Chapter 129

Charles’ hand slid across my wet skin in between my legs. He turned me and bent me over. And I braced my hands on the tile on the floor.

He pressed his hard tip against my crease and then gripped my hips, shoving himself inside. I moaned and pressed my hips back into him.

Rather than a solid rhythm like he usually did, he would thrust deeply a few times, then tease the outer edges with the head of his penis. Then he’d glide back and forth before a rapid series of little thrusts.

The sound of his wet skin slapping against mine blended in with the sound of the falling water in the shower. I braced myself, my legs parting wider, begging him to bury the entire length of his shaft within me.

He obliged, his thrusts now becoming longer and firmer as he rammed himself all the way up inside me to the base of his cock. I panted, trying not to inhale water that ran across my shoulders and down, dripping from my head.

Faster and faster, he worked against my body until, finally, I let out a moan at the start of my orgasm. My knees trembled, working to keep my body up and in the position he needed. But my moan was all the invitation that he needed, and he buried himself inside me with a groan, his cock pulsing against my innards.

I shuddered and panted out the rest of the orgasm. Then, I pushed myself up to relax my fingers.

Charles leaned back against the tile, smiling at me, his erection drooping on its way back down. I took a step toward him, and the remainder of his cum slithered down my leg. A horrifying thought occurred to me. I’d just let him come inside me again—without protection.

A knot settled in my stomach. I really didn’t want to get pregnant. Now was not the time, especially after the conversation that we’d just had. The danger was ramping up around us. This was not the time to risk a pregnancy.

“Ah, Charles? I-I have a favor to ask,” I started slowly.

He pulled me into his arms and then drew me under the running water to stay warm. “I have a favor to ask too. Mind if I go first?”

I bit my lip, wondering if I would still have the guts to ask him to wear a condom if I let him interrupt what courage I had mustered.

But he took the momentary pause as the opportunity to speak. “They’re starting to pull in the alphas for interviews. And I’m going to be sitting in on those,” he explained. “I don’t know how calm I’ll be able to keep myself in that situation. And I hate to place the burden on you. But you know what your scent does for me. I’ve gotten permission to have you sit in on the interviews. They thought it would be good to have a reporter there. Are you willing to take that on? Can you discuss this with your editor, or would it help if I contacted the lead editor for you?”

I wilted. Now, while Charles was worrying for my safety and over the situation with the alphas, it was clearly not the time to have the discussion about birth control. I’d have to find the moment and the courage again.

Charles spent dinner reassuring me that getting involved with helping him out with the interviews with the alphas was safe enough. He promised that if I found myself in danger, he would make sure that I was protected.

He once again voiced lingering mistrust over David and Theo’s loyalties. Then, he reassured me that he was perfectly capable of keeping me safe. He’d managed with a killer on the loose in Lustrum, so he’d be able to manage here.

Unfortunately for him, he kept up the wrong reassurances to make me feel better. He insisted that I looked uneasy, and he was right. But those weren’t the sort of reassurances of protection that I needed.

It’s because all through dinner, all I could think about was what had happened in the shower. I’d know by the end of the week if my cycle started. If it didn’t, we would have a whole new set of problems to worry about.

In the meantime, a knot just kept growing in my stomach that wouldn’t unleash. What if we’d screwed up? What if we’d made a horrible mistake? What if we hadn’t been careful when all it took was a little planning?

Charles got up and cleared the dishes, rinsing them off and putting them in the dishwasher. Then he came back and drew me out of the chair where I was still sitting, pondering. He pulled me into his arms. He kissed me gently on each cheek, on the forehead, and then on the tip of my nose.

“What has you so upset?” he coaxed. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to make it better for you.”

I opened my mouth to say he just needed to use protection when the door between our apartments burst open.

David came out with Theo in his arms. He had Theo’s arm thrown over his shoulder, and he had his hands supporting Theo’s whole weight.

“Something is seriously wrong with him,” David said. “I need to get him to the hospital. I’ve already called the ambulance. I’m meeting them downstairs. Once I’ve transferred Theo to their care, I’ll come back up and keep an eye on you both. Please don’t go anywhere, and please don’t spilt up.”

Charles and I nodded, and I wondered if I should let them know that Mr. Dale had given Theo something to make him sick. But all I could think was that if I admitted what happened, the security on us would tighten to a stranglehold. And that was if I didn’t end up in jail in the first place.

Not to mention what would happen to Mr. Dale. Everything he was trying to accomplish would fall flat on its face, and everything he’d risked would be for nothing. He’d be in trouble. They might trace that back to his family and possibly even the dark web.

If there was an outlet for the whole truth about Packhaven, then the last thing I wanted to do was jeopardize its existence.

Theo would just have to try and get better on his own. I was sure the doctors were capable at whatever hospital they were taking him to. They seemed to have only the best of everything for the affluent residents of Packhaven. I had no doubt that included doctors as well. He’d be in good hands.

I nodded to David. “We’ll stay in the apartment,” I agreed.

David gave us one short nod and hoisted Theo out the door.

Charles looked at me with wide eyes. “You’re not going to tell them?” he murmured.

I shook my head. “I don’t dare,” I said. “Or the whole fragile platform that the truth is standing on might come crashing down. I consider it a sacrifice of protecting sources.”

He gripped my shoulders and stared at me. “Don’t tell me you’d sacrifice yourself like that?”

“Not unless I absolutely had to. But in support of a bigger truth like this, wouldn’t you?”

He let out a growl. “This bigger truth hasn’t come to light. You’re protecting something that doesn’t exist as far as the public is concerned.”

“All the more reason for me to protect it,” I said. “Because if the public is ever going to live properly, then they’ll need to see it.”

Charles took me in his arms and squeezed. “Please don’t jeopardize yourself. I just got through telling you how much I need you. Please value yourself the way I value you.”

I hugged him back. Charles took the opportunity to kiss down the length of my neck. His hand slid down my back toward my butt. I quickly twisted out of his grip.

“I don’t know that I’m in the mood to do that again,” I said. “There’s a lot of heavy stuff weighing on me right now. I’m sorry.”