30

Word Count: 2467

~Dove

This night has not gone to plan.

I came to this party to ignore Varian, to enjoy my sisters wedding before moving on. I didn't come here to stand in front of Varian's bedroom door, knowing that once I cross the threshold, I'll make a decision I can't go back on.

He answers my knock after a brief pause.

For a moment we just stare at each other, a palpable tension sitting stagnant and unmoving between us.

He hasn't been drinking tonight. I can see it in the clarity of his eyes, in the sharpness of them as they  take in my strangely dressed state.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to come," he murmurs, his surprise sprawled out across his face.

I really should turn around and leave.

If he weren't so handsome, this would be a lot easier. Even so, it's the depths of his eyes that get to me the most. More than the sharp lines of his face and perfectly mussed hair, even.

"May I come in?" I gesture behind him, at the guest room Eden and Ciella have supplied.

"Absolutely."

He steps to the side, gesturing for me to enter. I slide around him, ensuring there is enough distance between us to keep my head clear.

The room doesn't look that different to the one Dev and I share. It's spacious and warm, with a crackling fire on the far wall, dousing the low lit space with guttering light.

"Why did you want to meet?" I ask, grateful that his early request for me to come up here supplies me with a suitable guise. I don't want it to seem like I've come here on my own volition, wanting to  maintain a semblance of control.

When I turn from my assessment of my room to look at him, I notice his gaze pinned to the front of me.

"Your dress..."

"Claude ripped it," I admit sheepishly, hoping my makeup conceals the flush of colour warming my cheeks.

He looks briefly startled. "He...why?"

"We were going to have sex," I deadpan. "So he ripped my dress."

I could weave around the issue and pretend it didn't happen, but I'm not in the mood for that. Seeing the subtle flash of internal torment appear in his expression gives me an unreasonable amount of satisfaction.

He deserves it. He marked me, and now he has to pay.

"You-"

"We didn't, though. I decided against it," I say simply, wandering around the room with my hand still clutching the front of my dress. I probably should have changed before coming here, but I wanted Varian to know.

I'm not his. I haven't been, and I never will be.

"Why stop?" He asks, a perfectly constructed mask of indifference morphing his features into neutrality. "You're free to do what you please."

I shrug. "I just decided I didn't want to."

Varian slowly pushes his sleeves up to his elbows, taking his time letting my words hang heavily in the air.

"Now know you're here," he comments pointedly, raising a brow.

I shift from foot to foot, uncertain about his reaction. I thought I was winning, that I held the upper hand. I've gotten ahead of myself and assumed he has any reason to care about my interaction with Claude.

"You're not...mad?"

He angles his head. "Should I be?"

"He's your friend and he kissed me." A lump gathers in my throat. "He would have slept with me had I not stopped him."

Now that the haze of tipsiness has almost entirely faded, going to Claude's room to seduce him seems ridiculous. I should have told Dev to lock me in our room for the rest of the night.

"You're both entitled to do as your please. It's none of my business." He turns away from me, leaving me standing stunned and uncertain.

He pauses at the bedside table, loosening his watch from around his wrist, placing it carefully down. He's readying himself for bed, as if he wasn't the one who requested I come up here tonight.

"You don't care, even though I bear your mark," I question.

He glances over his shoulder, eyes dropping to my thighs, which are thankfully hidden behind the endless fabric of my ruined dress. "Not for long."

This was a mistake. I've thoroughly embarrassed myself enough for one night.

"I should go."

As I turn toward the door, Varian advances on me in a moment. He grabs my arm, turning me gently back to face him.

"I want us to be civil, Dove. For everyone's sake," he exclaims earnestly, the unbothered mask slipping away.

He really does want to make peace with me. Even still, I can sense his apprehension, like I'm a complex puzzle that is missing pieces, making me impossible to solve.

"You still don't trust me," I venture.

