Chapter 0154

She leans back with a smirk, swirling her drink before catching the bartender's eye. A subtle tilt of her glass is all it takes. The bartender nods, already reaching for the bottle.

Her gaze slides back to me, sharp and knowing. "That's what you were thinking, isn't it, Alpha?"

I brace my forearm against the bar, closing the space between us. "A creature like you doesn't belong in a place like this."

The bartender sets down her refill. She drags her tongue along the straw, slow, deliberate. "Business trip. Just for the weekend."

"Name?" My fingers trace the edge of her dress, skimming bare skin.

"Isolde." Her lips curve. "And you, gorgeous?"

"Sebastian." I tilt my head toward the elevators. "My suite's upstairs."

That feline smile widens. "One more for the road."

I signal the bartender. "Another bottle. Add it to my tab."

The moment the bottle lands in my grip, I’m steering her away, one hand possessive on the small of her back. The elevator doors close, and I swipe my keycard before shoving her against the wall. My mouth crashes into hers, my fingers sliding higher, higher—until I find exactly what I expected.

Nothing beneath that dress.

A growl rumbles in my chest as I stroke her, relishing the way her breath hitches. Her fingers tangle in my hair, yanking hard. Perfect. She wants it rough.

The elevator dings. I let her go just long enough to watch her stride into my suite, hips swaying. Prey, taunting the predator.

I drop the bottles on the table as she turns. Her amber eyes burn with the same hunger coiled tight in my gut. Too long. Months of celibacy, playing the noble Alpha for Evelyn. All that restraint—gone tonight.

She grins, stepping backward, setting her glass aside. A challenge.

I prowl forward. "Here, kitty." My voice is pure gravel.

She spins to run. One step. That’s all she gets before I slam her into the wall. Her chest heaves as I rip her dress clean down the middle. Fabric pools at her feet.

"Hope that wasn’t sentimental," I mutter.

Her nails rake down my chest, shredding my shirt. "Loved that dress."

"Gentle isn’t on the menu." My claws pierce her waist as I lift her.

She purrs, legs locking around me. "Who said I wanted gentle, puppy?"

I bare my teeth. "It’s Alpha." Then I bury my face between her thighs.

She screams my name three times before I let her breathe.

I don’t give her time to recover. Spinning her around, I fist her hair, pinning her to the wall as I kick my pants aside. One sharp jerk parts her legs.

"Hands on the wall."

The second she obeys, I’m inside her.

No mercy. No thought. Just the brutal snap of my hips, the scrape of her claws gouging the wallpaper. None of it matters—not the losses, not the future, not the fucking loneliness. Only this. Only her.

When she chants "Alpha" like a prayer, I let go.