by Kian Rhodes
“Good evening, Alpha,” I said obediently as I scrambled to climb off Ralph’s prone body, but his hands settled on my hips, holding me in place.
“That’s better,” he said with a wink. “No, don’t move. We need to talk and I think I like you where you are.”
“But..” I stammered. “My clothes?”
Ralph shrugged. “You went to the bathroom a couple of hours ago and came back without them.”
Oh my god. I dropped my face back down and buried it in his chest. “I am so sorry.”
“For what?” Ralph asked, his voice sincere.
“For this,” I mumbled, waving one hand in the air while still hiding my face. “You didn’t want this and I..oh, fuck.”
“Oh, I definitely wanted this,” Ralph refuted, his voice soft. “I couldn’t act on it while we were in danger, but I definitely wanted it.” He nuzzled the top of my head. “You know I’m telling the truth. How many times in the last day did you have to pretend you couldn’t smell just how horny you make me?”
I gulped.
“Now,” Ralph continued in that ridiculously hot, matter-of-fact tone, “the question is what you want.” He drew in a deep breath and his cock jumped against mine, making me realize for the first time that my scent was in the room, too, thick and sweet and telling him exactly how I was feeling. “What do you want, Cass?”
“You,” I sighed, grinding my hips down on his. “So fucking much.”
“Yeah?” Ralph’s hands cupped my ass cheeks and dragged me up his body until we were face to face. “You’re sure?”
I nodded, trapped in his eyes.
“I need you to tell me, Cass,” Ralph insisted gently. “I need to be sure that this is absolutely consensual, that you’re not doing it out of fear or obligation.”
“I’m not,” I assured him, drawing in a deep breath. “I want you, I want this. Please.” I exhaled sharply. “How do you want me?”
“Hm?” Ralph raised a brow. “You mean, other than willing?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I already told you I am,” I reminded him. “But what do you want me to do for you?”
“Oh.” Ralph’s brow smoothed out. Without warning, he rolled us over, leaving me caged between his thighs as he knelt over me on the bed. “What I want you to do for me is to lie still and not move. Can you do that?”
My breath had caught when he flipped me onto my back so the best I could do was to nod mutely, but that seemed to be good enough.
More often than not, the Alphas who paid for my time wanted to lie back have me pleasure them with my mouth, or ride them while they closed their eyes and imagined other partners. But, if I was honest, it would hardly be the first time – or even the five hundredth – that an Alpha wanted to lose himself in my body without having the to bother themselves about whether or not I enjoyed it. That was pretty much the lot of a fuck boy. After all, Pretty Woman was nothing but another fairy tale.
Except, that wasn’t exactly how this encounter seemed destined to go.
When I closed my eyes, expecting to have either my ass or my mouth entered promptly, a slight tugging on my hair made them pop back open.
Ralph’s face was hovering over mine, his breaths ghosting over me as he stared into my face.
“Stay with me, Cass,” he commanded gently, lowering his lips to brush over mine.
“Yes, Alpha,” I murmured obediently only to be surprised by the flash of something in his eyes at my words.
When his mouth pressed chastely against mine, the touch gentle but firm, I couldn’t hold back a small sigh. Ralph took advantage of the moment to deepen the kiss, but, like the first one, it was careful and not the harsh taking I was used to from the occasional Alpha who was willing to kiss their whore.
Wanting more, I ran my hands down his back, intent on gripping his ass to drag him closer, to encourage him to enter me, but Ralph drew back, shaking his head as he made a tsking sound.
“I told you to stay still,” he reminded me, his deep voice making me shiver. “Do I need to tie you up?”
The shiver became a shudder and I opened my mouth but could only manage a gasp as he grabbed my wrists and dragged my arms back up, resting my wrists on the bed over my head.
“That’s better,” he growled, releasing my arms and dragging his hands back down my body as he settled more firmly against my lower body, still staring down at me. “Now, do good Omegas move when their Alpha tells them not to?”
