Page 21

IRIAN

We found our way to a motel, several hours from my parents’ country estate, a place I was sure I’d never want to return to again. I stayed in the car, as Talius went inside to see about getting a room.

I shivered. Even in the car, it was cold. My reaction to the events of the day had passed, but I’d be glad when we were locked away inside the room with the world kept at bay. If I was lucky, there might even be a tub.

When Talius returned, he was swinging a couple of keys around his finger.

“We can leave the car here,” he told me, opening the back door and lifting out the bag of essentials we’d picked up at the store down the road.

When I got out of the car, the icy mountain air stung my throat, burning its way down to my lungs. I hugged my jacket tighter around me. Talius came around the front of the car and pulled me against him. As he wrapped his own jacket around me, I shivered again but the body warmth radiating from him felt good. I was cold and shifters naturally ran hot, so maybe I needed to rethink whether I had actually recovered from my day.

“W-hat r-oom n-umber is it?” I asked, trying to contain my shivering.

“Twenty-five. Should be down the end there.”

Moments later, the door creaked open and we were inside. When I stepped across the threshold, I found myself in a very basic room. The main room had a kitchenette, table and a double bed crammed into it. A narrow doorway on the left led to the tiniest bunk room, with three bunks stacked on top of each other and barely room to stand. There was another door off to the left. It was closed, but it had to be the bathroom – there was nowhere else. It was nothing like the fancy rooms we stayed in when my parents traveled for conferences or council meetings… and I loved it. It was basic and practical and… real. When I looked around us, I felt alive: raw and vulnerable, but excited for my future. I felt like I was living my life for the very first time.

When the door was locked behind us, I finally began to feel safe.

A beep and a gurgling sound above the door indicated the reverse cycle air conditioner was now functioning, and the remote control bounced on the bed as Talius tossed it away. A blast of warm air rushed over me.

I sighed a deep weary sound of relief. Safe, warm, and even warmer as Talius stepped closer and his strong arms encircled me again. I rested my head against his chest. The steady thud-thud-thud soothed me; the alpha pheromones did their job. I already knew I was highly sensitive to those . I allowed the tension to drain from my muscles. It had been a long and terrifying day, but I was safe now with my alpha.

But wait! What was he doing?

I wanted to protest when he pulled back, creating space between us – I wasn’t normally a needy omega, but damn it, I really needed my alpha’s comfort right now – until… suddenly firm lips captured mine, gentle yet possessive, a calloused hand holding my chin steady. The hard warmth of his lips burned against mine. Trembling, I followed his lead, my lips moving with his, my mouth opening to the gentle urging of his tongue.

This was new to us, this tender dance, his tongue tangling with mine, teasing and taking, exploring and claiming. It marked a new stage in our relationship, one that was inevitable, as we transitioned from friends to mates. I lost myself in the kiss, coherent thought annihilated by the dizzying thrill racing through me. The tingling excitement. I noticed my body’s response to the strong, powerful maleness of him, and I wondered at it, but I wasn’t ashamed. It felt right.

“Is that okay?” Talius’ stunning blue eyes mesmerized me, as he broke the kiss.

“Mmmf.” I made some nonsensical reply, rendered speechless by the jumble of thoughts and feelings racing inside me.

Talius stepped away and his large hands wrapped around mine. The rough callouses scratched lightly over my skin, pinpricks of awareness in a world that was tilting off its axis. We’d been strangers, and we’d been friends, we were about to be so much more.

“Come,” he said, tugging me towards the bed. My legs wobbled beneath me but I went with him, eager and terrified in equal amounts.

When we got to the bed, he climbed on and encouraged me to join him. Which I did, of course, because we’d always known it would come to this. He was always going to be my alpha, I was always to be his omega, just not this soon. I wasn’t hesitating, not really. I was willing… but inexperienced.

I was nervous but we also couldn’t wait any longer. As my mother had obtained a permit for an under-age mating there was nothing to say she wouldn’t try again. I might not be as lucky to escape next time. An unconscious frisson ran down my spine at the thought.

So yeah, nervous or not, I was ready for us to take our relationship one step further.

“Come, lie with me,” Talius instructed, settling down on the pillows and patting the mattress beside him.

