Page 24 of The Wolf's Secret Twins

His primal grunt signaled a new rhythm, one that made the mattress dip under our combined weight. I hooked my ankles together behind his back as I clutched his shoulders, digging into his skin, digging so hard that he gritted his teeth while he propped his forehead against mine again. He held my gaze while he drilled me, gorgeous blue echoing through the dim light with genuine commitment.

He was mine too. For this moment, he would be mine. And nothing could change that simple fact.

“So good,” he groaned. “Gods, Ginny. I missed you. I missedthis.”

His kiss crushed me into the bed, bringing with it a feverish admiration. My kiss reflected the same, carrying muffled moans and broken phrases of affection whenever we tried to breathe between kisses. As he snugly gripped my waist, he released a few more hard pumps before his official release, grunting with each spurt, panting for air between every shot.

While pushing his hair from his face, I traced the scar tissue, reminded of the dreadful raid on the Beaufort Creek pack that felt all too recent. “I’m glad you survived.”

His eyes widened for a second, and then he smiled. “War can’t kill me, but...”

“Slater…”

“A broken heart, yeah. That could kill me.” He sighed. “But not war.”

A moment later, he rolled off me and stared at the ceiling, peering into the shadows alongside me with his arm draped above his head. Nothing but steady breathing sounded between us. Perhaps the sound of bugs broke through the silence for a moment or two, but my ears weren’t paying attention to that white noise.

I was more concerned about him.

Everything about this was wrong. We were going against our alphas’ orders, tempting providence by acting like teenage fools. At the very least, I had gotten him to grab a condom, so that wouldn’t ever be a problem again.

I covered my face.My kids aren’t a problem. It’s just that their father is—

“Ginny?”

When I slid my hands from my face, I noticed his curious expression, leftover sweat on his brow, a lingering affection in his eyes.

I forced a smile. “Yeah?”

“We should…” He licked his lips as he reached out to caress my cheek. “This should be our little secret, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

His smile was small but impactful. “Everything should remain a secret.”

And gods, how I couldn’t have agreed more.

Chapter 9 - Slater

Late afternoon light speckled the new windows I’d installed with Gertie this morning. The team was outside for a quick break, gathering under the shadow of a large oak tree with water bottles, snacks, and the latest sports numbers. I wasn’t much into sports. While I could have indulged with them, my brain was replaying my sexy encounter with Virginia from a few nights ago.

Her face, her touch, herscent—everything felt good. Everything felt like it had been preserved all these years for me. Tracing her curves felt like picking up an old video game I loved from my youth. She was just in my head like that, permanently embedded like a tattoo.

Something strange had happened when we were done. She’d gone somewhere in her head. The old Virginia—before she had become Virginia—wouldn’t have done such a thing. She was ever-present. But this version of her seemed preoccupied.

Had the betrayal melted her brain? Made her feel guilty?

Confliction slashed my thoughts in half. One side of me burned with agitation about her grandfather’s illegal activities, the same ones that had nearly destroyed my family. While my parents were currently brimming with success thanks to the Haydens, I couldn’t help but wonder about Virginia’s family. Where were they?

An entirely different side of me was sick of being resentful. Virginia was gorgeous, her kids were wonderful, and nothing could stop me from having what I wanted, not even a pair of alphas.

Regardless of how much I respected them.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. All this thinking was giving me a headache. Not to mention the humidity outside was penetrating the open doorways and making me feel woozy. Or maybe that was dehydration.

I plopped onto a stool and plucked a water bottle from the cooler I kept near me during work hours. Light shifted across the windows, the reflection from a passing car’s windshield. Workers shouted their greeting at a Chevy idling past. That must have been one of the families living nearby.

The school was all anybody could talk about. With Wendell heading the project, things were steadily getting accomplished. We were using green materials, building up to code, and taking our time with plenty of breaks during the workday. Occasionally, Wendell would allow me to join him late at night when he couldn’t sleep, and honestly, I couldn’t sleep much these days anyway.

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