Aric (The Boundarylands #7) - Callie Rhodes Page 0,27

told you, money doesn't mean much around here."

"No!" Jo said quickly. "You don't understand. It's not about the money."

"Then what is it about?"

She twisted in his arms, and this time, he let her go, knowing her nature wouldn't allow her to stray far, even if she hadn't accepted that yet. Shame had crept into her scent, choking her other emotions.

"Up until yesterday, I thought the man I worked for was a construction contractor," she told him, her eyes not meeting his. "You have to believe me."

"Of course," Aric said. "Now tell me who he is."

She bit her lip before answering. "A contract killer who is responsible for dozens of deaths—and those are just the ones I can prove. God knows how many more there have been that no one will ever know about."

"Let me get this straight." Aric tried to keep his expression neutral, but it was doomed endeavor as amusement tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You're terrified because your old boss was a hitman?"

"Why are you laughing?" Jo cried. "This isn't funny. John isn't some—some two-bit hustler who threatens to break people's thumbs when someone doesn't pay up. He assassinates people, important people, and the men who hire him to do it are even more important. There is no way any of them are going to let me walk away, knowing what I know."

Aric wrapped his arm around her and resumed the low rumbling that he knew would ease her anxiety. "And you don't understand who I am," he murmured against her neck. "I'm an alpha…your alpha. Even if this beta is stupid enough to come to the Boundarylands, he wouldn't dare come onto my land."

"You don't know John." Jo pulled away, utterly unconvinced. "He's not just some beta, he's a killer, Aric. Cold-blooded and ruthless. Not only can he track me down anywhere, I can feel in my bones that he will."

Gently, Aric took her hand and led her back to his bed. She didn't resist. Her instinct for self-preservation, strong though it was, was no match for her transitioning nature. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, even more urgent than before.

Now that her body had a taste of his cock, her heat was coming on fast. Soon there would be no stopping it.

Then there would be no more talk about running away or fear of hitmen. Whatever bullshit from her past life still bothered Jo when her heat finally subsided, they would deal with then.

But for the next four days, there would only be the two of them. Touching, tasting, exploring, and fucking each other's bodies until the bond between them was sealed and cemented.

"I'm warning you, Aric," she tried, even as the look in her eyes went hazy, and her leather bag slid from her grasp onto the floor. "You don't understand what's headed this way."

As Aric slid the soft fabric of her dress up for the second time, feasting his eyes on the gorgeous body that was now all his, he conceded that it was possible that he really didn't understand.

But right now, he had more important things to worry about.

Chapter Eleven

Once his omega's heat had really caught fire, it didn't take long for her to abandon the swirling thoughts that had tethered her inside her own head and start to fully inhabit her body. There was no more talk about money or running away.

There was only her body and Aric's coming together, again and again.

And it was pure heaven. Aric didn't even mind the rogue thought that once would have made him scoff. Maybe there was a God, and maybe there wasn't, but he was a lot more open to the idea after considering that Jo might be His creation.

Now, when his knot swelled inside her, she didn't struggle or try to pull away. Instead, she moaned, spread her legs wider, and welcomed every last drop of his come.

In fact, as one hour slid into the next, and night and day lost their meaning, she wasn't the only one to get lost in the haze of sexual frenzy. Somewhere early on, Aric joined her there. He was pretty sure that the sun had gone down and come up again twice, but he wasn't completely confident even of that.

Aric had never felt anything like this need to constantly be inside Jo. It wasn't merely desire; it was even more primal than that, as though their bond existed at the cellular level. And he had absolutely no control over it.

This must be