Page 37 of Forged Alliances
Chapter Seventeen
Sierra leaned back in the leather couch that took up most of Dax’s living room, listening to the spray of water as he washed up. Her nerves skated on edge, bristling from anticipation and the close calls Dax had earlier. Even though he’d beaten Enrico, the wolf shifter had brought him to a dangerous ledge.
Her throat tightened. Less than a week ago, his packmate Lana stood over the body of her husband Greg, pure grief and anguish rolling off her. How fast such an intense connection could be extinguished. If anything, the fight today strengthened Sierra’s resolve in the choice they were about to make. Few were lucky enough to find their mate. She’d be a fool to throw the chance away when she could no longer deny the way he made her synapses fire. How at the end of a tough day, he was the one person she wanted in her space—the first man she’d brought back to her cottage.
The ceiling fans gave off a low snick-snick-snick as the amber light of late afternoon filtered through his open windows. Sweat beaded along her temple, and as the sound of the water shut off, she licked her dry lips.
The time of reckoning had arrived.
She ran a hand through her thick hair, remembering the last time she’d been on this couch with him when the mating bond first surfaced. In just two weeks, he’d become such an integral part of her life. When she was around Dax, she felt lighter, not as inundated by the responsibilities surrounding her. He made her laugh, pushed her to play, and gave her space to open up while keeping her pride.
The bathroom door creaked open, drawing her gaze to him. In the dim light, shadows carved into every hollow, highlighting his defined abs marred by fresh scratches and old scars. He’d taped gauze over his shoulder, a patch from the wound earlier, which would already be healing. A towel slung around his waist, the strip of fabric barely covering his fine ass and the powerful thighs she’d witnessed in action when they’d sparred. She’d gotten her hands on that body when they fought, and she hadn’t been disappointed in the slightest. The fighter utilized every square inch of his body, a weapon in its own right.
Rivulets of water clung to his lickable skin, drops sliding down the slope of his carved muscles. The room clouded with residual mist from his shower, though that wasn’t the sole reason the air in the room grew hot and humid. The second their eyes met, her insides coiled tightly and she found it harder to breathe. Several strands of his wet hair plastered to his forehead, the rest splayed around messily, making her want to run her fingers through it. Mischief begged to play on his lips, a secret smile he shared with her.
“Took long enough,” she called, not wanting to admit how the sight of him made her throat hitch, how the man was so gorgeous she lost her mind. “I thought you drowned in the mirror from staring into your reflection too long.”
“Can’t help it if I’m pretty,” Dax said, a full smile blooming on his face. He crossed the room, each step deliberate as her gaze fastened on the barely-there towel around his waist. She bit her lip as arousal wound in her core, an intense ache demanding satisfaction. “Let’s cut the bullshit. You know you’ve been waiting for this as long as I have.”
Sierra tapped the side of her chin, feigning innocence. “I came over here for a drink, Williams. I don’t know what you’ve got percolating in your dirty mind.”
Dax smiled as he stepped in front of her, the scent of soap and cedar like a drug to her senses. “I’ve got plenty of dirty things in mind when it comes to you, Kanoska.” The husky way he said her name sent a shudder through her, and she couldn’t help squeezing her thighs together. He leaned forward, gripping the couch beside her as mere inches separated them. Her clothes weighed too heavy, the layers too much when she just wanted to sink her claws into his tanned skin.
Each breath she took made her more aware of the heat between them, of the air tensing like the onset of a storm.
“You sure?” he asked, a flash of vulnerability in his gaze, the sort that broke her heart. This man had been considered second best his entire life. His family had discarded him, and even now they tried to rob him of his worth. Even though he braced himself over her, one word and he’d walk away. But she didn’t want that. Right now, she wanted Dax Williams, all of him.
