Yes, Alpha

by Merel Pierce

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you. My intervening earlier wasn’t entirely selfless, I confess.” The dimple in his cheek returned. “I was, and still am, very intrigued by you.”

  “Oh.” Meghan’s vocabulary had been reduced to single word responses by the male’s prolonged nearness.

  “So…”

  “So?”

  “The question, sweetheart. You haven’t answered the question.” The male rumbled pleasantly against her ear.

  “Um…” She knew it was wisest to say no, but somehow she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. The saying ‘You only live once’ kept echoing in the back of her mind as she breathed in the heady fragrance of the Alpha before her. “Just a kiss?”

  The male nuzzled against her cheek, tucking his nose beneath her ear to scent her where her natural sweetness was its strongest. “Just a kiss.”

  Meghan took a shaky breath. “Then, yes.”

  His purr deepened, edging towards a growl that never came. She closed her eyes when she felt him begin to trace kisses along her jaw towards her mouth in a slow march. After several torturous moments of lavishing attention, he finally reached his goal.

  The press of his kiss was soft, his tongue gentle as it teased and encouraged her to open to him. It didn’t take long for his sweet coaxing to win her compliance. With a soft sigh of consent, Meghan let him in.

  The moment her lips parted, the energy between them changed. It crackled and popped with invisible sparks as the male invaded her mouth, his taste on her tongue lighting up her nervous system. Her senses buzzed to life as the kiss deepened, and the continued rattle of his purr threatened to obliterate all conscious thought.

  His hands framed her face, holding her steady as he took a dominant hold on the exchange. The male shifted subtly, his crouch becoming a kneel with the controlled motion of a predator that was trying not to frighten its prey. He pressed forward against her shins until the weight of the suggestion had her parting her thighs to let him closer. Her breath caught when his abdomen came flush against her panty clad sex, and she squirmed as her failing modesty had her clutching at the sides of her dress when it rode high on her hips.

  “Leave it.”

  Meghan shivered as the rumbled command vibrated against her tongue, her hands falling away to ball at her sides. As if he knew the danger of idle fingers, the male’s hands slid down the sides of her throat, passing lightly over the tops of her shoulders as he spread the heat of his touch all the way down her arms.

  His hands covered her own, large fingers forcing their way into the tiny fists she’d made. His thumbs pressed to her palms to keep her from repeating the action as he lifted her wrists and draped her hands over his shoulders. “Here,” he instructed casually. He hummed his approval when her fingers curled into the fabric of their own accord, encouraging her with a solitary sound of pleasure.

  Chapter Seven

  As she clung to him, he retraced the path he’d just taken. His fingers skimmed up her arms and across her shoulders before one hand reclaimed its place against her cheek. His other continued onward, following the line of her spine down to flatten against her lower back. She arched into him as he did so, the instinct too strong to ignore.

  Still, he purred, cheating her body of any protest she might have made. Instead she keened against his open mouth, her sigh swallowed up by a man who approved wholly of her response. The rumble changed pitched, and the threat of his growl had her melting against the hard wall of his chest, already lost in a sea of sensation.

  The kiss continued, their tongues dancing against one another in a mixture of artful and frenzied movements that had her knees pinching tight around his waist as she struggled to be closer to him. By the time he broke the kiss and she came up for air, she was practically swooning, and none too happy for the interruption. She was growling frustration long before she realized the vicious sound was coming from her, the noise stuttering to a surprised stop when he gave a bark of laughter.

  He drew back just far enough to look down on her, his senses humming as he slid his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck. “Now, now,” he scolded, his fingers curling into the silken strands to give her hair a painless tug. “You should be careful. Greedy girls get spankings.” He eased her head forward against the junction of his shoulder and throat, reveling in how she immediately began pulling in his scent as eagerly as if she’d been drowning and he was her air.

  “Mmph.”

  He chuckled, angling his chin to give her greater access when her tongue darted out to bravely taste his skin. His nerves sizzled and popped under her delicate attention, pulses of sensation threatening his carefully cultivated control. “That’s not exactly the response most women have to the threat of being spanked,” he murmured against her hair. “It's been a while for you, I take it?” He felt her frown against his throat as she shrugged.

  “Maybe.”

  “Mmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I do enjoy an eager partner.”

  She tried to pull back, but with his hand still pressed to her spine, she didn’t get far. She craned her neck to look up at him, lashes fluttering and expression dreamy. Her eyes were already black, lost to her instincts in the hands of what her body seemed to recognize as a true Alpha. She licked her lips as she looked down at his mouth, and Daniel’s chest expanded with pride at having elicited such a reaction.

  He leaned forward once more, burrowing his face in her hair to inhale another deep breath. The lazy groan of pleasure he exhaled against her throat had her shivering against him. “Thank you for the kiss. You are just as sugary-sweet as you look.”