He pulls his hands away, sliding them into his pockets as if they are safer there. "If you knew my history with Matthias, you would understand my apprehension."

"I haven't spoken to him in over a year," I clarify intently. I don't want to be associated with Matthias for a moment longer. Especially when he is still at risk of getting me killed.

I know he's been wondering.

"I'm glad to hear that," he exclaims tightly. Even still, I can tell by the way he regards me that he's deciding whether I'm being truthful or not.

I fold my arms, using my forearms to keep the dress safely secured against my body. "Well, I don't feel so great about you either, by the way.

He smirks, the expression brightening his eyes.

"But we can be civil, can't we?"

My eyes narrow slightly. I've been seeking out this conclusion the entire night, and I didn't expect to get it so easily. This could be the end of everything. He will send me money and I'll have the mark removed.

Then, we never have to see each other again...

Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to be so easy.

"You're attracted to me," I challenge, the corner of my mouth tilting up.

I expect him to swiftly deny it, but he doesn't even flinch. "I am."

Resisting the urge to appear startled at the blunt revelation, I raise my chin. It's not out of the realm of possibility for an Alpha to be genuinely attracted to me — it's happened before— it just doesn't come easily to me.

"That complicates matters."

"It doesn't have to."

He steps forward. The weight of his proximity presses against my skin, reminding me how dangerous this situation can become if I'm not careful.

"Are you sure? Because you interrogated my boyfriend..."

"I was merely curious about him, that's all," he muses with a shrug, his eyes darkening as I take a step backward. I need space to breathe, to think. His very presence suffocates my mind, compressing my thoughts.

"You invited me to talk in your bedroom in the middle of the night."

He smiles knowingly. "So?"

"So that implies you want to have sex with me," I continue, growing more and more breathless as this conversation ticks on.

He takes another step forward, and this time, I don't back away. I'm entranced by him, by the intensity of his stare, by how quickly my body reacts to him. I can feel an intangible pull, daring me to take a staggering step to close the gap between us.

"Would they be so bad?" He asks softly, his gaze travelling from my eyes, and down my face, taking in every subtle detail.

I nod slowly. "Yes. It would."

I barely recognise my own voice. Varian and I could be talking about anything, and I would be wondering what it would feel like to kiss him again, to feel his hands all over me.

He smiles, slow and deliberate, watching my resolve fall apart right in front of him.

It's just one night.

I launch myself at him. He grabs a hold of me, his arms wrapping around me as his mouth meets mine.

There's no apprehension, no hesitation from either of us. He kisses me as wildly as I kiss him. It's almost a competition, to see who breaks first.

My hand that isn't holding up my dress delves into his hair, pulling the strands before letting them slip through my fingers. He holds either side of my face, tilting my head at an angle that suits him as he explores my mouth.

The heat, the passion...it's almost too much to bear. Kissing him is wondrously addictive, and as it's happening, I know how badly I want it to accelerate.

Reluctantly, I shove him off me, backing away until my back hits the door.

"No, we can't do that," I express clearly, reaching up to brush my fingertips against my mouth.

He's breathing harshly, his chest rising and falling hypnotically as he looks over me. His body is tense, muscles taut as he holds himself back from reaching for me again.

"Why not?"

"It would only complicate this...whatever this is." I motion between us helplessly, shaking my head.

"It doesn't have to, Dove." His voice is molten, smoothing over my skin deliciously. "Come here."

My legs weaken. He's only a few steps away, and it would be so easily to give in. I know exactly how well he can touch me, and how incredibly pleasurable he can make this night if I let him.

"I can't," I say instead.

"Come to me," he repeats.

I press past him, knowing I could easily slip out the door to finish this conversation for good, while equally being aware that I don't want to.

"Coming here was a bad idea," I mutter under my breath. "What was I thinking?"

"I lied, I'm not okay with Claude putting his hands on you," Varian admits suddenly. "I might even kill him for it."

