Chase growled low, and lifted my chin to look into my eyes. He studied me for several seconds.
 
 There was desire in his gaze, but concern was there too.
 
 “Please alpha,” I murmured, trailing a hand down his chest to cup a growing bulge in his pants.
 
 The growl deepened with desire, but he kept his eyes locked with mine.
 
 I could see indecision in his gaze, and the cock under my hand told me that it wasn’t from lack of interest. He thought I wasn’t ready.
 
 I used my free hand to pull him down into a heated kiss, plunging my tongue into his mouth while I teased his bulge.
 
 “What do you want, Tristan?” he asked, eyes almost black with lust. “I need to hear you say it.”
 
 “I want you,” I replied. “I want you to take me to bed.”
 
 “Promise me you’ll tell me to stop if it’s too much.”
 
 I nodded.
 
 “I need to hear it.”
 
 “I promise.”
 
 There was another moment of silence, then he leaned in and brushed his lips across mine. It was gentle, but electric.
 
 My entire body lit up with need. My cock hardened, and slick coated my entrance for the first time in months. I moaned into the kiss, and whined when he deepened it, his tongue against mine.
 
 Chase slid both his hands down my back and squeezed my ass.
 
 I groaned and angled my hips so that he could feel my erection.
 
 He growled in response and turned to lead me into the bedroom.
 
 I felt wanted, actually wanted and not just a means to an end.
 
 Chase stopped, and I realized that we were standing next to the bed.
 
 I fumbled with my jeans, and as soon as my fly was open he plunged his hands past the waistband to grab at my ass again.
 
 I groaned as he pulled me close, grinding our erections together through our jeans.
 
 Our tongues played between our mouths, and I slid my hands under his shirt, relishing the feel of his skin under my fingers.
 
 I can do this…
 
 One of his hands drifted between my ass cheeks, and a finger teased across my hole.
 
 I froze, memories flooding me: taking Vince’s knot for days after a heat, already raw and hurting from trying to conceive. Being exhausted from long days at work, and being expected to take him as part of my marital duty. Him telling me that I could never satisfy an alpha as he told me that he’d gotten another man pregnant.
 
 I started shaking, tears streaming down my face.
 
 “Tristan!” Chase called, voice distant as darkness closed in around the edges.
 
 Chapter 12 - Chase
 
 Tristan asking me to take him to bed was like a dream, but I’d noticed a tension about him all evening and I had a feeling that he was pushing himself. However, he seemed adamant about sex, and I believed him when he would tell me to stop if it was too much, so, despite my concerns, I decided to follow his lead.
 
 We kissed all the way to the bedroom, and he seemed more confident by the second. I thought that it was just some uncertainty on his part as I traced my finger across his hole to start prepping him. Then it all fell apart. He stilled in my arms in a way that immediately set me on edge.