Dark Times

Chapter Thirty-Eight

He laid me down on the bed, then took a step back to pace. I took the time to focus on my breathing. When I felt I had that under control, I switched, focusing on how to go about making my proposition to him.

I needed him somehow. Who would've thought it'd take a bit of heat to make me realise the rational side of me was attracted to him too?

Now, I just had to show him how badly I needed him.

"I told you this would happen," He said, pacing aggressively. "I said the chances of you making it here before it kicked in were slim. Fuck." He growled, all types of stressed. Huh. I wondered if he'd stopped to imagine how I felt. Horny, to sum it up. "We need to slow this down. I'm not claiming you here, Lorrie. Not in his pack in his rooms. Fuck. This is bad."

As he paced, I slipped a hand beneath the skirt I'd been forced to wear. According to the Alpha, assassin suits weren't appropriate for meeting enemy Alphas in. I had to blend. So, I'd bit my tongue and put on the skirt. Who would've known it could be so beneficial?

"What do we do now?" He asked, unaware of me as I hiked the skirt up around my waist and slipped the panties down my legs. I didn't care if I was being shameless. I was too hot and too horny for my own good.

"If I take you, I'll mark you, and I'm not marking you here."

I pressed a finger between my legs as he spoke, running it in languid circles over my clit. I felt I'd be encountering the same struggle as last time. An inability to get off without help.

But it hurt. Everywhere hurt. The heat burned through me.

When he scented the air, he froze up, no doubt smelling my desire. Shoulders stiff, he turned to face me.

"It's not working," I cried, my body engulfed by fire. "It hurts. A-Aidan, it hurts."

He hurried over to me, guiding my head into his lap.

"Shh, baby, I know it hurts. I know, I know."

How could he know? He couldn't feel it. He lifted me higher into his embrace, rocking me against his chest.

"Tell me what to do."

"Help me," I moaned. I'd thought that answer would've been obvious. Apparently not.

"Help you how? Lorrie, I need you to tell me what to do."

Groaning, I shut my eyes. There was nothing I could come up with. I just needed help.

Heat was nature's punishment for mates that didn't mark each other soon enough. Fate had to keep the population up and we weren't helping. The only way to relieve the pain was through intercourse. But it'd just keep coming back until he either rejected me or marked me.

He'd made his thoughts perfectly clear on the former.

Biting out a muted curse, he lifted me, carrying me across the room to the bathroom door. There was no bath inside, but there was a shower. Gently, he placed me at the bottom of it, turning the dial to cold. Even with a rain of cold water, I felt little relief.

He sat on the outside of the cubicle right across from me. My clothes were beyond useless, at this point. My blouse was white. It clung to my breasts, see through. My skirt was still hiked up at my waist.

With wet hair dripping down my face, I looked an absolute state. I wasn't sure why he bothered to stay. Had our positions been reversed, I'd have been out of here in no time. "I don't suppose there's any chance you'll reject me now."

I could easily have been imagining things but seeing me in pain almost made him look like he was in pain too. His brows were furrowed, his forehead wrinkled. "Don't make dumb suggestions."