Chapter 172

Justin’s POV

I whispered the words, “He wants you back,” into my mate’s ear. My breath carried sincerity and desperation. Beowulf wasn’t the only one who wanted Helen.

I held her in my arms, my apology still hanging in the air around us. I didn’t expect her to say she forgave me or that it was all in the past. I also hadn’t expected tears.

Helen clutched at my shirt, chest jerking against mine.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” I said, unsure of what to do next.

“No one I’ve wanted to love has ever apologized to me before,” she sniffled out. “Somehow, they mean even more than ‘I love you’ does. Do you really mean it?” She pulled back, looking at me through her tears. “Because if I thought you were just saying this to get me back or for any insincere reason, I’m not sure I could live with that disappointment.”

I shook my head, keeping my arms around her, scared she might run off, and I wouldn’t get her back. “You have no idea how sorry I’ve become. I feel horrible all the time for what I’ve done to you.”

She nodded. “That’s how I’ve been feeling since the day your father’s wizard forced me to stab you. All this time, all I’ve ever wanted to hear was that you believed me. Once you said that, I thought I was happy. But now . . . I didn’t know how much I needed the apology, but hearing it makes me so much happier than I ever was before.”

“I can’t say I’ll never lose my way again,” I murmured. “But I promise that I’ll do my best to be a man you can trust and love from here out. And I’ll do my best to listen if those around me tell me I’m losing my way again. Can I work on earning your trust back?”

She squeezed her arms around me. “We’ll both work on trusting each other together.”

We stood in my office with our arms around one another in silence. Randy still guarded the door, but he’d picked up his phone and scrolled through something on it to give us as much privacy as possible.

He’d been right. Saying I was sorry was already draining away the unpleasant feelings inside me. Now I was free to revel in the feeling of my mate in my arms. I rubbed my hands along her back, feeling the warmth of her through her shirt and the firm curve of her back under my palm.

She nestled her head into my chest, holding me tightly as if she were afraid both me and the moment would slip away. I liked that. I wanted her to rely on me and feel comfortable with me.

When she tipped her face up to look at me, my lips came down on hers, hesitantly taking a kiss. The moment our lips locked, dozens of sensations slammed through my body. I could taste her, smell her. I’d wanted contact for months, and just this little bit pushed me to my limits.

But I held on for the other sensations. This gentle kiss was sweet and soft, like a tender dessert. I’d never tasted anything like it with my mate. And while my groin stiffened, my head wanted to drink in more of this sweetness.

My hands skimmed softly along her curves, each fingertip mapping out the shape of my mate, my other half. If we were going to fit together, then I ought to know that shape by heart so I could fit myself into it.

My cock jumped at the thought of fitting into her. Helen had to be able to feel it, but she didn’t back off. Not that she invited me to go further. She just shifted slightly to the side, so our hips didn’t align anymore, but we continued the kiss.

A warm happiness spread through me, contrasting with a deep burning heat that I could now identify as Beowulf’s reaction to her. I kept feeling her body, caressing her back, arms, neck, and hair. Our kisses deepened enough that she parted her lips.

Instantly, my tongue invited itself inside, searching for hers. The excitement of the deep kissing pushed my hands to wander further forward. Now my fingers traced the lines cut by the swell of each breast, pausing at the tip long enough to circle each nipple.

Helen hardened at my touch, and in response, my erection grew rock hard, straining at the zipper containing it. I shaped our bodies to form an angle facing away from Randy. He’d see us kissing. But in the hidden alcove formed by our torsos, I slipped my hand down the top of Helen’s skirt.

Swallowing her gasp with a fresh kiss, I gently fingered her folds through the fabric of her panties. The silky material let my touch slide easily along her. Gradually the fabric grew damp under my touch.

She parted her legs slightly, just enough to remain discrete. But it was all the invitation I needed. I slowly unzipped my pants quietly and pushed aside enough fabric to release my erection. My whole body pulsed with anticipation. But I wasn’t going to rush her or traumatize Randy.

Forcing myself to move slowly, I angled my body so I pulled the waist of her skirt and panties just low enough that I could press my soft pink tip against the lips of her lady parts. I pushed just far enough inside that my head rubbed against her clit. Driving our kisses hard together, I covered both our panting breaths.

Rubbing without rocking my body in an obvious way, or shoving myself inside her, left me trembling. Helen shivered against me. A whole new world of slow, tantalizing sexual options unfolded before me. This sneaking liaison was nearly maddeningly enticing.

Why had we always settled for rough fucking? Tormenting us both with near sex but no actual penetration had me ready to shoot my load without ever entering her. What a wonderland of play this represented.

I reached up, clamping my fingers around her nipple through her shirt, and a throb in my groin threatened to ruin everything. I had to be careful not to come before I could sneak inside her. Or before I could drive her over the edge, too.

Keeping my tiny thrusts to the outside of her folds was nearing impossible. My last, slow glide had brought my head across the lips of her entrance, and I’d nearly rammed myself inside. Every movement of mine was now slow and torturously controlled. I had to keep rubbing her clit to make her come. Because I had a feeling that I would finish on my first thrust inside.

I barely breathed for fear of crying out and giving away what we were doing. Randy was totally absorbed in some online video. After all his complaints of being forced to watch, I didn’t want to make him again. But there was no stopping me now.

My cock slid across her pink folds on the slick of her dew. My body shuddered, and I knew I was going inside on my way back. I had to have release.

Helen made a tiny gasp and stiffened, twisting her hips, so her clit rubbed my shaft. She was as close as I was. I drew my length back slowly, feeling her tense in expectation. There was the lip of her entrance. I poised myself to push inside—

The door to the office banged open, knocking Randy off balance. One of the warriors burst in, breathless.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Alpha King Justin. But we have a guest who says she knows what the Huntsman is!”