Page 62 of Into the Fire: Before

His fingers worked me slowly, patiently, until I was writhing and panting beneath him, fingers in his hair, desperately pulling him up toward me so he could kiss me, take me.

Lin’s eyes were like glass as he crawled up my body, lips swollen and moist, cheeks red. His hair hung over his temples and in front of his eyes as he gripped the back of my head and kissed me. My hands clutched at him, a haze surrounding me as he lined up his cock with my ass and worked his way inside me.

My chest was a furnace, the heat inside so wild and intense that the outside of me burned with it. Flames licked down through my belly and into my cock. I held onto Lin’s face, keeping it pressed to mine, for dear life as he reached between us to stroke me. To tend to me, as my alpha always did.

“You’re so goddamn good, Brooks,” he panted against my lips, his hand and his thrusts speeding up. “Best fucking thing in my life.”

“Alpha,” I moaned against him as he hit my prostate once, twice, perfectly again and again.

“Say it,” he growled, growing faster still.

“Good,” I breathed. I was so close. So damn close.

“Again.”

“I’m good.” My eyes were rolling back, the pressure there foreshadowing the pressure building in my lower half as I approached the ending.

“My good beta,” Lin moaned just before his movements became erratic. “Oh, love…”

Then there were no more words. Only his familiar grip tearing me to pieces, and his familiar strength holding them all in place.

Fourteen

Brea

IheldTaryn’shandas we sat in the uncomfortable aluminum chairs and she gave her account of the attack to the detective. The guys had wanted to come in, Caine most of all, but the officers didn’t let more than one person into the interview room with her. Didn’t want to agitate the witness with too many pheromones and angry people in the confined space.

She’d been somewhat better waking up this morning. I’d felt her in our bond again, which was enough to send me to the moon. Still, she was pale, and quiet, and not at all her usual self.

Now, the more details I heard about the previous day, the more I wanted to disembowel the asshole who’d hurt her. Fuck, if Caine had arrived five minutes later…hell, evenoneminute later…everything would’ve been so much worse.

Detective Vikki Banerjee sat across from us, short black hair in a sleek bob just past her chin and a sharp look in her brown eyes. I both hated and appreciated her as she pried detail after minuscule detail from Taryn. It was important they got as muchinfo as they could, but I hated how small Taryn felt in the bond, how she seemed to fold into herself the longer we spent in that room.

The detective scribbled on her notepad.

How tall was the attacker? How much did the attacker weigh? Could you detect a scent? Where did he first make physical contact? Take me through the altercation. Can you draw a map of your apartment and show me how the attack moved through the room? Do you know how the attacker entered the apartment?

Taryn’s eyes got glassy then, and she nodded. “The window,” she whispered before angrily swiping a tear off her cheek. “I forgot to lock the goddamn window.”

I pulled her into a hug and ran my fingers through her hair, ready to comfort her. Detective Banerjee beat me to it.

“The window not being locked doesn’t make what he did your fault,” she said with understanding in her voice. “Whether he broke the window or slid it open doesn’t make it any less horrific or illegal.”

Taryn nodded as she sat up again, shoulders still hunched but ready to continue on.

My fucking brave omega.

The detective tapped a plastic bag through which we could see the paper Brooks found in the apartment. Photos of Taryn, her schedule, other notes about her habits and appearance. Enough to make my skin absolutely crawl off my skeleton.

“The gentlemen last night mentioned a name possibly connected to this, Heath Torrington?” the detective said.

“Yes,” I nodded, happy to take the reins for a moment so Taryn could catch her metaphorical breath. “My ex-fiance. He harassed and assaulted Taryn several weeks ago. There should be a report filed.”

Vikki nodded and pulled another file forward. “Yes, I looked through that, and it should be enough to get a warrant for Mr. Torrington’s financial, phone, and email records. I’ve dispatched some officers to his home in Pockston to interview him.”

“And what do we do in the meantime?” I asked, my voice taking on a harsh edge. “Can’t you, I don’t know, hold him? Do something to make sure this can’t happen again?”

Damn her, she actually looked sympathetic to my anger. “Trust me, I understand the instinct to push forward now and ask questions later,” she said. “The last thing any of us want is to let a bad actor slip through our fingers because we acted rashly and broke the rules.”

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