by Merel Pierce
She supposed it was possible her subconscious was just trying to find a way to redeem him by creating such an elaborate and traumatizing fantasy. After all, it wasn’t the first time. While her dreams and nightmares were infrequent, they were generally very detailed scenes that had very little to do with herself or things she was familiar with. Déjà vu, most people called it. But this? This was different.
Was she trying to find a way to come to terms with her current situation? To make the male seem like less of a prick than he was for keeping her hostage by eliciting her sympathy or concern? Was her heat skewing her judgment? She had no idea what was happening, but the sick feeling that continued to twist her stomach told her that it wouldn’t hurt to keep an open mind.
She grew distracted from her brooding when the stiffening rod of meat resting against her back suggested the male was beginning to stir. Restless and tired of being alone with her thoughts, she encouraged his wakefulness by lifting her hips and grinding her ass against him until his cock was rigid and the males sleepy grumbling growl suggested he wasn’t far behind.
He tucked his nose beneath her ear, his chest expanding as he drew in a deep breath. December shivered when his hand drifted up to cup one breast, squeezing possessively as he returned the press of her hips with a lazy grind of his own.
“Still in heat, I see?” He purred thickly, his voice husky with pleasure at waking to find her so willing and ready for his attention. She arched her back until his shaft was trapped between the cheeks of her ass, half buried between the creamy globes by the action.
“I let you sleep for hours.” She huffed, struggling to sound indignant even though his pleased rumbling sent a trill of heat coursing through her own body. Despite her concerns, she forced a playful edge to her tone as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. “I’ve been ready again for ages, you know. Are all alphas so lazy when their omegas are suffering through a heat?”
The corner of the male’s mouth twitched up, his eyes darkening almost menacingly. Both his encroaching pupils and his acknowledgement of the challenge she’d just issued gave a dangerous edge to his expression that made her shiver with excitement. Her only warning before the male flipped her onto her stomach was a feral grin full of flashing teeth.
“Oomph!” December huffed when he pressed her to the mattress with a hand at the nape of her neck, settling his knees between the backs of her now parted thighs. A second hand slid beneath the curve of her hip, splaying across her belly before he lifted her lower half away from the blankets.
“Ass up,” he growled hotly as he jerked her to her knees. December turned her head, one cheek resting against the comforter as she slid a sidelong glance towards the male behind her. Her smirk was rueful.
“Are you going to make it up to me now?” She taunted, purposely goading the aroused male. “I think you should make it up to me.” The weight on the back of her neck lifted suddenly, and a loud crack echoed through the room as his palm connected with her ass in a stinging swat. She squealed, jolting forward as far as the arm beneath her hips would allow. “Ouch! That’s not what I meant!” December couldn’t help the needy flush that began to creep over her body as she squirmed beneath him. No, it wasn’t what she’d had in mind, but her body seemed interested nonetheless.
The male chuckled as his cock settled in the groove of her backside, the throaty noise making her insides clench with anticipation. When he leaned over her, December shivered as the heat of his body raised goosebumps along her spine and his growl sounded against her ear. “I still owe you for the tantrum, and since you’re obviously feeling better…” He rubbed his shaft along the crack between her cheeks with a slow thrust of his hips, teasing her.
The forearm beneath her middle tightened mere seconds before he landed a second blow to the side of her ass and earned himself another squawk of protest. Even as she squirmed, she could feel the annoying bubbles of slick forming at the mouth of her sex, her body eager for more of his attention. “If you behave,” he murmured wickedly, “I’ll fuck you while I punish you.”
***
That was exactly what he’d done. By the time he was finished, both sides of her ass were burning and red, and his knot was buried as deep in her pussy as he could get. Once they were locked together, he’d rolled them into a spooning position very similar to how they’d been when he woke. She hadn’t bothered to protest. Not only had her heat insisted everything he did to her body was magic, a strange sense of guilt about her little secret had her feeling more agreeable than usual.
He’d stroked and petted in the wake of their mating, and as the high faded a strange ache took its place in December’s chest. Troubled by the silence, she tentatively began asking what she thought passed for conversational questions.
“What was it like, growing up the son of a crime boss?”
Seemingly unbothered, Nikolai continued to toy with her hair. “Comfortable, but disciplined. Though you may find it difficult to believe, my family was very loving.”
“Your father was an alpha, like you. Wasn’t he?”
“He was.”
“But your brother was a beta.”
“Yes.”
“So, your mother was… What, a beta?”
“She was alpha.”
December frowned thoughtfully. In vitro fertilization was common in the upper echelons where people could afford multiple attempts at conception between the dynamics that were less likely to have breeding success. Most of the time though, the progeny that resulted from in vitro were beta. It made sense that Nikolai’s brother had been a beta. But two alphas having an alpha child? “I didn’t think alpha pairs could have alpha children.”
“It is rare.”
“Hmph.” She was quiet for a moment, distracted by the sensations his fingertips were creating as they traced small patterns over her bare skin. “Your brother was a soldier in the war, wasn’t he?”
