Chapter 7

Allison

The interior of the SUV was a cocoon of dark leather and suffocating heat. Outside, the blurred lights of the Chicago skyline streaked across the tinted glass, but my entire universe had shrunk to the space between my body and Roman’s.

He didn't move his hand from my thigh. If anything, the second the driver pulled onto the crowded expressway, his fingers slid higher, the rough calluses of his palm frictioning deliberately against the smooth satin of my dress.

A heavy, low ache blossomed in the pit of my stomach, spreading downward until my thighs felt weak.

I was a virgin.

It was a secret I kept locked down tightly, especially in our world. Growing up surrounded by the reckless, hyper-sexual energy of a professional hockey team and an elite alpha-blood pack, it felt almost embarrassing. Zane and Roman treated women like seasonal contracts—easily signed, easily dropped. I had spent years watching girls throw themselves at Roman, knowing exactly what he did with them behind closed doors.

But I had waited. My wolf had refused to settle for anything less than the fated match the universe promised.

And now, the universe had handed me the most dangerous man in the city.

"Roman," I breathed, my voice trembling as his thumb traced a slow, heavy line along the sensitive inner skin of my thigh, getting agonizingly close to the edge of my lace underwear. "We... we need to slow down."

Roman stopped. His fingers flexed against my skin, his chest heaving as he stared down at me. The silver in his eyes was still there, a swirling, volatile storm, but as he looked at the sheer panic and desire warring on my face, the heavy Alpha dominance softened just a fraction.

"Al," he murmured, his hand resting heavily on my leg, keeping me pinned to his lap. "Talk to me. Your heart is racing so fast I can feel it through your ribs."

"I've never..." I swallowed hard, the confession sticking in my throat. I looked down at his black silk shirt, unable to meet his gaze. My fingers clutched the heavy silver chain resting against his chest. "I've never done this before, Roman. With anyone. I'm... I've been waiting."

The silence inside the car became absolute. The only sound was the distant, muffled hum of the tires against the asphalt.

I braced myself for the shift. I expected him to pull back, to become the careful, protective best friend again, or worse, to look at me like I was a burden he didn't know how to handle.

Instead, a low, primal sound tore from the depths of Roman’s throat. It wasn't an angry growl—it was a deep, possessive purr of absolute, unadulterated satisfaction.

His grip on my waist tightened until it was almost painful, hauling me so flat against him that my breasts crushed against his chest. He hooked two fingers under my chin, forcing my face up until my blue-green eyes met his silver fire.

"You're a virgin?" he whispered, his voice a ruined, gravelly mess. His eyes scanned my face, searching for any sign of a joke, but finding only my raw vulnerability. A dark, terrifyingly beautiful smile touched his lips. "Jesus Christ, Allie. You stayed untouched? For me?"

"For my mate," I corrected softly, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm. "I didn't know it was you."

"I don't care," he growled, his lips dropping down to press a hard, bruising kiss against my mouth, then another against my jaw, before burying his face in the crook of my neck. He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring against my pulse point. "My wolf is practically roaring right now, Al. The thought of being the first one to touch you... the only one who will ever touch you... it's taking everything I have not to tear this dress off you right now in the back of this car."

A traitorous wave of moisture pooled between my legs at his words. The raw, possessive claim of an Alpha wolf was intoxicating, completely overriding the rational, frightened human part of my brain.

"I'm scared, Roman," I admitted, my voice dropping to a whisper as I felt the massive, rigid length of his arousal pulsing hard against my hip. "You're... you're not exactly gentle."

Roman pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. He reached up, his large hand gently tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind my ear. The fierce, feral energy of his wolf seemed to simmer down, replaced by an intensity so deep it felt like it was etching itself into my soul.

"I will be," he promised, his voice lower than the bass thrumming through the car. He slid his hand down to my waist, his thumb stroking over my hip bone through the satin. "With anyone else, I'm a bastard, Al. You know that. But with you? You're my fated fffucking mate. I will take every single piece of you, but I will go as slow as you need. I'll make it perfect."

He leaned in, his lips brushing mine in a agonizingly slow, sweet contrast to the violence of his earlier kisses.

"But we aren't doing this in a car," Roman murmured against my mouth, his fingers digging into my thigh one last time before he reluctantly slid his hand back down to my knee, smoothing my dress over my legs. "We're going to my bed. And I am going to spend the entire night making sure you forget anyone else ever existed."