Page 70 of The Alpha's Heir

“One more kiss?” he asks me and I nod more eagerly this time. This kiss, I savour. I thread my fingers through his hair and don’t object when he slips his hands down my body and grabs my ass.

A cough interrupts us, and I jump away from Max like he’s on fire.

“Alpha, I’m sorry, did you need me?”

Aiden stands there with a grin on his face. It's so embarrassing that he caught us, I’m sure the capillaries in my face are bursting with shame.

“No, Gamma Max, you’re okay, the nurse is getting worried about your mate. I assured her she is perfectly fine with you. It's good to see you both… getting along so well. Your Luna will be very pleased too.”

I groan at Max when Aiden leaves. “That was so embarrassing. We aren’t teenagers, Max, we can't go around acting like we are.”

Max laughs at me and my objections. “Honey, honestly that was nothing, not by werewolf standards.” Even though I chastise him for kissing me in public, I am forlorn when he doesn't kiss me again. Max is full of surprises and his ability to kiss me into a stupor is probably the biggest and most welcome. If he could send my mind to mush with just his kisses… What else could he do?

Thoughts of Max’s intimate abilities and what werewolf standards are run incessantly through my mind until I finally fall asleep after sunrise.

*** Eva ***

I settle in bed while I wait for Aiden. He should be on his way back to me now, and he is bound to be exhausted. Werewolves have excellent recovery abilities and don’t need to sleep as much as humans, but this has been a very busy time for my mate. I hope he is able to rest.

Aiden walks in and greets me with a massive smile. “Why are you so happy?” I ask. I thought he would be tired and grumpy and in need of TLC, but the man standing in front of me looks positively ecstatic.

“Hello, my gorgeous girl. What’s not to be happy about? My sister is free, my father is gone. Our friend is making a good recovery. I’ve just caught our Gamma and his mate kissing the face off each other and now I’m here with the love of my life spread out in my bed.” I smile back at him until my cheeks hurt. If Max and Melanie are kissing, there is a good chance he won’t leave the pack to be with her. Perhaps they will stay after all!

“Do you think Max will be staying, then?” I ask him tentatively.

He nods as he removes his clothes, “I reckon he’s already planning on Melanie moving here with us, seeing as he mindlinked me as I walked away to request a bigger apartment.” Aiden is now down to his pants again and he strides over to the bed. “I told you Max would win her over.”

I sit up to hug him. I am fond of Max and don’t like the thought of having to find yet another Gamma. “You did, but I like to have something to worry about.” He chuckles in response and leans down to kiss me.

“You have too many clothes on,” he complains as he pulls my chemise over my head. “I want to see and feel your beautiful body.” My body is already reacting to him, his touch, his scent, his words, his proximity. Everything about Aiden turns me on.

I don’t resist. Sparks erupt across my skin from where he touches me and we make love once again. This time it is sweet and slow and tender. He takes me from behind as we lie on our sides, his hands have free access to every part of me. He cups my breasts, plucking my nipples and rolling them between his fingertips. I moan and arch against him, begging for more, more and more. His hand then trails down to between my legs. He quickly and expertly finds my sensitive nub and gives me the pressure I need to find fulfilment.

“You’re so wet, baby,” he whispers against my ear as all the sensations combine to push me further and further to the brink. “Go on Eva, my love, come for me.”

He thrusts deeper, faster, and more deliberately, all the while keeping up his assault on my clit. He places hot, wet kisses along my neck that cause my skin to goosepimple. The feeling hits full pitch and my legs quake as the rest of my body splinters apart. “That’s it, that’s it my girl, come for me. You look so beautiful and powerful when you come.” With a final thrust, Aiden comes too.

Once we have cleaned up and properly got ready for bed, we discuss the day, all the things that have been happening and about our day ahead tomorrow. “Are you ready to see your mother tomorrow? Both your father and I will be here, but I’m concerned about the toll it will take on you and on our pup.”

I am concerned too, but I have to do this. I want to do this, and I think I have an ideal way to test the pain and how much I could cope with. “I’ve been worried about it too, and so, I thought I could tell you about my wedding night, about how Ryan treated me that night. I could tell you why it hurts me to think about it, even now. I will be addressing the pain and also testing out how far I can push before it becomes too much. Do you think you could cope with that tonight too, Aiden? I know it's been a long day for you, so if you want to do this another time, that’s okay.”

He considers my request before he answers. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, Eva?” I nod to him in confirmation. I need to do this before I lose my nerve.

We sit on the floor, I sit in between Aiden’s outstretched legs with my back to his chest, he wraps his strong, muscular arms around me, protecting me. “I feared becoming like my mother. I didn’t want to go through marriage and divorce like hot meals. So, when Ryan proposed, I almost said no. But he knew how to pull on my heart strings and I ended up saying yes. We married at the registry office with our witnesses. I wore a simple white dress, and my mother gave me a posy of white roses. She told me there was no other colour for me because I was so pure.”

I pause to take a sip of water, and to give myself a chance to keep a hold of my composure.

“I knew there was something not right almost as soon as we married. I felt like he was angry with me, or like I had done something wrong. He got drunk and when we got to the bridal suite I changed into my lacy underwear, ready to lose my virginity to my husband, but he couldn’t do it. He was too drunk, and he started to hurl abuse at me, telling me it was my fault. He said I was cold and frigid. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep.”

Aiden rubs my upper arms, and I appreciate the gesture of support as I get to the most difficult part.

“I woke up in the dead of night. The room was pitch black, but I could smell Ryan; well, the alcohol on him, at least. He ripped my nightgown from me, completely ripped it to shreds, and then he tied my hair around his hand, gripping it tightly. And without any warning… he climbed on top of me and took my virginity. He hurt me, and afterwards, he told me I was a woman now. He told me I would get better at it and that this was what first times were like for everyone.” By the time I finish, my face is wet with my silent tears. Aiden has stiffened and remains silent behind me. “For a long time, I thought that’s what sex was. And the worse it got, the more I didn’t want to do it, and the more he would call me names for being frigid and cold. Aiden, say something, please.”

I can't stop the tears. For years, I have held onto the pain and humiliation, and look at how it continues to hurt me. I need him to say something so I know he doesn’t see me differently now that he knows this, that he can still love me, even the broken and weak side of me.

“You are the bravest, strongest and most amazing person I have ever met, Eva. I mean that. How did you get through all that and still remain so sweet and kind?” His strong embrace, his words of praise and comfort gives me the strength to finally confront my fears and pain.

“I was a real-life person, a young woman, and he treated me worse than a dog. I’ve always felt there was something wrong with me, that I was silly to expect or want more. I considered myself foolish for thinking he would have been gentle and considerate of me. It's only when I met you that I realised that this was the proper way a man treats his partner. It wasn’t me who was asking for too much, it was Ryan and his warped thinking that were the problem.”

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