Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 55

I pressed myself to Josie’s side, holding myself back from ripping her out of Cam’s arms. Ever since her nightmare, I’d been excessively possessive. I’d slept curled around her last night and had been unwilling to have her out of my sight all day. I knew Sam was Josie’s friend and had helped her. I knew Gerald wasn’t a threat. But my inner alpha wanted my omega locked away, safe.

“Do you want to read your chart?” Cam asked Josie.

Fuck.

I didn’t want her to see it. I’d felt sick when Ben and Cam showed it to me, and I hadn’t even known it was hers.

She bit her lip. After a few long moments of silence, she said in a small voice, “I’m not sure if I’m ready yet.”

Relief was evident through the bond.

“You know what we need?” Sam said with a clap. “We need to do something fun. Josie, have you shown these guys your driving skills?”

Josie squealed in excitement and pushed herself out of Cam’s grasp.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been forever since I drove. Can we go?” She looked at each of us, her face lighting up with hopefulness.

“Yeah!” Ben exclaimed, picking her up and spinning her around.

“What?” Cam growled, glaring at Ben.

Great. Now it was up to Cam and me to be the bad guys.

“Please,” Josie pleaded, staring at Cam with wide eyes and a little pout.

Cam’s lip twitched almost imperceptibly. “Only if we can find a safe spot for it, where no cops are going to see,” he relented.

I shot him a look of betrayal. Now it was just up to me to stop this plan. Why did no one seem to understand that our mate needed to be kept safe?

Suddenly, she was in front of me. I steeled myself against her persuasive charms.

“Are you okay, Theo?” she asked gently, taking me off guard. I looked down to meet her gaze and saw her eyes were filled with concern… for me?

“It’s illegal for you to drive. Too dangerous,” I said, avoiding eye contact. If I looked into her bright green eyes, I would be hypnotized, convinced to do whatever possible to make her happy.

“Can we talk privately for a sec?” she asked softly, pulling me by the hand before I responded.

The door to the formal dining room, which we rarely used, closed behind us. I fought to keep myself under control, to shield her from the fear and rage running through me. I didn’t realize she had pushed me into one of the dining room chairs until I felt the leather seat underneath me.

“Theo,” she murmured, cupping my face. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as usual.

“You’re upset,” she said softly. “I know I upset you.”

“What? No, you didn’t.”

To my horror, Josie’s eyes grew glassy with tears. “I know I did. You’ve been quiet ever since the other night. You won’t look at me. You won’t talk to me.”

Fuck. I had been so absorbed in my dark, swirling abyss of emotions. I hadn’t been caring properly for my mate.

“Angel, I’m not upset with you. I could never be upset with you.”

Josie shook her head, not believing me.

“I shouldn’t have told you what happened,” she said, her voice tight. “You see me differently now.”

“No,” I growled fiercely, lifting her chin to ensure her eyes were on me. “I don’t see you differently, except I know even more deeply what a survivor you are. I just… fuck, you don’t need to hear about my problems.”

“But I do, Theo. I want to know what you’re feeling. Please don’t shut me out. I love you.” Several tears spilled over, trailing down her soft, round cheeks. I ran my thumb across them, soothing the tears away.

Shit, I needed to be honest.

“I can’t handle it when I feel out of control,” I confessed. “I know logically that I can’t control everything, but it doesn’t stop the anxiety from overtaking me. It started when my family moved to North Woods. It was like my whole life was stolen from me. The freedoms I’d enjoyed in London, that my sisters had enjoyed, everything was taken away. It felt like my parents had been abducted by fucking aliens, and not the nice ones in the books you read about.”

Josie blushed and I couldn’t resist pulling her in for a soft kiss.

“You still need to read them,” she mumbled.

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. This girl. I couldn’t believe how happy she made me.

“I will, promise. Things got better once Cam, Ben, and I became pack, but I still get anxiety attacks and shut down when I can’t control what’s happening around me. Having you in our lives makes me the fucking happiest I’ve ever been, but it also scares the shit out of me. Hearing how you’ve already been hurt, been tortured, I just… I don’t know what to do with that. I’m angry at myself for not protecting you. I’m fucking terrified I won’t be able to keep you safe going forward. I don’t know if you understand how much I love you, how it would kill me if anything ever happened to you.”

