Page 156 of The Alpha's Cursed Queen

“I meant, what about your relationship with him?” I ask dryly.

Darian gathers me in his arms. “I don’t know. It’s not as if we got along well before. We’ll have to take it one day at a time.”

“And what about us?”

Darian meets my gaze. “I would like to court you properly. I love you, Alice. I never stopped loving you. I know you care about me, but I—”

“When Serena was attacking you,” I cut him off, my chest aching, “the way she was throwing you around, I thought my heart would burst. I came so close to losing you. I don’t want to go through anything like that ever again. And I’m not saying this forMira’s sake. The idea of losing you was too hard to bear. I never want to be in that situation again.”

“You won’t,” he reassures me. “It was just a—”

“I don’t want you getting hurt, Darian.” I swallow, my heart beating unsteadily. “Despite how much I resisted, it’s a little hard not to fall in love with you. And now that I am, you have to be even more careful—”

“Hold up.” Darian takes my face in his hands. “Say that again.”

“I want you to be careful.”

“The love part.”

I turn my head away, flustered. “No. It’s not my fault you were temporarily deaf.”

“Humor me.” He kisses my cheek, my nose, my mouth. “Serena really hurt me, Alice. If you say it again, I might feel better.”

Laughing, I push his face away. “Stop being so cheesy.”

“Just say it!” He pulls me closer, determined.

“I don’t want to anymore!”

This man has the ability to make my heart feel light. He’s the only one who makes me laugh like this. I never had the opportunity to act childish, but with him, it’s easy.

He rains kisses on me. “Confess!”

“Stop it!” It’s hard to get away from him when I’m laughing so hard. “I’ll bite you, Darian! I swear!”

“I’m not scared of you.” His teeth sink into the spot where my mating mark is, and a breathy sigh escapes me, all the fight leaving my body. I feel the arousal wrap around me, and when he kisses me next, it’s heated, a clash of tongues and teeth. I lean into him.

“We could take this upstairs,” Darian suggests, but I rip his shirt open, letting the buttons pop and fly all over the room.

“Or we could not.” I need him right now. After everything that has happened, I want Darian’s touch. I couldn’t care less about the relatively public setting we are in. I need his hands on me, driving me crazy, confirming to me that we both survived and are here together.

Darian seems to feel the same urge. He pulls me into his lap, his claws making quick work of my skirt. I unbutton his pants, my mouth seeking his. His lips are wet and hot, and it makes my body burn with desire. His hand is under my shirt, on my chest.

I lean into his hand, needing more.

I don’t want him to be gentle tonight. I need it all. I need to be convinced that he is here with me. My hand grips his hair as his mouth moves against mine ravenously, tasting, marking, laying his claim. He has one hand between my legs, fingering my sopping-wet pussy. The edge of his finger is going in and out of my hole, teasing me, driving me insane.

“Darian,” I growl against his mouth. “Put something inside me, or I’ll use my own damn fingers.”

My threat has him biting my lower lip in punishment, and he thrusts three fingers inside my pussy without warning. My back arches at the intrusion. He expands his fingers inside me,stretching them, and I moan. His mouth traverses my neck now as he leaves wet, open-mouthed kisses behind. His lips are precariously close to the mating mark, but he doesn’t go there, simply lingering around it.

His fingers are now moving inside me in a harsh rhythm. I enjoy it. I need him to be rough. My arms encircle his neck, and I move my hips in tandem with Darian’s fingers. When he suddenly bites into my mating mark—rather viciously—I fall apart into his hand with a short scream. His fingers ride me through my orgasm and are replaced by something thicker and longer. He turns me around and bends me over the table, entering me in one smooth stroke.

He’s not slow or gentle. His hands find purchase on my hips as he stands behind me, fucking me hard and fast. I feel him fill me to capacity as he pounds my pussy aggressively. I can feel his claws digging into my skin. As he fucks me, one hand grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking it back.

I whine, my body reacting to the hard thrusts, the dominating hold. He doesn’t stop when I orgasm the second time, nor the third time. My legs are quivering as he keeps going, using my sensitive muscles over and over again, making me whimper and sob. My juices are dripping down the insides of my legs, and he keeps going.

I feel him tense up, and when he explodes inside me, that hot liquid filling me, I gasp his name brokenly.

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