Stone-Hearted Alpha by Eve Bale

Chapter Ten

“When you said we were going somewhere less exposed, I didn’t think you were talking about the most expensive hotel in town,” I say.

I feel Jeremy’s eyes track me, the way they have since we arrived at the hotel several minutes before.

I wander around the large room, avoiding glancing at the king-size bed, which sits a few feet from a wall of glass, leading out to a balcony about half the size of the room itself.

Although I give the impression of being focused on exploring the room, I’m more concerned about keeping my distance from Jeremy whenever he ventures too close.

Since he pinned me down in the bed back at the rental, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him doing it again. But this time with both of us naked.

I should’ve known it was only a matter of time before those urges would wake up after all the hot sex we had in Chicago.

Back in Dawley, I was fine because I had my vibrator. But here? Even if I could’ve snuck it in my luggage without Talis or Regan seeing, it isn’t like I would’ve been able to use it with me and Jeremy sharing a bed.

So, right now, the moment he approaches me, I find some reason to look at something on the opposite side of the room.

It’s like a dance, and I know it’s only a matter of time before Jeremy calls me out on my less than subtle attempts at creating distance between us.

“Is it? Well, it’s got nothing on Chicago hotel room,” Jeremy says from behind me.

I cross the plush, open-plan room in shades of gray and mustard and head for the balcony because it means I’m outside while Jeremy is inside.

I slide open the balcony door and step out onto a balcony lined with potted plants and a couple of striped loungers set in front of a small table.

Even though it’s lunchtime and the streets below us are busy, we’re up so high—the top floor—that the sound of traffic barely reaches us.

At the edge of the balcony, I rest my hands on the edge and gaze down.

It’s beyond windy, and since I haven’t bothered to tie my hair back, the wind whips it up and around me.

“You look like some sort of elemental witch.”

I turn at the sound of Jeremy’s voice and find him standing at the balcony doorway, studying me.

“Calling someone a witch isn’t a nice thing to do,” I tell him before returning my gaze to the world below me.

“It doesn’t matter how far away you wander,” Jeremy says casually.

I force myself to face him. “What doesn’t?”

“I still feel it.” His eyes never move from mine and something about the intensity of his gaze has my mouth going dry.

“Feel what?”

“Your need.”

He can what?

I know how observant he is, and the last thing I want is for him to observe me.

I need to find some way to distract him.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, as I spin around and stare at the fast-moving traffic in central Dawley, trying to think of something to say or do to change the subject.

“It’s been how long? Two, three months?”

I swallow hard as all thoughts empty from my head.

“Have you been touching yourself?”

Briefly, I close my eyes because I just…can’t.

“Savannah?”

I shake my head because I can’t look at him, and I can’t speak. Both things will get me into trouble, I just know it.

“I know you must have. That or using a vibrator. Since I didn’t see one in the luggage, and I know you haven’t been touching yourself, I’m guessing you must be feeling pretty needy. Have you been hungry for my cock?”

I shake my head again, as my arousal simmers and builds.

How can he do this to me without even needing to touch?

When I hear him move, I tense, because I know what’s coming.

He comes to a stop directly behind me. His warm hands rest lightly on my upper arms for a long moment, before he slowly slides them up and down my bare skin as I hold my breath.

When he stops, I let go of the breath. But then Jeremy steps into my body and lowers his head so his mouth is at my ear. “I’ve stroked myself thinking about you,” he murmurs in my ear. “Tell me, have you touched your pussy thinking about me?”

I shiver, and my fingers tighten around the balcony railing. His scent surrounds me and I want to shift and roll around in it. I want to press my nose against his neck and inhale.

Why does he smell so good to me?

Jeremy moves his hands to my hips before he steps even closer, close enough for me to feel the hard press of him against me. I tremble.

“Tell me.” His tongue touches the shell of my ear and I whimper. “Do you think about me riding you hard as you touch yourself? Does it make you come?”

One hand leaves my hip and drifts around my waist, and I gasp when he jerks me hard against him.

I fight my body’s response. But at the memory of him doing just that, the thought of him plunging inside me has me shifting restlessly against him.

“Tell me.” He grinds his cock against my ass as he presses a kiss against my throat.

I whimper again, louder, unable to stop myself. “Yes.”

I feel a smile forming against my skin. “Does it make you come hard?”

I shake my head. “No. Never as hard as…” My voice trails off.

His smile widens. “When I’m inside you?”