  “That’s me,” She snorted, “All sugar no spice.”

  Reluctant, but knowing he must before he lost himself to her, Daniel released her and rose gracefully to his feet. Towering over her now, he smirked. “Oh, I doubt that very much. I see her in there, that little hellion you’ve got locked away. I suspect you’re just waiting for the right situation or partner to come along and set her free. Once you do, though…”

  “Eh. I’m not really the vixen type. Sorry.”

  He extended a hand suggestively, and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. Once there, he bent to retrieve her shoes, which he handed to her before moving to switch the light above the door off. “We’ll have to disagree on that point, I’m afraid.” Daniel motioned her forward as he opened the door. He needed to get her out of this room before he did something he’d regret. “Come on, it’s time to get you home.” She was just about to cross the threshold when he stopped her forward progress by sweeping her off her feet and up into his arms.

  ***

  She squeaked in surprise, tensing as she tumbled against the wall of his chest. “What are you doing?”

  The look he gave her might have been reproachful, had he not been trying to stifle a smile.

  “We can’t have you walking barefoot on these floors.”

  “Then let me put my shoes on.” she protested heartily. “I’m not an invalid, I can walk!”

  “And have you break an ankle in those heels on my watch? No, I don’t think so.”

  “Seriously?” Meghan huffed in exasperation, concerned by the breeze she could feel on the backs of her thighs as her ass was exposed by the action.

  “If you don’t quit your fussing, you’re going to draw attention you don’t want,” the male pointed out sensibly. “Besides, I’d have thought you would appreciate a bit of chivalry after the night you’ve had.”

  “Hmmph.” Meghan folded her arms across her chest, shoes resting on her stomach as she resigned herself to allowing the male to carry her without further protest. “You could warn a girl, first, before you go sweeping her off her feet.”

  “That, my dear, is the benefit of being an Alpha. No one expects you to.” When she shot him a sour look, the male only winked. “Don’t worry, keeping you from cutting your foot on something is as far as I’ll go in taking liberties with you tonight.”

  Meghan’s breath hitche
d. The way he’d emphasized that last word didn’t escape her, and it caused a twinge of unexpected heat to spark low in her belly. She tucked her chin, resisting the instinctive urge to bury her face in his throat and breathe him in. She’d already embarrassed herself enough for one evening, and she was determined not to add to the tally.

  “You’re kind of a walking knight in shining armor cliché, aren’t you?” she muttered haughtily. The male snickered, and she found herself smothering a smirk at the pleasantness of the noise.

  “I do try.”

  She was quiet as they turned a corner, traversing another hallway with its array of multicolored lights and identical doors. At the end of the hall a large Alpha in a suit sat in a metal chair that looked far too small for his frame. As they approached, he stood slowly.

  “Good evening, Mr. Thomas.”

  She averted her eyes as the suited man addressed the Alpha holding her, avoiding the scrutinizing gaze of the stranger as the two men spoke.

  “Good evening, Marcus.”

  “Is there a problem, Sir?”

  “No. My friend has just drawn a little more attention than she expected tonight, and she needs to make a quiet exit. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  Meghan looked up at him through the fringe of her lashes only briefly before turning her attention to the stranger nearby. “Yes. I just want to go home, and I was worried about leaving through the front door.”

  The unfamiliar Alpha was quiet a moment, his eyes shifting to the shoes resting on her belly even as his nostrils flared. “Are you all right? Guests have the right to report all inappropriate or unwelcome behavior and instances of abuse.”

  Her eyes widened. “No, no I’m fine!” To her dismay she felt that familiar flush creeping into her cheeks for what felt like the millionth time that evening. “I just, I borrowed these shoes from a friend, and they were a little harder to walk in than I thought they would be.”

  “I see.”

  “There’s a car waiting outside to see her home,” Daniel interjected smoothly.

  “You’re certain you are all right? The club can be rather taxing for Omega patrons.”

  The fact that the stranger wasn’t willing to take her companion’s word about her current state of being was both perplexing and strangely reassuring.

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “Good night then, Miss.” He stepped aside, pushing open the door and holding it for them as they passed through.

  Chapter Eight

  “I’ll be back in just a moment, Marcus. Would you mind holding the door?”

  “Of course, Mr. Thomas.”

  They exited the building into a surprisingly well-lit alley, at the mouth of which a car sat idling. “The club is very strict about the treatment of its members,” he explained as they progressed. “They have a reputation to maintain, and it would be exceedingly hard to draw in new patrons if there were no safety protocols in place to protect them.”

  “Well, that makes sense,” she mused with a snort. “If I were going to be tied up by some Alpha, I’d want to know he couldn’t beat me, or loan me to his friends without my permission. Or you know, force-bond me or something.”

