Chapter 10: The Alpha’s Kiss
Isla’s breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. Damian was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his bare skin, his scent thick and intoxicating, it smelt like earth, musk, something dark and dangerously male. Every inch of her body was tight with awareness, her pulse hammering as his fingers traced the line of her jaw, down the column of her throat, stopping at the hollow between her collarbones.
She should run. She should push him away. But when his hand slid into her hair, gripping and tilting her head back, a sharp gasp escaped her lips and then, he claimed her.
His mouth crashed against hers, nothing soft, nothing sweet, just pure fire, possession and hunger.
A low growl vibrated in his chest as he pushed her back against the cold stone wall, pinning her between unyielding heat and the rough surface behind her. His body pressed flush against hers, all hard muscle and raw power, caging her in.
Her gasp turned into a moan as his tongue swept into her mouth, tasting, teasing, devouring her as if he were starving. Isla clawed at his back, her nails scraping down the ridges of his spine, feeling the way his muscles coiled beneath her touch, tight, desperate, like he was barely restraining himself.
“You drive me insane,” he growled against her lips.
He broke the kiss just long enough to drag in a breath, his lips brushing hers, ragged and trembling. Then he dipped his head, his mouth hot and wet against the line of her throat, tongue flicking out to trace her racing pulse. She cried out when he bit her there, just enough pressure to make her arch against him, her hips grinding into his.
“Do you feel that?” he growled, his voice low and rough in her ear, his hips thrusting just once against hers, hard, slow and unmistakable.
She felt him everywhere. His erection straining through his pants, grinding into the aching heat between her legs. The way his body pinned hers, heavy and primal, like instinct had taken over and the man was losing to the beast.
Her breath hitched.
Oh, God.
“Yes,” she gasped, eyes fluttering shut, body trembling under the onslaught of sensation.
His hands were on her hips, then sliding up under her shirt again, skin to skin, so hot she thought she might melt. One hand traced the curve of her waist, the other trailing up, over the swell of her breast, fingers brushing the peak through lace that suddenly felt suffocating.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” he growled against her skin, voice vibrating against her collarbone. “You don’t know what I’ll become.”
“I don’t care,” she breathed and it was the truth. In that moment, she would have let him destroy her if it meant being closer.
A low curse escaped him, but he didn’t stop. His mouth moved lower, pulling the fabric of her shirt aside, tongue flicking across the sensitive dip between her breasts. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging, needing more, everything, right now.
When he sucked one peaked nipple into his mouth through the lace, her knees buckled. He caught her with one strong arm around her waist, holding her up like she weighed nothing. She was boneless, breathless and burning from the inside out. His other hand cupped her between her thighs, pressing through the fabric, groaning at what he felt.
“You’re already wet for me,” he rasped, dragging his mouth back up to hers. “You want this. You want me.”
“Yes,” she moaned into his mouth, and that was the final snap.
He lifted her, wrapping her legs around his hips, grinding her against the hard length of him with a growl that sounded almost inhuman.
“Then say it,” he demanded, breath hot against her lips. “Say you’re mine.”
Her eyes met his, wild silver, darkened with lust and something older, deeper. Her voice trembled with truth and want as she whispered, “I’m yours.”
His mouth trailed lower, hot and open-mouthed against her jaw, her throat, grazing the sensitive skin where her pulse pounded. His teeth scraped over it, teasing, making her writhe against him.
“Damian,” she gasped, her fingers curling into his hair, tugging him closer.
He growled in response, a deep, guttural sound that made her legs tremble, before his hands roamed, gripping her, dragging her against him. Her body was on fire, burning for him, for his touch, for more. But just as her hands slipped lower, reaching for the waistband of his pants, Damian suddenly ripped himself away.
His chest heaved, his fists clenched, his entire body shaking with restraint.
“No,” he snarled.
Isla’s head spun. What?
“No?” she echoed, her voice hoarse, lips swollen from his kiss.
Damian turned away, bracing his hands against the stone wall, his head bowed like he was fighting himself.
“This bond,” he rasped, his voice thick with desperate hunger, “It’s too strong.”
Her stomach twisted.
“What does that mean?”
He turned then, his silver eyes blazing, wild and dangerous.
“It means if I take you now, Isla,” he murmured, his voice dark and heavy with promise, “I won’t be able to stop.”
Her breath caught.
Her body ached and throbbed, every nerve screaming for his touch and his heat. But the look in his eyes, raw, brutal and possessive, told her the truth. This wasn’t just about want. It was about claiming, owning and binding her, them together.