I don’t say a word.

When he takes a step back, I try to squash down my surge of disappointment. Only Jeremy doesn’t go anywhere. He grips my hips and turns me so my back is to the balcony.

For several seconds he studies me, then he lifts a hand and buries it in my hair blowing in the wind around us. “Maybe witch isn’t right. Fae sounds better… all mysterious. Beautiful.” His hand tightens, and he tugs gently, just enough for me to know what he wants.

I come to him because he’s right, I am needy.

I lift my hands to touch his jaw and move closer, my eyes fixed on his mouth. Jeremy lowers his head and I raise mine to brush my lips against his, just once.

My stomach clenches at that first touch, and then something in me eases. Our lips brush again, and I sigh as my eyes drift closed.

I want more.

“More,” Jeremy groans against my lips, and my eyes fly open, startled at him saying exactly what I wanted.

His eyes are closed, and there’s a peaceful expression on his face.

I shake my head, knowing he isn’t reading my mind. No, this is just another thing I forgot about being with Jeremy in Chicago. This… connection.

We were so in tune that we woke needing each other. He knew what I needed—exactly what I needed—to send me hurtling into the most intense orgasms I’ve ever had in my life, and just a single touch would have me leaning into him for more.

And when I touched him, no matter where, his eyes would slam shut and he’d tense as if waiting for more, and I was always as hungry to touch him as he was for me to touch him.

I grip his shoulders as I close my eyes and lean in to kiss him again, still softer than what I want, but for now, it’s what I need.

Slowly, he fists a hand in my hair as I deepen the kiss. I slide my hand down his chest and under his shirt, aching to touch his skin.

Jeremy lifts his head.

“Take it out,” he murmurs against my lips, and tension coils at his words.

My eyes flutter open and find his gaze on my face, burning with need.

“Savannah…” His hands tighten in my hair and he tugs again, harder now, just on the edge of pain. My breath catches and his eyes darken in response.

“Yes,” I murmur, as my eyes lock on his mouth, hungry for another kiss.

Jeremy tugs at my hair again, drawing my gaze back to his. “Take it out,” he repeats. “I think it’s long past time I rode you harder than this need’s been riding you.”

If I’d had any resistance left at that point, Jeremy’s words would have well and truly burned them away.

I can see in his eyes that what he’ll give me will be far and above anything my fingers or any vibrator ever will. With him, I’ll have true release.

My hands go to his pants, and I tug his zipper down. I wrap my hand around his cock before carefully easing him out, as he groans low in his throat.

The sound goes straight to my core, and I tighten my grip around him, wanting to hear it again. With a harsh curse, Jeremy jerks my head to his and plunges his tongue into my mouth in a hungry kiss.

I stroke him, taking my time doing it as I re-learn his shape. All the while, wondering how having him in my hand can make me feel so good.

He deepens our kiss, burying both hands in my hair and holding me still as his tongue teases each corner of my mouth. He kisses me with the same confidence, the same assurance that he knows exactly how to please me, and he does. He always has.

For several minutes we kiss, the wind whipping my hair around us and each stroke of my hand making Jeremy thrust against me with increasing desperation.

Without warning, he rips his hands from my hair and grabs for the hem of the sundress I changed into before we left the rental.

The second his hand closes around my panties, I tense because I know what he intends to do. Material tears and I gasp in his mouth, then Jeremy is tugging my hand away from his cock and lifting me into his arms.

I circle my legs around his hips and wrap my arms around his shoulders, moaning when the tip of his cock presses against my sex. Yet he doesn’t move to thrust inside me. Not yet.

Our kiss goes on and on, feeding a part of me I never knew was starving until this very moment.

This is what I needed. Jeremy, just like this.

I grind myself against him, swallowing Jeremy’s growl as his hands smooth up and down my back, over my hips, my hair, everywhere, as if he can’t get enough.

I know the feeling.

I moan again as I lose myself in his kiss.

My back hits something soft. I startle and wrench my eyes open, surprised to find he’s walked us inside. I’m on the bed and Jeremy is easing his body down on top of mine, shoving at his pants as he does.

When I catch sight of what’s in his eyes, my stomach clenches, and I start panting as the scent of my arousal intensifies. It’s a look that makes me want to come.

His next kiss sends us falling back against the soft sheets as he pulls my dress up over my breasts and I push at his shirt so I can get to more of his skin. I need him skin to skin.

