fabric. I’m already aching. My cock jerks with embarrassing eagerness.

“You’re beautiful,” she murmurs, her breath ghosting over my sensitive skin.

When her mouth closes around my cock, I have to grip the edge of the sofa to stop me from losing control completely. It’s been so long, I’m going to come down her throat in a few seconds. Like she knows, she slows.

“Sunshine,” I groan, one hand gently tangling in her hair. “You’re going to kill me.”

She pulls back with a smile that’s pure wickedness.

Her head lowers against and she takes me inside her mouth. She swirls her tongue around the head and down the underside. With each sound I make, she’s learning what I like, and soon she finds a rhythm that has me seeing stars. But as much as I’m enjoying her attention, I need more. Need all of her.

I gently extract myself from her mouth, ignoring the keening noise of protest she makes, and pull her back onto the sofa.

“My turn,” I say, already working at the button of her jeans. She lifts her hips to help me strip away the last barriers between us, and suddenly she’s naked beneath me, all creamy skin and trusting eyes. I take a moment just to look, to memorize this perfect moment before everything changes.

“You’re staring,” she says, but there’s no self-consciousness in her voice, only patience.

“Can’t help it,” I admit, trailing my fingers down her body. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I worship her with my mouth and hands, licking and sucking her clit. Learning every sensitive spot, every place that makes her gasp and arch beneath me. When I finally settle between her thighs, she’s already trembling with need.

“Please,” she whispers, her hands reaching for me. “I need you. Now.”

I position myself at her entrance, pausing to meet her eyes. “This changes everything, you know that?”

“I’m counting on it,” she breathes.

I enter her slowly, giving us both time to adjust to the incredible sensation. She’s perfect—warm and tight—and when she wraps her legs around my waist, I have to fight not to move too fast.

“Okay?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“More than okay,” she sighs, pulling my mouth down to hers. “You feel perfect.”

We move together slowly at first. But as our passion builds, gentle becomes urgent, and tender becomes desperate. I lift her from the sofa; her legs still wrapped around me, and carry her to the kitchen.

“What are you—“ she starts, but her words dissolve into a moan as I press her back against the wooden table.

“Need more room,” I explain breathlessly, adjusting our position so I can move more freely.

The new angle draws cries of pleasure from both of us.

Jolie wraps her fingers around the edges of the table as she meets my thrusts with equal fervor.

Her head falls back, exposing the elegant line of her throat.

My tongue slides over my upper teeth as my alpha instincts surge with the urge to mark her.

I resist. This is about choice, about a connection that goes beyond biology.

This is about trust.

“Eli,” she gasps, her nails digging into my shoulders. “I’m close, I’m so close—“

I increase my pace, driven by the need to give her everything she wants. But then she’s pushing against my chest, asking me to stop, and I freeze immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, searching her face for signs of pain or distress.

“Nothing,” she pants, sliding off the table with shaking legs. “I think I have a splinter in my ass.”

“Do you want to stop?”

“No way.”

I laugh as fresh heat courses through my veins. “Come here.”

I pick her up and wait for her to wrap her legs around my waist. She shuffles down a little until my cock rests on her clit. I laugh. “Such as needy Omega.”

“I am. Against the wall.”

I don’t trust myself to speak again, just nod and walk to the living room wall. When there, I press her back against it, and she reaches for my dick with hungry hands.

“Like this,” she breathes, guiding me back inside her. This position is different, more intense. I brace my hands on either side of her head, using the wall for leverage as I move within her.

“Yes,” she moans, her head falling back against the wall. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”

Our passion nears its peak, and my knot swells. Jolie’s hands frame my face. “Knot me,” she purrs. “Please, Eli. I need you to knot me. Take me to your bed and knot me properly.”

The request stops me cold. My knot, half-formed, recedes as the implications hit me. “Jolie, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” she insists, her eyes bright with need and something deeper. “I want you to. I want to be yours completely.”

“You don’t understand,” I say, pulling back slightly.

“You don’t want to knot me? Oh… You don’t want me in your bed,” she whispers, her voice full of hurt. “Is that it, Eli?”

My heart shatters at the sadness in her voice, at the trust she’s offered me so freely. “I’m sorry, I can’t give you that,” I say quietly, pulling out of her, lowering her feet to the floor and stepping back completely. “I’m not ready for that...”

The change in her expression is immediate and devastating, as her trust in me transforms into betrayal.

She crosses her arms over her chest, suddenly aware of her nakedness in a way she wasn’t moments before.

“I see,” she says, her voice carefully controlled.

“So this was just...what? A casual fuck?”

“No,” I say desperately, reaching for my discarded shirt to cover her. “It’s not like that. You mean everything to me, but—“

“But not enough to take me to your bed and knot me. It’s just a knot. I’m not asking for you to bite me,” she finishes, hurt bleeding through her carefully maintained composure. “I’m not asking you to risk your precious independence.”

I run my hands through my hair, hating myself for the pain I’m causing her. “Jolie, please try to understand. I’ve been hurt before. Badly. I can’t...I’m not ready to risk that kind of vulnerability again.”

She stares at me for a long moment, and I can see her processing my words, understanding dawning in her amber eyes. “You’re not ready for an Omega.”

The simple statement hits like a slap to my face. “That’s not—“

“It is,” she says quietly, bending to gather her scattered clothes. “You’re not ready for an Omega, Eli. Maybe you never will be.”

I watch helplessly as she dresses with shaking hands, each piece of clothing another barrier between us. “Jolie, please don’t leave like this. Let me explain—“

“What is there to explain?” She pulls her hoodie over her head, hiding the beautiful body I was worshipping moments ago. “You made your position clear. This was fun, but it’s not serious. I understand.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“It’s what you meant.” She moves toward the door, and panic claws at my chest. “Thank you for the lovely afternoon, Eli. I hope it was everything you needed.”

The formal politeness in her voice is worse than any screaming would have been. She’s already pulling back, already protecting herself from further hurt.

“Jolie, wait—“ I growl, trying to use my stern voice to get her to stay.

But she doesn’t even flinch. She’s gone, the door closing behind her with a soft click that sounds like the end of everything.

I sink onto the sofa, my head in my hands, replaying every moment of the past hour. The look of hope in her eyes when she asked me to knot her. The trust she offered so freely. The devastating hurt when I refused.

You’re an idiot. I actually feel it’s my Alpha snarling at me from inside. She offered you everything, and you threw it away.

Jolie Masters. A beautiful, brave Omega chose me over biology and I denied her what her body needed because I was too much of a coward to risk being hurt again.

Kate had left me for her scent match, but she’d never offered me a true claim.

Never looked at me the way Jolie had, like I was her entire world.

And I’d thrown it away because I’m too damaged to recognize the gift I was being given.

The cottage feels empty without her presence, hollow and cold despite the lingering traces of her scent.

I’d had paradise in my hands, and I’d let it slip away because I was too afraid to trust again. She won’t forgive this, I realize with growing horror. She’ll find someone else, someone brave enough to give her what she deserves.

The thought of another Alpha’s hands on her skin, another man claiming what I’d been too cowardly to accept, makes my chest burn with regret and possessive fury.

But it’s too late now. I’ve shown Jolie exactly who I am—a broken Alpha too scared of his own shadows to claim the woman who had taken a piece of his heart when she walked out of the door.

Trouble is, I never realized that until now.

I should run after her. But I know I can’t. She deserves better than a man who needs to work on himself before he can give her everything she needs.

She deserves an Alpha who won’t hesitate to claim her, who won’t let fear override desire. She deserves someone who isn’t me.

But I still feel like I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.

You’re an idiot , my Alpha repeats, and for once, I completely agree.