Page 39 of Beta Lies and Cursed Lives
“You can also touch people without killing them.”
“You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to touch. And look at you, touching me without turning me into a popsicle.”
I huff and gently slap his chest, head shaking. “I can’t believe this is real. I just know I’m going to wake up facing grave disappointment.”
His lips crash back to mine, one of his hands sliding down my back, dangerously close to the swell of my ass, and fisting there. When he pulls back, he says, “This is real, myhime.”
I blink at him, clearing the haze from my mind. “Hee-may? What does that mean?”
His smile is everything. “It means ‘princess.’”
My nose wrinkles. “I’m not a princess.” I don’t think I want to be considered one, either, all snobby and self-centered.
A huff of laughter escapes him before he grows serious once more. “You are the princess of my heart.”
My lips part in surprise, the utter tenderness of his tone warming my heart.
I take it back. I like the idea of being a princess very much.Hisprincess.
I want to say something equally sweet in return, but a stabbing pain wells deep in my lower abdomen, and it steals my breath with a moan.
“Hime?”Rai sits up before I know it, and his concerned face looms over me. “What’s wrong?”
“I…” I gasp, clench my belly, and let out a whine like no sound I’ve ever made in my life.“Idunno,”I breathe the words as one. And then, on my next breath, my body grows hot, achy, and when I whine again without meaning to, there’s wetness between my legs.
I groan, reach for Rai’s hand, and place it on my breast; the contact brings small comfort as I writhe on the bed.
I vaguely register Rai’s shocked expression before he asks, “Have you had your suppressants?”
I nod, aware the movements are languid, groggy, like I’d seen drunken people behave.
“How…?” He shakes his head. “Hime...Mira, love...you’re going into heat.”
His words don’t even register fully before I answer in one, pained breath, “But I’ve never had my heat before.”
The energy in the room stills, Rai’s statuesque frame locked in a shocked expression that surely mirrors my own.
I’ve never said the words aloud. The words that would have gotten me killed on the spot, Cursed or not. Any Omega who doesn’t come into her heat is taken away by the GBE, never to be seen or heard from again. This was my most closely guarded secret, more so than being Cursed.
But I trust Rai. Trust him with my life. My body. With my heart.
He inhales deeply, a growl emanating from his chest, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly. His eyes are still filled with love, but there’s something else behind them. Something carnal and animalistic. Possessive.
His scent suddenly fills the room, that smoky cherry blossom that belongs to him alone, and it soothes me, my pain and frustration.
He takes another breath, this time through his mouth, and slowly lets it out. “My beautifulhime. Your heat won’t go away on its own.” His hand grips my breast tighter, moving in a small circle, and brings another whine from me. “Let me help you,” he breathes. “Let me take this suffering from you, my love. And help me, in turn.” He takes my hand that isn’t gripping my belly and places it on his lap, moving it to grasp the hardened length beneath his pants. We groan in unison, my body burning hotter, the wetness—my slick—pooling even further as my body writhes.
“Take this from me,” I whine. Then my voice grows into something I don’t recognize, something animal. “Claim me. We belong.”
Rai’s growl grows louder, deeper. “Keep touching me.” His voice is like mine was, different and primal.
I follow his instructions, keeping my hand on his cock, rubbing and gripping it tightly as he pulls the shirt from his body with one yank over his head from behind his back.
It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. That and the beautiful, toned, lean torso that greets me, illuminated by the damned collar around his neck.
Something slithers inside me, angry, vicious, and I want to crush that infernal thing. But more level thoughts remind me of the danger, and that beast reluctantly pulls back, watching our Alpha’s every move with anticipation.
Our Alpha.
