“You think you’re unlovable and no one could ever want you.”
She might as well have dug her nails into my heart, the muscle throbbing in my chest. Ambrose and Mercury knew what went on in my head. They’d known since the second we all decided to pack up, after Ambrose’s parents had died in the fire and Mercury’s family’s pack had grown too dysfunctional for him to handle.
Neither of them ever pushed me like this or confronted me with the knowledge. I was pretty sure they worried that I would break apart and devolve even further. Not that it got much lower than fucking strangers in club bathrooms and drinking away my desperation for love.
“Fuck off, Leighton.” My tone was sharp enough I was sure I’d made my point. She would turn and leave, and I’d be alone again. Loneliness of my own creation, this time.
She laughed.
A soft giggle turned into full-bellied laughter as I stared at her, stunned.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she pressed a hand to her stomach. I couldn’t figure out why she was laughing.
What was funny?
I watched until the laughs subsided and she moved toward me. Every one of my backward steps were matched by her until I ran out of room to flee. My back hit a wall, a picture frame rattling from the force of my attempted escape.
Her front pressed to mine, from the thigh she shoved between my legs to the tips of her breasts rubbing against my chest. Our lips were inches apart, breath mixing. The height difference between us was so insignificant it was unnoticeable.
“Dash, get your head out of your ass.”
They weren’t the words I was expecting her to say this close up. My arousal leaked away, a slow removal of air from a balloon.
“What are you talking about? And what was so funny?”
“You’re lonely because you think you’re unlovable, and you think you’re unlovable because you’re lonely.”
My brain pieced the puzzle together, trying to keep up with her.
“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” she continued. “But that cycle is over. My omega claimed you, and you’re not going to push her away like this. I won’t allow it.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” I blurted.
“Not sure how I’m supposed to know that,” she said. “I can barely handle my own relationships. You’ve got to figure it out yourself.”
I blinked a few times, each breath coming slower than the last. I’d been hyperventilating and hadn’t realized. Her warmth and scent soothed me as I processed. Everything was overwhelming. Kiara being part of me. The dredged-up feelings of not being good enough. Leighton. Just Leighton, in general, was overwhelming considering my history with her brother.
She was patient.
She stayed against me, letting me figure myself out.
Mercury never let me figure myself out. I hadn’t recognized how much it bothered me until right now. Being treated like this was a breath of fresh air. I appreciated everything my packmate had done for me. He was the entire reason I was still here instead of at the bottom of a pit of despair.
However, I needed this.
“I’m not used to working through my own problems,” I admitted after a long pause.
She snorted. “Obviously.”
“I’m also not used to having a woman between my legs in this manner. Usually I would be the one pressing them against a wall.” I injected some humour.
Leighton responded by pressing her thigh up against me. My cock hardened and I choked back a groan. Oddly enough, this kind of input gave me more ability to focus in the background. My mind was whirring with possibility. How I could help get the dark bonded pair out of this predicament. How Kiara could be convinced to claim me again before this bond became a distant memory.
I had a few blissful seconds of brain work before Leighton’s fingers dug into my cheeks, pulling me from it.
“You’re never going to press me against a wall,” Leighton promised. “And before you even get me in this position again, I owe you one hell of a punishment. You stole two firsts from me. Her first kiss, and her first bonding. Kiara has never bitten me.”
My eyes widened, but she didn’t sound angry about it. Her gaze focused on my fresh bite mark, staring in wistful arousal. I’d been antagonizing Leighton since the second I got here, and I bet that bite was going to be the thing that got me the worst punishment of all. Something I hadn’t even been responsible for.
