CHAPTER 3

Sera

One moment we were at the bar and another moment we were in the bathroom.

I pressed my back against the cool tile of the bathroom wall, heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.

His body crowded mine, his scent, unmistakably masculine wrapped around me like a claim. 

My dress was already hiked up around my hips, my panties a forgotten scrap on the floor. I’d kissed him first. Fates help me, I had.

His mouth crashed down on mine again, hungry and possessive, swallowing the small whimper that escaped me. 

One large hand gripped my thigh, lifting it to hook over his hip, opening me to him. The other slid between my legs without hesitation. 

His fingers were thick, calloused, and when he dragged them through my slick folds, a low groan rumbled from his chest.

“Already so wet for me,” he murmured against my lips. “You’ve been aching for this, haven’t you, Sera?”

I couldn’t answer. Shame and need twisted together inside me until I couldn’t tell which was stronger. 

My hips jerked forward, chasing his touch, and he gave it to me. Two fingers pushed inside me in one smooth stroke, stretching me, filling me. A broken sound tore from my throat. He curled them, stroking that spot deep inside that made my vision spark white.

The rhythm he set was relentless. In and out, slow then fast, his thumb circling my swollen clit with devastating precision. I clutched at his shoulders, nails digging into the fine fabric of his shirt, my body trembling as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter in my core.

Music throbbed through the walls while someone rattled the bathroom handle outside.

“Occupied,” the Lycan King growled, never slowing his fingers. 

If anything, he thrust them deeper, drawing more slick sounds from my body that made my cheeks burn with mortification and fresh arousal.

I bit my lip hard, trying to stay quiet, but a moan slipped free anyway. 

He leaned in, lips brushing my ear. “Let them hear how good I make you feel. You’re mine right now.”

Another knock on the door, harder this time.

“Occupied,” he snarled. 

My legs shook. I was so close, teetering on the edge, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of him. 

He was everywhere, his body pinning me, his scent surrounding me. 

“You matter,” he whispered suddenly, the words so soft I almost thought I imagined them. “This reckless, beautiful fire in you… it matters to me.”

I swallowed. I came, crying out, back arching off the wall as pleasure ripped through me. 

My breath came out in uneven pulls. 

He kept stroking me through it, murmuring praise against my neck... “Good girl… that’s it… give it all to me”...until I was limp and gasping, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

He slowly withdrew his fingers, bringing them to his mouth. My jaw dropped. 

I watched as he licked them clean, his eyes never leaving mine. The raw hunger in his gaze made my stomach flip.

Reality slammed back into me the moment he stepped back. My dress was bunched around my waist, my thighs slick, my breath ragged. My pants were still on the floor. 

I bent down to pick it up. 

I’d just let a man who wasn’t my husband finger me to orgasm in a public bathroom while people tried to get in. What the hell was wrong with me?

I pushed at his chest, though he barely moved. “This was a mistake. I...I can’t...”

He smirked, that arrogant, devastating curve of his lips that made my traitorous body clench again. “You kissed me first, Sera.”

My phone rang from inside my bag on the sink. I moved to pick it.  

Rylan.

I froze. The King’s expression darkened as he saw the name. I picked it anyway. 

"Sera, I have been trying to reach you. It was a mistake. I am sorry... Please come back."

The king collected the phone from my hand and put it on speaker. 

“She’s busy.” 

"Who's that?" Rylan screamed. “Sera? Sera, please. I need you. Dorian...he seduced me. It wasn’t my fault. He came on to me and I was drunk and...”

The King’s jaw tightened. In one fluid motion, he pinned me back against the wall with his body, one forearm braced beside my head. 

The move pressed me flush against him, his hard length unmistakable against my stomach. I gasped, the sound loud in the small space.

“Tell him,” he ordered me quietly, eyes locked on mine. His free hand still held the phone.

I shook my head, heart beating fast in my chest

“Rylan,” I managed, trying to steady my voice. “I...”

The King took over. 

“She’s divorcing you.” He said it so calmly, so finally, that it stole the breath from my lungs. “Whatever excuses you have, they don’t matter. She’s done.”

Rylan’s sobs grew louder. “Sera! Don’t do this! I love you...please, it was just one time...”

Just one time?

Rylan... 

The King’s hand slid down my side, making me forget Rylan immediately. 

I was still sensitive, still throbbing from my orgasm, and the contrast between Rylan’s pleading and the King’s unyielding dominance made my head spin.

“You heard me,” the King continued. 

“SHE BELONGS TO ME. Stay away from her!” He hung up mid-sentence, cutting off Rylan’s begging.

My heart thundered. I stared up at him, chest rising and falling, equal parts angry and terrifyingly aroused by his audacity.

He pushed my phone into my hands and looked at me. Really looked at me. 

The smirk was gone, replaced by something darker. His hand came up to cup my jaw, thumb brushing my lower lip.

“I’m Alaric,” he mumbled, pushing a black card in my hands. “Come with me to Valdris.”