Bonds of Hate: A Dark Reverse Harem Omegaverse Romance, page 19
Poe doesn’t appear fazed by my complete lack of response. He forces my lips to part with the hard press of his own. I taste a metallic shock on my tongue as he nips at my lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
I can’t stop a sound of pain and he murmurs in response, the soothing tone in complete contrast to the harshness of the kiss he forces on me.
The shift in his demeanor is gradual, but unmistakable. His bruising grip on me morphs into an actual embrace, like one between true lovers. The lips that move against mine suddenly seem softer and more plush than should be possible.
Aggression slowly leaks out of him as his tongue traces the corner of my mouth before pushing its way inside. Shocks of electricity flow like blood through my veins, until my whole body feels lit up from the inside. He uses his grip on my hair to tilt my head back, using this new angle to deepen our kiss.
A kiss that transforms into something gentle…almost teasing.
A kiss I might actually enjoy under different circumstances.
That realization finally makes me try to push him away. My hands flatten against his chest, the scent of driftwood and sea salt like poison on my tongue as I shove at him.
A grunt of dark amusement and a tightening of his vice-like grip is Poe’s only response. He is as immovable as stone as he peppers close-mouthed kisses at the corner of my mouth before thrusting his tongue down my throat hard enough I might actually be at risk of swallowing it.
We briefly scuffle, my nails scraping uselessly against the black fabric of his uniform as Poe deepens the kiss, pressing harder. More insistent. My utterly useless protests grow more frantic, legs kicking out, shoulders twisting, but his body could be steel for all the good it does me. His scent crashes over me like an ocean wave, overwhelming my senses until I can barely think straight.
When I eventually collapse against him, exhausted by the brief fight, he finally relents.
Breaking the kiss, Poe pulls back enough to see my face without releasing his hold on me.
When he finally speaks, the words are soft enough that I have to strain to hear them.
“The first kiss always came as a surprise. No matter how many times it happened, I never let myself come to expect it. Looking back, I think it’s always easiest to lie to yourself when you know facing the truth won’t change a damn thing.”
Poe is the oldest member of the pack, though you wouldn’t know it to look at him, an adolescent when Logan was born.
I can imagine it as vividly as watching a scene play out in front of me. Queen Midale approaching the youngest and most inexperienced member of the guard once they were alone, pressing herself against him before he had time to react.
“Why didn’t you…” I let myself trail off, not wanting to put into words what sounds too much like blame.
An accusation of complicity.
“Run? Fight? Tell?” He drawls out each word like he is savoring the taste of them. “Is that what you meant to ask?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
He acknowledges my honesty with a humorless smile. “I was stronger and bigger than her from the beginning, even given my age when it started. The queen was still an Omega, after all. But I couldn’t risk hurting her, even accidentally, so I didn’t have a choice about fighting her off. I was as helpless against her as you are now against me, just for different reasons.”
I want to tell him it isn’t the same, or doesn’t have to be. But I stay silent, unsure what is more likely to set him off, reproach or sympathy. The look in his eye is too far away, as if he isn’t seeing the entirety of reality as it is in the here and now. Any word or gesture from me could be the trigger that shoves him completely back into the trauma of his past.
I’m not sure I would survive it if that happens.
His fingers coast along the cinched waist of Midale’s gown, the tickling sensation enough to make me shudder.
“She would always find moments after big events, when the king was otherwise occupied. Most of my memories are of the queen in her finest gowns. After she kissed me, she would pull up these decadent skirts and command me to my knees.” He strokes his hand down my cheek, chasing the path of a single tear. He gathers that wetness on the tip of his finger and licks it clean. “If I made her ask twice, she would find a way to punish me for it.”
I sink to my knees without waiting for a command, my hands instinctively clutching at his hips to maintain my balance.
His eyes briefly widen in surprise before he catches himself. “What the fuck are you doing?”
My vision blurs with unshed tears as I force myself to meet his gaze, hoping my expression looks more determined than frightened.
I wish I could look at him and go back to only feeling hate and fear. Even as I feel disgust for the man he became, my heart aches for the little abused boy unable to protect himself. Being an Alpha must have only made the shame of what happened to him worse.
Because he could have fought. He was more than physically capable of defending himself.
But he didn’t.
A choice that likely torments him to this day.
Poe may not have intended for me to become a cypher of the dead queen, but being in her old apartments has obviously triggered the worst sort of walk down memory lane.
If I can turn this terrible thing into something good, then maybe we can both make it out of this room with some of our dignity still intact.
A breath catches in my throat, but I force out the words. “Tell me what the queen would do next.”
His surprise morphs into something darker, a watchfulness heavy with challenge.
“Take me out,” he commands.
I’m surprised that my hands don’t tremble as I reach for the fly of his pants. Or maybe my entire body is shaking, so my hands seem fairly steady by comparison.
His dick is already hard enough that I have trouble finding give in the fabric to undo the buttons. He shifts his hips slightly when I pull at his waistband, but provides no other help.
