Page 14 of Ruled By The Alpha

This time, the horror in his gut is enough to kill the remainders of his erection. He stares down at Candi—at her delicate features and soft body—and imagines what it would be like to be tied to someone sobreakable.In all the ways he’s been broken, his mind could not withstandthat. He knows it in the marrow of his bones.

“Why are you here?” It comes out gruffer than he means to.“Offeringyourself to me? You could be hurt.”Hecould hurt her.

Candi shrugs, her smile fading some. “This is a pretty safe gig. I’ve been to military bases before—granted, not blindfolded for three hours while driving there, but they’re always well-supervised. And the money’s good. Better than normal.” She flicks her eyes up to his, the muscles in her face twitching as if she realizes she’s let the facade slip. Placing her palm on his chest, she smiles again and says, “Besides… I like the knot. A lot.”

She doesn’t. He sees the lie in her dark eyes even as she lowers her lashes again and gives him that coy smile expertly crafted to lure him in. He doesn’t know her story, but he doesn’t need to; three years of forced servitude lets him recognize the desperation that has brought this girl to him. It has nothing to do with desire.

Another flash of the same cursed memory flickers through his mind—a slim neck in his grip, a heavy pulse under his fingers. That haunting moment before he realized the truth of his body’s betrayal and allowedherscent to roll over his tongue and deep into his lungs. Allowed her to take root in the core of his DNA.

There is no dark undertow to Candi. She’s delicate and deliciously curvy, and it would be easy to ignore what’sunderneath her pretty smiles and take what she’s offering. He needs this.Touch.Relief.

He grits his teeth and hauls her onto his lap. She giggles, her body pliant as he drapes her over his thighs and crotch. Alive.

“Ooh, you’re so strong,” she whispers, leaning in against him to press her breasts against his chest. Her breath ghosts over his throat, followed by a flick of her tongue on his Adam’s apple that makes him shiver. Slim arms wrap around the back of his neck as she buries her nose against the hollow, inhaling deeply. “Mmm, and you smell good.”

She rocks her hips, a slow grind back and forth. Back and forth. Around them, gasps of breath, female whimpers and the sounds of wet flesh speak with all clarity that the other soldiers have had no hesitations in taking what’s offered. He shouldn’t, either. There is very little light in his existence—precious few moments without despair.

Candi rubs her fingertips against his nape and raises higher until her soft lips press against his ear. “I want your knot, alpha. Please. Make me take it.”

No doubt she has been trained to say those words—has learned how to coax an alpha to give in to desire and part with his coin. It doesn’t matter.

AX2 groans and tightens his arms around her, burying his nose in her hair and succumbing to the instinctive urge to inhale her pheromones.

A strong scent of vanilla fills his nostrils, layered with peach and a musky hit of pussy—perfume crafted to entice an alpha—but he feels nothing as it fills his lungs.

Slowly, forcing down memories he still refuses to fully acknowledge, he pulls back.

“Is something wrong?” Candi asks, a flicker of genuine concern in her dark eyes.

“No.”

She tilts her head, gaze searching. “It’s okay if you’d rather just talk. Sometimes that can feel just as good.”

He very much doubts that. Even if Dr. Green would allow such a thing.

“Just let me hold you,” he says, more softly than he means to.

If she finds the request odd, she doesn’t let on. Likely she has encountered far more unusual propositions in her line of work. She sits quietly on his lap, her arms looped loosely around his neck as she watches the other women perform their duties on the scratchy gray blankets.

She feels solid in his arms. Real. AX2 empties his mind and allows himself to simply enjoy the sensation of a woman in his embrace. Of no longer being alone, at least for a little while.

When he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine the scent of floral shampoo in her silky hair.

Chapter 6

Addie

The knock on my door is not unexpected, but it still tightens the knot of dread in my stomach to the point of pain.

I hover in the hallway, hands clenched into fists, as I stare at my front door and force my chest to expand with long, slow breaths.

You knew this was coming, Addie.

Another knock, this time louder. My door vibrates from the force.

“Addie! Enough hiding. Open the door.”

My father’s voice, muted by the thick wood separating us, but still ringing with authority, cuts through my attempts at calming my nerves. My body reacts before I’ve given it permission to, taking me the last few steps forward.

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