  He glanced down at her, his expression bleak. “None of those things are tolerated.” The very idea of someone forcing themselves on the little female had anger bubbling up to knot the muscles of his shoulders. The same unexplainable feelings of protectiveness that had drawn him to intervene and rescue her earlier in the evening now raised their head again. He clutched her more tightly against him, dipping his nose to draw in her scent as he spoke. “Not only is force-bonding an antiquated and deplorable practice, it is also illegal,” he rumbled darkly. “If anyone were caught attempting to force an Omega into a pair-bond here, that man would be lucky if he made it to jail alive and in one piece.”

  “Oh.”

  As they approached the car, a Beta in a chauffeur's uniform exited the driver side of the vehicle and came to open the rear passenger door.

  “Your chariot awaits,” Daniel murmured as he carefully deposited her on the leather of the back seat. She immediately tugged her skirt down, biting her lip as she looked out at where he still stood, bent at the waist in the open door.

  “Thank you for this. For… well, everything.”

  He smiled. “You are quite welcome.” Daniel drew in a deep breath, humming under his breath as he studied her. He tried to memorize her—the way she smelled, the way she looked—committing her to memory. There was something special about the Omega before him, and though he wasn’t yet certain what it was, he was unwilling to simply let it go. “I’d like to see you again.”

  Her lips parted, an unspoken question freezing on her tongue before she could spit it out. She struggled to find her voice through her surprise, delicate brows creasing with the effort. “I don’t… I don’t think we really run in the same circles.”

  “That’s the advantage of being me.” He chuckled, reaching inside his jacket to extract a card. “I run in whatever circle suits me.” He extended the little piece of cardstock her way, the charming smile he wore encouraging her to take it. “I’d love to get to know you better.” Carefully, she took the offered paper. “Promise me you’ll think about it?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  That was the most he could hope for, considering the circumstances. He grinned broadly at her as he straightened. “It was a pleasure to meet you. Be safe.”

  ***

  “You too,” Meghan said awkwardly as the door shut and left her in relative darkness behind tinted glass. She watched as the male took several steps back, hands in his pockets as he watched the car roll into motion. She angled her head, keeping him in sight until they’d passed the front of the club and she couldn’t see him anymore. With a sigh, she slumped back against the seat. It was strange, feeling relieved and frustrated by the male’s absence at the same time. She couldn’t say she’d ever experienced anything like it. But then, tonight was a night full of firsts.

  “Where to, Miss?”

  “Twenty-fifth and Main.”

  “Very good, Miss.”

  Twenty minutes later, Meghan convinced the driver to drop her off down the street from her house at a convenience store, telling him she needed to get some feminine products and insisting that he not wait. In truth, she didn’t want him to see which apartment building was hers. It just seemed prudent, making sure that the man who had openly expressed interest in her wasn’t told where she lived. After all, she hadn’t decided what to do about him yet.

  She padded up the stairs to her apartment barefooted, tossing the borrowed shoes on the floor just inside the door as she locked herself in. With a sigh, she forced her fingers between her breasts, hunting for the phone she’d slid into the top of her dress earlier in the evening. She found it, tugging it and the business card she’d been given free of her cleavage as she made her way towards the closet of her studio apartment. The screen woke up with the movement, notifying her that she had eleven text messages, four missed calls, and three voicemails.

  She swiped the screen and opened the voicemail folder, hitting play on the first message before throwing the items down on the bed. Contorting herself unnaturally, she set about unzipping her dress.

  “First message. Tuesday, 10:45 p.m.

  “Meghan, it’s Cami. Where are you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Just… call me or something, ok?”

  Meghan frowned. It had only been 10 p.m. when Cami abandoned her in the lobby of the club. Apparently, it had taken her supposed friend almost an hour to notice she was missing. With a grunt, she started to work the dress down over her ribcage, shimmying out of it as the messages continued to play.

  “Next message. Tuesday, 11:12 p.m.”

  “Meghan, where are you? Seriously. I just got kicked out of the club. I don’t even know why. This is so messed up.” There was mumbling as an angry Cami muffled the phone to talk to someone in the background. “If you’re still inside
, I’m out front. Call me.”

  “Next message. Tuesday, 11:30 p.m.”

  “Hey, Meghan. Look. I’m assuming you bailed on me or got a ride home since you haven’t called me back. I’ll just see you at work tomorrow, ok?”

  “End of new messages.”

  Meghan stripped off her panties, pulling on a nightshirt before lowering herself onto the bed. Retrieving the phone, she opened the message screen. All the new texts were from Cami. With a sigh, she scrolled through the lengthy list of messages.

  Where are you?

  Did you leave?

  You should come downstairs and see the show! It’s hot!