Page 27 of Sacrifice

I haven’t budged from the doorway. Part of me wants to slam it shut—it’d be easier than dealing with whatever this is. But another part, a part I’m not too keen to examine, urges me to pull her into the safety of my room, away from whatever chaos she’s entangled herself in.

“Rook,” she says, stepping closer. Her proximity is disarming, and I’m acutely aware of the heat radiating from her body. “I had to see you. I needed—”

The words hang there, suspended in the narrow space that separates us, a confession half-formed. Her eyes search mine, like she’s looking for an anchor in the midst of a raging sea. And for a moment, despite all the questions burning on the tip of my tongue, despite the scent of other alphas on her skin, I consider letting go of my reservations and pulling her into my world, consequences be damned.

Aisling’s grey eyes lock onto mine, a storm brewing within them. The distance between us is scant now, her breaths mingling with my own. “There’s something I should’ve done a long time ago,” she whispers, her voice quivering with emotion.

“Which is?” I manage to ask, though the close proximity of our bodies makes it difficult to focus. I’m bracing myself for whatever might come next—a confession, a plea, a declaration. I’m convinced she’s about to tell me she doesn’t need me in the pack, that we’re done…

But nothing could prepare me for the way she closes the remaining inches between us with purpose and determination.

Without waiting for my response or permission, Aisling presses her lips against mine fiercely, her hands finding their way around my neck, pulling me closer. There’s no hesitation in her touch, no doubt in her actions. She kisses me like she’s trying to communicate every unsaid thing that’s been weighing on her—her fears, her desires, her regrets—all pouring into this single act.

I’m caught off guard by the intensity, by the honesty in the way she clings to me. Her kiss isn’t gentle or tentative—it’s raw and demanding, and it speaks volumes more than any words could. It’s an admission, a claim, a crossing of lines we can never uncross.

And damn if I don’t want to cross them all for her.

For a heartbeat, my brain short-circuits, the surprise of her lips on mine like a jolt to my system. But I’m not frozen for long. Instinct and longing take over, and I respond with an equal measure of passion. My arms wrap around her in a fierce embrace, pulling her body flush against mine. Each doubt that’s been gnawing at my mind evaporates under the heat of Aisling’s kiss.

“Fuck,” I mutter against her lips, all pretense of control slipping away.

Aisling’s answer is to push me back into the room, and I stagger backward, my back hitting the door as it slams shut behind us. The sound is like a starter pistol—our signal to abandon all restraint, to give in to the torrent of emotions that’s threatening to drown us both.

Her hands are everywhere all at once, stroking down my torso. My own fingers are just as frantic, trailing down her spine to the hem of her glittering red dress, bunching the fabric in my fists and pulling it upwards.

“Rook,” she says again, and this time there’s no hesitation, only need.

“Right here, Aisling,” I assure her, my voice gravelly with desire.

We’re lost in each other, in the intensity of the moment, writing the first lines of a new chapter—one where rules are rewritten, and the past becomes a ghost that can’t haunt us here.

Not now.

Not when every touch is setting a course for something neither of us fully understand but are too desperate to explore to care.

Chapter thirteen

Rook

The world tilts, and there’s only Aisling.

Her lips against mine, soft and insistent, feel like the first honest thing in a city built on lies. I’m reeling, hands clutching at her like she’s the anchor in this fucked-up storm of a life.

“Rook,” she breathes out, her voice laced with that goddamn vulnerability that makes me want to tear the world apart for her.

“Stargazer,” I murmur back, her code name, the one that speaks of her untouchable allure. The taste of her is intoxicating, and I’m drunk on it, on her.

She’s here, not with Gunnar or Oberon, those alpha pricks who think they’ve got her on a leash.

No, she’s here with me.

And by fuck, I’ll make sure she remembers why.

“Did they touch you like this?” I ask, my voice low, knowing she’s been with them tonight.

Aisling pulls back, grey eyes searching mine, a storm of emotions swirling in their depths. “No one touches me like you do, Rook.”

That’s all the confirmation I need. My decision crystallizes, sharp and clear. I am going to show her pleasures that will sear into her memory, make her crave me, even when she’s lying in their beds. It’s a promise, an oath, a future I’m carving out right here, between breathless kisses and the press of our bodies.

---