That was different. Right?
Ty reached down and cupped her ass in his hands. Instinctually, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he hoisted her up. Spread wide, the most sensitive part of her body brushed against him. A moan escaped her lips as a shock of pleasure shot through her.
"That's right," Ty said before his mouth descended on hers. His kiss was brutal. Claiming. It left no doubt in Mia's mind of how he viewed her—his for the taking.
And in a way, he wasn't wrong. As he stepped away from the open door and into the house, she writhed against him, almost desperate to feel his firm body press against her clit.
By the time he laid her down on the couch, her legs were dripping wet and her mind half-wild with desire. Her fingers tangled in his clothes, desperate to strip them away from his body.
What she wanted—what she needed—was to feel his body next to hers. His skin against her skin. His heat and vitality surging inside her. That was the only thing that would calm the warring thoughts in her head. To push them out with pure sensation.
And Ty was only too eager to comply.
In the blink of an eye, he pulled his shirt off over his head. His pants followed. Mia's breath left her breath in a rush at the sight of his huge body displayed naked before her. She couldn't help reaching out and spreading her palms over the hard, tight muscles of his chest.
No, that wasn't entirely true.
She could have stopped herself. Deep down, Mia knew that if she'd wanted to, she could have held back from touching him.
But she didn't want to stop.
What she was feeling now wasn't like the mindless heat that had swallowed her up before. The fires that raged inside her were just as bright and hot, but they were also hers to stoke or douse as she pleased.
And right now, the most pleasurable thing she could imagine was feeling Ty slide deep inside her.
"Please," she begged when she struggled to lift her own dress under his weight.
Ty solved the problem by gripping the collar and ripping the fabric clean in half.
Mia gasped, not just at the display of power, but at the passion behind it. It was clear that no matter how badly she wanted Ty, he wanted her just as much.
Maybe more.
The thought caused another rush of slick to wet her legs. Ty dropped his head down to her shoulder as he drew in a deep breath. His cock pulsed against her thigh, swelling even larger.
Dear God, how had she taken such a massive thing inside her? Could she do it again now that she wasn't in heat? The civilized part of her brain sounded a warning bell, but a deeper, more primal part of her muffled the alarm. It led her to slide her hands down his body and cup his heavy shaft in her hands.
She stroked the length. Down and up and back again. Slowly at first, then faster and more insistently. With every pump of her hand, the need inside her grew.
Of course she could take him, the primal part of her whispered. She was born to take him. An omega made for her alpha. Ready to receive the pleasure only he could give.
Mia didn't realize how desperately that she was working his shaft until Ty groaned and caught her wrist in his hand.
"Are you trying to make me come on your belly?"
"No." She shook her head. "I just needed to feel you."
A hungry smile lifted his lips. "Then let me give you what you want."
Before she could say another word, Ty hooked his arm under her knee, lifting it up and making room for his hips.
All the breath left Mia's lungs as the head of his cock slipped inside her. Her slick covered his shaft, easing his entry. Still, her head fell back as the tight muscles of her pussy stretched around him. Pleasure so intense that it bordered on pain filled her body.
So this was ecstasy.
"That's right," he growled against her ear. "Take me. Take all of me."
And somehow she did.
Her body opened for him.
Just for him.
Instinctually Mia knew she wouldn't react this way for any other alpha…because they weren't him. They weren't Ty. They weren't hers.
That certainty only grew with every pulse and stroke of his body inside hers. There was no one else who could make her feel this way. No one who could please her. Satisfy her. Complete her.
There was only Ty.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders as she neared the edge of ultimate pleasure. She pressed herself flush against him. But still, it wasn't enough.
Something was missing.
A need just out of reach.
A desire that would only be fulfilled if she leaned forward and clamped her teeth down on the flesh of his shoulder.
Mia gasped at the realization.
A claiming bite. That's what she was craving.
And apparently so was Ty.
"That's what you need," he purred against her ear. Cradling the back of her head in his open palm, he guided her toward his shoulder. "Do it. Make me yours."
Mia's lips parted. The tip of her tongue flicked across his skin. Warm and salty—the sensations filled her mouth. All she had to do was bite down, and he would be hers. Now and forever. She could bask this sensual heaven until her dying day.
And all she had to do was give her soul away.
The senator's daughter.
Josh's victim.
Ty's omega.
The memory flashed in her head right before she bit down. Always someone else's. Never her own.
At the last second, Mia twisted her head to the side. Pressing her cheek into his shoulder, she allowed herself to be swept away by powerful waves of pleasure—an orgasm that shook her down to the core.
Ty roared out in a strange mixture of frustration and ecstasy as his cock pulsed hard within her, his knot forming and locking them together tight. His head fell the moment he was spent inside her. His breath was shallow, far from the long, contented sighs that usually followed sex.
When he finally lifted his head and looked at her, she could see the disappointment in his eyes.
"Why?"
