Page 46 of Toxic

Those bright turquoise eyes searched my face for a moment, then he slowly nodded and turned back to the screen. He finished the debugging exercise I’d given him, but I could tell he was disturbed by what he found on my wrist.

And me… I felt like shit. I stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the rainy landscape. Streams of water poured from the sky, droplets sliding down the smooth glass. Inside, I had this overwhelming need for someone to hold me.

That’s when I felt his arms wrap around my waist, gently pulling me into his embrace from behind. My back pressed against his chest.

I should’ve pushed him away, run—I shouldn’t have let myself have any stupid moments of weakness.

But I let myself have it anyway. Unfortunately.

"Touch me," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion.

A moment later, his hot hands moved down my body over my chest, traveling toward my treacherous crotch.

I felt something expand inside me, a pleasant, pink wave began to obscure the gray, heavy, suffocating one that had filled me just moments before.

His lips finally found my glands, his scent enveloped me, his warmth invigorated me, and when an hour passed, and he leftmy room with a double portion of my sperm in his stomach, I felt much better in some ways, but in others… even worse. My body was sticky with sweat and pleasantly relaxed—I hadn’t even showered. A little longer with his scent on me, just to keep it… his existence overshadowing my fucking non-existence.

Fighting the desperate urge to pace around my room, I sat down in front of my laptop.

The second my status icon lit up, a green video call notification popped up. With a heavy sigh, I clicked ‘accept’.

"Liam… What’s up?"

Seeing his face on my screen was usually a relief. Our talks always left me feeling better, more optimistic. Liam could stay so focused, and his steady vibe balanced out my chaotic energy. But today, he could tell right away that something was off. My restless mood must’ve been written all over my face.

"Spit it out. I can tell something’s been bothering you for almost a week, and you haven’t said a word," he pointed out, tilting his head slightly and giving me a sharp look.

Yeah, I had to tell him eventually.

"For about a week now, I’ve been seeing Skye."

Liam’s eyes went wide behind his thick glasses.

"You can’t be serious. You kept saying how much you hated him, how much he pissed you off!"

"He does piss me off, kinda. But he also turns me on."

Shock spread over his face, his lips quivering before he leaned closer to the camera.

"He’s an alpha, for fuck’s sake, Soren. What the hell are you doing?"

I cursed under my breath, expecting this reaction.

"Is he paying you?" he blurted out.

This time my cursing was even louder.

"At first, yeah, but I gave the money back…"

Liam put his hands on his head in this dramatic gesture, though I knew it wasn’t just for show—he was genuinely freaked out.

"You’ve lost your damn mind, seriously. So what now? Is he your boyfriend or something?"

"No!" I practically yelled. "We’re fuckbuddies. Blowjob buddies. I told him no ass."

Liam sat there, still pressing his hands to his temples, rubbing them in circles like he was getting a headache. I knew how much this was blowing his mind…

"Sorry, man, but I know you too well. This isn’t gonna end well. You’ve got zero experience with this kind of thing. You won’t know how to set boundaries, and this is gonna go south fast. You’ll get attached, and you know this is a bad idea. You’re only setting yourself up to get hurt."

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