Goosebumps flare over my skin. “Keep going,” I swear to myself, then blink the sweat from my eyes. I hit the wall and clutch at it. My hands slip on the surface, and I almost scream out in frustration.
“Stop, Omega.” His voice is low, resonant, and it slides over my skin, incessant, incandescent.
It calls to me.
“No.” I shove my hand over the top of the wall, and this time find purchase. I haul my body over it, almost go over the side, then at the last second straighten myself to stand poised on the narrow length.
“Don’t do this.” His voice is soft, so tempting. So enticing. I hear the promises hidden in the tone and don’t dare turn. If I do, I’ll be lost.
I grip the surface with my boots, stand there balanced on the wall, trying not to stare at the churning mass of water far below. The wind blows over me, and I sway with it, trying to keep my balance.
The breeze cuts off, and I know he’s there behind me. His big body is shielding me from the elements. And it shouldn’t feel like he’s trying to protect me. But it does, and that doesn’t make sense.
“Turn around, Omega.”
I shake my head, glance at the other side of the river. Can I swim across? That’s assuming I survive the fall. I glance down at the water and mistake!—my knees quake. I lose my balance, doubling over all the way from my waist. My heart pounds, my leg muscles scream in protest, then I straighten again.
There’s silence behind me. I don’t see him, don’t hear him. His scent fades away, and I miss it already. I miss his presence. How bizarre is that?
How can you miss something you’ve never had?
I’ve never had anyone watch out for me, not until now. But he isn’t my protector. He’s an alpha who’d take me and rut me, and my heart stutters. The horrible thing is that I want him to.
I don’t want to die without knowing what it is like to have an alpha’s cock—not any alpha, this alpha. His shaft. I need it inside me, and what does that make me? Another omega who is driven by her needs. Yeah, that’s all I am. But maybe, if I take the plunge and dive into the water…I can redeem myself. Perhaps this is the way to prove to myself that I am not just a pussy driven to find fulfillment in the arms of an alpha. A man I hadn’t met until less than half an hour ago.
A low purr bleeds through the air. It loops around me, surrounds me, sinks into my blood. Warms me, enfolds me, caresses me.
How is it possible for one single consonant to carry so many complex notes, so much need?
I feel myself sway, feel my muscles relax, even as the still thinking part of my mind screams at me to fight. Fight. I half-turn, shuffling my feet, on the wall. Pieces of gravel slide off and over the side.
“Look at me.” His voice is soft and insistent, and yet there is a trace of steel running through it. “Now.”
The dominance in his tone cuts through the thoughts swirling around in my head, and slams into my chest. It pushes down on my shoulders, tugs at my nerves, forcing me to obey.
I lift my gaze to his.
Find myself drawn into those deep-blue eyes. So calm, so serene, so false, and yet so true. So intense. Deeper than the water behind me. Brighter than the skies above.
Standing on the wall, I am about level with that gaze.
Another low purr rumbles up his chest, his throat, pours out of his mouth, and I sway toward it. Toward that massive chest that can take my weight. A dense cloud of heat spools off his body and slams into me. I gasp.
My insides churn, my toes curl, everything in me insists I close the space between us, that I throw myself at him, rip off his clothes, feel his naked skin, lick the sweat that drips down his throat and ask him to take me. Right now.
This is insane.
There is a buzzing in my ears. I shake my head to clear it, then stagger back, taking a step away from him, and into space. I fling out my hand, and then there’s only the whine of the breeze.
5
Zeus
Her gaze widens, and then her body begins to fall. My heart slams against my rib cage. I leap across the distance that covers us and, leaning over, grab at her hand. I close my fingers around her wrist.
The weight of her body pulls me over the side. I hook my foot under the space at the bottom of the wall for leverage. She is not very heavy, yet my arm feels like it’s being pulled out of my socket. Sweat beads my forehead. Her body sways in the breeze. Her features tighten, and the color slides from her face. Still, she doesn’t scream, doesn’t panic. That surprises me and turns me on. She’s fucking strong, doesn’t scare easily, and I can’t wait to break her.
It’s even more important that I save her.
I strengthen my stance and then take a step back. Flexing my biceps, I heave her up. All the while, I hold her gaze. Those green eyes of hers stare at me; in their depths is a grim determination.
She actually thought she could have survived the fall and escaped, and perhaps she might have, but if I have my way, it will be a while before she sees any open space. Not until I have shown her who is her master. Not until I have taken her body and soul. Not until I own her thoughts, know her feelings, can second-guess her every move. Not until every part of her is mine. Only mine.
I don’t realize I have spoken the word aloud until her gaze widens. I can see the exact moment it sinks in about who is her rescuer. Her green pupils dilate. With fear? Arousal? Then, she kicks out her legs and pulls me over, almost all the way over the side.
Once again, I press my feet into the ground to find purchase. Then, hanging over the side of the parapet, I fling out my other arm to grab her shoulder.
“Let me go.” She snarls at me, holding my gaze.
“Never.” I bare my teeth, widen my stance, and yank her up.
The leverage pulls her up and over the side, and the weight of her body crashes into me. This time I am prepared. I heave her over my shoulder and then, swiveling around, I race up the lawns. I need to get her to where she is safe, where she can’t harm herself like that again.
She squirms in my hold and I sense her draw in a breath. All her muscles tense. Oh! No, she is not going to escape, not this time.
I tighten my hold and squeeze her thighs into my chest. Reaching the staircase, I race up the steps two at a time.
She begins to struggle harder, wriggling in my grasp. Each twitch of her hips only bleeds more of that omega scent of her arousal into the air. My cock hardens so much that it makes me stumble and almost fall, and fuck, I’ve had enough. Something inside me snaps. I slap her butt, once, twice, a third time. I intend to hurt. Intend to quieten her, need to feel that curved flesh give under my palm, feel that firmness resist. My fingers curl with the need to feel her naked skin slide against mine.
She stills.
I fling open the double doors to my suite and stride in. The sound of the bolt crashing home echoes around the space.
“No, no. No.” She punches a fist against my side.
Damn but she doesn't give in, does she? A part of me relishes the fact that she still resists me. It's going to make her submission so much sweeter.
She sinks her teeth into my back, and the sharp edges graze the skin through my vest. I feel it all the way to the tip of my cock.
Hell, I’ve been hard from the second I set eyes on her. She’d charged me, armed with nothing but that puny knife and had drawn blood. She’d taken me by surprise.