Chapter 103
Christian’s expression darkened, the shadows in the room seeming to twist around his towering frame. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me just fine," Fleur replied, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze.
"I don’t have time for these childish games, Fleur," he said curtly, his sharp eyes narrowing into slits as his inner beast clawed at the surface.
"Then it’s a good thing you’re trapped," she shrugged, her eyes flashing with a daring challenge.
"Fleur, if you play with fire, you will get burned," Christian warned, his voice dropping into a low, vibration-heavy growl that rattled the glass panes of the master bedroom. His dark, brooding eyes locked onto hers, radiating a suffocating, dominant aura.
The raw power in his glare made Fleur swallow hard, a nervous shiver rippling down her spine, but her defiance refused to let her back down.
Christian took a slow, deliberate step toward her. His movements were terrifyingly fluid, like a predator stalking its chosen prey in the dead of night. Her heart thrashed against her ribs, her senses completely overwhelmed by the intoxicating heat of his alpha scent. Ignoring the dangerous edge of his temper, she pressed him.
"Then tell me the truth. Why are you running from me?"
"I am not running," Christian growled, his patience snapping.
"Then prove it," Fleur whispered.
Before he could react, she closed the remaining distance between them. Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his thick neck and pressed her soft, rose-petal lips firmly against his.
Christian stiffened, caught entirely off guard by her sudden boldness. But the moment her sweet, familiar warmth met his lips, his carefully constructed wall of self-control shattered into dust. His wolf roared in triumph, taking absolute control. With a fierce, possessive growl, he wrapped his hands around her slim waist, lifted her effortlessly off her feet, and slammed her back against the bedroom wall.
Fleur gasped into the kiss as his heavy, muscular body pinned her flat against the drywall. His mouth crashed back down on hers with a brutal, insatiable hunger. It wasn’t a gentle kiss; it was a primal reclamation. He kissed her with an unrelenting, desperate intensity, his lips rough and demanding as he drank her in.
Fleur matched his fierce energy, her own nails digging into the fabric of his suit jacket. A low, needy groan escaped Christian’s throat when her tongue slipped past his teeth, teasing him with a wicked, intoxicating sweetness.
He couldn’t understand when his sweet, gentle mate had transformed into such a ruthless seductress, but he was entirely at her mercy. He pulled at her bottom lip, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin with a hunger that bordered on savage.
Steered by instinct, Christian’s hand slid down her side, his fingers digging possessively into her soft thigh. He hiked the hem of her red dress up, his large palm gliding up her inner thigh. The moment his fingers brushed against her center, he found her slick and aching for him, entirely undone by just his touch. A rough growl vibrated in his chest as he cupped her heat, making her breath hitch, her eyes pooling with dark, helpless desire.
Pressing his thick, solid thigh between her legs, he held her suspended against the wall and forced her hips to grind against him. Fleur let out a shattered cry against his lips, her head rolling back as the exquisite friction sent a jolt of pure electricity through her core.
She needed him. She needed the beast. Her trembling fingers clawed at his chest, tearing at the buttons of his shirt and shoving the heavy fabric of his suit jacket off his broad shoulders.
"God, Christian... I missed you so much," she whimpered, her hooded, lust-filled eyes locking onto his blazing golden gaze.
Christian felt completely intoxicated, his mind hazy as if he had downed a bottle of high-proof liquor. The mate bond was singing in his veins, drowning out every logical thought, every warning, and every threat on his borders.
"Show me," he growled, stepping back just enough to let her feet touch the cold hardwood floor. His chest heaved, his breathing ragged as his pupils dilated, swallowing the hazel of his eyes.
Fleur offered a shy, breathless smile, her tongue tracing her swollen lower lip before she pulled it between her teeth. With a slow, deliberate movement, she gripped the hem of her knee-length red dress and pulled it over her head, discarding it on the floor.
Christian’s breath caught in his throat, his predatory gaze devouring her. Her full, rounded breasts rose and fell rapidly, barely contained by a sheer red lace bra that offered no protection against his burning stare. Below, a matching crimson thong clung to her hips, framing the soft, pale curve of her thighs. His hands itched to grip her, to brand her skin with his touch.
As Fleur took a hesitant step toward him, her eyes shining with raw longing, Christian slowly shook his head, his voice dropping to a harsh, gravelly command. "I want you naked. All of it."
A deep, crimson flush crept up Fleur’s chest and cheeks, but she didn’t hesitate. Her fingers reached behind her back, releasing the clasp of her bra. The red lace slid down her slender shoulders, pooling at her feet. Her breasts bounced free, her hardened nipples begging for his touch. Christian let out a sharp, ragged exhale, his fists clenching so tightly at his sides that his claws began to bite into his own palms.
"Completely bare, Fleur," he rasped, the sound barely human.
Keeping her eyes locked on his dark, hungry gaze, Fleur slid her hands slowly down her hips, deliberately torturing him with the delay. Hooking her thumbs into the thin elastic of her thong, she slowly dragged the scrap of lace down her legs. Christian watched with a hypnotic, breathless intensity as she stepped out of the fabric, leaving her standing entirely naked before him.
Every drop of his resolve vanished. To hell with his rules. To hell with the pack wars, the traitors, and the danger. In this room, there was only his mate, and he was going to claim her until she could not remember existing without him.