Chapter 141
FAYE
When I woke, the world felt heavy with silence. At first, I wasn’t sure what had stirred me. Then I felt it…the warmth, the weight, the steady beat of a heart pressed right against my
skin.
I looked down and saw it.
Alexander’s head rested on my chest, his arm sprawled over my waist like I was something he’d claimed in his sleep, and gods, maybe I was. His face, usually so sharp and controlled, looked almost boyish, softened by slumber. He was beautiful like this…unguarded, mine in a way he’d never let himself be while awake.
The memory of last night hit me hard…his mouth, his hands, the way he’d taken me like the world had narrowed to nothing but us. My skin still tingled from it, every ache and pulse reminding me of how thoroughly he’d consumed me.
I smiled despite myself, heat creeping into my cheeks, but the giddy warmth didn’t last. He stirred, shifting against me, his lashes flickering. His breath brushed against my skin as his head slid lower. My breath hitched.
I couldn’t stop myself…I bent and kissed him. Just a brush of lips, soft, quick, more for me
than for him.
But even half–asleep, he answered, his mouth pressing back with the faintest pressure, enough to spark heat low in my belly.
I pulled away before I lost control, easing myself from beneath his arm. Snagging the sheet, I wrapped it around myself in some laughable attempt at modesty. My skin still bore him, my body still throbbed with him…modesty was long gone. Still, I couldn’t shake the instinct to cover myself.
I’d barely set my feet on the floor before his hand shot out, closing firmly around my wrist.
The tug was slow but undeniable. I turned…and found him awake. His eyes, still heavy with sleep, were on me. That faint smile curved his lips, lazy and knowing, his voice was low, dragging across me like velvet.
“And where,” he murmured, tugging me back toward the bed, “do you think you’re going?”
Heat flooded me. I could barely make eye contact. “I… I was going to have a bath.”
For a moment, I thought he’d let me go. But instead of releasing me, he pulled harder,
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Chapter 141
Claim
dragging me toward him. The sheet slipped as I stumbled, landing back against the mattress with a startled gasp. His hand slid to my hip, steadying me, and then in one effortless motion, he hauled me fully onto the bed.
The sheet slipped from me completely as he pressed me into the mattress, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. His weight was solid, anchoring me, caging me in, but instead of feeling trapped, I felt like my body had been made for this exact moment.
His mouth devoured mine, all heat and hunger, as if the time we’d just spent wasn’t enough, as if he needed me again, needed to remind me I was his. My hands scrambled over the hard planes of his back, desperate to touch, to feel the flex of muscle beneath my palms.
“You were going to run off,” he muttered against my lips, his voice rough, accusing and aroused all at once. His thigh pressed between mine, and I gasped when the friction hit where I ached most.
“I wasn’t…” My protest dissolved into a whimper as he ground against me, slowly, dragging that pleasure out until I was arching beneath him.
His hand slid down my side, palm grazing the swell of my hip before gripping it firmly. “You were,” he countered, eyes burning into mine. “But, I’m not done with you yet.”
“Alexander…” My voice cracked, half plea, half warning.
His mouth was fire against my skin, every kiss a temptation, every brush of his hands pulling me closer to the edge of surrender again. My body begged, traitorous and trembling, but somewhere beneath the haze of desire, a different ache lingered…deep, raw, too new to
ignore.
He must have figured it out.
Alexander stilled, his lips pressed against my throat, his breath warm and uneven. For a heartbeat, I thought he’d push through, ignore what I wasn’t strong enough to say out loud. Instead, he drew back just enough to look at me.
The hunger in his eyes was still there, blazing, but beneath it was something softer. Understanding.
“But…” he murmured. His thumb brushed my cheekbone, tender. “You need a break.”
I swallowed hard, blinking up at him. He hadn’t said the rest of the words outright…but I could tell he understood. Last night had been my first time. He wasn’t going to push me past what my body was ready for, no matter how much he wanted me.
Slowly, reluctantly, he rolled off me, giving me space, though his arm never fully left my waist.
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He lingered for one last kiss, then finally released me
“Come” he said his voice gentler now, almost coaxing. “Shower with me
I nodded, my lips curving into a small smile I couldn’t hold back.
ALEXANDER
I was already dressed, everything in place. Still, I lingered in the office with Cole, going over the same ground we’d covered a dozen times before.
“You don’t need to worry, Alexander,” Cole said. “I’ve handled things every other time you’ve been away. This won’t be any different.”
I rubbed a hand over my jaw. He wasn’t wrong. Cole had always proven himself capable, sharp in his decisions, steady in execution. But this time felt different, heavier somehow.
“it’s not that I don’t trust you,” I said finally. “You know I do. It’s just… with Marcus stirring trouble the way he is, I can’t shake the thought that my presence here might be more necessary than usual.”
Cole arched a brow. “And yet you’re still leaving.”
“Because I have to,” I admitted. “This trip isn’t something I can put off, you know that. Faye and I both need to be in Silver Hollow. But with both of us gone, I don’t like the idea of leaving the territory vulnerable.”
Cole leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. “You think too little of the rest of us if you believe we can’t hold things together for a few days. Kyle, the elders, myself…we’ve all got this. If anything comes up that we can’t handle, you’ll know immediately. But I’m telling you, we’ll be fine.”
I studied him for a moment, then gave a small nod. He was right, of course. I’d left before and come back to find everything in order. Still, the unease coiled in my gut refused to completely loosen.
Before I could answer, the door opened.
It was Faye, looking all bright and ready. “Shall we?”
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