Page 22 of Sold to the Alphas

As I folded a shirt, I felt a presence behind me.

August.

“You’re taking a lot for someone who’s got a whole wardrobe waiting for her,” he said quietly, his voice calm but with an edge I couldn’t quite place.

“These are mine,” I replied, still not looking at him. “I need them.”

He didn’t speak for a moment, but I could feel his eyes on me, reading me. “You’re upset,” he finally said.

I froze, the tension in my shoulders increasing. “No shit, August.”

He moved closer, his presence filling the small room. “It won’t help, you know.”

I glanced at him, my gaze sharp. “What won’t help?”

“This.” He gestured vaguely at the room, at me, at everything. “Holding onto all of it. You won’t make this easier by pretending it’s not hurting you.”

I clenched my jaw, trying to fight the tears gathering in my eyes in vain. He moved closer until he was a breath away from me and slowly swept his thumb over my cheek, taking the moisture with him.

I opened my mouth to answer him, but before I could, he grabbed me by the waist, pulling me against his chest.

“Allow me to make you feel better, Elisabed,” he muttered, his voice low and hot.

“August,” I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. The sheer feeling of his body so close to mine made me blind with lust. I wanted him. I’d wanted them since the first time I’d had them, and I didn’t think I had the will to resist them any longer.

Without a second thought, I pushed myself to the tip of my toes and plastered my mouth on his.

10

August

I felt the heat of her breath on my lips before she made contact. It was a soft, trembling whisper of warmth, and then suddenly, her mouth was over mine, pressing against me with a desperation that left me dizzy with need.

For a moment, I was frozen. I had expected a lot from her, and I’d been prepared to beg, but this? Her initiating contact? This was not how I thought it would go. No matter how strong I thought she was, she always showed me I underestimated her.

Her lips were soft but insistent, and the wildness in her kiss surprised me. She was fierce even with a silent wolf. My instincts roared to life, and I couldn’t hold back—not anymore, not when I finally had her.

Her scent surrounded me—sharp and tangy with the sweat of our journey, but underneath that, there was something sweeterand addictive—the scent of her need. My hands moved on their own, sliding down her arms and pulling her closer. I needed more. I needed to feel all of her, to lose myself in her.

She broke away for just a second, her chest heaving. I didn’t let her move far. My lips crashed back down onto hers, deeper this time, my hand gripping the back of her neck to pull her into me.

I laid her back on the bed, my body pressing down on hers, trapping her between me and the mattress. Her pulse was racing beneath my fingertips, her skin burning under my touch. Every inch of her felt like it was made for me, and I wanted it all.

She moaned into my mouth when I kissed her again, and the sound went straight to my core, unraveling the last of my restraint. This—her kissing me like she needed me—was everything I had been craving. I felt her hands slide up my chest, and for a split second, I thought she might push me away. Instead, her fingers clenched into my shirt, pulling me closer and urging me on.

That was all the permission I needed.

I growled against her lips, my hands moving to her waist, tugging at the hem of her shirt. She arched into me, encouraging me to take it off. My fingers brushed her skin, burning with the need to mark her and claim her as mine.

When I pulled back slightly to look at her, her face was flushed, her lips swollen from the kisses, and her eyes dark and hazy.

“Elisabed,” I whispered her name like a prayer, my voice thick with desire. I could feel her racing pulse under my fingertips andsee the way her breath hitched every time I moved closer. “Are you sure?”

I thought she might say something for a moment, but then she grabbed my shirt, trying to tug it off my body. I chuckled, helping her with it. She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me closer, and I kissed her again, groaning into her mouth, the sensation of her body against mine sending sparks of fire through my veins.

My hands slid up to her breasts. Her skin was soft beneath my touch, and I felt her moan again against my mouth, making me almost lose control of myself. I was drowning in her, needing to feel and taste her.

I slid my mouth down to her neck, leaving marks along the way, hearing the way she gasped when my teeth grazed over her pulse. Her hands tugged at my hair, directing me where she wanted me to go.

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