The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Chapter 39

I enter the bedchamber before Alexei, but he steals my hand and turns me around. I look attentively, and, even though we were shifted and hunting moments ago, he looks hungry. My stomach knots as he steadily overtakes me. He snakes a hand up my throat to my jaw, tilting my head to receive his kiss. His lips touch mine fleetingly before he kisses harder.

He backs me up against the bed and wills me onto the winter furs laid overtop. I sit and notice his fingers working the laces of his vest which is quickly undone and abandoned to the floor. He effortlessly pulls his shirt underneath off as well. Every movement is sharp — impatient.

Now bare-chested, Alexei eyes my dress, and I rise as though he's told me to do so. "You look as though you want to help me," I say.

"I do very much."

I turn my back to Alexei so he can unbutton all the buttons that ached my fingers earlier when I painstakingly put the new dress on. Alexei fiddles with them for a short while before muttering, "For Goddess' sake."

He forgets the buttons and collects my skirt instead, so I ask, "What are you doing?"

Alexei pulls the layered skirt up and over my head, tugging the dress free from my waist and chest and turning it inside out. Once my arms are free, I immediately pull my shift down from its bunched-up position around my waist. Alexei tosses the tangled dress over his shoulder. I see the crumpled parchment on the floor, so I step on it and kick it under the bed.

"That's not how you take off a dress," I scold and comb my fingers through my tousled hair.

"My apologies," Alexei mutters a second before his lips capture mine. His hand caresses the back of my thigh — his fingertips spread over my behind — lifting my leg and then the rest of my body so he can rest a knee on the mattress which pushes against my sex. He brings me down, and he comes with me, staying over top of me and maintaining his stake between my legs.

The feeling of him on top of me almost makes me forget the stones' message. I scoot up to give Alexei ample room, and he's quick to occupy it. He kisses my lips, the corner of my mouth, and then my neck. My eyes close, and I try to enjoy it, but I feel as though the parchment under the bed is burning hot, and its fire is catching up to me. His hand glides along my thigh, bringing up my shift.

"Alexei."

His hand halts and he removes his head from my neck, ending his reign of kisses. "You don't want to be touched?"

I push myself farther up the bed.

"What's wrong, my love?"

"I-I'm not... Ready for what you want."

"It's alright. Not yet," he says and glances briefly to the side. "Can I not pleasure you otherwise?"

I flee the bed, sliding off to my feet and walking directly to the washroom. "Brea?" He questions.

"Just a moment," I utter then close myself inside. I hold the door shut then let my hand slip off the wood. I approach the wash basin. The mirror hanging above used to show little in the darkness, but my eyes see everything in the shadows, glowing as though I'm shifted. I blink and look down. Both my hands grip either side of the stone basin so hard my knuckles turn white. I release the dense stone before I crack it, and I turn away.