Page 8 of Fired at the Heart

When I move to stride past him, he catches my arm, pulling me to stand back in front of him. Despite the barrier of my suit jacket, the heat radiating from his skin ignites an old, smoldering desire. “I made a mistake.”

A thrill goes through me at the admission, followed by anger for the hope it sparks. If he thought he’d made a mistake, he would have come back.

Desperate longing fills me that I’ve tried hard to bury, and I jerk away. “Don’t touch me.”

“You don’t mean that.” Raphael’s scent thickens with the unmistakable musk of arousal as he fists my lapel to bring me closer. “Don’t forget, I can smell your arousal.”

Heat pools in my hips, and I curse the instinctive response to give in to my Alpha. “My body doesn’t get a say.” I shove at his chest. “You lost the right to touch me when you walked away.”

Raphael’s grip tightens, the desire in his expression stealing my breath. “I was a fool. I thought…”

“What?” I grip his wrist, squeezing hard, but he refuses to let go. “Did you think, if you stood your ground, I’d come crawling after you?”

The silent confirmation written all over him cuts me to the bone.

“And now?” Rage ripples through me even as his pheromones fill my lungs, stoking a heat I hate myself for feeling. “Do you think that saying you still want me will… What? Make me forgive you? Make me give up everything I built without you?”

Raphael’s free hand cups my jaw, his thumb stroking my bottom lip. “I don’t expect forgiveness. But I want you back, and I’m tired of waiting.”

Anger and hurt bubble up inside me, spilling over. “Then you should never have left! You abandoned me when I needed you most!”

He flinches as if I slapped him. “You told me to leave, remember? You said you never wanted to see me again.”

“What else was I supposed to say?” I demand, fury burning through me. “You changed the rules without consulting me first! How was I supposed to explain to our people, toourfamily, that you decided they weren’t good enough anymore? You bonded me and then didn’t even have the decency to stick around!”

Angry tears blur my vision, and I shove against Raphael, needing to escape the pheromones trying to calm me, telling me to submit.

That’s the last thing I will ever do for Raphael Rockford. My hold on him shifts, and I dig my thumb in between the bones of his wrist until he releases me.

“We’re done with this conversation.” I shove past him. “We should go back before Cassian comes searching for me.”

With a growl, Raphael catches me again and pushes me toward the bookcase, his large body blocking my escape. “What is that Alpha to you?”

I catch myself on the shelves and glare at him. If anyone else had done that, they’d be dead already. “That’s none of your business. My personal life is off-limits. You lost the right to ask about it when you walked out on me.”

His jaw tightens, a muscle twitching beneath his skin. “I have a right to know who my Omega is taking to bed. If you’ve let another Alpha touch you?—”

His possessiveness sends a zig of elation through me, and I let out a brittle laugh. “You have no rights here. Not anymore.”

The air crackles with tension, and Raphael’s scent grows stronger, flooding my senses and sending my pulse racing faster, my body reacting to being near him again after so long apart.

I lick my bottom lip with hunger. “Who I choose to share my body with is my decision, and mine alone.”

“Like hell it is!” He lunges forward, his hands slamming against the shelves on either side of my head, caging me in. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching you. You’re mine, always have been, always will be.”

My breath hitches, my heart pounding as I stare up at him. He watches me with a raw possessiveness that sets my nerves ablaze, sparking heat in places I convinced myself had gone numb.

“I’m not yours.” The words shake as they leave my mouth. “You made sure of that when you left me.”

A dangerous mix of anger and desire flashes across Raphael’s face as his body presses closer to trap me between him and the shelf. “I never wanted to leave you, but my family needed me.”

His words fan the flames of my anger, and I shove at his chest, my hands trembling. “Iwas your family! You changed everything! You broke us!”

He grabs my wrists, pinning them above my head with one hand, his grip unbreakable. I struggle in his grasp even as my body arches toward his, seeking the heat of his touch, still desiring him despite everything.

“You’re right, I did.” His lips ghost along my jaw, feeding the fire boiling in my blood. “But the way I love you? That will never change, baby. You’re a part of me, and I won’t let you go again.”

His words ignite a primal instinct within me, and as his mouth claims mine in a bruising kiss, I can’t hold back the need I’ve denied for so long.

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