Page 42 of Sold Rejected Mate
“Y-yes,” she says, eyes fluttering even while shut. “I-it’s weird, it’s l-like—”
I roll my hips, moving only a fraction of an inch as I hold her perfectly still. When she moans, I keep the rhythm, watching her chest as it rises and falls, her nipples forming perfect little peaks, until she comes around meagain.
“Oh,fuck,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss her. It feels likenothingto me, my cock almost numb inside her from the fucking, from the knot, but watching her pleasure is bringing back some of that feeling, turning me on again.
I have never heard of an alpha getting hard with a knot.
Maybe none of them have met Valerie Foley.
At the thought of that, I feel a possessiveness rise up inside me.And none of them will.
I shift around, lying on my back and pulling Valerie on top of me while my knot is still stuck inside her, emptying slowly. She drapes herself over my chest, sighing contentedly. I grip her hips and hold her there, breathing, loving the weight of her on top of me.
And as we lay there, warm and wrapped in one another, my knot still pulsing steadily, Valerie falls fast asleep.
***
When I wake up, it’s with Valerie Foley curled into my arm, her green hair fanned out over my skin. I take some of it between my fingers, sliding it, surprised by how silky and fine it is, even bleached and dyed like this.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe it’s the fact that I now know what to look for, but her scent is coming back to her. That smell I associate with those few months of high school, the time we spent sneaking off together.
The time that my car was soaked in the scent of her—or, rather, one of my father’s cars he never used. The one I’d take when I went to see her, so nobody would smell her and realize where I was running off to on Friday nights.
When she starts to rouse, making a noise low in her throat and moving in my arms, I realize I would have been angry to wake up without her.
And I know what I have to tell her—that I don’t want her to leave. That now that I have her back—Rie,Valerie—I don’t want her going anywhere.
“Hey,” I whisper, running my fingers over her forehead, watching as her eyes open and she looks up at me. For a terrifying moment, I think that she might recoil, fully realize what we’ve done, and fully regret it.
But when she sees me, she just smiles, melting into me, those deep green eyes glittering when she looks at me.
“Hey,” she whispers back, and I decide not to waste another second.
“I want you to stay.”
She blinks, sits up a little, and when the sheet starts to slip away from her naked chest, I have to force myself to concentrate on her, on this moment, on what I’m saying. If I let my wolf—and more specifically, my cock—call the shots, I’ll never be able to get this out.
“I want you to stay,” I say, sitting up, too, not missing the wayhergaze falls to my bare chest. “Even after you figure out the magic stuff. I don’t want you to find a different place in Silverville. I want you to stay here, with me.”
She sucks in a little breath, shaking her head. “Lachlan—I couldn’t…I don’t want to—”
Reaching out, I take her hands. I need to make this clear. Specifically, I need to make it clear that I don’t like the idea of her being with anyone else but me.
And I have no interest in a single other woman on this planet.
“Valerie,” I say, finding her gaze and holding it. “I want you to stay because I wantyou. All of you. I don’t want you out there with another person, another man. I want you here, in my house, in my bed. I want to eat dinner with you and take you on dates and bring you home—here.”
The look on her face is incredulous, and it takes her a moment to gather herself before she says, “You mean…you want to be exclusive?”
“Yes,” I laugh, pulling her in close to me. “And all that other stuff. Is that something you want?”
If she doesn’t say yes now, I might as well find the nearest daemon fire and walk right in. After having her, I’ll never be able to go back to a life where this isn’t on the table.
“I mean,” she swallows, brow wrinkling. “Yes, but I don’t see what you get out of the deal—”
“This,” I say, yanking her into me, laughing as I roll over her, pinning her under me. She laughs against my lips. I kiss her deeply, my cock already growing heavy between her legs. “Thisis what I get out of the deal, Valerie. You, here. With me.”
“Okay,” she whispers, and when she brings her lips back up to mine, I think that I’m not sure I’ve ever been this happy in my life.