Surely, he could hear my heart pounding, trying to vibrate its way right though my chest? But when I lay down beside him, he simply smiled, and ran his hand through my hair, cupping my head as he leaned forward for another slow, sensual kiss, before pulling back and letting his hand trail over my shoulders, the muscles of my upper arm, and down my sides until it rested on my hip. I quivered under his touch. My body yearned for him.

Suddenly, a strange humming vibrated in the air around us. My forehead tensed as I scanned the room, but there was no-one else there. We were alone.

It was then that I realized the sound was coming from me, but it also wasn’t me – it was my wolf voicing his absolute satisfaction at this situation. My wolf recognized his alpha and wanted to submit! OMG, how archaeic! The modern omega in me protested at the idea while the primitive wolf simultaneously delighted in the prospect. The dissonance was unsettling.

Heat flooded my cheeks. I hardly knew what to do with myself, but when I glanced at Talius, he was smiling. A growl rumbled from his throat, as his wolf answered mine.

“They’re impatient,” he said, rare dimples appearing in his cheeks, as he chuckled at the impertinence of our wolves trying to take over this moment. “But we’re not going to rush this. Only as far as you’re comfortable, and no further.”

“But… the exemption… they might use it again,” I whispered.

“I can keep you safe for a while. We’ve got time.” Talius sounded calm, confident. There was no doubting how deadly serious he was. “You’re mine, Irian, and I’m not letting them take you from me. But I’m also not going to let them set the timeline for us.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, relieved that Talius was handling the problem. For once, I could lean on someone else. He was my protector, my alpha, and… my heart thumped painfully, he was my love. Well, fuck. When did that happen?

My brows clenched. What if he didn’t feel the same? I was the omega to his alpha, and we were clearly meant to be together, but love? That wasn’t a necessity for this kind of union. But now that I felt it, I didn’t think I could bear it if he didn’t feel the same.

“What’s wrong?” Talius’ deep voice rumbled around the room.

“N-nothing.”

He cocked his head at me and raised an eyebrow. I bit my lip and didn’t make eye contact.

“Hey,” he slid closer and pulled me to him. “We don’t have to do anything tonight. We’ve got time, okay?”

I nodded into his shoulder. It was clear he thought I was worried about starting the physical side of our relationship, and though there was an element of that, it wasn’t reluctance on my part, just inexperience. But he couldn’t possibly guess I’d developed these feelings for him. Just the thought that he might not feel the same made my heart flutter like a panicked bird and my stomach drop.

Soothing hands ran down my back, and I realized that while I’d been freaking out, Talius had flipped us so I was now lying on top of him. I was awash in reassurance, so I was sure he must be deliberately pushing pheromones at me. In this instance, I didn’t mind nature’s little quirk.

I pressed my nose up against the hollow of his collarbone and inhaled deeply. I did it again. The tension in my shoulders eased, slipping away like butter. Talius slipped his hand between us, and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, pulling the sides away exposing bare skin and a few dark curly hairs. I took another deep sniff.

“Take your shirt off,” he murmured.

I sat up and pulled it over my head, tossing it on the bed beside us, where it landed with a soft whump . I looked at the handsome man beneath me. He’d removed his shirt entirely by now. Saliva pooled in my mouth at the sight of his muscular pecs, dark nipples, and broad shoulders. It was enough to make any man drool, especially this one, who knew the true nature of the man that resided within this magnificent body. The combination of sexy male and gentle alpha was irresistible. My tongue traced over my lips, the saliva slippery and sensual. I wanted… all sorts of things. Need pooled low in my gut… and in my groin.

Talius’ eyes were dark pools. Only a thin ring of brilliant blue circled the pupils in this moment, his intense gaze focused entirely on me. He pulled me back down and the heat of his body seeped into mine, sending delicious shivers through me. Warm skin burned against warm skin, our skins tingling where they touched, the coarse hairs sliding and gliding over each other as though the mere touch brought them to life.

I whimpered at the uncomfortable pressure from my zipper. The sound seemed to stir Talius and his denim-clothed cock hardened against my thigh.

“Let’s get out of these,” he said, rolling me off him and reaching for his button. I gave a sharp inhale as he released himself, totally unable to tear my eyes away as he kicked his jeans off. I hadn’t realized he went commando, and now I was looking at his very solid member jutting out from a thatch of dark hair.

And literally salivating. Fuck, what a cliché of an omega I was.

I swallowed hard.

Talius’ dark orbs lasered in on mine.

“Okay?”

I nodded mutely, my throat feeling dry despite the saliva pooling in my mouth.