Mia didn't have to ask what he meant. She could practically feel the pain seeping out of him. He'd wanted—needed—her bite. Her claim. The brand that would tie them together. And he felt betrayed that she hadn't given him what he craved.
She stiffened in anger beneath him. Sure, it was hard to get upset so soon after a ground-shaking orgasm and when his cock was still filling her, but somehow Mia managed to work up a little annoyance.
It wasn't fair for him to make any more demands of her.
"I already told you," she said. "My body may know you, but my mind doesn't. Not yet, at least."
His lips pressed together. Mia caught another glimpse of the dried flecks of blood on his hands.
Dustin and Josh's blood.
The blood of the last people who had disappointed him.
Usually, the thought would have made Mia wither. The thought of that kind of violence would have had her begging for another chance to make amends. To give him everything he wanted.
But not this time.
Somehow she knew Ty wouldn't hurt her. He might get upset. He might shout. He might glower down at her with the darkest look he could muster. But he wouldn't touch her in violence.
He straightened his arm, propping himself even higher above her. Still fastened to the bulb of his knot, Mia had to shift to follow his hips.
"So, you're what?" he asked with a sharp glare. "Waiting to see if a bigger, stronger alpha comes around?"
Mia shook her head. "Of course not."
"Then tell me what you're waiting for."
Mia thought for a moment before answering. She didn't really expect him to understand. How could he? Ty had always been his own man. He had no idea what it was like to be the prisoner of everyone else's expectations.
But the claiming bite was her choice to make. Her only choice in this life she found herself living, and by God, she would be the one to make it.
"For when the time feels right," s
he said.
The grumble that shook through his body made it clear that wasn't the answer he was hoping for. "And when the hell is that going to be?"
"I don't know," Mia answered honestly.
"When will you know?"
"I don't know."
His eyes narrowed. The muscles along his back tightened. Even the knot inside her pulsed with the ferocity of his emotions.
"What the hell do you know?"
Mia lifted her chin defiantly. "That you're not going to intimidate me into claiming you."
"That isn't what I'm trying to do," he said tightly. "I just don't think you know what's at stake here."
The hell she didn't. Her whole future. The path of her life. Her very nature. She understood everything.
"I'll tell you the one thing I know for sure," she said, staring the alpha straight in the eye. "It's that if you are the one, and this is meant to be, then me taking a few extra days to make up my mind isn't going to change a goddamned thing."
Chapter Eight
The sex was amazing.
Mia had come more times in the past three days than she had in her whole life combined.
But she still hadn't given Ty her claiming bite, and she didn't know when—or if—she would.
It didn't help that every day Ty grew more and more frustrated and closed off. Feeling him release that pent up energy between her legs was one thing, but dealing with him grumbling and seething for the rest of the day in the small cabin was another.
There was no relief when he stormed out the door to work outside. Even though she knew he was less than a mile away chopping wood or hunting, she couldn't help but miss him. Sometimes painfully. It seemed the farther away he went, the stronger her desire for him grew.
And that drove her crazy. Her life had been boiled down to three separate emotions—on edge when he was around, longing for him when he was gone, or riding waves of bliss when he was inside her.
The last one wasn't bad, but those first two were making her miserable.
Maybe this was just how life was for omegas. What if all she had to look forward to was sixty years of walking on eggshells? If that was the case, then it didn't matter if she claimed Ty or not.
The thought made Mia's eyes sting with unshed tears. If she'd known this was her destiny, she would have stayed home with her father.
No!
Her innate response was instant and overwhelming, surprising Mia.
Ty was nothing like the man who had raised her. That much was crystal clear. Even though she could practically feel his irritation constantly buzzing through the cabin, he hadn't ever lashed out at her. He hadn't raised a finger to hurt her.
Just the opposite. Every time Ty touched her, she felt nothing but pleasure. Crazy, intense pleasure.
Mia bit her lower lip, worrying it back and forth between her teeth as she gazed out the bedroom window. She gazed out across a gorgeous vista of dense evergreens stubbornly clinging to a hillside. In the narrow gaps between their trunks, long, curly fern fronds stretched toward fleeting shafts of bright sunlight overhead.
Given the direct angle of the light, Mia figured it was around noon. Funny, how quickly she'd adjusted to a life without all the technology she'd relied on at home.
No phone to check the time or computer to check her email. No electricity to light up the cabin at night. What was really weird was that she didn't really miss it.
If she was completely honest, there wasn't much that she did miss about her old beta life. Except maybe her friends and the sense of community and belonging that came along with them.
The woods were undeniably beautiful, but they were also isolated and lonely. And it didn't help that the only person she had for company wouldn't stop scowling long enough to grunt more than a few words.
Mia would give anything to have someone else to talk to.
She should have been more careful what she asked for. Less than fifteen minutes later, she heard the thump of two sets of footsteps on the planks of the porch outside.
Two.
Mia froze. For half a heartbeat, fear surged through her blood, freezing her in place. But it all dissipated though the moment she heard Ty's voice.
