Page 42 of Bonds and Beasts

He takes hold of my upper arms and bends so our faces are level. “Adison, what are you doing out here?” he yells close enough that I can just make it out.

“Dean left!” I gesture toward the dark road and surrounding brush. He searches over my head and around. Shivers rack my body. My clothes are completely soaked through and it can’t be more than forty-five degrees out here. He looks back to me, taking in my soaked, cold body, and rips off the coat he’d thrown on to come out here, wrapping it around me. The inside is still warm from his body heat and smells of his smoky scent.

Then I let out a frightened squeak as he dips and curls one arm under my knees and one around my shoulders to lift me into his arms, cradling me against his chest.

He curls in, using as much of his body as he can to protect me from the rain as he takes me in through the door and around to the sitting room.

“But Dean,” I whimper as he sits, placing me on his lap. The living room is toasty from a lit fire, the only source of light in the room.

“Shhh, Beauty. Dean’s a big alpha. He can take care of himself. We’ll find him in the morning. What happened?” He uses the soft tips of his fingers to move a wet strand of hair from my face.

“Nothing. I went out to the side porch because I saw him standing there through the window. When I did, he sort of looked at me like he was sad and said he couldn’t ‘do this.'” I look into Bello’s face, hoping to find answers. To find a reasonable explanation as to why the alpha I’d trusted with everything had suddenly pulled away from me. But I can only find confusion that mirrors my own.

“Did he say what he couldn’t do?” he pushes lightly.

“He said he couldn’t live here and then he walked away from me.” I can’t hold back the single tear that slips down my face. Bello leans down and kisses it off of my cheek before nuzzling along my jaw, scent-marking me.

“Maybe this was all too fast? Maybe he doesn’t…” I trail off, not wanting to say it out loud.

“That isn’t true, Beauty. I promise you.” He pulls back enough to search my eyes. “Do you know why I wanted to call you Beauty? Besides the obvious.” He traces the line of my face and chin. I shake my head.

“I always hated that the paparazzi called us The Beauty Pack. It always felt so shallow, and never had much actual meaning to us. I call you Beauty for the simple reason that you made that pack name true. You’ve brought beauty to our pack. In everything you do, like playing with Mrs. Portidge’s grandson and the kind way you speak. Hell, even the way you walk makes everything feel softer, kinder.

“You’re my Beauty, Adison. I’m glad you’re my mate.” Bello’s eyes are searching, and I know that mine have gone glassy with more tears that I’m trying and failing to hold back. "Dean feels the same. It's evident in everything he's done since we met you. We will figure this out."

I need to be closer to him. Closer than even sitting in his lap can accomplish. I lean up and softly press my lips to his. The kiss begins gently but soon turns sensual. Bello’s fingers cart through my hair until his hand is cradling the back of my head. Heat pools at my center and slick presses between my legs. I’m aching.

A purr grows deep in his chest, chasing away any sharp thoughts I have. I break the kiss, my forehead resting against his, our labored breaths lingering between us. “I need you, Bello,” I admit.

His eyes dart to mine. I can see the depths of them, the intensity lurking below the surface. He’s an ocean and I want to drown.

The hand not in my hair comes to my jaw, holding my face firmly between his fingers. “I’m not a gentle man, Adison. I can get intense. It might be best to call Easton down, or wait for Dean so that there’s a check on both of us.”

He means for the words to caution or frighten me, but I’m far from frightened. Every point of sensitivity on my body lights up at his words, and none more than the one between my legs.

“Do you worry you might fall into a rut?” I ask. A rut could be dangerous for him if he’s not with his pack as much as me.

He shakes his head. “No, I’m still on the rut blockers Dean has. There’s no way that’ll happen. But even outside of rut, I know myself and my alpha. I like control. I like to be in charge. I can get demanding.”

I lick my lips. “So… you lean dom?”

He stills for a second, then nods once. “Yes. I like that side of things.”

“Good,” I say quietly. “Because I lean sub. Pretty hard.” I’d discovered the tendency in high school and college with boyfriends before my designation. Some were into the idea, some were not.

His eyes go wide, then darken and lock on mine even harder than before.

“Beauty, will you trust me like this?” he asks, and the awe in his voice shoots straight to my heart. I nod, small but sure.

The purr mixes with a growl of pure dominance.

“Hard limits?” he asks.

“I filled out the easing sheet at the hospital.”

“I know you did, but I want to check.”

“Everything on there is still right.” Now that we’re talking about it, my hands can’t stay off of him. One hand is on his bicep, feeling the hard muscle there. My face presses into his chest, half for his scent and half to hide the blush I can feel creeping up my cheeks.