"If you want to be useful," he drawled, leaning back against the leather sofa and sweeping his gaze across the room with a lazy smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, "you can put on a pair of short shorts and a crop top and scrub my floors on your hands and knees. I’ll send my crew to clean that building for you while you stay right here and entertain my eyes."
I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at him with undisguised irritation. The absolute nerve of this man. He always managed to twist everything to suit his own possessive desires.
"No. I’m going there for a couple of hours, okay? We can talk later. You don’t honestly think I’m going to abandon this just because you throw a few arguments my way?"
He let out a low chuckle, and I distinctly saw the tips of his sharp fangs lengthen. His rut was dangerously close, and the thought sent a cold shudder straight through me.
Truth be told, I wasn’t just eager to help the volunteers—I was desperate for some breathing room away from him. I needed time alone with my own thoughts.
Even while he was sleeping beside me, his suffocating presence made it impossible to think clearly. I hoped this shift would grant me a precious few hours to catch my breath, pull myself together, and process what had actually happened between us.
It was my first time. For everything. I had never even contemplated it before—the terrifying, raw dynamic between an Alpha and his breeder mate.
Or how overwhelming that chemistry could be... a dark, instinctual pull that left no room to breathe.
***
When we pulled up to the building, I grabbed my backpack and made to step out, but his heavy hand caught me by the shoulder. With effortless strength, Magnus pulled me backward so that my legs were out on the pavement, but my head was dragged right down into his lap.
He looked down at me, tapping his index finger gently against my chin with a thoughtful, dangerous expression.
"You know, Lang... I get the distinct feeling you don’t actually like me very much."
"Where on earth did you get that idea?" I gasped, my heart hammering against my ribs at the sudden proximity.
He let out a low sigh, turning his gaze toward the window, though his thumb and forefinger remained firmly clamped around my chin.
"People who are dating usually kiss," he murmured, his voice laced with a subtle wolfish purr. "Yet I haven’t received a single kiss from you that was your own idea. Seems like a serious flaw in the system. It makes me think you aren’t taking our relationship seriously at all."
I stared up at him, trapped between his knees, completely tongue-tied as his dark grey eyes flicked back to meet mine with a challenge.
I felt the heat of embarrassment rush to my cheeks. Pushing myself up on my elbows, careful not to press too hard against him, I shifted around. I forced myself past every mental barrier, past every doubt and hesitation, and rested one hand against his broad shoulder.
It was an awkwardly precarious position: kneeling on the soft leather seat while my feet dangled out the open car door, trying desperately not to lose my balance. But I leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
Magnus let out a low rumble in his chest, his powerful hand cupping the back of my neck to drag me into a deep, agonizingly slow kiss.
He nipped at my swollen lower lip before tracing it with the hot tip of his tongue. His free hand slid up my stomach to cup my breast, squeezing just hard enough to wring a muffled gasp from my throat.
"I’ve changed my mind about those two hours," he growled thickly against my lips. "An hour and a half. Not a second more. Then I’m coming back for you. You’d better hurry, Lang. We have a long drive ahead of us today."
"Where?" My brain felt entirely addled by the sheer intensity of his kiss.
"Out of the city," his eyes darkened, his pupils dilating until the iris was almost swallowed whole by the darkness of the beast within. "I’ve decided to show you the view from the bedroom of my countryside estate. I doubt you’ll pay much attention to the scenery, but it’s quite beautiful."
"Do you... like it there?" I whispered, my insides tightening in a dizzying mix of dread and breathless anticipation.
"I like seeing you come under me," his voice dropped to a rough, dangerous purr. "Now run, little puppy, before I change my mind entirely."
He claimed my mouth one last time—a brief, brutal kiss—before releasing me. I scrambled out of the car and bolted toward the decaying building as if my life depended on it, my heart hammering against my ribs. The thought of being completely alone with him out in the countryside, right as his rut took hold... God, I was too terrified to even imagine it.
As I neared the entrance, I noticed a sleek, aggressively styled sportbike parked beside Rolan’s battered old van. My breath hitched at the sight of it. It was a stunning machine—a matte-black predator devoid of any decals or logos. It must belong to whoever bought the property, I thought. No one else I knew—except Magnus—could ever afford a beast like that.
I bit my lip, silently scolding myself for letting my thoughts drift right back to him. He was like a fever I couldn’t sweat off. The mere memory of his touch was enough to ignite a treacherous flutter deep in my belly.
That sensation didn’t last long. Just as I crossed the threshold into the building, my phone vibrated in the pocket of my sweatpants. I pulled it out, and my heart dropped into my stomach as the screen illuminated the one contact I dreaded above all else.
It was my father.
My hand froze over the display. My throat went instantly dry as his name glowed like a death sentence. Every buzz echoed through my fingers, my wrist, my chest—as though the phone had turned into a ticking time bomb in my palm.
Why was he calling? Why now?
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