Page 52 of Brutal Alpha

For a moment, everything stilled. There had been no hesitation in Ethan’s voice, and I could feel nothing but certainty through the bond. For the last two weeks, it had felt like I was falling, as if I were hurtling through space with no parachute, utterly powerless to do anything but brace for impact. Suddenly, there was ground beneath my feet, firm and welcoming.

I let go of Ethan’s wrists as I sat up, not dropping his gaze as I sank back down onto him, inch by inch. I was so sensitive, and he was no less affected, his newly freed hands flying to my hips, helping to guide me down onto his knot. Bracing my hands on his strong chest, I ground my pussy onto his knot,feeling myself stretch to accommodate him. I’d done this before—I should be used to the overwhelming, undoing pleasure-pain of it, but I feared and prayed that I never would be. With every roll of my hips, Ethan’s knot pressed in a little deeper, and we breathed hard in tandem.

“You’re incredible,” he breathed, finally dropping eye contact to watch himself slowly disappear inside me. Stretched as I was around his knot, all coherent thought had fled my mind, and I couldn’t offer him anything in reply beyond,

“Fuck, fuck, Ethan. You’re so—fuck.”

“Just like that, beautiful,” he said. “You take me so well.”

That was the final straw. With a drawn-out whine, I slumped forward onto his chest, my legs giving out as Ethan cradled me in his arms and flipped us over one last time. He whispered praises and platitudes in my ear as the last of his knot slipped inside me, and we moaned in unison. I was so full, so overwhelmed with the sensation that when he started moving, the base of his knot tugging against my opening as it swelled even further inside me, locking us together, that I could do nothing but take it, my mouth slack and open as little whimpers escaped me with every rock of Ethan’s hips. Even stuffed full with his cock, I was so wet that I could feel slickness dribbling out of me around his knot as he hit those points deep inside me I’d never known existed before him.

Breathless, I clung to Ethan as we approached the peak together, our shared pleasure climbing higher and higher through the feedback loop of the bond, until I felt him explode inside me, and I toppled over the edge after him. My orgasm wracked through me with no regard for how exhausted and wrung out I already was, and it was my turn to sink my teeth into the muscle of Ethan’s shoulder, marking him in return.

The taste of blood burst in my mouth, and Ethan’s pleased growl rumbled through my body as I held him tight between my teeth, waiting for the rolling waves of pleasure to abate. Only when I was boneless and satisfied did I release him, pulling back to examine my work. The wound I’d made was deep; it would scar up nicely, and then everyone would know Ethan Cain belonged to me. My wolf purred with satisfaction, curling up inside me, ready for sleep.

I could have followed her when Ethan gently rolled us over so that I was splayed out over his chest, his knot still inside me and my pussy still twitching around him, but I wanted to savor every moment of this. I wanted to commit all of it to memory so I could be certain it was real.

Ethan’s fingers were combing through my hair, and the thump of his heart beneath my ear was steady, still a little elevated, and the silence felt so precious that I didn’t want to break it. If the world would let us, I would have been happy to lie like this forever, tangled with my mate in the morning sun, full and satisfied.

Pushing myself up as far as my shaking arms would allow, I looked down at Ethan, brushing a thumb along the proud arch of his cheekbone. He caught my hand as I did so, holding it in place so he could turn his head and press a kiss to my palm. A wave of love rushed over me, and tears sprang to my eyes: this was real. Ethan loved me, and he wanted me, and it was real.

Chapter 24 - Ethan

My world had been upended so many times in the past few hours that it felt like I was still spinning, half expecting another disaster to descend on us and turn my ecstasy to agony again. My wolf was at peace, though, curled up and content in my chest as I ran my fingers through Julia’s mussed hair. I hadn’t allowed myself to enjoy this feeling our first time, and it was another reason to add to the long list of why I was an idiot.

Julia’s body was warm against mine, her fingers soft against my face, her eyes shining. I frowned. I couldn’t feel any distress through our newly-elevated bond—quite the opposite—but it worried me nevertheless.

“You’re crying,” I said, reaching up to wipe away a tear that rolled down her flushed cheek. Julia shook her head before pressing a kiss to my chest.

“I’m just happy.”

“Okay. You’re sure? I’m not hurting you?” I hadn’t held back, overcome with the revelation that she was carrying my child. Even now, the thought made me twitch inside her, and she smiled.

“I can take you, Alpha,” she teased, sitting up to rock a little on top of me. With my knot still locking us together, I had no choice but to let her.

“God, yeah—yeah, you can,” I groaned. She knew exactly what she was doing, and I wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Dropping one hand from her hip to the place where I disappeared inside her, my thumb started to rub small, soft circles against her clit.

“Stop it,” she gasped, her breath hitching. “It’s not like you can get me any more pregnant than I already am.”

“I can try.” I grinned, and she let out a breathless laugh as she rocked against my fingers.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it,” I countered, increasing the pressure of my thumb.

“Yeah,” Julia sighed, whether in agreement or pleasure, I couldn’t tell.

The next few minutes were lost to giving my mate yet another orgasm. At this rate, we might never leave this spot, but I couldn’t say I’d object to that. Never before had I been so wrapped up in something—in someone—that everything else fell away, but right now, all of Ferris could be burning, and I’d barely even notice.

“I think I’ve loved you for years,” I admitted, the words tumbling out entirely of their own accord. Julia giggled, sleepy and content, against my chest.

“Wow,” she said. “You are so bad at flirting.”

“I mean it,” I insisted. I may have been awful at showing it, but I’d loved her since our first argument: she was bold and fearless and utterly herself. I’d been hers even before fate decreed that it was so, even if I hadn’t wanted to admit it. “I think I just—I was so scared of what it would mean.”

It was shameful to admit how cowardly I’d been, but Julia only reached up to stroke my hair, her voice soft as she said,

“You didn’t need anyone else to worry about, I get it. You’ve already got so many people to care for.”

---