Page 18 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 18

Noble

I find Ren on the balcony of her bedroom, the luminous glow of the city’s lights painting her silhouette in shades of gold and shadowy gray.

The steel claws of Torin’s skyscraper stretch below us, endless glass and metal, and the icy wind cuts across us, but Ren doesn’t seem to notice. She’s leaning on the railing, arms crossed tightly, her gaze distant and thoughtful, her attention lost to the night.

Her sadness is a weight in the air. Heavy and suffocating.

My wolf senses it immediately through the mate bond and paces inside me, restless, uneasy.

She’s hurting. And it claws at me.

I step out onto the balcony, the cool night air brushing against my skin. She doesn’t turn, doesn’t even flinch, but I know she senses me, too.

“Baby,” I call softly, stopping a few feet away. “Are you okay?”

She exhales a slow, shaky breath and her fingers tighten on the railing. “I don’t know,” she says after a long pause. “Everything feels…so much. Too much.”

I take a step closer, leaning on the metal banister beside her, careful not to crowd her. “Talk to me,” I say. “Whatever it is, I’m here.”

She hesitates, her eyes fixed on the skyline. “Carrigan,” she whispers finally. “She saw me shift.”

Ah . The human friend.

I stay quiet, letting her find her words, knowing nothing I’ll have to say will soothe her. I block my thoughts from her to allow her the space to process.

Otherwise, she’ll know. Her human ties are nothing but liabilities now.

“She’s my best friend,” Ren continues. “She’s one of the only friends I have. She’s been through everything with me. And now…now she knows I’m not even human anymore. She saw it, Noble. The shift, the wolf, everything. When Andras’s shitheads attacked us—she could have died.”

“Humans don’t know about us for a reason. Our world isn’t really the forgiving type, and they’re so fragile. If they see something they can’t logically explain, they panic.”

Ren nods. “It’s true. Just look at me. Even though I thought I was just a human, gifted a life no matter how short, the moment those punks walked into the bar, everything flipped upside-down. I met Mathis. Now the Moonstone is inside me and I’m part wolf? I didn’t ask to be dragged into this, and neither did Carrigan.”

She says it like she’d do whatever it takes to make it a dream. And if I could, I’d do it for her. In a heartbeat.

Shit, just when I thought my heart wasn’t able to love anyone ever again, there Ren came. Blasting into my world and turning it around. The connection between us is strong and vibrant and so fucking full of love I can barely breathe .

My mate knows she’s damaged her relationship with her best friend.

“I know… It isn’t fair,” I murmur.

“I still don’t know if Torin or Mathis plan on killing her because of me. Dax seems pretty keen on it, and I can’t let them hurt her. I can’t .” Ren straightens.

I frown. “Torin isn’t going to kill her,” I say, although I know more than anyone that Torin is his own beast. I may be his second and closest friend, but if he is set on an idea, even I have no sway. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Ren finally looks at me, her eyes filled with doubt and sadness. “You aren’t afraid she’ll reveal our secret?”

Yes. Down to my marrow. I’ll work on it.

“If you trust that she won’t tell anyone, then so do I.” I inch closer to her. “There is a lot going on, and Torin and Mathis are focused on keeping their packs safe—on keeping you safe,” I say. I move even closer, daring to brush my hand against hers where it rests on the railing. “You’re their priority. You’re my priority. The Moon Goddess chose you for a reason. You’re stronger than you think.”

She stiffens slightly, but she doesn’t pull away. “It doesn’t feel like that. It feels like I’m being pulled in a thousand directions and everything I thought I knew about my life is gone. My friends, my home, my future…all of it.”

She looks back out at the city, silent for a moment. “It’s not just Carrigan. Or Torin and Mathis,” she admits. “It’s everything. Being your mate, changing into this entirely different creature, the pack, this life…”

Her voice cracks on the last word, and it hits me like a punch to the gut.

I’ve focused so entirely on getting her back, on keeping her safe, that I haven’t stopped to consider how hard it must be for her to grapple with the situation .

She’s trembling. I don’t push her. Instead, I let my hand linger, grounding her, hoping she can feel what I can’t put into words.

“You don’t have to figure everything out tonight,” I say after a long silence. “And you don’t have to do it alone. Whatever happens, whatever changes, I’m here for you. Always.”

She looks at me again, her eyes searching mine, and for a moment I think I see something soften in her. Something like trust. “I want that to be true so badly.”

“It is true.”

The faint warmth of her skin against mine sends a surge of calm through the bond uniting us.