My heart jumps into my throat, my pulse thumping so wildly I feel on the verge of fainting.

"Why?" I ask breathlessly.

His stare is raw and aching. "Because the thought of any man having his way with you makes me murderous."

This time, there is only a beat between the end of his sentence and him advancing on me.

I let him. His kiss pushes me back into the wall, his body enclosing me in. It lasts only a few perfect moments before he breaks the kiss, pulling back a touch.

My lips part as he lowers himself down to his knees. Slowly, he pulls the hem of the dress all the way up, revealing my thighs that I'm pressing tightly together.

With gentle hands, he nudges them apart.

"I need to see my mark on your skin," he admits, his breath costing along my inner thigh. "Fuck it looks good."

This is pure torture. His hands feel good, his thumb brushing over the mark. My entire body jolts at his touch, as if the mark is linked directly to my clit.

"I'm getting it removed..." I force out, squeezing my eyes shut.

"But it looks so perfect, like it was made for you," he murmurs, sounding personally affronted by the thought of it going away.

He leans forward, drawing his mouth over the mark softly. I press my lips together to resist letting out a string of curses at the incredible feeling.

The mark is dangerous. I can't have him near it a moment longer.

I reach out for him. "Come back."

Mercifully he obliges me, raising up to claim my mouth again. I moan contently, looping my arms around his neck, not caring that my dress is starting to slip down my body.

Every sweep of his tongue in my mouth has me melting deeper into his arms. It makes me grateful for the wall behind me.

I'm not sure how long he's kissing me for. Time doesn't feel real when every hard edge of his body is pressed against mine.

I'm so engrossed in him, I don't hear a knock on the door. I don't notice anything until the door hits the wall, Varian pulling his mouth from mine.

Looking over his shoulder, I see Deven standing there, is eyes wide, mouth hanging open. I completely forgot I told him to come find me if I didn't return to our room in twenty minutes.

"Holy shit, good for you!" He claps his hands animatedly.

I shoot him a look. "Deven."

He blinks, seeming to remember the ruse he's meant to be maintaining as my boyfriend.

"Oh, right...Ah, babe, how could you do this to me!" Faux anguish twists his expression, his hands laying against either side of his face. "I thought you loved me!"

I roll my eyes, shooing my hand at him. "Go!"

"Right, bye." He ducks out the door, slamming it closed behind him.

I slump against the wall. Well there goes an entire nights worth of work trying to convince Varian I'm dating Dev.

He raises a brow. "I take it he's not your boyfriend."

"Never was," I admit.

He smiles, his gaze drifting to my mouth as he leans down to kiss me again.

I rest my hand against his chest, making him pause.

"I should go." I wince.

He shakes his head, not convinced. His hand tilts my head to the side as he kisses my neck, the sensation sending jolts of pleasure straight to my centre.

"No, stay," he murmurs against my skin.

My eyes flutter closed. "Why?"

"I want you in my bed tonight." His mouth grazes my collarbone, which is entirely exposed, along with half my chest.

"Why?" I don't even know what I'm saying at this point.

"Stay and find out." His hands brush against my sides, warm and inviting.

I groan. "I shouldn't."

He raises his head so our gazes clash. "Just one night. You can hate me in the morning."

Hate him in the morning...I already hate him now. That doesn't mean I'm not attracted to him.

One night doesn't have to mean anything. Once this wedding is over, there won't be another time where I have to be near him again. Maybe if I get one more taste, he'll be easier to get out of my head.

"Hmm, fine," I concede.

He smiles. "Good girl."

He kisses me chastely once more before shoving my ruined dress all the way down my body. I don't even have to step out of. His hands rest beneath my thighs and he lifts me up until my legs wrap around his waist and he guides me to his bed.

💜••💜

As always, you can read this book 16 chapters ahead on Inkitt and 10 chapters ahead on Radish!

Your support means a lot to me!

~Midika 🐈‍⬛💜