Seven Years by Dannika Dark

demanded.
    I tried to shut the door, but Austin wedged his foot in.
    “Just go,” I whispered. “He’s a big guy with a temper and I’m too sick to deal with a fight.”
    Austin Cole lowered his head as well as his voice. A muscle tightened in his jaw and I knew he meant business. “You may not realize this yet, Lexi, but you’re in my pack. And nobody fucks with my pack.”
    The door pushed open and Austin stood beside me. Beckett had never looked so small.
    “Time for you to get the fuck out of here,” Austin said in a calm voice, the kind that made all my hairs stand on end.
    Beckett looked intimidated just for a split second before going into stupidity mode. “Says who?”
    Those two words had started more fights than I could even remember.
    Austin reduced the space between them to nothing and I became nervous about what was going to go down. All my furniture in ruins, lampshades torn, curtains ripped, tables smashed to pieces…
    Austin threw a hard fist into Beckett’s face and knocked him out cold. It sounded like bones cracked. I gasped when it happened and covered my mouth. There was no warning. No words were exchanged. Beckett fell to the ground like a tranquilized deer and Austin grabbed him by the ankles.
    “What are you doing?” I exclaimed.
    He dragged Beckett all the way outside. I cringed with every thump of his body down the steps but remained inside my apartment, peering through my door. Naya’s partygoers were scattered about, enjoying the balmy night air and barely paying attention.
    Austin Cole walked coolly into my apartment, closing the door behind him. “Did he hurt you?” He placed his large hand across my forehead and then touched my feverish cheek. “He put his hands on you, didn’t he? I could smash his face in for trying to take advantage of you.”
    “I think you did smash his face open,” I murmured.
    Before I knew it, my feet were off the ground. Austin lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bedroom. I mumbled incoherently and everything became hazy and dreamlike. He placed me gently on the bed and kicked off his shoes, climbing in.
    “What are you—no, Austin. No,” I said firmly, trying to roll off the bed.
    He tucked himself against my back, holding my body in a tight grip. Something strange began to happen. The sensation was similar to having hunger pangs and taking that first bite of a cracker. My body filled with relief, and I suddenly craved more of Austin, as if he weren’t just a cracker, but a Ritz.
    “That’s it,” he said, brushing his hand through my hair. “Relax. It’s my power you feel. Perfectly natural.”
    My left leg slid over his and he hissed, pushing it back. Austin was essentially spooning me and trying to hold me still at the same time.
    “I need to see a doctor,” I groaned. “I’m sick.”
    His chest filled with air and a deep sigh warmed my shoulder in the most delicious way.
    Oh, God. Austin was turning me on.
    That’s when I knew I must have been running a high fever, because the control button in my brain was out of order.
    When his hand curved around my hip, I brought it between my legs. A deep growl rumbled in his throat and he immediately pulled it back to my waist.
    So I arched my back until I pushed against his groin. He didn’t move, but I could feel how much he enjoyed it. A deep ache filled my body, one that made me desire the man behind me like never before. Now he was in my bed—all these years, something I’d dreamed about for so long. I reached around, clawing at his jeans with my fingernails.
    “Lexi, no ,” he said firmly. Something compelled me to obey. He gently pulled loose strands of hair away from my face with his right hand. “I need to tell you something.” Austin swallowed thickly. He played it cool and stayed absolutely still. I could smell his skin and taste his power. “When we had the talk in the Laundromat, I got close to you and picked up on something I hadn’t before. You’re a