Alpha Domination (Alpha Wolf Book 1) Page 16

  “Fuck,” he whispers. “Fuck...”

  My hand curls around his hard length; his body shudders against mine, a guttural moan peeling from him. His palms slam ungraciously against the tiles as I slick his cock up and down. We’re not kissing any more.

  We’re looking deep into each other, breath rushing over each other’s lips in the fraction of space between us. His eyes are dark, glinting like hot coals, the very essence of what makes me hot and wet.

  “Georgie,” he growls, his voice a sultry warning.

  “Yes?” I whisper.

  His Adam’s apple sways in his throat. “This isn’t talking, either.”

  “So, talk.”

  “While you’re doing that?” he groans, glancing down at my slow strokes.

  “I can stop, but I thought that was what you wanted when you interrupted my shower.”

  “What I wanted,” he begins in a low, sexy growl as he pulls me in for a mind-numbing kiss. His hand curves around my breast and his tongue parts my lips with irresistible persuasion. I’m breathless when he’s finished, my hand stilled around his proud length. “Was you.”

  My jaw slackens, my heart fluttering a thousand tiny beats in my chest. His gaze is intense, but somehow a combination of both vulnerable desire and certainty. Shallow breaths pass my trembling lips.

  This is what I wanted.

  So why am I suddenly terrified? Why are a million reasons why this is a bad idea surfacing in my head? Why am I questioning it? Desperate to ask him if he still loves Anna? Letting different ways to verbally ruin the moment manifest themselves in my brain?

  “You... wanted me? Because you saw me naked when you got here?” I probe tentatively.

  “No.”

  “Because you smelled me?”

  He pushes the button to switch off the spray. The water trickles to nothing, evacuating the room of tiled drumming.

  Nathan leans over me, his body lit seductively in the dim light of the room. His eyes glitter, hot coals burning. My stomach flips. He strokes a wet strand back behind my ear, drawing his finger down and along my jaw until he tilts my chin upwards. His dark gaze sweeps over mine and then he lowers his lashes, slowly capturing my lips in the shattering softness and intensity of his lingering kiss.

  When he stops, he doesn’t withdraw, remaining, instead, so close that I can feel the whisper of his thick words and the warm rush of his minutely shaken breath.

  “I wanted you long before I reached the cabin.” He pauses and then murmurs my name so slowly and sexily that a deep ache stirs within me.

  I fold into his arms, kissing him with the vulnerability of a lover, opening myself up to him as he pulls me tight against his body like no other would fit. His hands are hot, skimming over my back and shoulders.

  He takes his time tasting me, circling my lower lip with his and then dipping his tongue in between. My breathing turns to shallow, hurried gasps.

  He lifts my thigh, curling my leg around him then skimming his hand over my skin to squeeze my bum. His mouth explores my throat with the soft suck of gentle kisses and the sensual, barely there scrape of his teeth. A surprised gasp curls into a moan as his other hand slips down to my exposed centre and strokes that sweet spot with agonising deliciousness.

  Hot breath rushes shallowly against his lips as he kisses me, his hand running through my hair and down the back of my neck as he guides himself achingly inside me.

  An animal growl rattles through him, my whimper of longing pale in comparison. He hitches up my other leg, securing them both around his waist, burying himself deep as I pant softly and look up into the sexy, dark chasms of his eyes. My arms wrap around his neck. I can feel every vibration of his body as he carries me through to the bedroom, water droplets beading his strong chest.

  We plough down into the cloudy thickness of his bedsheets. The stickiness of wet skin on fabric doesn’t seem to matter nearly as much as the tenderness of his slow, dizzying kisses. And then he begins to move his hips. I bite down on the softest groan. His palms are either side of my head. His face is close to mine, so close that our heavy gasps are one. The thrust of his hips is slow and sure, each heady motion met by my own; we look into each other’s eyes, mine heavy-lidded with pleasure, his dark, glinting with desire and flickering vulnerability.

