<h4>Chapter 607: Rogue Alpha’s im (I)</h4>
<strong>Evaline:</strong>
His mouth hit mine like a collision.
There was no hesitation.
No softness.
No question.
Just impact.
My back arched instinctively as his hand tightened in my hair, his fingers fisting at the base of my skull to hold me exactly where he wanted me. The force of it stole the breath from my lungs, and for a split second my mind wentpletely nk.
River had kissed me before.
But never like this.
This wasn’t the controlled, careful restraint he had always maintained between us.
This wasn’t the almost-kiss that stopped right before the line.
This was hunger.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
His lips moved against mine with a desperate intensity that made my knees weaken. He angled his head, deepening the contact, his mouth iming mine in a way that felt almost territorial.
Like he was proving something.
Like he was taking something back.
A small sound escaped me - half gasp, half protest - but he swallowed it instantly, his other hand sliding around my waist and dragging me flush against his body.
The contact sent a shockwave through me.
Heat.
Solid muscle.
The unmistakable hardness of him pressed against my hips.
My fingers curled into the front of his shirt without me realizing it, clutching the fabric as his lips moved harder, deeper, more insistent. His breath was warm, uneven, mingling with mine as he kissed me like he couldn’t get enough.
Like he had been starving.
His teeth caught my lower lip suddenly, and he gave a sharp, deliberate nip.
Not enough to hurt... but enough to make me gasp.
And he used that moment.
His tongue brushed mine, iming the space, turning the kiss into something even more overwhelming.
My head spun.
Stars, this was...
Too much.
Too intense.
Too dangerous.
"Ri-River-"
I tried to pull back.
I needed to tell him.
Needed to exin.
Elion was just provoking him.
And what about his promise of only kissing me when he would mark her?
He broke the kiss only because I forced space between us with both hands against his chest.
We were both breathing hard.
His forehead hovered near mine, his eyes dark... so dark they were the darkest shade of green I had ever seen.
There was jealousy, possessiveness... emotions I had never seen so openly on his face before.
I swallowed, trying to gather my thoughts. And then, for some inexplicable reason, the words that came out were...
"My bags are outside. They have my clothes in them."
Silence.
I blinked.
My own brain froze.
Out of everything I could have said...
That?
Disappointment crashed into me instantly.
What was wrong with me?!
River stared at me for one stunned second. Then something shifted behind his eyes.
Not calmer.
Worse.
Far worse.
The next moment he moved.
Fast.
His hand caught my waist again, and suddenly my back hit the wall beside the door with a soft thud. The impact barely registered because his mouth was already on mine again.
Harder this time... if even possible.
More demanding.
Like whatever restraint had been left in him just snappedpletely.
I gasped against his lips, but he didn’t slow down. His hand slid from my waist up my side, fingers sying over my ribs before settling firmly at the curve beneath my chest, holding me pinned against him.
His body pressed closer.
Trapping me between him and the wall.
The kiss deepened again, his head tilting the opposite way, his lips moving with a relentless hunger that made my pulse race wildly.
This wasn’t gentle.
It wasn’t romantic.
It was possession.
His teeth grazed my lip again, softer this time, followed by a soothing press of his mouth that sent shivers down my spine.
My hands betrayed mepletely, sliding up his chest to his shoulders, my fingers curling into his cor as if I needed him just as much.
Because stars help me...
I did.
He kissed like a man who had been pushed too far.
Like every emotion he had been suppressing finally erupted.
His mouth left mine suddenly.
I barely had time to inhale before his lips were at my jaw.
Hot.
Open-mouthed.
Trailing down the sensitive skin beneath my ear.
A sharp breath escaped me.
"River-"
My voice sounded weak.
Unsteady.
His nose brushed my throat, and then his lips followed.
Slow at first.
Then firmer.
He kissed the side of my neck, and the sensation shot straight through my body, heat pooling low in my stomach. His hand tightened on my waist, his fingers digging in just enough to remind me how strong he was.
How easily he could keep me right where I was.
My head tipped back against the wall without permission.
His breath was warm against my skin.
His lips moved again, lower this time, and I felt the scrape of his teeth followed by a soothing press that made my toes curl inside my heels.
Stars.
I was losing this battle.
Completely.
One of his hands slid up into my hair, not gripping like before... just holding, anchoring me as his mouth returned to mine once more.
This kiss was different again.
Still intense.
Still hungry.
But deeper.
Slower.
Like he was savoring the contact while still unable to stop.
Our breaths mingled, uneven and hot, and every time I tried to pull back even a fraction, his hand tightened, guiding me right back.
A soft sound slipped out of me when his thumb brushed along my jaw.
His response was immediate - his lips pressed harder, his body shifting even closer, hips aligning with mine in a way that made my stomach flip violently.
My hands slid from his shoulders to the back of his neck.
I wasn’t even pretending to resist anymore.
The world outside this moment had disappeared.
There’s kust him.
His mouth.
His hands.
His presence surrounding mepletely.
He kissed like he was memorizing me.
Like he needed to erase the image of anyone else near me.
Like he needed to remind both of us exactly who I belonged to.
My lungs burned when he finally pulled back just enough for air, our foreheads resting together.
But his hands didn’t loosen. If anything, they tightened.
His thumb traced along my cheek.
His breathing was still rough.
Controlled.
Barely.
And that was when it hit me.
The realization.
This wasn’t just about the kiss.
River wasn’t nning to stop here tonight.
Not even close.