“You’re worth the risk,” she murmured against his lips, the sensation sending a thrill through her. His blue eyes deepened to a stormy intensity at her words, his hand weaving through her hair. He leaned in to claim her lips with the sort of passion that traveled straight to her toes. The honeyed warmth and singular focus of the way he kissed, as if she was the sole thing in the universe worth a damn, gave her the answer she needed.
Sierra reached up to flick at the loose knot on the edge of his hips, sending the towel to the ground. His erection stood stark between his legs, the sight of it making her slick.
“I think you’re at an unfair advantage,” Dax responded, gliding up to brush his lips against her ear. He nipped her lobe, sending a shock of desire straight between her legs. She shifted, her thighs squeezing tightly as she tried to combat the fierce pulse inside her.
“Think you can level the playing field?” She arched a brow at him in challenge. A sensuous smile curled his lips, the sort that made her even wetter. He skated his fingers behind her back, brushing by as a click followed and her bra unclasped. Her nipples pebbled at the idea of those skillful fingers anywhere near her breasts. “Come on,” she purred. “You can do better than a party trick.”
His teeth gleamed with his smile as he lunged forward, biting down into her neck. The smooth movement elicited a moan before she could help herself. Her panties were already soaked, and he’d barely touched her. The scruff from him scraped against the skin of her neck, making it hard to forget the way the stubble had brushed more sensitive areas.
He slipped his hand under her tee until he cupped her breast, glazing his thumb over her rock-hard nipple. A spike of need drove through her at his touch, intensified when he leaned down to scrape his teeth over the tip through the fabric of her shirt. Another moan slipped past her lips as she tilted her hips forward, desperate to feel him inside her. Her fingertips traced the scars of his chest, careful to avoid the patch of gauze on his shoulder. The raised skin of his war wounds mirrored the ones splayed across her back and along her thighs. Shifters might heal better and faster than humans, but they still carried their past on their skin.
Sierra traced down his pecs until her fingers trailed along the velvet skin of his cock, the length of him stiffening to the touch. She wet her lips at the response, needing him to fill her in every sense of the word.
“Keep playing with that, and I’m liable to blow, babe,” Dax whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear. “I’ve been fantasizing about you from the day we met.”
Longing surged inside her, a swell of want so fierce her heart threatened to burst. Because as much as they’d both tried to deny the way they felt, the connection had been there from the beginning, one that intensified with every interaction. He flicked open the button to her jean shorts and tore the zipper down. A second later they hit the floor. Right as his hands found the hem of her shirt, she slipped it off, tossing both her tee and the bra on the pile.
The hungry way he stared at her made her shiver, feeling exposed all of a sudden. Not like he hadn’t seen every inch of her before, but that was pure animalistic lust. This—this depth she kept to herself for a long time, an attachment she hadn’t allowed to form with anyone else because time after time, they left. They all left.
She sucked in a harsh breath as she met his eyes. Her wolf gave her a nudge, her pinnacle of strength even now.
Dax broke the silence, understanding in his gaze. “I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, as if reading her mind. “You’re the one I want, Sierra Kanoska.”
She swallowed hard, unable to express the way her heart swelled to bursting, how she longed for him with a desperation which refused to be tamed. How she’d never believed she’d find someone who could slice her wide open the way he did, the sort of connection that filled her with incandescent joy.
Sierra wrapped her hands around his neck, brushing her lips against his as she tried to pour the maelstrom of emotions rushing through her into the kiss. Dax thrust her against the couch, his erection pressing against the thin fabric of her soaked panties. The feel of the heat emanating from his length made her writhe, her need sharpening to agony when she bucked against him. He groaned as he slipped two fingers past the elastic of her panties to glide along the seam of her and circle around her clit.
“You’re so fucking wet for me,” he murmured as he planted kisses along her neck, causing her back to arch in response. Her knee crooked as her heel dug into the leather sofa. Dax’s nail grew into a claw, and then he sliced through the underwear, sending the pieces fluttering to the ground.
“Are you going to destroy every pair I own?” she muttered, glancing at him.