Huxley Reed loved me. How was this real?

His words—those vows—rang with honesty when I played them back in my mind. He loved me. He meant it, too. What did I do to get so lucky? The way the man touched me, kissed me, fucked me—god, no wonder Charlie was always so happy. The only thing I ever got was pushed around, shoved to my knees and used. Compared to that, Huxley’s tenderness was almost alien, but I found myself craving it. Craving the way he treated me.

Like I was something precious to him. A treasure.

He loves me.

Last night’s crazy hung heavy in my thoughts, but the Alpha had dominated my dreams. He’d chased off the darkness looming at the edges of my nightmares with deep, snarling barks. His howl split the air and my fox soul had yipped right along with him. He kept me safe, my own personal bodyguard.

Huxley would carry my heart with that same protectiveness. I knew it deep in my soul. I could love him and he would let me. He would accept that gift with open arms, and then he’d kiss all the broken, chipped pieces of me in an attempt to make things right. Maybe it would work. Maybe, with time, I would heal and be the Omega he deserved. I hoped so, anyway.

“Morning, beautiful,” the wolf mumbled, his voice muzzy with sleep, and my heart pitched.

“You think I’m beautiful?”

His handsome face stretched with a warm smile that glittered in his eyes. “You are gorgeous. Glorious. Stunning. Sexy as fuck.” He chuckled, his morning breath ghosting over my lips when he leaned in for a kiss, but I didn’t even care. I sank my fingers into his hair and kissed him with everything I had.

“Do you think I’m beautiful?” Huxley teased.

I snorted and shoved at his chest. “You know you’re hot, don’t give me that shit. Anyone would give up their left kidney to spend a night in your bed.”

He laughed. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks—I care what you think. Do you think I’m hot, Chance Rossi?” He leaned in to nibble on my chin, distracting me. I gently threaded my fingers through his shaggy curls and studied his face.

He was beautiful in a woodsy, rugged sort of way. Like a Norse god from legends past, all he needed was some armor and an axe and he would fit right in with the vikings. He was all hard lines and thick muscle, and if it wasn’t for the kindness in his eyes, he might’ve even been fearsome.

I grinned. “You are pretty cute,” I admitted cheekily. He swatted my ass and rolled out of bed with a tug of sheets. I grabbed at them before he could yank them off of me, squealing softly. “Don’t you dare!”

“Gonna go take a shower. Wanna join me?”

I felt myself go hot all over. “Shut up.”

Chuckling to himself, he shrugged and paraded off down the hall without so much as a sheet around him. I blushed. What if Soren woke up—or Dresden? But I was struck with the urge to take him up on that offer. Shoving all my worries from last night into a box and taping it firmly shut, I grabbed some clean clothes and streaked after him, a giggle bubbling in my chest.

The bathroom door creaked softly when I pushed my way inside, and I was reminded of the last time I’d snuck in. In the throes of my heat, my body starving and desperate to be filled, I’d all but forced myself on the wolf in the shower. All I could think about was his knot tugging inside of me, filling me with pump after pump of hot seed. My aching arousal had driven me to do something I would’ve never been ballsy enough to try on my own.

Now, as I slipped into the shower behind Huxley, I couldn’t hide my smile. Thank god it had worked out in my favor. I ran my hands down Huxley’s wet back, enjoying the taut muscles that spanned beneath my palms. With a chuckle, he turned his head to claim my lips. I groaned low.

“So nice of you to join me.”

“You’re a bad influence.”

“Oh, I know. I’m just your typical bad boy. Big, bad Alpha wolf right here.” He winked. “Come over here and let me love you.” He grabbed the cloth and lathered it up with a bar of Ivory soap, then drew me further beneath the hot spray. His body shifted closer, his chest bumping up against my back while he doted on me. Washcloth in hand, he began to soap me up, trailing kisses along the bend of my shoulder as he did so.

I groaned and let my head drop back against his shoulder. He swiped the rag down my neck and chest, leaving behind a frothy path of suds. Heat wicked through me with each pass of the soft fabric over my skin. It felt good to let him take control, but if he kept teasing me with that damned washcloth, I was gonna go nuts.

As if he knew exactly what I needed, he ran soapy fingers along my cock, which was already standing at half-mast. “You’re evil,” I grumbled. He laughed and nipped at my skin. I could feel the firm press of his dick against the crack of my ass, but he made no move to take it any farther. Torturing me. I rubbed back against him and grinned when he hissed my name. “I can be evil right back, you know.”