She couldn't make out what he was saying, just the familiar, deep rumble. The cadence of his words was relaxed. There were no shouts. No growls.
Whoever was outside was a friend.
And, judging by the heavy tread, an alpha every bit as big as Ty.
Maybe bigger.
Mia tiptoed over to the bedroom door and, as quietly as she could, slipped it open a crack. She angled her ear against the gap, hoping that the space would help her catch a few clear words, but she still couldn't make out what they were saying.
Damn it.
She needed to get closer if she wanted to hear what they were saying.
And she really wanted to hear.
Mia held her breath as she slid out of the bedroom and inched her way across the hardwood floor. The closer she crept to the front door, the more words she was able to identify. By the time she reached the fireplace, she could make out most of what the two alphas were saying.
Most, but not all.
"How many…do think they've brought in?" Ty asked. His voice was thick with concern.
"Not sure," the other man said. "A few…"
The last word was too low and muffled for Mia to hear. As carefully as she could, she risked the last few steps toward the front window, making sure to stay behind the cover of the curtain.
"And they're all armed?"
That caught her attention.
Mia leaned her head against the wall and caught sight of Ty in the sliver of space between the window frame and the curtain. He was leaning against the porch railing, his arms crossed over his massive chest. His mouth was a hard line of frustration—an expression she'd seen a lot over the past few days.
"Of course," the second alpha said.
Mia craned her neck a fraction of an inch to get a better look at him.
The stranger was sitting on the rough-hewn wooden chair across from Ty. His back was to her, so she couldn't make out any of his features. All she could tell was that he was huge and dark-haired…and far more relaxed than Ty.
His shoulders weren't clenched. His arms were casually draped over the armrests. His open hands dangled loosely. Overall, the other alpha didn't seem like a powder keg that was about to blow at any second.
Not the way Ty did.
"You really think they'll send their soldiers up here?" Ty said. "I don't care how many guns they have. I'll kill them all."
Dread pooled in Mia's gut.
Beta soldiers in the Boundarylands, threatening to trespass on alpha land—this had to be the work of her father.
Apparently, he didn't trust the FBI, so he'd sent in the goddamned army. If Senator Baird wanted his daughter out of the Boundarylands, there wasn't a force on earth that could stop him.
Mia felt like an idiot. She should have warned Ty something like this was coming, but, truth be told, she hadn't thought about her father—or anything to do with her old beta life—in days.
It wasn't that she had forgotten. Her memories were still crystal clear. It was just that things that had seemed so important just a week ago no longer mattered.
Her priorities had changed.
Just like she had.
Shaking the thought from her head, Mia focused her attention back on the conversation outside.
"They're treating this like a hostage situation," the stranger went on.
"That's bullshit."
"Sure, but what do they care if she's up here by fate or by choice? All any of them want is to be the hero who bags an alpha. You can smell it on them."
Shit.
Mia's chest tightened at the thought of camouflaged soldiers breaking down the door and showering the cabin with bullets. She couldn't let that happen.
But how in the world could she stop it?
"And no one cares about the treaties?"
Ty asked.
"You kidding me?" The other alpha gave a dark laugh. "When the hell has the law ever stopped a beta from doing what he wants?"
"And they call us monsters," Ty said grimly.
"You know there's only one way this can end peacefully."
"I know."
"All she has to do is—"
"I said I know," Ty cut off the other alpha before he could finish his thought. His voice wasn't the only thing that was tight. His whole body visibly tensed at the other alpha's words.
Mia's curiosity was piqued. She leaned in a little closer. She only had to what?
"It's not like after a full week, she's going to bond with someone else."
"I don't want to talk about it, Samson," Ty growled.
"Too bad, 'cause we're past the point of want. Unless something changes real soon, blood is going to be shed."
Apparently, that was Ty's breaking point.
"Enough," he barked, with enough force that even Mia recoiled.
Samson didn't even flinch.
Instead, he stood up from the chair. Mia still couldn't see his face, just the fall of brown hair that dusted his shoulders. The alpha clasped a friendly hand on Ty's shoulder.
"You know that it's true." He paused. "Both of you do."
And with that, Samson let go of Ty's shoulder and started down the stairs. Ty didn't turn to watch his friend go. He stayed completely still against the railing.
Mia found she couldn't move either. She couldn't turn away. All she could do was stand and stare at Ty's tortured expression.
After a full minute, Ty looked up. Though she knew there was no way that he could see her through the curtain, Mia felt his gaze.
"You can come out now, Mia," he said.
Shit.
* * *
A few seconds passed before Mia opened the door. Even then, only her bare toes broke the line that separated the inside of the house from the patio. The rest of her body stayed inside, just beyond the door jamb.
She clutched at a blanket draped around her shoulders, holding it tight to the center of her chest. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that hung just below her shoulder blades, giving him a clear view of the bright red flush radiating outward to her cheeks.
Ty (The Boundarylands Omegaverse Book 2) Page 7