When the hard thickness of him is fully revealed, my next breath rushes out of me in an involuntary exhale. All Alphas are huge and Poe is no exception. But he is also impressively formed. Long, straight and wide. Velvet skin wrapped in steel, almost as thick at the tip as he is at the base, without a single flaw.
Without waiting to be told, my fingers brush along the thick shaft. The skin is even softer than I imagined. As I watch, a single drop of clear fluid beads at the tip.
Poe lets out a low groan. The sound skitters down my spine like a physical caress.
When I risk a glance at his face, a dark and unblinking gaze meets mine. Some emotion flares in the depths of his eyes, strong as an approaching thunderstorm. On anyone else, it would look like a plea. Or a prayer.
A surge of mental strength washes over me.
I have the ridiculous thought that this might be the first time anyone has ever done this for him willingly. Even if the queen condescended to kneel for him, she still held all the power. The act remained one of force.
My nerves have officially taken a back seat to a sense of determination. I can do this. I can beat these Alphas at the stupid games they play.
My voice is barely recognizable to me when I speak. It’s strong, surer than I’ve ever been, even in my own head. “Command me, just like she would do to you.”
It’s a command of its own, but if Poe even notices, he doesn’t chastise me for it.
He sighs heavily, like he is the one taking on some sort of significant burden rather than me. “Tell me how much you want to give me your mouth.”
The words taste like brimstone and ash on my tongue, even though my belly clenches tight as I say them. “I want to suck you.”
“Filthy little thing.” His hand cradles the back of my skull, the weight of it heavy even though he doesn’t use any pressure. “Get on with it, then. Use that pretty pink tongue.”
My eyes squeeze shut as I poke out the tip of my tongue with a tentative lick. This obviously isn’t my first blowjob, forced or otherwise, but I screw up my face in concentration like it’s the very first time. I get the impression that the virginal reluctance act is what he needs from me. Poe couldn’t have been an oral sex expert when the queen compelled him to his knees, so in this moment, neither am I.
His thighs tense under my hands as I trace my tongue up and down the side of his shaft. He tangles my hair around his fingers. I sense his tension as he resists the urge to pull my head harder against him. I’m purposefully making him wait. Teasing him.
The weight of his hand on my head grows noticeably heavier. His warning of growl is more of impatience than pleasure. I know Poe is moments away from snapping away my fragile thread of control over him.
The taste of him is explosive on my tongue as the tip of him pops past the ring of my mouth. I sink down as far as I can without gagging and trace the hard nodule of his growing knot at the base of him.
“Fuck, just like that,” he croons. The fingers on my head turn gentle, brushing through the strands of my hair in a petting movement. “Use your tongue right there. You’re taking me so deep. Do you like pleasing me?” I murmur a positive response that hums through his flesh. He groans and surges his hips, making him hit the back of my throat in a way that should be painful, but isn’t. “Such a good little whore for me. Take it all.”
I’m deep underwater, his scent surrounding me on all sides until I drown it.
I instinctively chase his praise, altering my rhythm and speed in response to his sounds of pleasure. My mouth conforms to the shape of him, like my flesh and his were made to perfectly fit together. I want to explore even further, find all the places where the taste of sea salt and ocean musk is strongest.
With a mix of fascination and disgust, I recognize how much I want to please him. It’s a dangerous desire, especially with an Alpha. They aren’t capable of handling that sort of power over someone else gently.
But maybe I don’t want gentle. The thought of following that thread with him sends tingles of sensation right between my thighs. My knees shift under me in response to the growing ache.
Poe notices the change in me immediately. Teasing fingers trace the wrinkled frown on my brow, guiding my face back enough that I’m forced to meet his amused gaze.
His low voice practically drips with filth. “You think I don’t see you grinding on the floor? Nasty girl. I bet I’ll find you dripping if I shove my hand between your legs.” He chuckles as I force him deeper, unable to stop the slow circle of my hips, seeking friction where there is none. “Maybe if you do a good enough job, I’ll let you come next time you suck me off. Only good girls get to come. Are you going to be good for me?”
He laughs outright at my frantic nod. I’m too worked up for any of the shame I might normally feel. His hips thrust forward more steadily, a silent demand for friction.
Poe anchors his free hand at the back of my neck, his thumb sweeping over the jumping pulse there. “Yeah, you’ll be good for me, because I’m not giving you a fucking choice.”
The shock of pleasure I feel at his words nearly rocks me back on my heels.
He roughly cups my flushed cheeks before I can pull further away, guiding the movement of each bob and thrust. I abandon any pretense of coyness in the interest of not choking on him. Sloppy drool gathers in the coiled hairs springing from his base, coating my chin and cheeks until my face is a mess.
Poe makes wrecked noises as he entirely takes control, alternating words of praise with nonsensical noises of pleasure.
“Fuck, your mouth is so hot and wet. I feel you choking me down like the good little slut you are. I’m going to fill you up, baby. You’re going to swallow me all the way down. You’ll taste me on your tongue for days.”
This is madness. Some distant part of me still wants to refuse to submit on principle, despite my enjoyment of this, but it grows smaller and quieter with each manic thrust of his hips. His scent might as well be life-saving oxygen as I breathe him in. I need it to survive.