His eyes dropped to my jeans which were tight enough to burst. I hadn’t made a move to ease my situation at all.

“Wanna keep them on?” Talius asked, gently.

I shook my head.

“Let me?”

Omg. I was mute. All I could do was nod. For once in my life, I was speechless.

Slowly, carefully, so deliberate that I had plenty of time to stop him if I changed my mind, he reached for me, popped the button through the buttonhole, then slid the zipper down. A moan tumbled from my lips, which would have been embarrassing, except the release of pressure was such a relief, and I was kinda looking forward to a different kind of pressure release soon. I hurried to push the jeans down and off.

Talius’ calloused finger ran pensively around the waistband of my underwear, scalding my skin everywhere he touched.

“On or off?”

I swallowed hard, considering. A shaky breath. A pause. My lower lip stung as my incisors cut into it. Finally, “Off.” And in a rush I tugged the underwear down and tossed them aside.

The pounding in my chest bordered on painful, and my cheeks flamed. I didn’t know what to do and I felt awkward naked in front of him, where I never had before. This change in the nature of our relationship, had thrown me off balance. As shifters it was normal to be naked around each other, but a sexual relationship was uncharted territory for me and I didn’t know how to behave.

Talius’ eyes flicked over me. The heat in them made me shiver and more blood rushed to my groin. Fuck, I ached. And if any more blood went down there, I was gonna pass out for sure.

He pulled me down on top of him, and I whimpered as our swollen cocks rubbed against each other. His warm breath washed over my lips and he claimed them in a bruising kiss. It was possessive and rough and made the omega wolf in me howl in delight. My ribcage vibrated with its silent cry. Talius’ tongue pressed its way into my mouth, my lips opening to his demand. His tongue filling me, plundering and demanding. My wolf gave itself over completely to the Alpha, surrendering to our natures. I couldn’t fight it, didn’t want to fight it.

Talius’ hand slipped between us. I gasped into his mouth as his fingers slid over the silky skin of my shaft, his large hand wrapping around the two of us together.

His hand stroked upwards, palm running over the heads, catching the precum already gathering there and sliding it back down over our shafts. He repeated the motion and I groaned, involuntarily thrusting into his hand.

Talius growled, a deep throaty sound, and began jacking us off in earnest, even as his tongue continued its possession of my mouth. He swallowed down my sounds, relentlessly drawing me towards the edge, until with a cry, my back arched and I spilled into the space between us. Talius continued stroking and moments later his cum mixed with mine.

I whimpered into his mouth as his palm rubbed over my sensitive head, and he pulled his hand away.

“Okay?” he asked drawing away from our kiss.

“Uh-huh,” I gasped, chest still heaving.

He leaned down and played with my lips again before planting a soft kiss and then sitting up.

“Wait here. I’ll clean us up.” Talius headed into the bathroom.

The scent of our combined emissions fascinated me. It was sharp and tangy, filling my nostrils with every breath. Before Talius came back, I ran my finger through the jizz and slipped it in my mouth, enjoying the raw earthiness.

Talius returned with a wet washcloth, but before he could wipe me clean, I brazenly smeared a finger through the mess and offered my finger to him. He smiled, eyebrows rising, but he slipped my finger into his mouth and hummed softly as he sucked on it.

I couldn’t keep my lips straight while he wiped me down. There was no need to speak. He looked deeply into my eyes, the corners of his eyes crinkled, their blue depths twinkling, and the dimples in his cheeks again. And when afterwards he lay down close to me and pulled the covers up over us, I was still smiling.

◆◆◆

Much later, I woke to the steady drumming of rain as it hit the roofs of the cars parked outside and splattered on the concrete. It was still dark. The bedcovers rose and fell with Talius’ steady breathing. A kind of wonder washed over me, and my lips curved, remembering. I felt alive from the tips of my ears to the ends of my toes, a bright thrumming sense of vibrancy that made me want to shout to the skies.

A large hand splayed across my abdomen and pulled me closer. Talius wasn’t asleep, after all.

“Can you hear the rain?” he said in a low voice, his breath tickling the hairs around my ear, his tone deep and gentle like the alpha he was.

“Yeah.”

“They won’t search for us in this,” he went on. “If it keeps up like this, we can stay here a couple of nights and then move on.”

“Okay.”