  “Nathan...?”

  “Georgie...”

  I kiss him, open mouthed, delighting in the aching groan he releases. Then he growls and wraps my legs around him, flipping us into a seated position. His hands on my hips, I rock faster and harder. His lips brush my breasts. He feels so good.

  “Beautiful,” he murmurs and strokes my nipple with his tongue before circling it with his lips and sucking. We move faster. Rasping groans leave my lips, closer and closer to the edge. He’s looking up at me as I watch him, our eyes dark, lips parted. My body begins to shudder, my lashes part closing, breaths gasping. I can feel him getting nearer with every moan that draws from my lips.

  And then the ecstatic pleasure of our bodies combined washes over me.

  “Yes... yes... Georgie...” I hear him calling me as he follows me over the edge of the world, completing me.

  End Of The Road

  I open my eyes slowly. My body aches gloriously in the only way it can after making love for most of the night.

  Nathan’s chest rises and falls below my outstretched hand. He’s lying on his back beside me, one arm curled possessively around my body, scooping me into him. I can feel his soft, warm lips form a smile against my brow. The kiss he presses to my skin is so subtle it could have been the breeze from a butterfly’s wing. But I smile, feeling his lips curve sleepily.

  “You’re awake, then.”

  My heart is brimming. I smile languidly, my mouth buried against the warm hollow of his collarbone. “Can’t I pretend I’m asleep for just a little longer?”

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “To make this moment last?” I murmur.

  “Hmm, okay.” His fingers stroke against my back causing delicate tingles to move down my spine.

  Last night, sex with him was different. It felt like it meant something more, to both of us.

  “We’ll have to get up soon,” he says, half turning to look at me. His hand moves to my hip, drawing lazy patterns over my cool skin.

  A small frown crumples my brow as I look up at him. He smiles and presses a soft, lingering kiss to my lips.

  “Visiting hours at the hospital,” he says in answer to my unspoken question. “With any luck, Hattie might have woken up.”

  “What did the doctor say?”

  “That it was... bad. If the ambulance hadn’t arrived when it did...” He trails off into a deep frown, not meeting my eyes.

  I move my hand up his throat, capturing his attention and turning his lips to mine for a kiss. “Don’t think about what could have happened. She’s safe and getting better. That’s the main thing.” He nods subtly. “We should probably get her some clean pyjamas and a get well card.”

  His eyes narrow in a sort of bemused expression. I’m not entirely sure what’s tickled him, though.

  “That’s what we do in the UK, if someone’s in hospital. And maybe some grapes?”

  He smiles and kisses me softly. “Uh huh. I think Hattie would appreciate that, dahlin.” He looks at me for a long moment. I wish I could tell what’s going through his head. “I suppose we’d better sort ourselves, huh?”

  My heart clenches, but I smile. He lingers, not seeming in any rush to get out of bed, which I’m trying not to read into. Another soft kiss and, with a protracted groan, he swings his long legs over the side of the mattress and stretches.

  Lying in bed with him, waking with him... It feels too natural. Too right.

  I watch as he shrugs into a jumper and some jeans. He scoops loose hair back from his face, shoots me another melting smile, and heads to the kitchen. I lie for a few minutes, just breathing in the scent of him wrapped around me in his bed covers. If it wasn’t for ev
erything that had happened, I could almost convince myself that I’m in a scene from a romcom when the love interests finally get together. Are we supposed to discuss how we feel?

  Shit. How does he feel?

  Because last night and this morning... I could almost convince myself that he loves me back. But I just... How do I ask him?

  And then, there’s Carrick. There’s my real life.

  The pan in the kitchen is sizzling. Heat and bacon waft into the room. Reluctantly, I peel myself from the bed. I don’t want to face this day. I want to stay under the covers, willingly trapped forever in the cocoon of our lovemaking. But I can’t.