“He was an officer, actually.”
The way he said it resonated with a sense of pride that December hadn’t expected to hear. She knew the story. Anyone who spent time around the undesirables of the city did. Dimitri Petrovski’s youngest son had defected. He’d chosen to fight for the people instead of his family, and his father had disowned him. The young man was one of the many soldiers who never made it home from the war.
“Were you close?”
The alpha’s muscles stiffened slightly, and for a moment she thought she might have overstepped. But no backlash came; instead, the male sighed. “We were. My brother was a good man. Our family did not deserve him.”
“I heard that he died saving other men in his unit. They called him a hero. I saw his name on the monument uptown once,” she murmured softly, feeling a strange need to ease the ache she seemed to have created by asking about his brother. “You must have been proud of him,” she paused, reaching behind her to cup her hand against his jaw. “I’m sorry.”
Nikolai rubbed the stubble of his cheek against her palm, still purring as he slid his arm across her torso and up the midline of her chest until his fingers were curling lightly over her throat. “Enough talk of that,” he rumbled as he nudged almost affectionately at her ear with his nose. “There are plenty of dark clouds in the sky. We needn’t make our own.”
December was quiet then, brooding about her failed attempt at conversation and chewing her lip until it was swollen and tender from the unwanted attention. The male dozed lightly, his cock still binding them together. When finally his knot subsided and their combined fluids began to leak out around his softening member, she bumped him gently with her shoulder. “What time is it?” The male yawned, stretching against her with a lazy groan.
“You seem to have a fair amount of interest in the time, today. Do you have somewhere to be?”
December shrugged a shoulder, attempting to seem impassive. “I just realized I have no idea how long I’ve been here, or what time of day it is. It’s not like you have windows or anything.” He made a noise of assent a
nd withdrew his arm from her body. As he rolled onto his back, she followed him, tucking herself against his side and settling her head on his chest as he lifted his wrist to his face.
“It’s a quarter till nine.”
Her heart somersaulted nervously. It was later than she thought. December took a slow, measured breath. Her first attempt at distraction had failed. It was time for another. She let her fingers slide down the muscled ridges of his abdomen, dipping through the manicured dusting of dark curls that led to the root of his shaft. She curled her hand around him, gently stroking the softened weight of his member.
“Already?” He chuckled, amusement coloring his tone. “I wouldn’t think that tiny hole of yours could handle much more, judging by how you’ve squealed and whined the last two times I took you.”
“Yeah, well, apparently I’m a masochist.” December sat up, crawling over his thigh to make a place for herself between his legs. She tucked her knees beneath her on the mattress, drawing the length of her hair over one shoulder and out of her way as she adjusted her grip on his cock.
“And such a beautiful one, at that.” The male purred in approval as his hand came to rest lightly against her skull. She dipped her head and licked at his glans with several short, teasing flicks of her tongue before finally sucking him into her mouth.
December worked his length with fingers and mouth alike until he’d grown hard for her again, the weight of his hand growing heavier against the back of her head with a silent suggestion that she take him deeper. Instead, she climbed atop the male and settled herself over his waist with a knee to the mattress on each side of his broad frame. They locked eyes as she leaned forward, arching her back as she directed the head of his cock towards her entrance with only the most minimal need of guidance. It was so easy and natural, it was almost as if they belonged together. When the tip was caught against her sex, she braced the heels of her hands on his chest and rolled her hips backwards with an abrupt jerk.
The alpha hissed as she forced herself down on his meat, stopping her motion when his own hands clamped around her hips in a vice-like grip. December’s brow furrowed as she glared down on him in question, annoyed and a little panicked that he’d stopped her from impaling herself on his cock. In the event that her dream turned out to be more than just a horrible fantasy, she wanted them tied together by 9AM. It would be hard for him to leave if he was knotted, after all. “What?”
“Slow this time, sweet one. I want to enjoy the sight of you riding me.” December shivered as a jolt of passion made her twitch and squirm atop her mount, her nails biting into his flesh impatiently as she began to lose focus on the task at hand.
“Then you’ll have to lead. I don’t feel like going slow.”
Leading wasn’t a problem for him. He sat up, one hand resting at the small of her back and its twin tangling in her hair. What followed, she didn’t have words for. If she hadn’t known better, she would have said he was making love to her. He was gentle and sweet, his eyes focused on her intently even when they kissed. The tender vibrations of his purr continued to echo through the male’s chest as he lavished attention on every part of her that he could reach.
By the time his knot was pushing through a barrier that was more willing to accept him now, her arms were wrapped around his neck and she was hiding against his shoulder for fear that he would see what his affection had done. She knew it was a lie, this gentleness he showed her. He was a criminal and a murderer. A manipulative man who took what he wanted and exploited the weaknesses of those around him for his own gain.
But as a woman who’d never had a father, a decent boyfriend, or ever even experienced the true approval and attention of a worthy male, it was difficult not to be affected by him. She supposed that was the curse of being an omega.