Ren may not understand what being my mate means—it’s new to me, too—but I know what I’m feeling. It doesn’t even come close to any kind of love I’ve felt before.

The moment stretches between us, delicate and heavy all at once. Her lips part as if to say something but no words come. Instead, she just looks at me, her guard slipping ever so slightly.

“You’re my miracle, baby,” I add as emotion clogs my voice. “Whatever happened, it brought you to me. I’m so fucking grateful.”

My wolf surges forward, yearning to comfort her, to feel her body against mine. And before I have a chance to overthink it, I close the rest of the distance between us and press my lips to hers.

The kiss is soft and tentative, testing the fragile thread between us.

But the moment she melts into it, turning to angle toward me, her hand brushing against my chest, everything else falls away. We’ve had sex before—I’ve shared her before—but this…this is different. It’s just us. Vulnerable. Melting into the moment and the intensity of our wolves’ connection.

My tongue pushes past her lips to deepen the kiss, and a low growl rumbles from my chest. She doesn’t hesitate before her fingers curl into my shirt as if holding on for dear life.

The soft sound she makes—a mix between a sigh and a whimper—sets my blood on fire.

How in the fucking world did I deserve this creature?

I slide my hand to her jaw, tilting her head back to claim her completely. To taste her, absorb her. Devour her.

Ren’s lips are soft and warm, but the way she kisses me back, all heat and urgency, ignites something primal inside me.

The noise of the city fades away, the groan of the wind becoming only a hum, and the distant lights blur as if the world itself knows this moment belongs to us. There is nothing and no one else.

I press her against the balcony rail, the cool metal biting against my palms as I cage her in. The scent of her—a mix of jasmine, vanilla, and something purely hers—floods my senses and drowns out everything else.

It takes every ounce of self-control not to lose myself entirely.

“Noble,” she breathes against my lips, her voice trembling.

“Ren,” I murmur back, my forehead resting against hers as our breaths tangle in the cold night air.

Her eyes flicker with the intensity I feel in my own chest. The mate bond is a connection so raw it’s overwhelming.

Girlfriends in the past haven’t come close to this feeling. Not even comparable .

My hands drift to her waist, sliding beneath her shirt to touch her skin. Her shiver at my touch sends a thrill skittering through me.

Her body arches into mine, her nails digging into my shoulders, and I swear I feel her wolf pushing closer, begging for me to take her. Now.

Her lips find mine again, harder this time, her urgency matching my own. There’s no hesitation. Only pure need. My teeth graze her lower lip, and she gasps, her fingers tugging me closer.

Even this high up, the balcony feels far too exposed, but I can’t bring myself to stop. Not when she’s looking at me like this. Like I’m the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Inside?” I ask but don’t loosen my hold.

She shakes her head, a wicked smile tugging at her swollen lips. “No. Here. Please.”

My lips peel up in a similar grin. “Are you sure? What if people see?”

Her recklessness surprises me, but I love it. Especially when she grinds against me, her nipples budded, her eyes hungry.

“Well then, let’s give them a show.”

“Fuck yeah.”

The wolf in me roars its approval. There are so many ways I want her. And so many positions we haven’t yet experienced. I could fuck her all day and not get bored. She’s like a drug I never want to quit.

Spinning her around, I push her stomach against the rail until she gasps. In one swift move, I yank down her jeans and panties to her sneakers before dropping down to my knees. Angling her so that her ripe ass lifts to give me unfettered access.

Her beautiful pink cunt is on display and dripping wet. I smooth a hand down the curve of her ass, thinking about taking that tight hole too. One day . Not today, though. Today, I want to feel that pussy milking my cock as I knot in her.

Just the thought of it has me shuddering with anticipation. My cock is hard enough to cause pain, pulsing with the need to bury deep in her tight channel.

First, I want to taste her.

Grabbing her thighs, I tug her to my face and run my tongue up her slit. The first taste is like lightning in my system. “Fucking delicious.”

She tries to squirm away but I yank her backward, perfectly positioning myself between her legs and leaving her to do nothing but grip the railing as my tongue dives into her heat. I swivel my tongue along her folds, up to her clit, pausing there to nibble the bud until she’s shaking. Then I drag my tongue down and thrust it inside her.

Suddenly, I don’t care who can see us. I’m lost in Ren, in the sounds of her little moans as I flick my tongue back over her clit, in the way she pushes into me like she wants more. It isn’t long until she’s panting and her thighs quiver in my grip.

“Damn, baby. That’s it,” I say against her. “Come for me. Come on my tongue.”

