Page 14 of Own To Obsess

The slapping of their skin filled her ears as she closed her eyes and relished every sensation and scent, and as the pleasure within her twisted to a jagged peak, he suddenly stopped.

Before she had time to complain, he sat on the bench, then hoisted her up, positioning her onto his lap and dropping her roughly onto his cock. She yelped and clenched down hard, causing him to groan and grab the front of her neck from behind.

He pulled her back toward him as he continued to pound her from underneath, making her arch and moan. She vaguely noticed the white landscape skipping past the carriage windows; at some point the carriage had begun moving, but then her Alpha’s mouth closed over her hard, tunic-covered nipple, his tongue swirling over the fabric, and once again she was lost to the sensations.

Kardos took her roughly and completely, maneuvering her in every way that he wanted, spreading her legs, sucking on every part of her that pleased him, and gripping her ass to work the slick, aching channel between her legs on his cock in the very way she had been hoping for since the memories of her Haze returned.

Orgasms spasmed over her, forcing her to flail uncoordinated as he held her. And when he finally knotted her, slamming his cock deep into her and locking them together, her entire body, and the tunic she wore, was drenched with sweat.

Kardos sat on the bench while she remained on his lap, facing away from him. She was so exhausted that she couldn’t even stay upright on his knot, Kardos had to hold her by her shoulder, and then eventually he tucked his arm under hers to place a large hand on her chest she could rest leaning slightly forward.

Their panting filled the carriage and Shaya breathed the scent of their sex deeply as the fresh, icy winds breezed through the carriage to carry it away. Everything within the carriage remained relatively still as their breathing calmed. Shaya wriggled a little, uncomfortable straddling his lap backward while his knot brutally stretched her open, but Kardos didn’t move.

When she wriggled again, the hand on her chest reached up to grab her neck.

“Be still,” he ordered, squeezing her neck gently.

Shaya stilled and then try to relax her body as much as she could, but something wasn’t right. It wasn’t just the fact she was uncomfortable. He should be comforting her the way he usually did. She remembered he had purred for her, pulled her close to his chest and murmured soft and gentle things to her, kissed her and assured her that she was beautiful to him.

Annoyingly, tears sprang to her eyes. It could be that mating in the carriage was uncomfortable for him, but it still felt wrong that his arms weren’t around her.

Maybe he truly didn’t care. The bond was still like a claw digging into her rib cage. It had never changed since their arrival, and even though he had just taken her so completely, it remained the same. Was this what it would be like now? Maybe things would never go back to what she had with him before, because it had all been fake. Or perhaps he was too angry.

She couldn’t deny that his anger caused her body to react to him in a way that she never wanted. But it always did. Whenever he was wild, uncontrollable, and fueled by fury, he was a beast that intrigued her, and for some reason that made her want him. But regardless of what the high chief said, Kardos did not want her the same way she desired him. He only cared for her as a trophy, a prize to show off—the first Omega. The title was all he intended her to be, and now she’d made the decision to bind them together when he’d never wanted it.

As the carriage slowed to a stop, Kardos held her on his lap, away from his body as the knot stretched her, and she didn’t even try to stop the tears from falling silently. She was cold and sweaty and had never felt so used. Never before had she gone without his caress or purr or kisses after they mated. Yet now, after such a public encounter, he was withholding it.

So she let the tears fall as she clenched down onto him realizing that by biting him to prove her own power, she’d lost the very thing she sought.

CHAPTER THREE

KARDOS

Things were bad.

Kardos already knew it. But when he saw his tribesman Zolt’s stance and expression as he stood on the Nyek port while the boat docked, he knew they were severe.

As they disembarked from the boat, Kardos ignored him and headed straight for the carriage that awaited, keeping his eyes on Shaya, who he kept in front of him at all times.

The crowd that had gathered when they’d left for the temple was still waiting for them, only this time, their backs were turned. An entire sea of the backs of their white, gold, and gray furs was all that could be seen. It was the most disrespectful response the people of Nyek could give him.

Kardos held in a curse, his body tight with the smoldering anger that had plagued him since his father had left his hut after his rut with Shaya. He stayed alert, keeping his eyes on both Shaya and the crowd. Even though he knew the crowd on his own island would not be as volatile as the one outside the temple, he would no longer make more assumptions.

Shaya seemed perplexed that they had turned their backs and slowed down a few times to look at them, but Kardos barked at her to keep moving, careful not to touch her, even though it was already too late.

Once they were in the carriage, Zolt stood by the window, trying to talk to him, but Kardos signaled for him to meet him at his hut, and then banged on the carriage wall to the driver. They sped along the snowy path quickly and Kardos’ mind raced trying to figure out why his plan had gone so wrong, and aware that he was now in unchartered territory. He wouldn’t be able to guarantee anything, and he needed to be more careful.

In all honesty, it was his own fault. He shouldn't have expected the high chief to make things easy for him—not in this instance when things were so tense among the shinnos and the people of the Isles.

When he arrived back on his compound, he gestured to Shaya to walk ahead of him again and followed her up to the hut. As soon as they entered, Rozalia took one look at his expression and took Shaya’s hand to lead her and her sweet body away. Shaya spun around to look at him as she walked away, but he turned from her gaze, unwilling to be caught out again by her beauty and every gorgeous inch of her.

He had underestimated his feelings for her. Of course there was a one-way bond between them, but he assumed that meant things would settle and he could focus on what he needed to get the seat. He never expected to be impacted the way he had been during the journey; the intrigue of her beautiful expressions as she took delight in the landscape of the islands, the captivating sight of her in the temple that she truly belonged in, and the fury at the smile his father had coaxed from her without even trying.

He shrugged his off his furs and made his way to his study. He couldn't understand why her scent had changed so dramatically and so quickly. It had developed into something incredible in the short walk from the temple door to the carriage. The torment of not touching her had been too much when her scent bloomed. He hadn't been able to resist, and even now, he couldn't justify it. He had to have her right then, nothing could have stopped him. But now the damage had been done.

“My shinno.”

Kardos turned to see Zolt entering the room. He inclined his head. “Zolt,” he greeted, his voice low. “Is it as bad as I think it is?”

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