Chapter 62 Our First Kiss
Nova gives the smallest nod.
Barely a movement. So faint that for a second I wonder if I imagined it.
My heart pounds violently against my ribs.
Of all the ways I imagined kissing the girl who has lived in the back of my mind for years rent free… this was never one of them. A drunken party game. A circle of people watching.
And yet, the longer I stare into Nova’s eyes, the less aware I am of the others sitting around us.
For a moment it feels like we’ve stepped somewhere else entirely. Somewhere that only belongs to the two of us.
Nova lifts her chin slightly. The movement is small, but it feels like an invitation.
My lips brush against hers.
The touch is soft at first. Careful. Testing.
And gods…..
I nearly groan.
The sensation hits me harder than I expected.
Her lips are warm and unbelievably soft, exactly the way I’ve imagined them so many times I stopped counting.
For a second, somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember this is only supposed to be a quick kiss. Just enough to satisfy the rules of the game.
But I can’t bring myself to pull away.
My fingers slide into her hair before I can stop myself, gripping gently near the back of her head. I tilt her face upward a little more and deepen the kiss, my tongue slipping past her lips to meet hers.
The taste of her hits me instantly, sweet, faintly warm from the wine she’s been drinking. It’s intoxicating in a way that makes my chest tighten.
Gods.
Why does she have to feel like this?
Why does she have to taste like something I could easily lose my mind over?
My mouth moves against hers slowly at first, then with growing hunger. Like some reckless part of me is searching for a reason to throw caution away.
Searching for a reason to forget every rule, every expectation, every stupid tradition that says I shouldn’t want her.
The kiss grows deeper and hungrier. There’s nothing playful about it anymore.
But Nova is the one who pulls away first. Her hands press lightly against my chest, slipping out of my grip as if she’s suddenly remembering where we are.
Just like that, the room crashes back into existence.
The fire. The furniture. The stunned silence.
I glance around slowly and see every face in the room staring at us.
Wide-eyed.
Shocked.
“Wow,” Lexa mutters, shifting uncomfortably. Her face twists into a look of exaggerated disgust. “That was awkward. I didn’t mean have sex in the middle of the room.”
Nova looks absolutely mortified. She quickly sits back in her place in the circle, lowering her gaze to the floor.
“Holy hell,” Alex mutters.
“Well,” she says smugly. “That definitely had sparks.”
Across from us, Jax is staring at her with an intensity that could probably burn holes through stone.
He’s furious.
Good.
“You told me to kiss her,” I remind Lexa calmly as I settle back in my seat.
“Not like that,” Jax mutters darkly from across the circle.
I glance toward him.
The irritation in his voice is obvious.
Part of me wants to throw something sharp back at him, but I hold it in.
Nova already looks embarrassed enough, and I don’t want to make things worse for her.
Besides, Jax doesn’t have any claim over her.
And judging by the way Nova looked when she came into this room earlier tonight, he clearly did something to upset her.
“If you’ve got something to say, Jax,” I challenge calmly, “then say it.”
He locks eyes with me. Anger flashes across his face instantly.
For a moment it looks like he might actually stand up and come at me. His jaw tightens, his hands curling into fists as he weighs the decision.
He wants to fight, that much is obvious. But he also knows exactly who I am.
I’m his Alpha.
And there are limits he can’t cross.
The fight drains out of his expression, though the anger doesn’t disappear completely.
“This game is over,” he mutters as he pushes himself to his feet.
None of us argue.
We all watch him storm out of the room.
The door hasn’t even fully closed before Nova jumps up as well.
There’s a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead now—whether from the alcohol or that kiss, I’m not entirely sure.
“I… I’m going to go too,” she says quickly, backing toward the door.
My brows pull together.
I want to stop her.
To talk to her. To explain that I never meant for that kiss to go that far. That I didn’t mean to put her in an awkward position in front of everyone.
But the words don’t come out fast enough.
Nova slips out of the room before I can stand.
“Seriously?” Alex groans dramatically. “I didn’t even get a turn.”
“Me either,” Violet says quietly, glancing around the circle.
I run a hand through my hair.
“I think we’ve all had too much to drink,” I say.“Maybe it’s best if we all get some sleep.”
That suggestion is met with quick agreement.
One by one the others stand and head for the door as well. Rowan mutters something about needing water. Violet says she feels dizzy. Alex stretches dramatically and complains about how late it is.
I suspect most of them just want to escape the strange tension hanging in the room.
Soon the room empties.
Except for Lexa.
She closes the door behind the last person and turns back toward me slowly.
A sly smile curls across her face.
“Well,” she says, leaning her back against the door. “Looks like it’s just us now.”
I rub a hand through my hair and exhale slowly.
“I should probably get some sleep.”
More importantly, I need to get the hell out of this room before the memory of Nova’s mouth drives me insane.
Unfortunately my body hasn’t gotten the message yet.
The uncomfortable pressure pressing against the front of my pants makes that painfully obvious.
Lexa notices immediately.
Her smile grows.
“Can I come with you?” she asks, her voice lowering into something smooth and teasing. She steps away from the door and walks toward me slowly. “It doesn’t look like your mistress is planning to take care of you tonight.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“That’s not a good idea, Lexa.”
She places her hands lightly against my chest, looking up at me through thick ginger lashes.
“But I’m fun.”
It takes real effort to keep my expression neutral.
Lexa really is beautiful. Most men in the pack would trip over themselves for an opportunity like the one she’s offering right now.
If things were different… maybe I would too.
Maybe I should.
It would certainly solve the problem currently pressing painfully against my jeans.
But the thought fades almost immediately.
Because she isn’t the one I want.
There’s only one woman stuck in my head tonight.
And she just ran out of this room.
“I’m not in the mood tonight,” I tell her quietly. “Too much alcohol.”
I shrug slightly. “Sorry.”
Lexa’s expression twists with annoyance.
Clearly she isn’t used to hearing that word.
“Ugh. Whatever.”
She rolls her eyes dramatically before storming out of the room, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she leaves.
The door slams behind her.
I sit there for a moment in silence. Then my head drops forward into my hands.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
Tonight turned into a disaster faster than I expected.
Rejecting Lexa probably just ruined whatever chance I had left with her, but honestly… that ship had already sailed.
I was never going to choose her anyway.
With a tired sigh, I head upstairs. When I reach my room, I shut the door and collapse onto the bed, one arm draped over my eyes.
The moment I close them, Nova appears.
Big brown eyes.
That wild auburn hair.
The softness of her lips.
My jaw tightens.
The pressure in my pants has only gotten worse.
Being around Nova usually does this to me, but tonight is on a completely different level.
Because now I know exactly how she feels when I kiss her.
With a frustrated breath, I unzip my pants reaching to fist my cock.
If the pack ever found out their Alpha had to deal with things like this while technically having a mistress in the house, they’d probably lose a lot of respect for me.