Page 152 of Filthy Royal

Call it obsession; call it sheer fucking possessive Alpha madness. Everything inside him at that moment knew he’d never feel even one-tenth of this gut-churning need for another female.

The instinct wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t tender or soft or kind. Perhaps not even wise. But it was impossible to ignore.

He and Scarlett might be all kinds of fucked up for each other, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t his. Because she was also everything beautiful and wild and right.

He settled as her climax ended and she melted against him, her cunt squeezing his fingers tight, drawing his cum deeper inside.

No matter their past, no matter the betrayal. His pain, his pleasure, his very being belonged to her.

And wasn’t that a brutal kick to his balls after all his bellowing to the contrary?

His hands were still gripping her, both of them breathing hard and fast, their bodies locked together with sweat and slick and cum, when the guards’ voices intruded.

“Floor’s clear. We looked everywhere.” The guard’s shout echoed down the hallway. “She’s not here. Time to move to phase two.”

“Is that really necessary?” One of his team challenged, entirely unaware of the magnificent powers of Maxheim’s cloak. “Whoever used her to trigger the alarm is long gone. Seems such a waste of a good building.”

“You want to tell the big boss you didn’t follow protocol?” Their voices grew fainter. “His assistant’s outside the building right now, watching and waiting to report to the big boss. We stick to orders—or we die.”

Scarlett wiggled in his hold. Damien kept her right where she was. “Wait.” Again, his mouth moved over the shell of her ear. “I have a plan, but they need to be farther down the corridor and well clear of the room.”

And maybe… just maybe, he wanted to hold her for another heartbeat.

To have one more moment before they had to leave the storage unit and face not only whatever lay ahead but also wherever the hells they went from here.

So, he tightened his grip, locking her against him. “This isn’t over, Scarlett. Not by a long shot. What happened here needs to be discussed. You got me, Omega?”

She stilled and then nodded. A cautious dip of her head that told him their wild moment of fuckery had only made things more complicated between them, not less.

Perhaps his instincts were shit, his urges when it came to this female all screwed up, but he was following them anyway.

For four long planetary rotations, he’d fought to stay away from her, and it had done nothing but make him angrier, more bitter, and lonely.

Time to try a different tack.

“I don’t want to hear any bullshit about this being a one-time thing.” He used the outside of the cloak to wipe his cum from her back and thighs. “Even without the taming chain, you let me stroke that pretty little slit, soaked my fingers with that sweet pussy juice, and I want more.”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Nod if you understand.”

Scarlett hesitated, then nodded again.

“Good girl.”

She shivered, and he suppressed a groan. Whatever else had changed, she still loved his praise, and hells if he didn’t love giving it to her.

His dick hardened again.

Forcing his fingers to obey, he let her go. Then he took the time to shove his cock back into his leathers and lace them up before resecuring his holster at his waist.

Scarlett kept her eyes averted as she did her best to readjust her clothing, and he worried he’d been too rough. Or that she was already twisting things and telling herself what had just happened was a disaster she could not afford to repeat.

Not that he’d let that stand.

The hiss of valves brought him back to the matter at hand. A bitter scent flooded the room as they started pumping the gas Scarlett had mentioned into the space.

“We need to hustle.” Damien kept his voice low in case any straggler guards remained as he moved to stand in front of her. “But I go first. Stay behind—and close.”

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