Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen: The Perfect Plan

CARTER’S POV

It was when Carter looked into Dallas's jealous, possessive eyes that the perfect plan came together in his mind.

There was only one thing Dallas wanted from him; his complete and total submission.

And if that was what he craved most, then it could be weaponised against him.

Carter let his body go soft, leaning into Dallas's bruising grip instead of fighting it.

He sighed, letting his eyes flutter closed for just a moment before opening them again with what he hoped looked like obedience.

"Okay," he whispered.

Dallas's hands loosened a little, confusion flickering across his face.

His dark brows furrowed, suspicion already creeping into his expression. "Okay?"

"Of course." Carter forced his voice to stay steady, gentle even, as though he was trying to soothe a wild animal.

"I don't know what came over me. I guess this whole new change was all just too sudden, and I got desperate to escape." He dropped his gaze, trying to look ashamed.

“But seeing how serious you are about me, hearing you say the things you've done for my sake, the sacrifices that you’ve made..."

He paused, "Why would I ever leave you?"

Dallas did a visible double-take, his dark eyes narrowing with immediate suspicion.

He released Carter's face but didn't step back, still crowding him against the wall. "You expect me to believe that? After you just tried to throw yourself out of my window?”

"I was just scared," Carter said, and that part wasn't a lie. "I woke up alone in a strange place with no memories of the past two days. You have to understand, Dallas, this is all happening so fast. The pregnancy, our mate bond, finding out you've been stalking me for seven years—"

"Protecting you," Dallas corrected sharply.

"Right. Protecting me." Carter swallowed hard, forcing himself to hold Dallas's gaze. "I see that now.”

He continued, “You weren't being weird at all, you were only making sure I was safe and that I had everything I needed. That's... that's actually kind of romantic, when you think about it."

He could see Dallas's jaw tighten, the muscle jumping beneath his skin. The man was clearly torn between wanting to believe him and knowing better.

Carter knew he'd have to take desperate measures to really sell it.

His hand came up, trembling slightly, though whether from nerves or self-loathing, he couldn't say, and he touched Dallas's hair softly, threading his fingers through the dark strands.

They were surprisingly soft, still slightly damp from what must have been a recent shower.

Then he kissed him.

He hated himself for doing it, and worse that it felt so good, warm and electric and right in a way that made his chest ache with confusion and want.

Dallas's lips were softer than they had any right to be, and when Dallas made that low, surprised growl in the back of his throat, Carter almost got distracted from his actual plan.

Dallas's hands came up to grip Carter's waist, pulling him closer, and Carter allowed himself to melt into it.

He kissed Dallas like he meant it, like he wanted it, pouring devotion into every movement of his lips.

When he finally pulled back, Dallas was staring at him with wonder and deep suspicion underneath it all.

"That was..." Dallas started, his voice rough.

"I know I've been difficult," Carter interrupted quickly, keeping his voice soft and apologetic. "I know I've fought you every step of the way. But maybe that's because I was scared of how much I actually wanted this, wanted you."

The words tasted like poison on his tongue, but he forced them out anyway.

Dallas's grip on his waist tightened. "Carter—"

"I'm glad I've managed to talk some sense into that head of yours," Dallas said slowly, though his eyes were still searching Carter's face for cracks in the facade.

"You're an incredibly smart man, Carter. And yet you can make very stupid decisions at the worst of times."

His thumb traced posessive, claiming circles on Carter's hip, "Looks like this isn't one of those times."

Carter bristled at that, his pride stinging despite his act. "Fuck you," he mumbled before he could stop himself.

Dallas's eyebrows shot up dangerously. "What was that?"

Shit.

Carter scrambled to recover. "I mean… thank you. So much." He ducked his head, hoping he looked bashful instead of furious.

"I just thought I had very generous employers abroad, or that maybe they were impressed by my hard work. But finding out now that you were practically behind my success all along,..."

It's mortifying, Carter thought viciously. It's invasive and controlling and completely insane and makes me feel like a stupid, helpless child instead of an independent adult.

"It's like a love story," he said instead, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

“Is that right?” Dallas squinted at him, disbelief creeping back into his eyes like storm clouds rolling in.

