Page 110 of Pack Rivals, Part One

I should push him away. But oh lord. That feels good.

He nips one nipple, then the other, the cool metal of his lip ring hard against the tender flesh. Then he crashes back through the surface.

"Sorry, little bird. Couldn't resist. They were just begging for me to bite them."

I peer at him, the dancing water morphing his skin an alien blue, his own white shirt tight to his chest, emphasizing every ridge of muscle and, yes, his own nipples, both pierced like his lip.

I motion him forward with the crook of my finger and he wades towards me, dragging his wet jacket off as he does. When he's close enough, I duck down and bite his left nipple.

"Shit," he yelps.

"Retaliation," I say as I stand up straight.

"I like it. Wanna do the other one?"

I laugh. "You are incorrigible."

"Crazy. Incorrigible." The smile dies on his lips. "You don't like those things."

I stare at him. His eyes are sadder and I think about what Axel told me in the car. "No, I like them." I stroke his cheek and he closes his eyes and leans into my touch.

It's like stroking a wild cat. He's unpredictable and powerful and yet he'll let me touch him like this.

"I like you, little bird. Hoping you're going to stay and never leave."

My omega heart beats a little faster.

It would be so easy to say yes, I'll be yours, you can have me.

But fairytales are just that: fiction, not real. Happy endings never last. I learned that the hard way. My perfect love story didn't end with mine. This won't either.

I have to focus on myself. I have to rebuild my life.

I withdraw my hand and lean back into the water, lifting my feet from the surface and gazing up at the sky.

After a minute, Nate does the same and we float side by side watching stars dart through the darkness in silence.

"Never got to dance with you tonight, little bird," he says after a while.

"I don't think parties like that are really my thing."

"Yeah, same. Still, I want to dance with you."

I sink my feet back to the bottom of the pool. "My dress is all ruined now and …"

He lowers his feet too and sinks down into the water so only his eyes are hovering above the rippling surface.

"I prefer it this way," he breathes. "Come here." He reaches through the water and takes my hand, pulling me towards him.

"I'm a really bad dancer," I say, "and we don't have any music."

He twists his head. "Computer, play 'Always' by Bon Jovi."

The notes from a guitar float through the air and the lights dim further.

"Problem solved." He stands and tugs me nearer, winding my arms around his neck so my body is flush against his warm one. Then he moves us through the water, swaying us gently in time to the music so that the water ripples around us.

"Did you go to your prom?" he asks me.

---