002

Chapter 2

Siena

Jeremy’s apartment was nothing like Chris’s.

The air smelled faintly of something like rose. He guided me inside with a hand steady at the small of my back, then disappeared into the kitchen without a word.

I sank onto the edge of a black leather couch, still shaking. The tequila was still in my blood, blurring the edges of everything, but not enough to dull the images looping behind my eyes: Kelani’s open blouse, Chris’s hands on her hips, the way neither of them had looked ashamed. Three years. I had given him three years of loyalty, of standing in the stands with his number painted on my cheek, of pretending the mating mark on my neck meant something more than obligation. And tonight he had handed me the truth like a gift.

Jeremy returned with a glass of water. Condensation beaded on the outside. He pressed it into my hands.

“Drink.”

I obeyed because I didn’t know what else to do. The water was so cold though It did nothing for the heat behind my eyes or the hollow ache in my chest. He watched me for a moment, then turned and walked toward the hallway. A door closed. A moment later I heard the shower start.

I stayed on the couch, fingers wrapped tight around the glass, and tried to breathe. The apartment was quiet except for the distant rush of water. I located the mark with my hands a dull reminder that I still belonged—technically—to someone who had never wanted me. I took another swallow of water and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the bathroom door was opening.

Steam rolled out first.

Then Jeremy stepped into the living room wearing nothing but a dark towel slung low around his hips.

Water still clung to him. It slid from the ends of his damp black hair, tracked down the hard planes of his chest, and traced the deep ridges of his abs before disappearing beneath the towel. Broad shoulders. Powerful arms carved from years of hockey and the kind of training that left no softness behind. The sharp cut of his jaw. The arrogant beauty that had always made him the most dangerous man on the ice—and, I was beginning to understand, off it too.

I couldn’t look away.

Maybe it was the tequila still burning through my veins. Maybe it was the raw, scraped-open place where Chris and Kelani had torn something out of me. Or maybe it was simply him—the rival alpha I had never allowed myself to look at for too long, the man my pack had taught me to hate on principle. Whatever the reason, my body reacted before my mind could catch up. Heat coiled low in my stomach. My pulse kicked hard against the mating mark on my neck.

Jeremy stopped a few feet away. He didn’t reach for a shirt. He didn’t look self-conscious. He simply stood there, water still tracking down his skin, and watched me watch him.

“You should finish the water,” he said, voice low.

I set the glass down on the coffee table instead. My hands were still trembling. I stood up gently ; moving a little bit closer to him. His skin was warm from the shower, damp against mine. Up close I could smell the soap on him——and underneath it the darker scent of alpha.

I looked up at him. The city lights from the window caught in his eyes and turned them nearly black.

“I shouldn’t be here,” I whispered.

“No,” he agreed. “You shouldn’t.”

Neither of us moved.

The silence stretched. Somewhere inside me a small, rational voice tried to remind me that this man was the enemy. That his pack had nearly killed Chris years ago. That I still carried another alpha’s mark. That I was half-drunk and heartbroken and in no condition to make decisions.

I ignored it.

I closed the distance and kissed him.

Jeremy didn’t hesitate. One hand slid into my hair, the other gripped my waist, and he kissed me back hard—open-mouthed, hungry, nothing careful about it. The towel dropped. I felt the heat of his bare skin against me through the thin fabric of my dress. He walked me backward until my shoulders hit the wall beside the window. The cold glass pressed against my back. His mouth never left mine.

I made a sound that was half, I was really enjoying this moment. His hands found the zipper of my dress and dragged it down. Cool air touched my skin. He pushed the fabric off my shoulders and let it pool at my feet. The blue dress I had chosen so carefully for Chris landed in a soft heap on Jeremy’s floor. I stepped out of it without looking down.

Jeremy’s eyes moved over me—dangerously. His gaze lingered on the mating mark at the side of my neck. He paused for a second,Then he lowered his head and put his mouth on it.

I gasped. The mark flared hot under his tongue, a confusing rush of sensation that should have felt like betrayal and instead felt like relief. He bit down lightly, not hard enough to break skin, just enough to make my knees weaken. His hands slid under my thighs and lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his waist on instinct. The hard length of him pressed against me through the thin barrier of my underwear.

He carried me to the couch and set me down on the leather. The material was cool against my back. Jeremy braced himself over me, water still dripping from his hair onto my skin. He kissed me again, deeper this time, while one hand dragged my bra down and closed over my breast. His thumb circled my nipple until it peaked, then he replaced his hand with his mouth. I arched into him, fingers digging into the dense muscle of his shoulders.

There was nothing gentle about the way he touched me. He stripped the rest of my clothes with efficient hunger, tossed them aside, and settled between my thighs. For a moment he stared at me, all I could see in his eyes was the hunger to claim me.

Then he pushed inside me in one smooth, deep thrust.

The stretch burned in the best way. I cried out, the sound swallowed by his mouth. He didn’t give me time to adjust. He started moving immediately, hard and steady, the way I imagined he played hockey—controlled power, relentless pace, every stroke meant to dominate. The couch creaked beneath us. My nails scored down his back. He growled low in his throat and drove deeper, angling his hips until he hit a place that made stars burst behind my eyes.

I clung to him like he was the only solid thing left in a world that had just collapsed. Every thrust pushed Chris further away. Every rough kiss on my mouth and throat and mark rewrote the night in a language that had nothing to do with gratitude or duty. Jeremy’s hand slid between us, found the place where we were joined, and rubbed in tight circles. Pleasure coiled tight and then shattered. I came with his name on my lips, body clenching around him, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes for reasons that had nothing to do with sadness.

He followed a moment later, burying himself to the hilt and shuddering hard against me. For several long seconds the only sound was our breathing.

Jeremy didn’t pull away immediately. He stayed braced over me, forehead resting against mine, one hand still tangled in my hair. When he finally eased out and shifted to the side, he took me with him, tucking me against the solid heat of his chest. The leather of the couch stuck to my damp skin. 

I stared at the ceiling, heart still racing, uncontrollable. 

Jeremy’s fingers traced idle patterns along my spine. 

Outside, somewhere in the city, Chris was probably still in bed with Kelani. Probably laughing about the look on my face. Probably already planning a future that had never included me.

And I was lying naked in the arms of his greatest rival.

Jeremy’s voice rumbled against my hair, quiet and rough.

“Stay the night.”

I closed my eyes and nodded once against his chest.

For the

first time since I was eight years old, I didn’t consider what Chris will say.