Page 35 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

His smile turned into a grin, as if he enjoyed our argument. “It’s both. And I don’t care. Doyou?”

The deep rumble of his voice shivered through me, and I lost the will to fight. The proximity of his body was having its usual effect on me, heightened by the promise of a scandalous encounter in a storage closet. I'd never been promiscuous, or even particularly daring, and I got that feeling again—that one of not being able to recognize myself.

Nevertheless, my breath was now coming fast, making my breasts heave in the deep V of my bodice. My blood felt hot, slow, and thick as honey.

Reese must have taken my silence as the answer to his question, and I guess he was right. Apparently Ididn'tcare if this was a work or family function, because I put up zero opposition when he coiled my hair in his fist and leaned down to kiss my neck.

The gentle tug against my scalp, coupled with his hot wet mouth, sent a tingle of excitement to other—much lower—parts of my body.

I combed my own fingers into his hair, my mouth meeting his in a scorching kiss, the control of which the two of us alternately shared.

After a while, Reese’s mouth moved to my cheek, then he scraped his teeth along the curve of my earlobe before biting down gently and letting a little more of his beast show through.

I groaned and we made a quarter turn, avoiding the metal shelving to find a spot of empty wall.

Reese pressed me against that flat surface in heated contact. My softer body gave way to his hard, lean physique, and I exhaled into his kiss.

Reese’s fingertips dug into my hips, and a desperate, alcohol-fueled hunger rose up in me. I shoved his suit jacket off his shoulders, then frantically worked at the buttons on his shirt.

Reese shrugged out of his jacket, then reached down with both hands, grabbing the hem of my dress and easing it up my thighs and over my ass. It wasn’t easy work—the sheath of fabric hugged my body—but he ultimately succeeded, exhaling on a victorious smile.

His hand moved between us, slipping inside my lace panties, one finger sliding through my silky wetness.

I tipped my hips forward, giving him an even better angle.

“Fuck,” he said. “You’re so ready for me.”

I’d only gotten three buttons open on his shirt, but it was enough for me to lay a kiss to the center of his chest before working my way back up his neck.

He tipped his head back, giving me more territory to explore, but my attentions were interrupted when his fingers found their target.

I moaned as my clit throbbed, and his head came down again, his voracious mouth descending on mine.

I gave up on the buttons and worked at his belt instead. He helped—both of us eager—and it took only a few seconds for the gusset of my panties to be pushed aside and his cock relieved of his trousers.

Another heartbeat, and my legs were wrapped around his hips as he pushed into me, inch by rigid inch.

Reese’s possessive hands were under my ass, holding me up while he plowed into my body, stoking the fire that he’d started weeks earlier.

My hands were in his thick hair, and I curled my fingers, clutching it by the roots.

His panting breaths were hot against my ear. “I want you,” he said, his voice gravelly.

“By the looks of things,” I said, breathing heavily. “I think you have me.”

"God, you’re melting all around me."

Our eyes met.

Held.

And what passed between us was something deep and primal. Was this the mating bond he talked about? I didn’t dare ask, fearful of breaking the spell and too caught up in the moment to think rationally.

Reese cupped my breast and dragged his thumb across my taut nipple. The friction, coupled with the slow drag of his cock back and forth across my clit had me coming for him in a silent scream, driving us both to the precipice of insanity.

We were vertically entangled. Forbidden acts in a dark closet, no more than two dozen feet from the party. It felt dangerous—this stolen clandestine moment.

“Sarah. I—” He cut himself off on a growl of pleasure and pushed his hips forward. His eyes closed and his mouth fell open.

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