"Who's Kiera?"
There was faint bemusement in Vonn's voice when he answered. "Nobody you have to worry about."
"The other omegas seemed to think so."
"That's just because they only know half the story." Vonn sighed and wiped his hands on the towel she was holding, then took it from her and tossed it on the counter. "Look at me, Stacy."
And she did, if only because she found it impossible to refuse the provocative edge to his voice, the one that was like an arpeggio being played on her spine.
"Kiera is the mate of a friend of mine." Vonn's eyes had darkened to a gleaming indigo, his sensuous mouth flat. "I was there when her nature was awakened, and both my and Trace's alpha instincts went into overdrive at the scent. But he was the one who won the right to claim her."
A flash of something bitter flooded through Stacy, and she let her hair fall over her face to hide it. "You still aren't over her."
Vonn cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him again. "That's what everybody thinks. Hell, I even convinced myself of it for a while, but not anymore. Kiera's a good omega, but she was never mine. It's not her I can't get over; it's the experience of an awakening omega and wanting that for myself. Wanting you."
Stacy was still, the heat from his fingertips holding her like a velvet vise—but the bitterness didn't leave her. Vonn had never lied to hurt her…but would he lie to avoid hurting her?
"This isn't about me," she finally said, more harshly than she intended. She pulled away and forced herself to pick up the saucepan and begin to dry it. "You said it yourself. You just want the experience of an omega, so any omega should do. You can wait until the next one comes around."
Vonn ripped the pan from her hands and slammed it on the counter, making the drying dishes jump. Without warning, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her, only to settle her on the wet countertop. Rivulets of warm water ran from his hands, soaking through her shirt. There was nowhere to look but in his eyes.
"You know that's not true," he growled. "I knew it from the first moment I sensed you at the roadhouse. I didn't fight Trace for Kiera because she wasn't mine. You are. You're my destiny."
"There's no such thing as destiny," Stacy said, but her body trembled from his closeness.
"Then tell me why you haven't tried to escape. Why you keep finding ways to be close to me. To touch me." He slid his hands roughly up her body, shoving her wet shirt up as he went until his fingertips grazed her nipples. "To feel me."
He forced her knees apart with his own. Stacy resisted—not because she didn't want it—she was desperate for his hard cock pressing against the V of her legs—but because resistance had become part of her body's response to arousal.
Just as fighting seemed to have become foreplay.
Vonn didn't fail to notice. He grabbed her wrists and clamped them to the counter hard enough to hurt. "It doesn't matter how many chemicals you pump into your veins," he muttered against her ear, making her squirm. "You can't suppress the truth. You were made for me. Your heart knows it. Your blood knows it." He reached between her legs and ran his fingers along the hot, damp denim that was all that separated him from her pussy. "Your body knows it."
Stacy gasped. And Vonn ripped her jeans open and yanked them off her legs.
"You can fight me all you want, Stacy. But you can't fight this."
His fingers invaded the folds of her pussy, spreading the wetness. Holding up his glistening hand, he showed her the proof of her desire in the candlelight.
"This is who you are." Vonn made no effort to be quiet now. "This is who you were born to be. An omega who responds to her alphas touch. Who needs it. Who craves it."
God help her, it was true. Her heart was thundering in her chest, even though he'd barely touched her yet. But he'd left one of her hands unguarded, and without thinking, Stacy jammed it against his chest and shoved him hard. A snarl came from her that sounded a lot like her cat when it was stalking some critter in the garden.
Vonn caught her wrist again and held it aloft, sparks flying in his eyes. He pressed his body against hers, making it impossible to move.
"And this is who I am." He shoved down his own pants and freed his swollen cock. He stroked it along her thigh, and her pussy throbbed with need. "The alpha who will worship you. Protect you. Fulfill your every need and desire."
Stacy could only gape at him as he took a small glass bottle of oil from the shelf above her and upended it over his cock. The scent of oranges filled the air as the oil ran down his shaft and dripped onto the floor.
"Tell me you're ready for this." His eyes flared dangerously as he eased himself off her slightly. He had released her hand, but the urge to fight had briefly left her. "Tell me you're ready to surrender to what you really are. Who you really are."
Was she ready? Stacy had no idea. She'd never willingly surrendered anything before, but for the first time, it didn't feel like losing. It felt…inevitable. Destined, just as he'd said.
She threw her arms around Vonn's neck and kissed him hard, forgetting all about his question. She spread her legs and moaned. The sound urged him on.
He spread her knees wider still and rubbed the head of his cock against her opening, and her moans turned to something else, something voracious.
He was impossibly big, but Stacy couldn't survive without it. She whimpered, and Vonn held her firmly in place. Slowly, insistently, he pressed against her, the oil and