Josie crushed her body to mine and purred the softest omega purr. A lump formed in my throat. I wrapped my arms around her waist and reveled in her softness and the vibration of her purr, finally easing the weight of anxiety I’d been carrying.

“I love that you want to protect me,” Josie said. “I’ve never had a lot of people who cared about me and wanted me safe. And now I have you three, and I’m so grateful. But I can’t just hide away for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t see why not,” I grumbled, threading my fingers through her wavy hair.

“Now you sound like Cam,” she said, a smile on her lips.

“Yeah, well, the bastard has a point every once in a while.”

I traced my fingers down her jaw and pulled her in for a kiss. I needed to taste her, feel her, and reassure myself she was okay. She relaxed into my touch, nipping at my lip and sucking lightly on my tongue. I cupped her ass tightly, causing her to gasp into the kiss. I thrust my hard cock against her core, cursing the clothing getting in my way. All I wanted was her.

“Need you,” I gasped as I stood up, keeping her pressed against me. Josie’s scent was rich and sweet with arousal.

“Yes,” she moaned.

Her gasps turned into little whimpers as she unzipped my pants and pulled out my cock. I almost came as she ran her hands down my hard length. I pushed her hand away before pulling down her leggings. I growled when I found she was wearing underwear.

“I thought I told you no underwear at home,” I murmured into her ear, walking her back until we were against a wall. “That was very naughty.”

I ripped the lace off her, putting the scraps in my pocket. Josie’s eyes were glazed over with lust, her breaths coming quicker. I ran my finger through her slit. She was dripping.

“You think Cam’s the only one who can spank your ass?” I kept my words soft, aware of how close we were to the others, unsure how much Josie was comfortable with them overhearing. I couldn’t hold back from fucking her, though. I was going to make my omega scream.

She whimpered as she arched her back, trying to create friction against my hand.

“It would be no hardship to redden this amazing ass. Then I would take you from behind, spanking you as I thrust into that tight pussy of yours. Bringing you so close to coming over and over again and then leaving you dripping and wanting.”

“No, you can’t do that,” Josie whined, the sound pulling at my alpha instincts. Fuck, she had me wrapped around her finger.

“Well then, angel. You best follow the rules.”

I thrust two fingers into her warm pussy, grinding the palm of my hand against her clit.

“You better be a good girl and stay quiet unless you want them all to know what we’re doing,” I whispered. Her hands gripped my arms tightly.

“Theo,” she whined. “I need you. Please.”

My cock jerked, a spot of pre-cum dripping on my shirt.

I groaned. “There’s nothing sweeter than hearing you beg for me.”

I lifted her, my hands firmly under her ass, and thrust into her, seating myself fully. Josie’s head fell back with a moan of pleasure, her back pressed against the wall with each rough thrust. I was lost in the feel of her hot cunt wrapped around me, the sensation of her. She wrapped her hand in my hair and kissed me with a fierceness that shocked me. My balls tightened and I was already close to coming, but fuck if I was going to come without her. I shifted our angle until I was hitting her sensitive omega spot, grinding my knot against her clit in the process. Josie’s cries got louder and a primal satisfaction washed through me that everyone knew I was giving my mate pleasure.

She came with a little squeak that was adorable as fuck. I thrust a few more times, resisting the urge to press my inflated knot inside her before coming with a shout. We held each other tightly, her arms and legs wrapped around me, as we caught our breath.

“You make me feel so good, Theo. And so safe. You have to trust me to make my own decisions, too. And take some risks.”

I nodded. “I know, love. I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” she said sweetly. “Now we’ve got to get ready to go.”

My orgasm-induced brain fog made me slow on the uptake as Josie wriggled out of my grasp.

“Go where?”

“For a drive,” she said as she pulled on her leggings—sans underwear—and sauntered out of the room.

A bark of laughter burst out of me as I had the distinct feeling that my little omega had played me.