5

ARE YOU READY TO DIVE IN!??

CHAPTER 5

EVERY BIT HOW I FEEL

When I finally stepped out of the bathroom, still feeling the weight of the presence I now carried, I didn’t expect to walk straight into temptation wearing a human shape.

“Ouu!” The words slipped out of my mouth the moment my eyes laid on him. Which was weird because I should've gotten a whiff of his scent.

He was leaning against the wall opposite the door, arms crossed over his chest, ankles casually overlapped like he had all the time in the world. But his eyes told a different story as they raked my form–dark and hungry… fixed entirely on me.

“Again, Luca Rodriguez was a fool.”

I tried to keep my wolf at bay as I tried not to squirm. Neon lights pooled the hallway, hitting his face at just the right angle, casting shadows across his jaw in a way that made him look carved from night itself.

My heart tripped so violently I almost reached back for the bathroom door. Instead, I drew in a breath and forced a smirk on my lips.

“Well,” I said, lifting one eyebrow, trying so damn hard to pretend he didn’t affect me, “couldn’t stay away from me for five minutes?”

His answering smile was slow and dark, like danger wrapped in silk. The kind of smile you'd runaway from if it was coming from someone ugly.

“Not when you smell like that.” His voice dropped to that gravelly wolf-vibe that always slid right down my spine.

Before I could even inhale again, he pushed off the wall. In two strides he closed the distance between us, and then my back hit the opposite wall with a soft thud.

By now, my wolf was wagging its tail as my breath caught.

Santiago braced one hand beside my head, caging me in. His other hand rested lazily on my hips, thumb brushing against the skin there like he was memorizing it.

“What are you doing?” I strangled out, keeping my voice even.

“Callie…” he murmured, his eyes tracing the lines on my lips. “Let me claim you.”

The words crashed through me like a shockwave. Claim?

The one thing every she-wolf whispered about with excitement that seemed to drug them and it was the only thing I never thought a wolf would do to my nerdy omega ass.

I shook my head, even though my knees were already turning to water.

“Santiago, I… I can’t.” My voice wobbled. “I don– I’m not ready for that.”

His jaw flexed, frustration and something deeper flickering through his eyes, but he didn’t push. Instead, he exhaled slowly, the warm breath hitting my lips with a little tease.

How can someone be so inviting? I just want to run my finger along his— focus Callie!

“Then let me have something,” he whispered, leaning in until our foreheads touched and I could feel the steady, restrained rumble of his wolf beneath his skin.

“A taste. A little moment. Anything, please.” His voice cracked just slightly. “Can I at least kiss you? I need to feel you again. I’m starving, Callie.”

Did Santiago Dela-cruz just beg me?

The confession punched through my chest, because fucking moons! I needed a taste of him too.

My head moved in a positive nod before I allowed myself think about the consequences of my decision. I let my body betray me in the worst– and best– way possible.

In an instant, his lips met mine.

Holy Selene!

The kiss didn’t start gentle. It wasn’t slow or sweet or cautious. It was a collision, raw and electric like he’d been holding himself back for too long and the second he got permission, his restraint snapped.

One hand grabbed my waist firmly His fingers almost getting past the fabric of my dress. The fingers in his second hand slid into my hair, pulling me closer as his body pressed against mine, breathing solid heat into me.

He kissed me like he needed it to breathe, and I responded like I’d been waiting for this my whole damn life. My hands fisted in his shirt, dragging him even closer. It felt like we were burning but this fire wasn't the type you'd want to quench.

His wolf growled–a deep, low vibration that rumbled through his chest and into me, making me gasp against his mouth. I was not only drunk in the heat from his touch, but from his intoxicating scent.

Luca could never come close.

My back was warm from his palms now, his tongue delving deep into my mouth, his fingers splayed wide as if holding me in place was the only thing keeping him sane.

And for a moment, just a moment, the world outside that hallway disappeared. There was only him, only us, only heat and breath and want.

And then… A scream tore through the air. A loud, high-pitched shriek that sounded like someone had walked in on a murder scene.

“OH MY GOD… CALLIE!”

Santiago jerked back slightly, chest rising and falling like he was barely holding himself together. I blinked, lips swollen, oxygen not fully returned to my lungs yet.

Standing a few feet away, frozen like she’d just caught her grandmother pole dancing, was Stella.

Just great!

Her eyes were huge, her mouth hanging open so wide I could see the back of her throat.

“Oh no,” I whispered under my breath.

Santiago growled in what sounded like disappointment as Stella pointed at us like we’d committed the worst crime.

Because of course.

Of course the moon would give me Santiago’s mouth, and Stella’s scream on the same night. The universe clearly had a personal vendetta against me.

“Stella–” I was saying, but she cut me short.

“Wow. You're not only an omega, but also a whore.”

Stella's words stung more than they should, I mean, I should be used to her insults, but something about what I was feeling for three men made it sting differently.

“You should mind the way you speak to people,” Santiago warned, but Jessica was far from reasoning.

“Why did I just walk in on you kissing my step sister Santiago? I mean, of all the she–wolves in this club— my step sister?”

Just then, Matteo and Marco walked in on the whole showdown and embarrassment flooded my cheeks. Rather than a response to Stella’s question, Santiago glared at Marco and Matteo, the type that said— ‘I knew you led her here’.

“What the hell were you thinking, kissing this—” she sized me up and down with her eyes, lost for words to describe me. Unable to take in the stares and scrutiny, my legs moved.

No matter how many times all three men tried to make me stop running, I didn't stop. Tears flooded my vision and I could finally feel the rush of all the alcohol I had taken tonight hit me.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stop crying over words you've heard a lot of times,” I chided myself, stopping right in front of my car.

With shaky hands, I reached into my purse for my car keys and fished them out the moment the metallic thing came in contact with my fingers. Getting into the driver's seat, I inserted the key in its hole. The engine revved to life– at least pretended to– before dying again.

I tried, again and again, but no matter how many times I twisted the key, the engine never stayed working. In frustration, I got down from the vehicle and reached for my phone. It was better to order an Uber than stay around this vicinity another minute.

I was still scrolling through my phone when a particular rain scent hit my nostrils.

“Marco,” I called the name in my head before I lifted my head to meet his gaze. He placed his hands softly over mine, squeezing gently without breaking eye contact.

“Let me take you back to your dorm.”

I don't think he knew just how much his thought sent a wave of heat and butterflies to my stomach.

“Okay.”

Like a simple command, he turned around and headed towards his car. I followed quietly behind him, thinking about what his physique would look like under his clothes.

I was still in my thoughts when I ran into a wall– sorry, Marco– I didn't realise he had stopped.

“I guess you've had too many Jacks tonight.”

I nodded my head, not bothering to correct him. He went around and opened the passenger door. I got in, watching as he went round and got into the driver's seat.

“Callie…”

I turned at the sound of my name, staring at his side profile as he pulled out of where he was parked and into the streets. I swallowed, watching as his muscles flexed when he turned the steering wheel.

Can someone get any sexier??

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. As long as it doesn't have to do with me kidding you.”

He turned to stare at me, his eyes growing darker than they were a few seconds ago.