Jeremy’s hands grab at my thighs, holding me open, and I wait with every muscle in my body tensed, desperate, for him to drive into me.

And then his phone starts ringing.

Jeremy freezes a breath away from slamming his cock into me. He breaks the kiss and from up close, our eyes lock. Neither of us says a word.

In that second, I realize what we’re doing and that this way lies madness.

If we have sex, it’s going to strengthen our mate bond. It’ll bring us closer together when I should be doing everything to drive us apart, because if I don’t, then it’ll make leaving impossible.

“Savannah?” Jeremy’s words are harsh with strain as his eyes search mine. And even though our bodies are still touching, it’s like he can already feel me pulling away.

As I said, Jeremy is far more observant than I want him to be.

I pull my hands away from him and tug my dress down. “You should probably get that,” I say, staring up at the ceiling since I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes.

Jeremy leans over me and his cock glides along the seam of my sex, making me suck in a breath and my eyes shoot back to his face.

There’s a fierce determination there, a ruthlessness he doesn’t often reveal. It sits just below the surface of the smile he likes to wear.

But we both know the truth. The laughter in his eyes only gives the impression of him being easy-going. It fools the unwary.

I am no longer unwary.

I’ve made that mistake before.

“Don’t move,” he growls, a warning in his eyes. “I’ll be right back.” He presses a hard kiss to my lips before lifting his head.

The moment he rolls over and goes for his phone, I shove my dress the rest of the way down and move to slide off the bed.

A hand clamps around my ankle, and I freeze, my eyes going to his face to find him glaring at me just before he answers the phone.

At the sound of Maria sobbing, I yank at my leg. Hard.

If Jeremy thinks I’m going to lie here with my dress up to my neck waiting for him to soothe a fake-crying shifter that I tried to warn him was trouble, he’s got another thing coming.

But I guess that was the reason he told me to wait in the truck at the Merrick house. All so he could play alpha to a shifter who stood by and watched as Glynn Merrick tortured Talis.

Jeremy glances at me with an unreadable expression, and I growl as I yank even harder.

This time he lets go, and I get to my feet before stalking toward the bathroom.

I don’t stop to appreciate the beauty of the modern glass and steel space. I head straight for the large glass shower enclosure in the center of the room, pulling my dress over my head as I go, before stepping in and cranking up the dial all the way.

Under the spray that feels like fingers gliding all over my skin, I soon lose the battle against my arousal.

Shooting a glance at the steaming glass, I figure Jeremy will be on the phone for a while—probably a long while—going by Maria’s wailing, and what I plan won’t take long.

He won’t know.

I reach my fingers between my parted legs, holding my breath just before I run my fingers along my folds, lightly rubbing as I imagine it's Jeremy doing it.

I release my breath and stroke harder, circling my clit as the pressure builds. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve brought myself to climax in the months since Chicago, but no matter how many times, as long as I think of Jeremy, it never takes long to push myself over the edge.

When I first got back to Dawley, it was every night, sometimes twice, and no matter how hard I came, it was an empty kind of release and it never satisfied me the way I wanted or needed it to.

I touch my clit gently at first, then rub harder, reaching my free hand to squeeze at my aching breast, teasing at my nipple, needing more this time to send me over the edge.

Just as I come with a low moan, Jeremy shoves the shower door open and I meet his furious glare.

His eyes go to the hand between my legs and then the other on my breast.

“What did I tell you?” he snarls as he stalks into the shower. Never mind the fact he has his jeans half-undone, and he’s still wearing his t-shirt, it doesn’t stop him from stepping in fully dressed. Within seconds his clothes are soaked.

I drop my hands and back up. “Uh,” I say, still struggling to come down from my release.

He corners me, and his eyes are dark with fury. “What did I say?”

“I… I—”

He steps closer, pulls his cock out of his pants, and presses the tip against my entrance. My eyes slam shut as I fight back a moan.

“Does it feel good?” he asks as he lifts my right leg at an angle.

“Savannah?” He grinds his cock against me and the blunt head of him edges inside me.

“Yes,” I moan.

“You want the rest of my cock?” He presses a kiss to my mate bite that has me digging my nails into his hips and trying to haul him closer.

“Yes,” I pant, “yes, I want it.”

He leans closer, his lips against my ear. “Then next time, do what I tell you.”

And just like that, he forces his body away from mine, and turns to walk away, leaving me shaking, and fully aroused all over again.