Carter could see he was losing him, that Dallas was just too smart, too observant to fall for this half-hearted seduction.

He needed to do something bigger. Something shocking enough to override Dallas's suspicions entirely.

Before he could second-guess himself, and before his brain could catch up with his body and scream at him to stop, Carter sank to his knees.

The carpet was soft underneath him as he pressed his face against the front of Dallas's pants, feeling the hard length of him through the expensive fabric.

He looked up through his lashes, trying to recreate the pleading, worshipful expression he'd seen once in the first and only gay porn video he'd watched as a curious, confused college student.

He'd barely made it one minute into that video before turning it off in embarrassment, his face burning as he deleted his browser history three times just to be safe.

And yet here he was, on his knees in front of his worst enemy, about to do something far more explicit than anything in that video.

It seemed to work. Dallas's eyes dilated immediately, his pupils blown wide with desire as he looked down at Carter.

His hand came up to grip Carter's hair, not pulling, just holding on, his fingers gentle despite the obvious hunger in his gaze.

"Carter," Dallas breathed, his voice strained. "What are you—"

"Let me show you," Carter interrupted, his fingers already fumbling with Dallas's belt.

His hands were shaking, from desire and disgust, as he worked the buckle free. He could feel Dallas's cock straining against the fabric, hot and hard and demanding attention.

When he finally freed it, Carter had to stop himself from hesitating.

He adjusted his glasses, because of course they'd slipped down his nose at the worst possible moment, making him look even more ridiculous, and took Dallas’ cock into his mouth.

The taste was overwhelming. Musky and distinctly male and so completely Dallas that it made Carter's head spin. He gagged slightly on the first attempt, pulling back to catch his breath.

"Easy," Dallas murmured, his hand stroking through Carter's hair almost gently. "You don't have to—"

"I want to," Carter lied, looking up at him with what he hoped was devotion and panic. "What would you like me to call you? Sir? Master? Or just Dallas?"

Dallas's breath came out in a harsh exhale, his control visibly fraying at the edges. "Alpha," he said, his voice strained and rough with want.

Carter had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, the pretentious, arrogant bastard was still going on about the werewolf thing.

But he felt a thrill of victory surge through him when he took Dallas' cock back into his mouth and watched him come completely undone above him.

Dallas's hands tightened in his hair, his breathing turning ragged and uneven as Carter worked him deeper, trying to remember anything useful from that mortifying porn video.

He bobbed his head, hollowing his cheeks the way he vaguely remembered seeing, and Dallas growled shakily, his fingers tightening in Carter’s hair.

Carter had never understood the appeal of this before.

He'd always thought giving oral was a little gross, more degrading than pleasurable, something people usually did out of obligation rather than genuine desire.

But watching Dallas lose control above him, feeling the way his thighs trembled on either side of Carter's head, hearing the bitten-off curses and desperate groans falling from those usually composed lips...

Carter was forced to admit there was something intoxicating about having this much power over someone.

He was clumsy and amateur and probably terrible at this, his teeth accidentally scraping once or twice, his rhythm inconsistent and unpracticed.

But Dallas didn't seem to mind. Not with the way he was gripping Carter's hair like a lifeline, whispering filthy praise under his breath, bucking his hips to fuck Carter's mouth with increasingly desperate thrusts.

"Fuck, Carter, just like that," Dallas groaned, his head falling back. "So good, you're so fucking good—"

It was shamefully, disgustingly good.

Carter didn't want his enemy's cock in his mouth, nor did he want to be on his knees like some kind of willing servant, offering himself up to be used.

But if this was what he had to do to gain Dallas's trust, to get him to let his guard down long enough for Carter to find a real escape route, to gather information about this insane werewolf pack and figure out how to get the hell out of here—

Then he would do it.

Carter could tell Dallas was close. His thrusts became fast and erratic, his grip almost painful, his breathing harsh and ragged in the quiet room.

Carter braced himself, preparing for Dallas to—

"Enough."

Dallas pulled out abruptly, his cock slipping from Carter's mouth with an obscene wet sound.

Carter looked up at him in genuine confusion, his lips swollen and slick with saliva, his glasses slightly askew on his flushed face.

What now?