He surges into my mouth, growing impossibly larger. My remaining instinct for survival has my hands cupped around his swelling knot before he can force even that down my throat and cut off my air completely.
I swallow him down as he finishes down my throat, one pulse after another, until cum dribbles out of the corners of my mouth and I finally have to shuffle back to avoid staining the dress.
He holds my head still before the tip of him completely escapes my mouth, not giving me the choice whether to spit or swallow the mouthful of salty ejaculate on my tongue. For the moment, I relish not being given the choice.
“Good girl,” he groans, words washing over me like a tidal wave. “Perfect little Omega.”
The praise makes me feel invincible, like I could move mountains if he kept using that tone with me. My treacherous heart beats too fast, legs quivering as I push slowly to my feet.
The silk of Queen Midale’s dress rustles between us as he pulls back just far enough to study my face. His eyes are fever bright, pupils blown wide and pitch black.
He surprises me by kissing me again. The swipe of his tongue across my stained lips quick enough that I don’t have a chance to respond.
“She would always kiss me after. It tasted like sweet cream that had just turned. Curdled and sour. I haven’t been able to stomach milk for years.” The sharp edge of his teeth scrape against the too sensitive skin of my lips, just this side of biting. “But you, you taste like fucking heaven.”
I lick my lips, the move instinctive. He growls in response. Heat rises between us as he surveys me, lingering on the gown’s detailing. His nostrils flare with each inhale, and I wonder if he can smell the slick flooding my panties.
Poe shifts closer, expression warmer than I’ve ever seen it. “This gown fits like it was made for you, doesn’t even need to be altered.” His hand grazes the cinching at my waist, a dreamy quality in his voice. “You’re so small, just like she was.”
For a frantic moment, I wonder if he’ll insist on having more from me. I know I’ll eventually have to fuck them all, but I don’t want my first time to be like this. Not with the memory of another Omega twisting it into something tainted. I have to find some way to break the spell we’ve cast on each other.
The question bubbles to the surface of my brain, fizzing like an itch I just have to scratch. It’s the one I’ve wanted to ask since he first shared his shameful secret.
“Did you love her?”
Poe’s hands drop from me faster than if I’d burned him. His eyes are flat, like a storm rolling in on a dark horizon. He looks a decade older in the space of a heartbeat.
I almost step back to close the distance he puts between us. My next breath is more of a swallow, tasting the lingering salty musky of him on my tongue.
What the hell was I thinking? I should have known this was the question that would push him too far.
Too many emotions swirl together in his eyes. Want, pain, rage, all twisting together like a writhing nest of venomous snakes.
He fights for control, expression hardening into the typical Alpha mask. The transition is quick. Easy. The innate reaction to protect himself so ingrained that it might as well be second nature.
No matter how much I might want there to be something more underneath that dangerous facade, I have to remind myself of the truth.
That innocent little boy he used to be died a long time ago.
“If I did, it was only as much as I hated her,” he finally bites out. “You might want to remember that before inviting any more comparisons.”
He stalks out of the room, slamming the door hard enough behind me I jump in reaction.
I force myself to ignore the surge of guilt threatening to rise up in me. Regardless of his help here, Poe isn’t my friend, I don’t have the luxury of softer feelings.
A queen might be the most powerful piece on the chessboard, but she also has the biggest target on her back.
Chapter Fifteen
CILLIAN
My comm unit buzzes for the third time in the last five minutes — Ares’s most recent attempt to reach me. I don’t know how I ended up needing to account for every fucking minute of my time, but it has never been this difficult to slip away from them before.
I silence the call without looking at the screen and shove the comm unit deeper into my pocket. The device vibrates once more with a voicemail notification.
Fucking ridiculous.
I’d left the apartment just before Logan and I came to blows over that damn Omega. We never fight, at least not like this. She disrupts our equilibrium so completely that I have to assume she does it on purpose.
So no matter what Logan’s opinion might be, this little errand can’t wait.
The causeways are deserted at this time of the evening. Honest types have already secured themselves safely in their homes, while the seedier element emerges to take over the night. Holovid announcements might claim that Capital City has never been safer, but that’s only because this time last year the blood of soldiers ran like a river through the streets. People might pretend that they don’t remember the most recent uprising, but plenty of rebels evaded arrest and are now biding their time, waiting for another chance.
Since King Leopold, the great liberator of Melilla, claims that the cities have been made safe, then that becomes the only acceptable truth.
But the pockets of civil unrest are bigger and more frequent every day. Alphas grown frustrated by their lack of riches or access to easy Omega pussy sometimes take to roaming the streets looking to even the score. Betas with little to lose will pickpocket or vandalize if they think they can get away with it.
I can’t afford to become distracted out here. A single guard, decked in royal finery, makes a pretty target for thieves. I’ve swapped my uniform for more casual garb, but the mark of privilege doesn’t wash off. Any denizen of the lower classes who takes one look at me will know immediately that I don’t belong.