“I’m glad we’re together finally,” Talius’ admission flowed easily in the darkness. “I feel I’ve been waiting a long time for you to grow up. I’m glad that’s over now. And despite everything, your mother’s done us a favor… waiting until you turned 22 was going to be hell. Now we don’t have to.”

I hummed happily, only I never hum so it had to be my wolf expressing its contentment.

“Are you still okay with what we did last night?” he asked me.

“Hell, yeah,” I replied, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.

A calloused hand traced the contours of my biceps, then across my chest. The pad of one finger ran over a nipple and I shivered, goosebumps breaking out all over me. He rubbed circles over it with his palm and it pebbled up for him. My sudden inhale sounded loud, even with the backdrop of the rain.

The bedcovers rustled and cool air rushed over me as his tongue took over from his finger, laving the hardened nub, before turning attention to the other.

“Fuck!” I gritted out through clenched teeth, straining to keep myself on the bed. Talius chuckled, then moved lower, fingers tracing and exploring, lips and tongue following.

“Mmmmfph!” Talius reached the V of my groin, right where I was ticklish, although I hadn’t known it until now. From the noises he was making, he was enjoying making me squirm. I panted shallow gasps of air, as I tried to stay still, but I wanted to watch him.

When his tongue curled around my cock, I cried out in surprise, and when he took me completely into his mouth, I couldn’t help the guttural moan that tumbled from my lips. My eyes rolled back in my head at the wet warmth on my most intimate part. The sounds of his sucking and slurping were almost obscene, as he made it virtually impossible for me to stay on the bed. The bedsheets dragged into clumps as I writhed beneath him.

Impossibly, my cock grew harder. I started to whine. Talius let my dick slip out of his lips with a loud pop! leaving me hard and dripping and desperate as he continued his journey of exploration, rolling my balls with his fingers, tugging lightly on the furry sacs. Next thing I knew, the pressure of his fingers disappeared and my balls were encased in wet warmth, his tongue gently rolling them around.

When he let them slip from the warmth of his mouth, his fingers returned, and he cupped my sac in his hand as if weighing it. The gesture felt incredibly intimate.

He rolled my balls in his palm, then his fingers slid down onto my perineum and I swear my skin quivered as he ran his finger along it.

The questing finger stopped and I froze, heart pounding, wondering what would happen next. A heartbeat later, I had the answer. His finger strayed lower. Then he touched me. There. On my hole. Oh, fuck. A groan spilled out of me.

I was grateful for the darkness that concealed the self-conscious flush which was surely coloring my face - something had to be causing the burning sensation in my cheeks, after all. I was unsure how I should feel about this. This was… incredibly intimate and a little embarrassing. It was perhaps more intimate than I was ready for. I felt conflicted. It felt nice and I felt kind of ashamed that I even thought that. I swallowed, uncertain. What should I do? What if he did more?

The finger stopped its exploration and dropped away. Oh! Disappointment lanced through me.

“I’m sorry,” his deep voice vibrated against my ear. “I shouldn’t have done that. You’re not ready for that.”

I traced the curve of his shoulder and ran my hand down onto the firm swell of his pecs.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, hesitantly. “I… I liked it. It’s just I’ve never…”

“I know. It’s okay. But I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. We don’t need to rush.”

“It’s just, you know… a little embarrassing?” my voice finished on an upswing, like it was a question not a statement.

Warm lips feathered over mine in the softest of kisses. His breath ghosted across my moist lips.

“You don’t need to be shy with me,” Talius murmured. “Not ever. You’re everything to me. There’s no part of your body I don’t want to love and there’s no desire you could have that would be too dirty for me. By the Moon, I’m your alpha. And I never want you to feel ashamed or embarrassed of what you like or what I do with you.”

He hummed reassuringly as I stroked his chest. It was a diversion, and I kept my eyes firmly fixed on those luscious pecs.

“Thanks. For understanding. You know I’ve never done anything with anyone.”

He brushed the hair from my face with a gentle stroke.

“I know that. We’ll take things slowly.”

I nuzzled into his neck, inhaling his wonderful scent. He was all reassurance and love and safety, and strong, exciting alpha. I shivered. How lucky was I to have this beautiful dominant man want me? And he definitely wanted me. I could feel his erection against my thigh. My own hard dick, which had wilted slightly with my awkwardness, had filled again and was trapped between us. I wasn’t ready for more just yet, but I would be. And I had a feeling it would be very soon.