I never thought I'd enjoy being dominated, but dammit, it turns me on. His hands wrapped around me, easily unclasping my bra. I removed it, tossing it over the side of the bed.
He raised his hips as he unbuttoned his jeans and removed them and his boxers in one movement. Within seconds, he was peeling the rest of my clothes away, removing all barriers from between us.
As I sat straight up, I guided him inside, and soon we were moving in synchronized movements. It had only been days, but it felt like a lifetime since we'd connected like this. The last time had been the night we claimed one another.
He sat up, brushing his lips against my breasts, making my head dizzy with more desire. I upped the pace, and within seconds, pleasure exploded throughout my core.
A low growl sounded from his chest as he rolled me over so he was settled on top. "Now, my turn,” he said, his breath hitting my face.
Then, he thrust, hitting just the right spot once again.
I wrapped my arms around him, digging my fingernails into his back. He groaned with pleasure as he began moving harder and faster.
It wasn't long before both of us moaned in pleasure, connecting us in both mental and physical forms.
When it was all over, he plopped beside me and wrapped me in his arms. I love you.
My heart picked up a beat. He’d never said those words to me before even though I knew he felt them. His admission rang clear between us. I love you too.
Then, my eyes grew heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Liam walked me to Pre-Calculus.
“I better get going to class.” He lowered his lips to mine, kissing me almost borderline inappropriate for the hallways.
“See you soon." I winked and turned on my heel, heading into the classroom, Tripp's jade eyes met mine.
"Someone looks awfully happy." He gave me a sad smile. "Especially now that Kai is hurting."
That wasn't fair. "You knew Liam was my true mate." I met Tripp the same day I had met Kai. We were both freshmen getting a tour from an older academy student. So, to say Tripp became friends with both Kai and me at the same time wasn't an understatement. "It's not like I'd asked Liam to show up that night. I had intended to be with you all the entire night."
"You still could have tried harder." The corner of Tripp's eyes tightened. "I really thought you'd be more considerate than you were."
"I tried to make it work with Kai, but the bond is kind of overwhelming. I couldn’t keep lying to myself or lead Kai on anymore. If you ever meet your fated mate…you will understand." If he thought I was going to let him get away with being an ass, he was wrong. I didn't deserve this. In fact, I had been struggling with how I felt and cared about both Liam and Kai just as bad, if not worse, when all this shit went down.
He sighed. "Maybe." He shook his head and glanced at the front of the class. The happy-go-lucky friend I knew wasn't here. "But at the end of the day, Kai is hurting. Maybe you do deserve your fated mate…but don’t forget all the ones who got hurt along the way.”
"If you’re expecting me to apologize, it’s not going to happen. I hate that Kai is hurting and that you are stuck in the middle, but I can’t deny fate.” I unzipped my bag and pulled out my notebook. "The problem is you’re only seeing Kai’s side and not putting my best interest at heart. It's great to know I had such a good friend. I won't make that mistake again."
His body tensed as he kept his eyes glued to the front of the class.
"Looks like there's some drama in paradise." Robyn flipped her red hair over her shoulder and glanced from one of her friends to the other. "This might be an interesting class today."
I hated those three with a passion. They were the other students who’d joined Tripp and me on the tour. We'd all shifted to run behind the school so Kai could show us the areas we were free to use. They had rushed back and poured skunk piss all over my clothes.
Before I could reply, Professor Walker breezed into the classroom, ending the conversation.
Later, when I walked out of Comp one, I was a little surprised not to find Liam there, waiting for me. Maybe something came up.
I took the back stairwell, and as I walked through the door, a voice at the bottom stopped me in my tracks.
"Amber, how much clearer do I need to be?" Liam's voice was low and angry.
"You've got to be kidding me." A girl's voice raised. "You know both me and Dad were banking on you mating with me."
"Well, it's not going to happen." His voice was clear like he was making sure to enunciate each word. “I’m already taken.”
"Liam, we can still salvage this."
Oh, hell no. I headed down the stairs, and when I turned the corner, blondie came into view. Is this why you didn't meet me outside my classroom?
Dammit, I'm sorry. He turned, and his blue eyes landed on mine. I had a problem come up.
That's an awful pretty problem. I wasn't jealous, but the girl was gorgeous. Her blonde hair was long and straight, and the girl rocked our school uniforms. She somehow managed to turn a plain button-down shirt sexy. She even had her skirt pulled up high enough that there was little left to the imagination. She was the same girl Liam had used to taunt me after we kissed for the first time right here in this stairwell, heading for the same class I was going to now. He’d had her plastered against him, allowing her to rub her fingers all over his chest.
The bitch needed to get a clue and fast.
Liam made his way over to me as I took the last step and grabbed my hand.
"Wait." The girl's aquamarine eyes widened. "This is who you dumped me for?"
What now? He had a girlfriend?
"We weren't dating; it was more of a business arrangement. You knew that as much as I did." Liam pulled me closer. She didn't and doesn't mean anything to me.
"Business arrangement?" What did that even mean? It was insane how they thought of mates as assets and not as actual soulmates. Something was really wrong with these people.
"Of course, he didn't tell you." She rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her immaculately styled hair. "We were engaged."
Whoa, what? Please tell me she's joking. I wanted to pull my hand from his, but it would give her too much satisfaction.
"No, we weren't." His eyes landed on mine. "We'd talked about it in the future after college. Then we broke up because well, hell, she was already showing me rings to buy her." She meant nothing to me.
"My dad is a regional alpha who reports to Mr. Croft." She paused and stuck her nose in the air. "You know, the council member representing the south. Obviously, I need to spell all this out for you … especially since you don't know your place, but Liam will wake up soon."
"In case you didn't see the bite marks, he's mine, so back the fuck off." All of these entitled people were really pissing me off. Though, my role was getting clearer every day. When I took my place on the council, these assholes were going to have one hell of a rude awakening. I'd make sure of it. I had to be strong, not only for Liam but for myself. "It's a sealed deal, so why don't you take your skanky ass away from us."