She couldn’t catch her breath. Her dress was wet where it fell between her legs. She pressed her thighs together, trying to create friction, trying to give herself some relief.
Marco saw what she was doing. “Stop that,” he said quietly.
Another order. She stopped, aching.
He stepped forward, wrapped his hands gently around her ankles, and lifted her legs, forcing her knees to bend, placing her feet flat on each of the two branches that stretched out before her. He lifted the hem of her skirt up over her knees, leaving her bare and exposed.
“I thought you were naked under there,” he breathed, his gaze fixated between her legs.
The wind gusted, teasing her. Her legs twitched. She curled her toes, gripping the tree branches, forcing herself to hold her legs apart for Marco. This was what he wanted. She would give her alpha what he wanted, even though it was torturing her.
He looked up at her. “You want to touch yourself, don’t you?” he asked.
Was he going to let her? “Please,” she begged, feeling herself grow wetter. Right now, it felt as though just a few brushes of her fingertips might bring her to orgasm. She ached for relief.
“You can touch your nipples,” he said. “Will that help?”
It wasn’t what she wanted most, but fuck, it was something. She cupped her breasts and circled her nipples with her thumbs, then pinched them erect. Her body flooded with sensation. She had always been extremely sensitive here, and she knew she could come this way if she needed to, but it wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t enough.
She gritted her teeth and lowered her hands back to the tree beneath her.
Marco was watching. “No?” he asked.
“I don’t want to come like that,” she said. “It won’t be satisfying.”
He grinned. “I know,” he said.
“You’re trying to kill me.”
“I’m not,” he said.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
He reached forward, resting the palm of his hand between her legs. Too gentle to give her any friction, any relief, but she felt herself throbbing against him all the same.
“I want to see you as desperate as I am,” he said quietly.
“Marco, fuck, I’ve never wanted it more in my life,” she said quietly. “I don’t know how I’m not screaming right now.”
He stepped closer. Looking down, she could see that his eyes were dilated. “You smell intoxicating,” he said quietly. “Fuck, do you know how good you smell?”
His mouth was hanging open now. He was inches away from her. If she moved her hips even a little, she would have the relief she craved.
But he had ordered her not to move. It was as if a weight was holding her in place, preventing her from sliding forward.
“Marco,” she breathed. “Please. Please.”
He looked up at her, the expression on his face that of a hungry wolf, and at that moment, she knew he was more animal than man.
And she loved it.
The moment his tongue finally pressed against her was exquisite. It was rough and strong, and he drew soft circles before sealing his lips against her and beginning to suck. Two fingers found their way into her body, then three, fucking her and stroking her insides.
She sobbed with relief and pleasure.
Marco pressed himself in closer to her and sucked harder. It occurred to her to wonder whether he had known this was here—this tree with a seat at the perfect height for him to do this—and whether he had been saving it for a special occasion. Could they have just gotten lucky today? Or had he been planning to perch her up here, to get at her in this way?
The thought was driven out of her head as he removed his fingers from inside her and slid his tongue slowly down. Then he was licking his way into her, licking her from the inside, and now Sophie did let out a scream. She felt herself contracting around him, the orgasm that had been lurking finally breaking over her.
He withdrew, lifted her carefully down from the tree, pulled her into his arms, and lowered her directly onto his cock.
She was too worn out from what she had just experienced to do anything more than cling to him. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, letting him do the work, letting him hitch his strong hips back and forth and bounce her body up and down. She couldn’t catch her breath. He was so big inside her. It felt so good to be with him like this.
He found her lips and kissed her, and she could taste herself in his mouth. The thought of it sent a jolt through her body, and a moment later, she was coming again, shaking in his arms.
He still wasn’t finished. He lowered her onto the ground, not separating his body from hers even for a moment, and fucked her hard. She clawed into the dirt, lifting her hips to meet his, stars exploding behind her closed eyes.
The third time she came, she felt him come with her.
She was too exhausted to get to her feet, her muscles too shaky to walk. He seemed to understand. He lifted her easily into his arms and set off at a slow walk through the forest. She leaned against his broad chest, taking comfort from his strength. After a while, her head began to clear, and she realized they were going back to the cave.
She looked up at him. “How long have you been planning that?” she asked.
“I wasn’t,” he said. “I swear. “It just happened. Was it good for you?”
“Don’t ask silly questions.”
Marco laughed. “Maybe we should make that our spot,” he said. “We don’t need to tell the others about it. We could just meet there from time to time.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said. “I think I can walk now, by the way.”
He eased her down onto her feet, keeping one arm wrapped around her. “Take it easy,” he said. “Don’t try to do too much too fast.”
Sophie grinned up at him. “Do you think you fucked me so hard that I forgot how to walk?”
“You did forget how to walk,” he pointed out. “I’ve been carrying you for fifteen minutes.”
“Don’t get so full of yourself,” she said, swatting his arm.
The cave came into view in the distance. Sophie began to jog, and after a moment, Marco came up beside her. “What’s the hurry?” he asked her.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“You’re hungry? You just had a big turkey buffet breakfast!”
“Yeah, well, I burned off all of those calories,” she said, laughing. “Which you must have known would happen, or you wouldn’t have specifically arranged to feed me up like that.”
“It’s a celebration,” Marco protested. “A celebration calls for a feast. No one was trying to feed you up.”
“Yeah, well, right now, I could go for some jerky,” she said. “Unless you packed up any of that turkey to bring back to the cave with us.”
“I should have,” he said. “But my mind was on other things when we left the clearing, to be honest with you. I’m surprised I remembered to bring my shoes.”
Sophie laughed. Marco was usually so serious. Of all her alphas, he was the one who was most often lost in thought, planning for the future and worrying about potential threats to the family. It was always good to see Marco cut loose and enjoy himself.