Her arms still tight around his neck, she sagged against him as the afterglow of their mutual pleasure spread through her limbs. She squeezed her eyes closed and focused on her breathing, relieved that they were bound together once more. In part, because she felt safe in the knowledge that he couldn’t leave her. But also because it felt right, and she intended to hold on to the feeling of belonging he’d created for as long as she could, knowing it wouldn’t last.
“I told you it would get easier, didn’t I?” He dropped a kiss in her hair, rubbing her back gently as he held her astride his lap. December nodded mutely. “You really are an exquisite little thing. How very glad I am that it was I who found you.”
“Will you stay with me today?” She asked softly, her voice muffled against his shoulder. “I’m miserable every time you aren’t in me. This heat… It’s awful.”
“I’ve already told my men not to contact me unless it’s an emergency,” he assured her.” “I don’t intend to leave until your cycle breaks.” December was glad that he didn’t seem to notice her anxiety. Or if he did, he assumed it was because of her heat and not something more sinister. “Believe me little wolf, there is very little that could tempt me from this room right now, with you in such a--”
Nikolai was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. December startled, then went rigid. As if sensing her distress, he continued to purr. “Don’t worry.” He tightened his grip on her as he scooted to the edge of the bed and leaned to one side, reaching for the suit jacket he’d discarded on the floor the night before.
“Please… Don’t answer it!” she hissed softly, disbelief clouding her expression as she pulled back just far enough to catch his eye. “Please….”
Nikolai gave her a charming smile, obviously pleased by how desperately she appeared to want to keep him to herself. “I’ll just be a moment,” he promised as he extracted the cell phone from the pocket of the garment and glanced over her shoulder at the screen. “They wouldn’t call if it weren’t important. But whatever they need, it shouldn’t take long.”
Chapter 12
“Bulgras’ son? You’re sure?” Nikolai growled. The girl winced against him as the phone’s casing cracking beneath the pressure of his grip. “How long have you had him there?” The answer he received only infuriated him more. “You need to bring him to the station. Now.”
The bulbous swelling at the base of his shaft began to lose its girth as the mood soured. Nikolai moved to the end of the bed and let his feet hit the floor. The omega’s grip around his neck tightened, her thighs clenching anxiously around his waist as she locked her ankles together behind him. The girl’s heart rate spiked, and the scent of her fear blooming in the air around them set his teeth on edge. Unfortunately, the train wreck his employee had just dumped in his lap took precedence. “No. No, I’ll take care of it myself. You obviously don’t have the good sense god gave a mule.”
The enforcer on the other end of the line rushed to justify what they’d done, but his attempts to explain fell on deaf ears. “If Bulgras causes problems because of this, I’ll personally see to it that every bone in your body is broken. Twice. Do you understand me? You get the boy there. Now!” Nikolai barked at the phone, digging his fingers into the girl’s hip to keep her still when she shifted uneasily over his cock.
“I’ll come down once you have. Bulgras will want a face to face, no doubt.” The fact that the omega was starting to tremble only agitated him further. He’d chosen her because she was strong, and yet she was shaking like an abused dog just because he raised his voice. In his current state of mind, it seemed absurd, so he ignored her.
“No. You tell him I’ll be there just as soon as--”
Nikolai froze, every muscle in his body going still as a searing flush of pain set his nerves on fire. For a moment, surprise kept him from understanding the rippling wave of lust that roared through his body on the heels of the near crippling sensation. But when the little female’s groan of ecstasy vibrated against his skin, he realized what she’d done. “I’ll be there this afternoon. Just get the boy.” He ground out through clenched teeth as his entire body quivered with the effort of restraining himself long enough to end the call.
He tossed the phone aside, his jaw clenching with a twisted sort of excitement. The girl’s teeth were still imbedded in the muscled junction between his shoulder and neck where she’d bitten him. Judging by the sounds she was making, she was completely absorbed in the pleasure that tasting his blood had wrought. Nikolai’s hand remained on her hip, its twin lifting to knot in her hair. Without warning, he jerked her head back cruelly.
The girl yelped as he bent her far enough back to take stock of her. She was dazed, her eyes unfocused and wholly dilated. Nikolai watched with fascination as his blood dribbled down her chin, her plump lips stained crimson by the ill-gotten prize. Reluctantly, he forced his eyes away from her mouth.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” He growled. Her brow knit as his rumble inspired her to whine and squirm. The almost vacant, lust filled way she looked at him made it clear that she was too far gone to understand.
He dipped his head, punishing her mouth with a brief kiss designed for a purpose other than pleasure. When he retracted, Nikolai licked his lips. To his satisfaction, the girl’s eyes were drawn by the action. Her jaw went slack, her eyes widening as a moment of sobering clarity at what she saw allowed horror and confusion to twist her expression.
She made a soft noise of distress as her gaze flickered between his stained mouth and bloodied shoulder, where he had no doubt that her bite marks presented themselves clearly enough. “Oh… Oh god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean, I don’t…” She floundered as fear crept in to taint the intoxication of staking claim, her voice little more than a terrified whisper.