Chapter 20

RUBY

My body felt like it was on fire. I was still groggy from the wine, but the sensation of throbbing, aching pain drew me instantly out of my stupor.

“It hurts…” I moaned, pulling Caleb’s body closer into me. He was warm, and his presence was soothing.

“Ruby, what’s wrong?” He asked, pulling back to search my eyes.

I blushed, realizing what was happening. I knew this pain. I had felt it almost constantly in my past life. Every night Lucas spent in Harper’s bed, my body would grow hot like I had been laid over burning embers. Every thrust into her body with his cock was like a knife being stabbed into mine.

I would never forget this feeling for as long as I lived.

“It’s my mate bond,” I said softly, squeezing my eyes shut as another wave of pain washed over me.

“Your mate bond?” He brushed a gentle hand over my cheek, moving my hair out of my face. I was surprised by how sweet the gesture was.

Caleb could be kind. He left for a moment to bring me a glass of water, and helped me sit up to take a sip. The cold trickled down my throat and cleared my mind a bit.

“When your mate sleeps with another, it acts like a beating to the mate bond. It doesn’t break it, but it makes you hurt.” I said, trying to keep my breathing steady.

Caleb’s expression darkened, “Lucas is doing this to you?”

I looked down in my lap, trying to keep myself from crying. “This is just what he does. He never wanted me, and would rather hurt me than let me go.”

It startled me to gaze back up into Caleb’s eyes and the anger there. He stared into me deeply. “I am very, very offended that your mate is cheating on you.” He said slowly and deliberately, like he needed me to understand.

I nodded, and shuddered against the pain. ”Thank you, Caleb.” I said, feeling broken and lost.

He put his fingers underneath my chin, and lifted my eyes back up to his. “Why don’t we go back with a vengeance?”

“What?” I asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You can feel this when he fucks Harper, let’s see how much pain we can inflict on him.”

I blushed more deeply, realizing what he was proposing. Sex? With Caleb?

I did find him attractive, that much I could admit to myself, but would it even work against Lucas?

“I don’t know if he would really feel anything,” I said, glancing away nervously. “Lucas still has his wolf to help protect him against the cheating pain. I don’t have Willow anymore, which is probably why it’s so hard on me.”

Caleb shook his head against my protests. “Trust me, there’s precedent for Lucas to be in pain. Not from the mate bond, specifically, but definitely from other pack bonds. He will feel it if you act against him like this.”

His jaw was set in a dark determination, like he desperately wanted to do this against his brother.

As I thought about it, I realized I had never really considered what it would mean to sleep with Caleb. I knew we were approaching a contract marriage, and that our agreement would mean we would live together and behave as man and wife. Even if it was a political arrangement, would we still sleep together?

I considered him in front of me, watching me intently on his knees. His arms were muscled, strong and yet still soft. I let my focus roam over him, down to the trembling veins in his hands.

“Alright,” I said, pushing away the nerves I felt in my stomach.

Caleb grinned, “Lay back, my darling, let me take care of you.”

He gently laid me down against the cushions of the couch, trailing his fingers softly over my body. My back arched involuntarily at his touch, and I bit my bottom lip.

“Just relax,” he said, dipping into my pants and tugging them down my legs. I watched him curiously, his eyes fixed on my body.

With a single motion, he drew down my underwear, leaving me exposed before him. I drew up my knees shyly, but he pulled them back down around his waist. “Not yet,” he whispered, bending down to kiss me.

His lips were soft and warm, and the slight stubble of his chin tickled my neck as his mouth moved down towards my chest. He pushed the hem of my shirt up over my shoulders, and leant down to take my nipple in his mouth.

I sighed, then gasped as I felt his finger dipping down to touch my clit. He started off slowly, drawing tiny, gentle circles around the bud while his tongue worked on the sensitive area of my breast.

He began to go faster, rubbing more intently on the bundle of nerves before switching his fingers. I could feel the pad of his thumb continuing to torment my clit, while his pointer and middle fingers traced the slippery outline of my hole.

The pain of the cheating was forgotten, I could barely think beyond the pleasure of Caleb’s hands. He released my nipple from his mouth and bent down, sucking my clit between his teeth and thrusting into me with his fingers at the same moment.

I cried out, my mind going fuzzy with the feeling. His pace was relentless, his tongue and fingers playing me like a skilled musician. The pressure of orgasm built up in me, and finally crashed through my body, releasing me into a fit of shivering pleasure.

My entire body tingled, and I sighed, “It’s gone.” I toyed with his hair, smiling in my post-sex cloud.

Caleb chuckled, his nose glistening with my slick. “Lucas is already done? He probably came and left Harper unfinished.”

I laughed along, feeling giggly and giddy.

I couldn’t help but hold his face, looking at him like he was a new man I had never met before. I didn’t get his cock, but even just with his fingers and his tongue, it was so much better than it ever had been with Lucas.

Caleb was right, he would release and immediately leave me to clean up the mess, unsatisfied and uncompleted. How had I spent so long settling for that? Why had I let Lucas treat me like a disposable toy for so many years?

”I—“ I started, and was interrupted by the door flinging open, and a figure storming into the room. The wine glasses on the floor tipped over, and one shattered under a heavy pair of boots.

“You!” Lucas’s voice boomed, startling Caleb onto his feet. I pulled the blanket over my bare skin, tugging my shirt down around my hips. The electricity of conflict between the two men terrified me.

“You dare make love to my mate!”