“Noble!”

Her legs turn to jelly, but I don’t let up. Instead, I suck on her sensitive clit and run a finger up her backside and press against her tight little hole there. She tenses automatically.

I send warmth down the mate bond, assuring her, comforting her. With more teasing flicks and sucks, she relaxes and arches herself against my finger.

Her hips move on their own and she’s grinding against my tongue. All the sounds coming from her…it’s maddening to know she’s enjoying this as much as I am.

Everything about Ren turns me on.

She’s insatiable.

I’m not sure the last time I took a breath from how hard she’s pressing her pussy into my face. I really don’t care. If this is how I die, it’s pure heaven.

This time, when she reaches her peak, she cries out, her voice carrying on the wind and spiraling toward the city streets below. Part of me hopes someone hears it and calls the cops for the woman screaming from pleasure on the eleventh floor. She’ll be screaming even louder once she’s impaled on my cock.

I want to feel that tightness for myself. I want to plunge into her while she’s on her own high, so I scramble to my feet, yanking down my zipper as I do. She’s so drunk with pleasure from her orgasm that it takes nothing to spin her around, step between her legs, and lift her onto the balcony railing.

The terror in her eyes is instant, and she panics, hands clamping around my neck and her legs locking around my waist. “Noble! Get me down! I’ll fall!”

“I got you,” I whisper. “You can trust me.”

She glances over her shoulder at the city below and screeches, her nails nearly puncturing my skin. “I don’t know about this. I might die!”

“I’ll never let you fall, baby.”

The heat rolling off of her scalds me. The pain from her nails forces me out of my mind. It’s lust, it’s chemistry, it’s everything.

My dick is so hard it’s throbbing as I line myself up and push into her. Her pussy flutters around me. I clamp both hands on her lower back, and with her hands around my neck and her legs squeezing my waist, I thrust up until I’m buried balls-deep inside of her.

It’s glorious. Her inner muscles squeeze me hard, adjusting to my size, and it takes everything I’ve got not to explode right then and there.

This probably isn’t the smartest idea—fucking her on a balcony railing, hundreds of feet in the air for all to see and hear—but it’s hot as hell. All because it’s her .

I never let go of her hips. Instead, I use my hold to take full control of the pace and how deep or shallow I thrust. I’m testing her. And myself. Making sure we are both okay with it before going full force.

I rear back to lock eyes with hers, memorizing her reaction, the minuscule changes. Her mouth opens with a pant of pleasure. Red spots on her cheeks speak to her fear and her arousal.

“Fuck me, Noble. I’m not risking my life here for nothing,” she hisses. “Fuck me hard.”

Her filthy mouth along with the risky sex drives me wilder. With a loud growl, I pound into her. Hard. And her eyes roll back.

Our kind are fast, strong. I pump my hips faster than a normal human, until Ren is screaming.

I capture her mouth for another demanding kiss and swallow her screams, my tongue spearing past her lips and tangling with hers. She meets me stroke for stroke, wanting more, needing more, despite the danger.

Her hands curl into my muscles, branding me, forcing them to rearrange to accommodate the shape of her fingers.

And that fucking pussy is so good?—

“Yes, Ren,” I practically howl.

I’m drowning in a sea of pleasure.

My balls tighten, the knot at their base growing, and I know I’m about to come. Heat prickles along my skin. I won’t be able to hold it off much longer no matter how I’d like to drag this out.

I want to fuck her all day long.

The metal underneath her groans and whines with every rough thrust. My swollen knot locks us together as it swells, but she continues to move her hips, her jerky movements stroking me into full explosive bliss. Every part of me is in overdrive.

“Yes, just like that, baby.”

I come so hard my vision darkens, and I stumble backward so that I don’t accidently lose my grip on her and we both fall to our deaths. I drop onto my ass with her on top of me and me buried deep until my knot goes down.

My body twitches as the orgasm continues to electrify every nerve ending, my balls emptying until every last drop is inside her.

Eventually, I regain enough strength to wrap my arms around her as she lies across my chest. I hold her close in silence for a while, listening to the booms of our racing hearts, our rapid breathing, and the loud noises of the city below.

When I finally have enough brain receptors firing again to form words, I say, “Do you think anyone saw us?”

Lifting her head just enough to stare down at me, she smiles. “Absolutely. Heard us, too, I bet. We gave them quite a show.”

“Perfect.” I flip us, so that she’s lying underneath me, and just at the sight of her on her back, my dick begins to harden again. I smirk. “Are you ready for our encore?”