Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Zane
She shifted against me before we had even left the Convergence grounds. Her eyes opened again as apparently, my instruction for her to sleep had not worked.
Tiana’s head dropped to my shoulder. Then slid lower, coming to rest against my chest.
I kept my gaze fixed out the window, forcing my breathing to stay even.
This was what I had feared. The alcohol was hitting her system fully now that the adrenaline and noise of the hall had faded.
Her hand moved then landed on my chest. Her fingers traced absent patterns across the fabric of my shirt, following the lines of buttons with unfocused curiosity.
“You always leave,” she murmured, her words slightly slurred. “Why do you always leave?”
I did not answer.
“You get so angry at me.” Her fingers pressed slightly harder against my chest. “I don’t understand why. I never do anything wrong.”
My jaw clenched.
She shifted again, her face turning toward my throat. I felt her breath, warm and wine-sweet, against my skin.
“You smell good,” she whispered.
Every muscle in my body went rigid at her words.
The bond flared between us responding to her proximity, her touch, and the sound of her voice saying things I knew she would never say sober.
“Tiana,” I said quietly. “Sit up.”
“I don’t want to.” Her hand slid higher, her fingertips grazing my collarbone. “Don’t go away this time.”
Don’t go away.
As if I could. As if the bond would allow me to push her away even if I wanted to.
I did not want to.
And that was the problem.
I forced myself to breathe through my nose, focusing on the road ahead, the lights of the city passing by the windows, or anything other than the way her body was pressed against mine.
But her scent filled my nostrils, amplified by the bond, by her lowered inhibitions and whatever reaction was happening between us in this confined space.
It was overwhelming.
She shifted again, her lips accidentally brushing the edge of my jaw.
I almost stopped breathing.
“Zane…” She drew my name out, soft and wanting.
“Stop moving,” I instructed, my voice coming out rougher than intended.
“But you’re warm.” She nuzzled closer. “And I’m cold.”
She wasn’t cold. Her skin was flushed, heated from alcohol and the bond’s influence.
But I didn’t try to correct her.
I was too busy trying to endure and fight every instinct screaming at me to pull her closer instead of maintaining this careful, torturous distance.
The car finally pulled through the packhouse gates.
I had never been more grateful for a short drive.
Ezra opened the door immediately. His eyes took in our position, Tiana draped across me, my hands carefully positioned, and wisely said nothing silly.
“Alpha.”
I still didn’t respond. Only shifted carefully, preparing to extract myself from the car.
Tiana made a sound of protest when I moved, her grip on me tightening.
“Come,” I said quietly. “We are at the pack house.”
“I want to stay here with you.” Her arms clinged to my neck.“Stay here.”
“We can’t stay here.”
“Why not?”
Because I was barely holding onto control as it was. Because if she kept touching me like this, and making those soft sounds, I was going to do something I might regret later.
Ignoring her, I went on to carefully maneuver us out of the car, keeping one arm firmly around her waist when her legs proved unsteady.
She swayed against me. Then giggled softly. “Everything’s spinning.”
“I know.”
I meant to set her on her feet. Possibly guide her inside with my hand on her back the way I had done at the Convergence.
But her legs buckled the moment I tried.
So I did the only thing I could.
I lifted her.
Her legs wrapped around my waist automatically then her arms tightened around my neck while her face pressed into the curve of my throat, her breath hot against my pulse point.
Every step inside the packhouse was pure torture.
Tiana’s curves pressed against my hard muscle as the silk of her gown did nothing to mask the warmth of her body.
And she kept moving and gliding her now separated legs along the toned edges of my waist. Especially in a time when I was not wearing my jacket, and the fabric of my shirt did little to filter the warmth I felt from her.
Small shifts of her hips that were probably unplanned, felt like a deliberate attempt to break me.
“Mmm,” she hummed against my throat. A soft, satisfied sound that went straight through me.
I climbed the stairs faster than necessary, my grip on her tightening.
I should have taken her to her chambers to deposit her safely in her bed and leave before anything could happen.
But I couldn’t stomach the thought of anyone else seeing her like this. Completely vulnerable and unguarded.
The night she was fully conscious, she had gone on to stay with Kaius alone in that lounge, possibly having moments that I hated to imagine. But my wolf kept on supplying me with ideas.
How could I be certain that she won’t do something terrible in a state like this?
In a state where she was making sounds and movements that were meant only for—
I cut that thought off viciously.
My room.
I decided to take her to my room where I could control the environment and no random person could walk in. With me, I could make sure she was safe until the alcohol worked its way out of her system.
Any news of impropriety would be a big stain on my pack and I was not willing to handle that.
That was the only reason.
I pushed through the door with my shoulder, kicking it shut behind us.
Tiana lifted her head slightly, her eyes moving unfocused at our surroundings. “Do you know what I want to do?”
At first, I paid no attention to her, my thoughts moving between how I could make her stay still and sleep.
But the look in her eyes…
“What is it?”
“I am not telling you,” suddenly, she began giggling incessantly.
Slightly irritated and a bit embarrassed and angry at myself that I found it cute that I was being laughed at, I raised my voice. “WHAT. IS. IT?”
I am certain it sounded like I had capitalized it because even in her not-so-conscious state, Tiana’s face squeezed a bit as she stared at me.
Then she mumbled, “You’d shout at me every opportunity you have. Kaius never shouts at me.
Even the night at the lounge, he…” then she stopped.
“I don’t like to be shouted at.”