  My stomach rumbles as I slip into one of his shirts and the jeggings Hattie had brought me. He glances happily at me when I enter the kitchen. Murdering those hunters followed by sex seems to have put him in an especially good mood. His gaze draws down my body and then back up again, causing heat to roll up the nape of my neck.

  “Shirt looks good on you,” he murmurs and turns back to the pan.

  My heart skips a beat.

  We sit together on the sofa and eat, thighs and shoulders touching. I feel like I’m being lulled into a false sense of security. Any minute now, the ceiling will come crashing in or Caleb will turn up, somehow not dead. This tentative happiness, this glow of being with Nathan... How can it last?

  He squeezes my knee and takes my empty plate to the kitchen. He’s all jokes and lightness. I keep catching his gaze, like he’s checking me out. Everytime I do, he flashes that meltingly wicked smile.

  We grab coats and head for the pickup. He squeezes my thigh again, when we’re in the cab. I turn at the cheeky touch and find his soft lips waiting. The kiss is drowning. I savour the heat of his mouth and the slow, tender exploration of his tongue. My fingers clench in the back of his hair as his hand smooths up my thigh.

  His lips curve into a smile against mine. “Mm, best thing I’ve tasted all morning, dahlin.”

  His eyes are dark and open. I dare to think this could be my new normal. I could leave my job at the Conservation Centre, get something else, small, closer to Nathan. I could call Carrick and just end things.

  And I could stay with Nathan...

  He sighs, breaking the spell and turning to flip the ignition. “Don’t want to miss visiting time.”

  We start off towards the town with a plan to stop off at the shop first. The scenery passes by in a wash of white. It isn’t snowing, but thoughts of it return me to last night and I realise that he hasn’t told me what happened with the hunters in any real detail.

  “Huh?” he says, in answer to my question. “Oh, the boss guy. One of the hunters told me he goes by the initials AJD.”

  “How did you find that out?”

  He glances at me with a keen look I don’t need to translate.

  “You tortured them?”

  “Wolf’s gotta do, what a wolf’s gotta do,” Nathan answers sternly without apology. “Being this isn’t all about howling and shapeshifting, you know? You have to protect your pack.”

  “But you haven’t–”

  Softened eyes flick over me. I swallow.

  “Nathan... I don’t need protecting.”

  He turns back to the road, a muscle flickering traitorously in his jaw. “You’d rather I’d left you at Caleb’s mercy?”

  I look down at my hands.

  “Didn’t think so.” He clears his throat and then sighs resignedly. “Georgie, I did what I had to do to neutralise a threat. That hunter at the hospital might have thought you were still human, but the longer the others were left alive, the more likely they were to figure out what you are. And, I guarantee you, the bounty on my head for the colour of my fur is nothing to what someone would pay for a female werewolf.” His eyes move over me, his voice gentling. “You’re gold dust, Georgie. I was just keeping you safe.”

  I let his words stew for a few moments before clearing my throat. I know what he’s saying is probably true. Just a few days having this curse has already taught me that. And, part of me, realises that this is Nathan’s way of telling me he cares.

  “Okay... So why does this AJD guy want a werewolf with black fur?”

  “I’ll have to ask him when I see him.”

  I stiffen. “Nathan, you’re not going to go see this guy, are you?”

  He shrugs.

  “Nathan?”

  “I was thinking of checking it out at some point.” He parks the car on the curb outside a local shop. People are milling about the snowy streets, pathways a dirty sliver of slush. Nathan turns the engine off and looks at me. “Like I said, I have to neutralise the threat before it becomes something more.”

  “How will you even find him if all you have is three initials?”

  “I have more than that. Stay in the car while I go get some things for Hattie.” He pauses, glancing at the irritated furrow in my brow, and then kisses me softly. I glare at him, trying to maintain my annoyance, but his mouth forms a crooked smile, seeing right through me. “I won’t be long.”

  He gets out of the pickup and disappears into the local shop. I sit there quietly for a few minutes, absently watching people pass and wondering if this all hints to Nathan wanting me to stay in his life.