“Oh, I have no doubts,” he growled into my ear, jerking me off slowly. My breath sputtered in my lungs, warmth pooling inside of me as blood went straight to my groin. “You feel so good, even just like this. I could get lost in your body.” His free hand moved up and down my hip, until his palm was flat against my abdomen, his fingers splayed. He pulled me back against him and I groaned, breathless. “You want more?”

I did and he knew it—but I wanted to try something.

Tugging free of his grip, I turned to face him. His dark eyes were warm and flecked with desire. His cock stood at attention, the thick vein running along the underside throbbing out his pulse, and I bit down on my lip. I wanted… Slowly, I sank to my knees in front of him and wrapped my fingers around his base.

Huxley’s groan was music to my ears. “Chance.” It was nearly a plea and god, if it didn’t make me ache. My heartbeat fluttered with uncertainty, because this was such a vulnerable position for me. On my knees, at my lover’s mercy, but I trusted this Alpha not to hurt me. With a small, reedy whine, I dragged my tongue along his shaft, before drawing his swollen cockhead between my lips with an experimental suck.

Huxley’s lashes fluttered, but he gazed down at me with need written all over his face. My insides went taut when he dropped his hand to rake fingers through my hair. His hand was a gentle pressure at the back of my head, no more, so I focused on the task at hand—my partner’s pleasure. This wasn’t Bones. Hux was nothing like Bones. He wouldn’t push me past my comfort zone.

He tasted like salt and musk and Alpha, and my mouth flooded with saliva. I began to suck at his sensitive skin, my tongue lapping wetly as I took more of him into my mouth. I kept one hand firmly on his cock, stroking slowly to prevent him from choking me with it. His fingers moved through my hair, but he didn’t yank or pull or thrust himself deep into the back of my throat to gag me.

This wasn’t Bones, I reminded myself, again and again. This was Huxley. My Huxley. The man who’d just professed his love for me despite my own personal brand of crazy. Another keening sound escaped his parted lips and my cock twitched, hard as steel between my legs. I grasped at it, jerking myself to the rhythm of the blowjob.

“Oh, fuck Chance. So good… You have such a hot mouth.” Huxley’s voice was roughened with lust. I moaned around his cock and redoubled my efforts, bobbing over him with wet slurping sounds, driven by his little jerks and moans of pleasure.

Fuck fuck fuck. I peeked up at him to see his head roll back, the long column of his throat exposed to the spray of water that rained down over us. The sounds that worked their way between his lips had me thrusting into my own slippery hand, panting now as I sucked and licked and laved.

His fingers gripped my hair tighter, then, and I knew he was close. His hips quivered. My moans reverberated through him, no doubt driving him crazy, because he began to jerk forward into my mouth with small thrusts. My breath came faster, but I dropped my hand from his base to squeeze over his heavy balls.

“Shit! I’m gonna—” Huxley’s words garbled and with a low grunt, he came, filling my mouth with streams of hot cum. It coated my tongue, but I swallowed it down, sucking on the very tip of him. The wolf shuddered and sagged back against the shower wall. Capturing his last few salty spurts in my mouth, I stood and open-mouth kissed him hard. His lips parted willingly and I thrust my tongue and what was left of his cum into his mouth.

His eyes flashed open, only to fall heavy-lidded once more. He grabbed the back of my neck with a shuddering groan. His lips crushed against mine. He kissed me deeply, stroking his tongue along mine, and when I pulled back, strings of spit and semen trailed between our wet mouths. His chest heaved with panted breaths and he gazed down at me in awe.

He licked his lips. “Holy fuck, Chance, you’re something else.” Leaning in for another hungry kiss, he reached down and grabbed my dick and began to jerk me. I bucked into his touch, but he had me flat against the wall, one hand gripping my shoulder to pin me there as his mouth plundered mine.

When he sucked on my tongue, as if savoring the taste of himself lingering there, I snapped. I came with a shout, all over his stomach. With a wolfish grin, he scooped it up with two fingers and sucked them into his mouth. I whimpered and dragged him in for another filthy kiss, clinging to this Alpha like he might just disappear if I didn’t. I never wanted this to end.

“How are you so damn perfect?” I uttered.

His smile was knowing. “I’m not perfect.”

“You’re perfect for me.”

“Come here and let me wash you off again before the water runs cold. Soren’ll kill me if we use up all the hot water.” He laughed and kissed me once more, then grabbed the once-forgotten washcloth and the bar of Ivory and started soaping me up all over again.

I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day. With Huxley at my side, I felt like I could do anything.

Maybe, just maybe, things would finally be okay.