Page 91 of Dangerous Temptation
His head dropped and Elena cupped the back of his neck. His muscles were strung like piano wire. She caressed them gently and he shuddered.
‘They can lock me up again, I don’t care, but I will not tolerate them hurting you.’
‘Alex.’ She couldn’t bear to hear that. Not that.
He took a deep breath that rocked his whole body. She kissed his temple and wrapped her arms around him. ‘She’s nothing. Don’t do this to yourself. She’s not worth it.’
Elena’s heart ached. They were caught in an impossible situation. They never should have come back to New York, but they couldn’t stay at the manor for ever.
Where was their place in the world?
There had to be one. She remembered the omega wolf she’d seen at the zoo tonight. It was at the bottom of the pack structure. It took nippings and beat-downs from the rest of the pack, but it was still loved. It was still included and valued. The world outside their door was trying to take her alpha male and reduce him to less than even that.
She couldn’t bear the thought of him beaten and broken.
Especially because of her.
She ran kisses over his cheek. Cupping his face, she brought his mouth up to hers. The kiss was soft and poignant. Gentle and heartfelt.
Words were barely reaching him. She tried to show him how she felt through touch.
He kissed her back. Their mouths moulded and their breaths meshed. His hands came up to cup her head. His fingers tangled in her hair as he kept the kisses slow and drugging.
There was no flashpoint, no rampaging drive to tear off each other’s clothes.
What they needed was to connect.
He stroked her hair away from her face. ‘I need to hold you.’
She scooted forward on the counter.
He didn’t even allow her feet to touch the ground. Sliding his arm underneath her knees, he picked her up and cradled her against his chest. Elena held him tightly, snuggling into his neck. Those jagged emotions were smoothing out, but his heart was still pounding. She could see his pulse. She brushed her lips over the fluttering vein.
He was twice her size and muscularly honed, yet she still felt the overwhelming need to protect him.
He carried her down the hall, his footsteps muffled by the plush carpeting. The only sounds in the whole apartment were the refrigerator humming and their breaths. That silence was punctuated when he carried her inside the bedroom and firmly shut the door behind them.
He used his foot, but he didn’t kick. That gave it all the more meaning.
He was shutting the world outside and locking them in together. Willingly. Intentionally.
She shivered.
‘Are you cold?’
‘No.’ She was moved.
He set her on her feet, and they shared another lingering kiss. Neither hurried as they undressed. As difficult as the evening had been, there should be scars and open wounds, yet all the hurting was on the inside.
He pulled back the covers and she slid in. She held out her arms and he came to her naturally. His athletic movement was so graceful. He turned out the lights and they lay facing each other.
His hand swept up her side and came to a rest on her breast. She ran her hand down his ribcage. So strong, yet so vulnerable. He only let her see that. As much as he’d fought against letting her in, he’d become crystal clear to her. Her palm found a resting place on his hipbone, and her fingers lay softly against his thigh.
He kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose before finally meeting her lips.
‘I’m sorry I’m not as strong as you,’ she whispered. ‘If I’d just ignored her or walked on by …’
His hold on her breast tightened.