  That’s when the old lady on the path slips right next to the pickup.

  I’m out of my seat in a flash and helping her back up. A middle-aged man in a big duffel coat has seen her fall, too. We both get her back on her feet and away from the patch of ice. She’s thanking us both when she pauses to look at my face again, like she knows me.

  “You’re the missing girl. Rachel something!” she exclaims.

  My heart is hammering in my ears. Words are frozen on my lips.

  Duffel coat man squints at me. “Rachel Appleby? The girl who went missing in the woods?”

  “Sorry, what?” I say, as if I don’t know what they’re talking about, taking a hesitant step back.

  A crowd has begun to form. They all seem to know that I’m missing. One of them has a flyer with a picture on it and my name.

  The blood in my veins is turning to ice. I look to the convenience store and see Nathan, frozen, just the other side of the glass doors, with his arms full of bags.

  His expression is unreadable. Our eyes lock. He lowers his gaze and goes back into the store just as a stone sinks in my stomach.

  “Yes,” I say, stiffly, finally, to the policeman the crowd has summoned. “Yes. That’s... That’s me.”

  He leads me away from the pickup. Away from Nathan.

  I’m taken to the police station where the cops take me into an interview room. They tell me that they found my clothes shredded in the woods beside my mobile phone. I nod dumbly, thinking about the look on Nathan’s face when he walked away.

  “I was attacked,” I say quietly and give a description of Caleb. My brain feels like it’s gone numb. “And I hit my head somehow.”

  “Did the man who attacked you assault you sexually?” asks the cop.

  I blink for a moment and realise that he’s talking about my shredded clothing. He tells me to take my time. I sip the water they’ve given me, trying to get my story straight in my head. “No,” I answer slowly, “but I think he was going to.”

  “What made him stop?”

  My scrambled thoughts turn to Nathan. “There was a man that lives in the woods and he stumbled across the guy attacking me before he could do anything. I was unconscious, but he scared him off and took me to his hunting cabin.”

  “And then?”

  “I’m not sure. It was a pretty hard hit to the head. The man in the woods, his name was John,” I lie. “He seemed to think I had amnesia brought on by the blow. I could remember the attack but nothing else.”

  “But now you do?”

  “When that old lady said my name... It all came flooding back.”

  “Where is this ‘John’ fella, now, then?”

  “I don’t know. He went into the shop. He must still be there, I guess...”


  Bitter Kiss Goodbye

  It’s been a week since the full moon. A week since I was recognised by that old lady in the street. A week since I’ve seen Nathan. Felt him. Tasted him.

  I can still smell him on the shirt I was wearing.

  I smooth out my blouse and fix my hair, watching my reflection in the mirror. It doesn’t look much different to the day I was attacked by Caleb and his gang. My skin is pale. My hair is neatly brushed. But my eyes seem to hold a trace of wildness that wasn’t there before. Wildness and longing...

  A lump shifts uncomfortably in my throat.

  A week without him... I should have realised that he wouldn’t come after me. He’d told me that it had just been sex. I was a fool to think that our last night together had been more than that.

  Besides, he was more wolf than man; he would protect himself and his territory above a brief liaison. Because that was all I was to him.

  He hadn’t loved me like he loved Anna.

  I’d been trying to kid myself that he was just lying low until this ridiculous media attention lessened, but now... I know I was wrong. And today I return to work at the Conservation Centre.

  The police had finally decided to believe my story about amnesia, despite the fact they couldn’t find my imaginary rescuer ‘John’. The local news, however, were excited about the whole thing.

  And the Conservation Centre had jumped on my link to them as a way to raise awareness about their work. They’re throwing a mini press conference in honour of my first day back.

  My reflection bites her lip, stomach rolling with nausea. What if the hunter chasing Nathan recognises me in the local report?

  I sling my long, wool coat around my shoulders. Nathan might have dealt with him, by now. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t been in touch. Maybe he’s been tracking down AJD.