Page 41 of Pack Apollo

Slowly I lift my head to look at him, the movement reminding me that he's still locked inside of me. Then I remember what I asked him to do. My hand moves to my neck, and his smile blooms wider.

"I didn't bond you, love," he tells me gently, trying to curb the hurt feelings. Which are definitely there.

A sadness and feeling of rejection hits me hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, and I don't understand why. I should begrateful that he didn't bond me in the spur of the moment. Even if I have grown to trust him and his pack. It shouldn't be taken lightly.

"Hey," he says, lifting my chin with his finger. "Not that I didn't want to and not that I won't. We just need to wait for the right time for it."

I nod, knowing he's right. Pressing my forehead back down to his shoulder I let out a deep sigh, releasing the hard feelings so that we can enjoy the moment.

Chapter Twelve

"You're getting better and better at this," Cordell states as I pass him on the trail up our ridge.

"I would hope so for how many times we've come up this same hill in the past two months," I tell him, chuckling, not out of breath in the least. I'd lengthened my stride and overtook him halfway up. "Seems like you're the one struggling to keep up today."

His quiet laugh keeps a smile on my face all the way to the top. Not even the worry from the last few days can beat me down when we're out here. It's been two days, and I've yet to speak to my mother or the alpha claiming to be my father. I haven't told any of the Apollo pack about them, either. It feels like I'm keeping secrets, but seeing as they don't necessarily pertain to them, it's not like they should worry about any of it.

All of it takes a back burner as we once again break the tree line at the top of our hill and we're greeted with open skies. The weather is starting to get chilly as the leaves fall from the trees. They'd made satisfying, little crunchy noises as we made our way up.

My heart isn't in it to film content today, so I settle for a few photos instead before helping Cordell lay out his blanket. "No cutesy one today?"

He smiles, bringing out that dimple. "Nope, I figured we'd need a thicker one than the one we normally use."

I'd just been thinking about how much chillier it's been getting, so his thought process makes sense. Laying back on the blanket, I stare at the clouds as they reform and make new shapes as they move.

"Penny for your thoughts," he offers.

"I was just thinking how life is kind of like clouds," I admit quietly. "Just as soon as the shape comes together to formsomething beautiful, it shifts, becoming something else entirely. Sometimes beautiful. Sometimes not."

"That's deep. Does it have anything to do with what's been bothering you this week?" he asks.

I smile, determined to not ruin our trip today. "No," I lie. "Just stray thoughts per usual."

He doesn't believe me. I see it the moment I stop speaking, but he doesn't pry. Scooting over to me, he comes up on his knees before throwing a leg over mine and dropping himself to his elbows. Letting his body weight press down just enough that it's comforting and not overbearing, he brings his lips to mine. I've lost count of the number of times we've come out here and ending up in the same position that we're in right now. Something feels different today, though.

Maybe I need him, or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, our hands start finding naked skin and our shirts come off.

"Wait," I stop him breathlessly. "We shouldn't do this here."

"Why?" he asks, kissing his way down my neck and collar bone.

Why? Why? Why? Oh yeah..."People."

He puffs out a small breath of air. "What people?"

In all the times we've been here, there has literally been no one here. And now that it's starting to get colder, I expect even fewer visitors if that were possible. So, I let go of the fear.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, I use them to pull him towards me. He mumbles something unintelligible around the hard peak of my nipple in his mouth. His teeth clamp down hard, making me cry out as much as it makes me wet. Gathering my wrists in his hands, he moves them above my head, keeping one of them trapped while his other hand slips beneath the waistband of my yoga pants. We've made it this far on severaloccasions, and I will be the first to admit that the man knows exactly what makes me tick.

I'm riding his hand, unable to move my own, so close to orgasm when he pulls away. Not one to normally tease me, I whimper thinking he's done. His mouth moves further down until he licks around my belly button, fully distracting me as he slips my pants down to my ankles. In one swift move, he's got me flipped over to my stomach and jerks me up to my hands and knees.

Scraping his teeth down my hip, he nibbles the bottom of my ass cheek before taking a nice long lick starting at my clit, leaving my arms feeling like Jello. Dropping my head to the ground thrusts my ass into the air for him.

He makes a low, almost growling, noise in his chest. "Presenting for me, omega?"

Was I?I was just doing what felt natural.

His hands close around my hips, fingers flexing and gripping my skin. "How many other alphas have you presented for?"

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