Page 131 of Power Shift

BRIAR

“For a manwho was so confident in being too late, you don’t talk like you believe that,” I whisper.

“I’m just being honest.”

Dash says I’m beautiful, but I wonder if he’s ever taken a good look in the mirror. While he’s the more boyish-looking of the pack, he pulls it off perfectly. The hints of charm and humour that have briefly appeared in our conversations fit his appearance to a T. His deep pink lips that have a natural lift at the corner and the sparkle in his eyes that doesn’t dull regardless of how tense the atmosphere gets are two of my favourite features. Wrap all of those things up in a pair of ripped jeans, a brightly coloured shirt with a cheesy joke front and centre, and a pair of skater shoes, and you’ve got one hell of a perfect beta.

His fears are valid. I’m not the person to tell him they’re not. Nobody gets to decide that but him. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and prove him wrong as many times as it takes until he believes me.

“I like honest,” I say, our mouths so close to fusing together.

He grabs my waist and tugs. “What else do you like?”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun if you had to figure that out for yourself?”

“Are you giving me permission to do just that?”

I bite the inside of my cheek as my lips quirk. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

“Then I’ll stop stalling.”

I let him move me until both of my knees dig into the couch and his lap is beneath me. Dash is the last one I’ve been intimate with, and the anticipation is eating me alive. The only other man in the pack who hasn’t initiated much with me is Jasper, and I’m trying really hard not to take that to heart.

He’s been very open about how he feels about me, and I need to be patient. Once my heat arrives, what we have and haven’t done will be the least of my concerns.

Regardless of Dash’s designation, I know he can smell how turned on I am. How could he not when I’m perfuming on his lap?

His eyes turn glassy as he breathes in and plants a second hand on my waist. Lips slightly parted, he presses forward and finally closes that gap between our mouths. Chocolate and peanut butter explodes around us as I grapple at his shirt and lean forward. My breasts are squished against his chest, my nipples hard and sensitive.

It’s the taste of him that draws that first cry up my throat. His kiss satisfies a purely primal need inside of me, the part of myself that has been kept at bay until the first day I met Landon. This kiss confirms what I’ve been saying all along. Dash is mine, and there isn’t a single part of me that can deny it. My heart, mind, and soul all agree.

My instincts were right, just like I always knew they were.

Heat nips at my spine as I slide a hand behind his neck and tug at the short hairs there. He meets my passion with a force ofhis own, a steady hand pressing into my lower back and urging me closer. It’s still not enough.

There’s a call inside of me trying to reach him, and I shudder at the intensity of it, already preparing myself for the blast of need that attacks my belly. I gasp, forcing our mouths to separate.

“Briar,” he groans, eyes flashing open.

I yank his head further back until his throat is exposed and scoot down his lap to get a better angle. He spreads his legs and drops his hand to hold my ass. My lips meet his throat before I jerk in place, my pussy clenching around nothing while dripping steadily.

“I need . . .” I can barely think. Speaking isn’t working.

He tilts his head and digs his fingers into me. “You can have whatever you need. Just wait to sink those pretty teeth into my neck until we’re ready, okay?”

I bring my nose to his throat and inhale, frowning at his words. He smellssooooogood. How can he not want me to bite him yet? To mark him as mine?

I whine. He strokes the back of my head and shushes me, his touch crawling further down my backside.

“You’re okay, Briar. I know. I know what you’re feeling. Tell me what you need.”

“I need you. Finally. I just need you.”

His exhale is ragged. “Where?”

“Everywhere.”

“Narrow it down for me before I decide that I’m going to risk pissing everyone else off and be the first one inside of you.”