Page 26 of The Delta's Rogue
“It was just pretend,” she says.
I lift a brow. “Who are you trying to convince? Yourself?” I chuckle and shake my head. “I’ve tried to convince myself of the same. It was just pretend. It was an act. We got caught up in the moment and the atmosphere.” I venture closer to her with each phrase until I’m staring down into her eyes, my nose brushing hers. “It’s alllies, Sarina. We both wanted it, and we both enjoyed it.”
“What about your mate?” she asks.
“What about her?”
“You’re waiting for her?”
“That isn’t what I said,” I remind her. “I said I was waiting for someone whose needs and desires matched up with mine. And I think yours do.” I weave my fingers into her hair, lifting her chin higher until our mouths hover an inch apart. A spark flickers to life between us as I touch her, but once again I push away the thoughts that spark ignites. “I can’t stay away from you, Little Rogue. I want you.”
“I’ll have to leave eventually.”
My jaw ticks as my lycan howls, and my hands tighten in her hair. “Then I’ll find you again,” I growl. “No matter where you are or how long it takes, I will find you.”
At my declaration, her eyes flash with her wolf. She reaches up, but I lean away, tugging on her hair to hold her still. My lips twitch as she fights me, straining to reach my mouth with hers, and she glares at me, her annoyance deepening each time I resist her attempts to kiss me.
“Tell me you want this.” Dark amusement tints my voice. “Tell me it wasn’t pretend.”
“It may have started as pretend but…” She licks her lips as her eyes wander around the small clearing, and then she shakes her head. “No. That’s a lie. It was never pretend for me.” She meets my eyes again, determination blazing within her words. “I want you, Sebby. I can’t stay away from you either, even though it would be better in the long run if I did.”
I smile down at her, leaning closer. “Good girl.” My lips brush against hers with the lightest touches possible as I praise her for her honesty. “Such a fucking good little rogue.”
She closes the distance, standing on her toes to kiss me, and this time I let her, slamming my lips onto hers in response. My hands slide down her back to her butt, and I lift her into my arms and against my body, rolling her hips on mine. Her arms and legs wrap around me, holding me as tightly as they can. She clings to me like I’ll disappear from her life if she lets go.
Our kiss deepens, and I stumble across the small clearing, carrying her, then pin her to a tree. She feels so fucking good in my arms. Her lips melt into mine, their soft plumpness a perfect fit. With each twist of them, she brings me further into her mysterious depths, drawing me across a sparkling galaxy of intrigue and hidden secrets. Their knowledgeteases me like my hands tease her ass and the backs of her legs, prompting her to grind her pretty pussy against my dick.
Our collision was inevitable. I realize that now. She’s still the bane of my existence, a tiny, annoying thorn in my side, but only because it annoys me that I didn’t see her coming. I didn’t anticipate the hold she’d have on me.
She may submit to me when I’m playing with her, but between the two of us, she’s the one with all the power. I only dominate her because she lets me. I’m her loyal subject, here to worship and serve her in whatever way she desires.
“You have to promise”—Sarina’s hands wander to my cheeks and frame my face, lifting me from her lips so our eyes meet—“promise me you won’t beg me to stay with you when it’s time for me to leave.”
My nostrils flare, and my grip on her tightens.
“Promise me, Sebby,” she insists.
“I promise,” I agree through clenched teeth, diving forward and kissing her again to hide the pain and the lie in my eyes.
It’s the last thing I want to agree to. I’d rather cut off my hand or take over a pack than promise her I won’t beg her to stay with me. But I make that promise all the same because I know asking her to stay isn’t a viable option. She doesn’t belong here. She isn’t meant to be contained by a small pack in the California mountains.
I’ll let her go when it’s time. Not happily, not willingly, and I’ll likely break my promise. But I’ll let her leave in the end.
She kisses me back fervently, a soft noise of pleasure in the back of her throat, and once again I remember our night at The Black Door and how she made that noise—and more—as I gave her beautiful body all the attention it deserves.
Goddess, I want to do that again. I want to take her to new heights and show everyone that she’s mine, even if it’s just for now.
I tear my mouth from hers and kiss down her jaw to her neck, sucking and licking and nipping at her skin, tasting the salt from her sweat and inhaling her heady honeyed scent. I crowd closer to her, pinning her to the trunk with my hips, and let my hands wander under the hem of her shirt.
Her stomach tightens, and she gasps as my fingers tease her skin, climbing to just beneath her breasts. My thumbs trace the curve of them, her skin shielded by a thinlypadded bra. But even with her breasts covered by the fabric of her undergarment, she moans at the intimacy of my touch, her body writhing against the trunk of the tree.
“Come with me.” I kiss her throat as it vibrates with her moans.
“Come with you where?” she pants, her fingers clutching at my shirt.
“To the club. Come with me to meet Forrest about investing. He’ll consider me more seriously if you’re there.”
“You want me to pretend to be your sub again?”
