Chapter 17: How?
"How is this possible?" Damon gasped.
He could feel his mouth water uncontrollably... for her?
He stared at her.
Ayla pressed herself against the wall, her chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths.
His fingers still tingled with the memory of her slick heat and on his tongue, he could taste her.
His wolf raged uncontrollably in his head.
Mine.
No.
She was an Omega. A breeder.
The prophesy may want them to mate with her but he would not mark her as his... never in a million years.
"I asked you a question," Damon snarled, stepping toward her. "How did you do this?"
Ayla’s violet eyes went wide. "I did not do anything..."
"Liar." He was in front of her now, his body towering over hers, his hands braced again on either side of her head. "You think I do not know what you are doing? You think I cannot see right through you?"
Her breath hitched. "Damon, please..."
He could smell her fear and her arousal.
He did not think it possible for his cock to harden any further but it did.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
His hand shot out, fisting the fabric of her dress at her shoulder.
"Damon... stop it..."
He leaned in, his mouth brushing the shell of her ear.
"My brothers might think you sweet and innocent but I do not. Do not think for one second I am going to fall for whatever game you are playing."
"Let me go," she whispered.
He did not.
His body refused to obey. His wolf paced beneath his skin, snarling in fury at him for speaking to their mate this way.
"The prophesy says we have to mate, did it not?"
Ayla’s eyes shot up to his in alarm
"I say we do it now."
"Damon, stop."
"Stop?" He laughed. "You did not seem to want me to stop a moment ago. You were wet for me, Ayla. Your body knows what it wants."
"Please..."
He grabbed her hips and yanked her forward, crushing her against him. He could feel the heat of her through the thin fabric, could feel the way her breath stuttered when his hardness pressed against her belly. His hand slid down, gripping her thigh, lifting it until it hooked around his waist.
"This is how I mate, Ayla." he growled.
He reached between them, his fingers finding the waistband of his trousers, and Ayla’s eyes went wide with terror.
"No...Damon, no..."
She shoved at his chest with both hands, her strength no match for his.
He caught her wrists and twisted them behind her then shoved her forward so her back hit the cushions.
Damon did not give her time to recover before he flipped her over and pushed her face into the cushion.
He reached for her dress, riding them up her waist, baring her completely to him.
The sight of her bent over the cushions, her bare thighs trembling and the slick evidence of her arousal glistening between her legs sent a jolt of desire through him.
She was wet. More wet than she had been when his fingers were inside her.
The scent of her hit him in a wave, filling his lungs
"You beg me to stop but your body begs me to take you. Which one should I believe, little Omega."
Damon lowered himself behind her.
His chest pressed against her back. His cock, still confined by his trousers, pressed against the heat of her bare thigh.
"You want this," he murmured. "You hate it, but you want it. I can smell it on you."
A small whimper escaped her throat swallowed by the cushion beneath her face.
His hand caressed her naked butt and he felt her shiver beneath his touch. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of his trousers and pulled the fabric down.
He was painfully hard, aching with a need that went beyond want or desire and it was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
The head of his cock pressed against her slick heat.
"What the fuck..."
The door slammed open.
Damon barely had time to register the movement before a body collided with his, sending him crashing to the floor. His back hit the stone with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Stars burst across his vision.
"What did you do?" Ares snarled.
Damon blinked up at him, his mind struggling to catch up. "Brother..."
"I asked you a question." Ares’ hand closed around Damon’s throat. "What did you do to her?"
"I did not..." Damon started.
"Do not." Ares’ voice was ice. "Do not lie to me."
Damon turned his head.
Ayla was cowering at the corner now, her shoulders shaking. Her cheeks were wet with tears and she would not look at anyone of them.
Ares followed his gaze.
He released Damon’s throat and rose, crossing the room to where Ayla sat crumpled against the wall.
"Ayla."
She flinched at the sound of his voice.
Ares’ jaw tightened. He reached out, his fingers brushing the hem of her dress, and gently pulled it down, covering her legs. He did it without looking, his eyes never leaving her face.
"Can you stand?" he asked quietly.
She nodded, but when she tried to rise, her legs gave out.
Ares caught her.
He lifted her effortlessly and she curled into his chest, her fingers clutching at his shirt, her face buried in his shoulder.
Ares turned to face Damon.
"We are going to have a conversation later and you are going to tell me exactly what happened here."
Damon opened his mouth.
"And if I find out that you touched her without her consent," Ares continued, cutting him off, "I am going to kill you myself. Do you understand me?"
Damon stared at his brother.
He had never heard that tone before from Ares... ever.
"Brother..."
"Do. You. Understand. Me."
Damon’s throat worked.
"Yes," he said.
Ares held his gaze for one long moment before he turned and walked out of the room, carrying Ayla with him.