Page 22 of Swipe Right on the Alpha
“Hence the sniffing when we first met,” Aiden noted with a hint of amusement.
Dylan looked sheepish. “Your scent was… perfect. My wolf knew immediately.”
“While I was completely oblivious, thinking you were just socially awkward,” Aiden mused. “Though in fairness, you are also that.”
“Thanks,” Dylan said dryly, though his eyes crinkled with humor.
A comfortable silence fell between them, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Outside, the nearly-full moon illuminated the forest through the large windows. Aiden found his gaze drawn to it with new understanding of its significance in Dylan’s life.
“What happens now?” he asked finally, the question encompassing far more than just the immediate future.
Dylan considered carefully before answering. “Whatever you want. I can take you home tomorrow. Give you space to process everything. Or you can stay, learn more. There’s no rush for decisions, Aiden. Despite what those idiots implied tonight, you’re not obligated to anything.”
The care in those words, the explicit acknowledgment of Aiden’s choice in the matter, settled something in his chest that had been fluttering with uncertainty.
“And if I stayed?” he asked, voice dropping lower. “If I wanted to see more of… all of you?”
Dylan’s breath caught audibly. “What are you asking, exactly?”
Aiden moved closer on the couch, decision crystallizing as he spoke. “You’ve been holding back. Careful. Controlled. I want to know what it’s like when you don’t have to hide.”
“Aiden,” Dylan’s voice held warning. “That’s not something to take lightly.”
“I’m not,” Aiden assured him, now close enough that their knees touched. “But I’ve been with human Dylan for a month. I’m curious about werewolf Dylan.”
“They’re not separate entities,” Dylan said softly. “Just different aspects of the same person.”
“Then show me that person,” Aiden challenged, reaching out to touch Dylan’s face. “All of him.”
The tension that had been building between them since the forest clearing finally broke. Dylan surged forward, capturing Aiden’s mouth in a kiss that contained none of his usual careful restraint. His hands gripped Aiden’s waist with firm possession, pulling him closer until Aiden found himself straddling Dylan’s lap.
The kiss was different from their previous encounters—wilder, more demanding, with an edge of something primal that sent heat coursing through Aiden’s body. When they separated for breath, Dylan’s eyes had taken on that amber glow, though his features remained human.
“This is what you do to me,” Dylan murmured, one hand sliding into Aiden’s hair to grip gently. “Even before you knew. My control around you has been hanging by a thread since that first date.”
“Then let it snap,” Aiden suggested, rolling his hips deliberately against the hardness he could feel forming beneath him.
Dylan growled—an actual growl that vibrated through his chest—and stood in one fluid motion, lifting Aiden with him as if he weighed nothing. The display of strength sent a thrill through Aiden as Dylan carried him toward the bedroom, mouths reconnecting in hungry kisses that left no doubt about where this was heading.
When Dylan deposited him on the bed, Aiden noted the careful restraint returning to his movements as he hovered above him. “We can stop anytime,” Dylan assured him. “Just say the word.”
In answer, Aiden reached for the buttons of Dylan’s shirt, working them open with determined fingers. “Less talking, more showing,” he directed, echoing words from an earlier encounter that now held new meaning.
Dylan’s smile turned predatory in a way Aiden now recognized as his wolf rising closer to the surface. He allowed Aiden to remove his shirt before taking control, his movements more confident, less hesitant than in previous encounters.
“You’ve been holding back,” Aiden observed as Dylan made quick work of his clothing, stripping him with efficient desire.
“Trying not to scare you,” Dylan admitted, his own clothes joining Aiden’s on the floor. “Trying not to let my wolf push too fast.”
“And now?” Aiden asked, naked beneath Dylan’s hungry gaze.
“Now I don’t have to pretend,” Dylan said, lowering himself to cover Aiden’s body with his own. “Now you know what you’re getting into.”
The kiss that followed was consuming, Dylan’s mouth demanding a surrender Aiden was all too willing to give. Where their previous encounters had been passionate but controlled, this was unleashed—Dylan’s hands seemingly everywhere at once, his mouth leaving a trail of heated kisses and gentle nips down Aiden’s neck and chest.
When Dylan’s teeth grazed a particularly sensitive spot near his collarbone, Aiden gasped, arching into the contact. Dylan immediately paused, lifting his head with concern.
“Too much?”