I swallowed. Hard.
“No, Alpha,” I managed only to nearly choke on my tongue when he rewarded my response by rolling his hips and dragging his hard length over mine, the feel of his cotton boxer briefs between us weirdly erotic even as I was desperate for the feel of his skin on mine.
My fingers itched with the need to reach for him, but, at the last second, I managed to hold back. I don’t know how Ralph knew, but he did, and he licked his way down my neck, pausing to whisper good boy in my ear before he bit down on the sensitive skin of my neck, making me cry out.
I don’t know how long I lay there as he played with my body, stroking and squeezing, licking and biting every inch until he reached my toes and then began to work his way back up. By then, I’d given up on begging and was so steeped in pleasure that all I could do was whine and moan. From the way Ralph growled after each sound, it was more than clear that he was enjoying torturing me.
“Oh, god, Alpha, please,” I managed to string together enough words to beg just before he kissed me again, his lips still gentle.
“You said you’re clean?” he murmured against my lips as his fever-bright eyes stared into mine.
I nodded frantically, not sure where he was going with the question, but grateful for the rigid testing required by the government to keep my pleasure license. “Yes!”
“Good,” Ralph purred as he licked my lips. “You’re being so good for me. Keep it up.”
If I’d had any control over my body, I would have laughed. Like I wanted to do anything to interrupt his delicious torture.
The rough stubble on his cheek scratched along my belly, lighting my nerves on fire with each pass. When my Alpha stopped and nuzzled his face against my weeping dick, I stiffened in shock. Before I could speak, his thick tongue swiped me clean of the oozing precum. A keening scream was torn from my throat when he sucked me into his mouth, swallowing until the head of my dick bumped against the back of his throat and that, my friends, was all she wrote. I came so hard I literally blacked out for a second, coming back around to find Ralph kneeling over me, licking his lips as he watched me in amusement.
“You okay, Cass?”
I could barely hear his words over the blood pounding in my ears.
“I..you..” I gasped before giving up and letting my eyes close.
“Uh-huh,” Ralph agreed, even though I hadn’t managed to say anything.
I managed to force my eyes open again and realized he’d shoved his underwear down and had his thick cock gripped in his fist, stroking it slowly as he stared hungrily at me.
“Is this okay?” he asked, as his cock drooled on me, leaving a string of precum on my belly.
He wanted to cum on me?
“Oh, fuck, yes,” I agreed. “Please, Alpha! I want you to spray that hot seed all over me,” I begged, loving the way his eyes lit up.
It only took a couple of strokes before he painted me with his cum, decorating my flushed body with splash after splash of pearly white before settling back on his heels, his spent dick in his fist as he stared down at me.
“You’re so beautiful, Cass.” Ralph leaned down to kiss me, heedless of the spunk he’d just dumped on me, and sighed. “Thank you.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh that time as I kissed his cheek. “I’m almost positive that was my line, Alpha.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ralph
With Cass lying under me panting, caked in my release and smiling like he’d just won the lottery, making myself get up to grab a damp towel
to clean up took every ounce of my willpower. Luckily, the bathroom was only a few steps away, so I was back with a warm, wet towel in no time.
“Feels good,” Cass said dreamily, his eyes barely open. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” I assured him, dropping a kiss on his clean belly before swabbing at the gunk I’d smeared into my own chest hair when I kissed him. Once I was clean enough, I dropped the cloth over the edge of the bed and worked my arm under my nearly unconscious Omega and rolled him toward me. Once he was resting his head on my chest, one lean leg hooked over my thigh, I sighed. “That’s better.”
“Mmhmm,” Cass agreed, his eyes closed and a faint smile on his lips. “Sleepy.”
I kissed the top of his head and let my own eyes drift closed. I could definitely use a little nap, too.
When I woke later, Cass was still cuddled against my side, but, unfortunately, the sun had long since set which meant that Rafe would arrive any time. Allowing myself one last squeeze of the pert butt cheek my hand was resting on, I carefully disentangled myself and tried to slide out of the bed without disturbing the sleeping Omega.
