The Alpha's Surrogate Bride

Your scent drives me crazy.

ARIA BLACKWOOD

He doesn’t know what it is, but he knows something’s wrong. My body trembles a little because of it, and my palms are starting to sweat.

“So… why did you tell me to take off the dress?” I ask, my throat dry.

He approaches with slow steps and a predatory look in his eyes. The wolf inside me rises fully, as if she recognizes her own king.

“Because the scent of the fabric is driving me insane,” he growls, raising his hand and ripping the front of the dress in one swift motion, making a small cry escape my lips. “That perfume… that goddamn essence they put on you… it’s masking something. Something I need to smell.”

He stops just inches from me while my eyes are closed in fear and anticipation. s**t. s**t. s**t.

“Then take it off,” his voice cracks slightly. “Before I lose the rest of my control.”

The mark beneath my rib pulses as my wolf drags her paw across my ribs, making me want to arch. I feel the heat rising between my legs, even though I’m fighting it.

Rohen notices and lets out a hoarse growl, almost a moan of frustration.

“Not tonight, little one,” he says, turning his face away from me as if he’s torturing himself. “I’m not going to touch you. Not until I know who the hell you really are.”

I swallow hard.

He wants me.

But he’s refusing me.

The fire of it burns me from the inside. I remove the veil first, then what’s left of the dress. His breathing falters again. He tries to look away… but he can’t. My wolf’s voice rises in my throat like a silent scream:

Choose him.

Mark him.

Take him.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to hold back the urge. What the hell is happening to her? When the dress pools at my feet, he immediately turns his back, breathing like he’s just run miles.

“Put something on. Now,” his voice is way too tight. “If I look at you for one more second, I’ll…”

He stops and stares out the window, far from the bed. “I’ll forget I promised to control myself.”

Goosebumps cover my entire skin.

I slip on a simple nightgown made of soft fabric, trying to ignore the fact that my hands are shaking. He keeps his back turned.

He doesn’t look.

Doesn’t try.

Doesn’t breathe too close.

He’s holding himself back for me.

“The bed is yours,” he says, walking toward the armchair by the door. “I’ll sleep somewhere else.”

“Rohen…” I start, speaking for the first time.

“Don’t say my name like that.”

I stare at the bed for long seconds before lying down. I close my eyes, trying to sleep. I can feel his desire hanging in the air, tense, pulsing, pretending I’m not there… but it is. It’s in every damn breath he’s trying to control.

His chest rises and falls slowly, and I know what that means: he’s holding his wolf back with everything he has. I should be scared, but I’m hot. Ridiculously hot. Burning between my legs like his touch is the only thing that would let me keep breathing.

“Who are you, little flame…?”

“Why the hell does my wolf want you?”

I don’t dare move or answer, even though I desperately want to feel his touch. What the hell is wrong with me? I should fear this man and stay far away from him, especially because he wakes my wolf with nothing more than words.

The silence in the room is thick as smoke, and I’m sure he hasn’t slept either, but I need to cover myself to hide the scent. I pull the blanket up to my hips… and I feel the moment his scent changes.

It just got heavier, more masculine, more… Alpha. Damn it. This is affecting him too. I have a feeling I’ll run a fever in a few minutes if he doesn’t mark me, so I run my hands over my neck to make sure I’m okay. Rohen speaks without turning his face:

“Stop that.”

I frown, not understanding exactly what I’m supposed to stop. “Stop what?”

He growls, and the sound comes out low and ragged, like his throat is on fire: “That… little moan caught in your breath.”

My whole body vibrates with the sound. I hadn’t even realized I was breathing like that… or maybe I had, but didn’t want to admit it. He doesn’t move for long seconds. It’s like watching a beast that doesn’t know whether to attack or run. And when he finally turns his head just enough to catch my scent in the air, he freezes.

“The nightgown…” he says, voice hoarse. “You didn’t tie it all the way.”

My heart pounds too hard. Because I know I didn’t.

I hear the wood creak under his fingers, he’s gripping the arm of the chair so hard he probably left marks.

“Stand up,” he orders, finally looking at me.

I obey without thinking. My body reacts before my mind does. He steps closer, making my mouth water. When he stops in front of me, his heat surrounds my body like a living wall. He lowers his gaze to my chest. The nightgown is open enough for my breasts to press against the thin fabric, practically begging for big hands. I feel my n****e harden, and he notices too.

“I said I wouldn’t touch you,” he murmurs, almost a warning to himself.

I take a step forward, invading the space he’s trying to protect.

“Then don’t touch me,” I say, even though it’s a complete lie. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them… it’s not just Rohen there anymore. It’s the wolf too.

His hand lands on my hip. The palm is large, hot, and heavy. He slides it slowly upward until it brushes the fabric of the nightgown… and pulls.

The slit opens completely. My body is exposed from the waist down, and his breathing stumbles.

“Lyria…” he says my name wrong, and I tremble all over.

I should correct him. Tell him I’m not Lyria. That I’m not who he thinks I am. But his hand slides to the side of my thigh, firm, possessive, moving way too slowly. A shiver explodes in my belly.

“You’re wet,” he states, voice rough, deep, almost a repressed moan.

I don’t answer because he slips his fingers into the crease of my leg and finds the hot, slick, throbbing skin of my p***y. He doesn’t quite touch where I need him, but he gets close enough for my breath to break.

“f**k…” he mutters. “I knew it.”

His hand moves up again, tracing the curve of my waist, sliding to the space between my breasts where the skin is burning with anticipation. He drags one finger there, and it’s enough for my wolf to rip a moan out of me.

I grab his chest without thinking, feeling the hard, hot muscle pulsing under my fingers. He groans low. “Don’t do that,” he warns, catching my wrist. “If you touch me like that again… I won’t stop.”

I deliberately slide my hand up to his neck and pull him down to me. Our noses almost touch, and our mouths share the same air. His heat pours over my body like he’s pinning me in place. “Don’t stop,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Please don’t stop.”

His control shatters in a single second.

“We need to mark the room with the scent of s*x. The elders will want proof that I consummated our marriage.”

He spins me with dominant force and pushes me against the nearest wall. My body hits the warm stone, and his chest is already pressed against my back. His erection grinds into my ass, hard as rock, throbbing eagerly. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it might crack my ribs. Pleasure pools are heavier between my legs, and I know I’m dripping with want. He pins my hip with one hand, gripping tight.

“God, little flame…” He buries his face in my neck, nipping the skin slowly. I can’t hold back the moan. “Your scent… I’m going to devour you.”

My nightgown slips off my shoulders; my breasts spill free, the brown areolas tightening in the cool air as his body presses me harder against the wall. His hand slides up and finally touches me where I want, where I need. His fingers glide between my legs, hot, sure, like they know exactly what to do with my body.

I arch and moan, clawing at the wall like I might fall. He breathes against my ear: “You’re dripping for me.” His voice is almost feral, raw and hot.

“Aaah… ” I moan when he pinches my n****e.

“Say you want it,” he says, and it’s an order. “I need to hear it.”

“I want it,” I gasp. “I want you… Please…”

He rests his forehead against my back, and for a second I think he’s going to spin me around and f**k me right there, but he locks up and lets out a furious growl. He yanks me against him once more, then releases me and steps back twice.

“That’s enough,” he says, his voice completely shattered. “The room already smells like sex.”

I turn slowly, panting. He’s just going to leave me like this?

“Go to bed. I’m going to the alpha’s room,” he says, still fighting himself. “Before I take you on the floor.”

I can’t breathe. I pull my nightgown up to cover my breasts. He adds, almost growling: “And you’re not ready for that… Not yet.”