“Alpha?” Cass’s sleep-soft voice stopped me in my tracks.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “Rafe will be here soon so I have to get up.” I pressed a lingering kiss to his lips and tucked the blanket up to his chin to ward off the slight chill. “Go back to sleep and I’ll wake you when he leaves.”
Deciding I’d have plenty of time to shower and dress before Rafe showed, I wandered out to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee first. The water had just begun to make the bubbling, rumbly noise that promised a chance to wake up when a knock came at the back door, tempting me to swear.
Instead, I pulled the door open and ignored the smirk on the Blood Valley Alpha’s face when he took in my bare chest and the sweats hanging low on my hips, clearly advertising my lack of underwear.
“You’re early,” I huffed, stepping aside to allow him to enter.
He snorted but held back a laugh. “Looks like.” He dropped a teddy bear print shoulder bag on the table and lowered himself into the chair that sat with the back to the window.
“The curtains close,” I said mildly, tugging on the cord to draw them together.
“Force of habit,” Rafe said with a sigh.
I nodded and pulled two mugs from the cupboard. “Coffee?”
“Gods, yes, please,” Rafe sighed, accepting it and wrapping his hands around the steaming mug. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” I set my mug on the table and took the seat opposite him. “What’s up?”
“What’s not is more like the question,” Rafe groaned, rubbing his face with his palm before pulling his familiar notepad from the bag and opening it. “You ready?”
“Sure.” I took a swallow of coffee.
“Colt called to check-in,” Rafe began, his brow furrowed. “Foxy’s Den was burned down shortly before he arrived in Salem.”
I put my coffee cup down. He had my attention.
“Three DOA, but, according to the preliminary report, they were all dead before the fire started,” Rafe looked up for my response.
“ID?”
“Yes, but that’s where it gets a little hinky. The first body was Cal, the Alpha that we knew was involved in the experiments in at least two locations,” he started. “The second body was Willard Riley.”
“The trashy private investigator?”
“The same,” Rafe confirmed. “And the Omega Harley’s cousin.”
I nodded. “And the third?”
Rafe shrugged. “According to the state ID card on the body, it’s Doctor Fredrich Miango.”
I did a doubletake. “He was already dead and buried.”
“Or so we thought,” Rafe agreed.
“Did you pull the coroner’s file on him?” I took another swallow of coffee.
“I requested it,” Rafe assured me, “but before it arrived, Zade checked in from the Alpha Zoo compound.”
“Another fire?”
Rafe shook his head. “A flood, believe it or not. Someone blew the dam with dynamite and flooded the entire valley.” He sighed again. “The entire property is under 20 feet of water, buildings included.”
A weird feeling began to build in my gut. “When will it be drained?”
Rafe shrugged. “Zade is working on it. It’s private property, I don’t even know if it will be.”
“The dam?”
“Belongs to the mining company,” Rafe explained. “And since they’re out of business, they don’t really need it intact anymore.”
“Nifty.”
“Yup, but there’s more.” Rafe drained his coffee cup and rose to refill it. “The Omega Auction House was torched earlier tonight. That’s where I was when you called.”
“What?” I looked up in alarm. “There were people in there!”
“I know,” Rafe said soothingly. “The arsonist did a shitty job, though, and the fire department got them out. No innocents lost or injured.”
“But?”
“But there were three DOA. All dead before the fire started and doused in accelerant, just like at Foxy’s.”
I raised a brow, waiting.
“The two security guards that Lachlan identified as your captors – Paul Cadere and Darren Bowlock, both with previous involvement in various aspects of these crimes,” Rafe paused, waiting for me to nod, “and Beatrice.”
My coffee cup thudded to the table. “How’d they die?”
“We don’t know yet,” Rafe huffed. “No obvious signs of foul play. The coroner should have a COD sometime in the next day or two.”
I stared at Rafe as he frowned back at me. “That rather bites our theory of Beatrice being the mastermind in the butt.”
“It does,” Rafe agreed, his frown deepening. “But there is more.”
Seriously?
“Lay it on me.”
“In the crowd at the Omega Auction fire,” he said softly, “was the head of Omega Destiny International.”
“He was a long way from home,” I observed. Over sixteen-hundred miles to their campus outside of Austin, Texas, in fact. “That’s quite a coincidence. Did he say why he was in town?”
Rafe shook his head. “He was volunteering to take emergency custody of the displaced Omegas, though.”
“I bet he was,” I agreed. “Did you let him?”
Rafe shook his head. “I caught it at the tail end and insisted that the locals transfer them to intake and told him to file a formal application.”
“Good. You let him go?”
“I had to,” Rafe huffed. “He hadn’t broken any laws.”
A valid point.
“That’s three locations down,” I observed. “What about Alrich?”
“Nothing yet,” Rafe sighed. “He should be there by now, but I haven’t had a chance to buzz him. I’ll do that when I leave here.”
“Do I smell coffee?” Cass poked his head around the corner of the door and then froze. “Oh, hey, Rafe. Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You’re not,” I said quickly, rising to fill another cup. “Come sit down.”
“Hi, Cass. Glad to see you came through your adventure in one piece.” Rafe grinned at my Omega. “I told you that you were in good hands.”
Cass flashed me a look so hot that I was surprised the coffee I was holding didn’t boil. “You were not wrong.”
Rafe’s grin widened as he turned to me, but I just shrugged. I was a lot of things, but embarrassed about being involved with Cass just wasn’t one of them. I handed Cass his coffee, and he smiled when our fingers bumped.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” he started, but I hooked an arm around his waist and brought him with me as I returned to my seat, easing him down into my lap.
“No need,” I said easily, running my hand down his back. “I think I’ve got the gist of it.”
“Does that mean we’re done?” Cass asked, sipping his coffee. “Is Rafe here to take me home?”
He laughed self-consciously. “I’m sure you’re ready to be rid of me.”
“Oddly, that’s not the impression I’m getting,” Rafe chuckled. “In fact, I offered to relocate you to a safe house earlier and was told not to bother.”
“Really?” Cass asked softly, turning to meet my eyes.
“Really,” I confirmed. “Unless you’re in a hurry to get out of here, I thought we could decompress together instead of sticking you in a safe house.” I reached up to stroke his cheek. “If that’s okay with you?”
Cass ducked his head, his lower lip caught in his teeth which shouldn’t have been cute on a mature man, but it sure was.
“I’d like that,” he murmured, burying his face in the crook of my neck. “A lot.”
Rafe cleared his throat and I knew he was about to excuse himself and leave us alone.
“Rafe?” I said softly, glancing at him over the top of Cass’s bent head. “When was the last time you slept?” From his sheepish expression, I knew the answer. “Take a break. Go home and sleep. Or swing by Clint’s and see your family, first, but I don’t want you back on the clock until you’ve had a full eight hours. Understood?”
I could tell Rafe was going to argue, so I narrowed my eyes.
He sighed. “Yes, sir. I’ll get some sleep and let you know as soon as I hear anything from Cordova.”
I nodded, satisfied. “Lock the door behind you,” I said, standing up with my Omega still balanced in my arms. “We could use some more sleep, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rafe
There’s a good chance that you could have knocked me over with a feather when my button-up, straight-laced boss opened the back door of his fishing retreat barely dressed and looking completely fucked out.
Shit, not only had he clearly been free-balling in his sweatpants, the pants were hanging so low that his happy trail was dangerously close to displaying the destination, if you know what I mean.
It’s not that I begrudged Ralph a roll in the hay – hell, everyone knew I was willing to take my mate pretty much anytime, anywhere – but, when I recruited unflappable Ralph Coraine for a part in my investigation gone wrong, never once did it occur to me that he’d end up giving it to Casen.