Alpha Mine (The Alpha Council Chronicles)

by Brenda Sparks

  He leaned his head back and moaned when she wrapped one of her hands around his shaft. Katrina ran her fingers along the length of him, sending tiny tremors through his body. He watched her eyelids droop wantonly with desire. Her hand tightened around him, her enhanced sense of touch enjoying the feel of soft velvet over steel. She stroked from tip to base, her pace quickening as the minutes passed.

  By the look on his face, she could tell she drove him mad with her touches. Her soft fingers continued to work their magic. She reveled in the knowledge that she affected him as much as he affected her. She loved the way his body tightened under her touch.

  “Katrina, if you don’t stop that, I won’t last much longer.”

  She looked up at him from under the light crescent of her lashes, a wily grin spreading across her face. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

  She boldly positioned him at her entrance. In one smooth thrust, he slid into her wet heat. She gasped, the sensation so intense she thought she might explode. She trembled as she opened herself to his masterful strokes.

  His hands grabbed her calves, wrapped her legs around his waist. The water sloshed around his powerful thighs as he worked his hips. He slid his hands down her legs to grab her hips, bringng them over the edge of the pool. He lifted them slightly allowing him to angle in deeply, hitting the internal sweet spot that sent a lightning bolt of lust through her body. Her climax built in time to his increasing thrusts, and once again the delicious sensation coiled inside her, driving her up and up. The coil shattered inside her, and she called out his name when her body fragmented.

  Gasping and moaning, she writhed through the intense pleasure washing over her. He built the delicious pressure while he thrust into her again and again, holding her hips exactly where he wanted. Their flesh pounded together as he brought her pleasure. Soft keening sounds left her throat, becoming louder when the pressure within built once more. The luscious sounds of her excitement quickened his pace until they tumbled together to their release.

  Panting from exhaustion, Kat slowly opened her eyes to find Stephan looking down at her with a smile of male satisfaction on his striking face.

  “What?” she asked, taking her legs from his waist. It shifted the pressure inside her sensitive core. His shaft jumped in response, but he did not withdraw. Unable to move, her legs hung limply over the side of the pool. The cool water a shock to her heated skin.

  “I was just thinking,” he replied coyly and bent at the waist to settle his weight on his forearms.

  “About what?”

  “How amazing you are.” Stephan tucked her hair behind her ear.

  “You were the one who was amazing,” she admitted propping herself up on her elbows. “I have never felt like that before.”

  “It was my blood. Did I mention in addition to heightening senses, it happens to be an aphrodisiac?”

  Kat’s eyes widened, then she relaxed and laid back on the ground. “I don’t think that was it. I think it was you.”

  One side of Stephan’s mouth raised in a smile. “We could test that theory by trying this again tomorrow after the effects from my blood have worn off.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” A grin took Katrina’s face.

  Chapter 19

  Stephan stood in his penthouse, cradling Kat in his strong arms. She’d fallen asleep on the ride back home. Not wanting to wake her, Stephan had simply picked her up and carried her. He mentally unlocked and opened the door.

  Marcus greeted them with a nod when they walked through the door.

  “I have a lot to tell you,” Marcus said in a whispered voice.

  Quietly Stephan replied, “Let me put her to bed, then I want you to brief me on what you found tonight.” Kat snuggled into Stephan as he spoke.

  Stephan could feel Marcus watching him carry Kat up the stairs to the master suite. He was probably giving him a knowing smirk behind his back. They would speak about the sleeping arrangements later, but first he had to see to the needs of the woman in his arms.

  Stephan placed Kat gently on his bed and tucked the covers up under her chin. His chest swelled with love for her. She looked so desirable in his bed. He knew she was exactly where she was meant to be. It felt right looking down at her as she slept soundly wrapped in his sheets. For the first time in his long life he felt complete, whole, and it was because she had come into his life.

  He brushed a blonde curl from her face, gently tucked the errant strand back behind her ear and smiled, sighing as he wondered how long their relationship could last. There was so much against them. Her mortality. His vampirism. It will be difficult, a smile graced his lips, but then anything worth having is worth fighting for. And one thing Stephan was very proficient at was fighting.

  “Sleep tight, Kitten,” he whispered bending over to place a light kiss on her forehead.

  He left the room, but paused in the doorway to turn and take one more look at her over his shoulder. Reluctance kept his feet from moving forward, his body refused to leave her presence. In that moment, he realized she had become everything to him. His entire life had changed.

  He’d never been so protective of anyone before. The closest he had ever come was the protective nature he felt toward Marcus, like that of an older brother. But with Kat he definitely didn’t feel brotherly, far from it. He experienced a deep connection to the woman lying in his bed, one he wouldn’t deny any longer.

  Duty pushed in on him. Council business called. He needed to know what Marcus had discovered. If there was a hunt club in this city no human was safe, not even Kat. Only his driving need to protect her pushed him from the room.

  Stephan joined Marcus in the library and sat behind his desk. “Let’s call Nicholai to come over, so he too can hear what you found.” Stephan punched the numbers into the phone and hit the speaker button.

  “Hello.” Nicholai’s booming voice filled the library.

  “Hi, Nicholai, it’s Stephan and Marcus. I’ve got you on speaker phone. Marcus was just going to tell me about what he found out tonight, and I thought you would also like to hear it.”

  “Yes, I would. Thank you for calling.”

  “Would you like to come over to discuss it?”

  “I cannot come tonight. There has been a problem with some of our scenery, and I need to stay here to help out the company. The show must go on, you know.

  “But I can take a quick break. Can Marcus share his information over the phone?”

  “Of course. Okay, Marcus, tell us what you found out tonight.” Stephan sat back and crossed his thick arms across his chest.

  Marcus relayed what he witnessed from his cramped crevice in the rock, carefully describing the two bodies he saw removed from the van.

  Stephan leaned forward onto his desk, steepling his fingers. “So you aren’t sure if they were alive?”

  “That’s correct. They were limp and the way the guards carried them, I could not see if their eyes were opened or shut. And they were too far away to tell if they were breathing or not.”

  Nicholai interjected, “Something is definitely not right. Between what I sensed in the house and what Marcus saw tonight, something is very wrong.”

  “I agree,” said Stephan. “But we need more information. We don’t have enough to be sure exactly what they are up to. Do you think one of us should go out and watch the compound again tomorrow night?”

  Marcus leaned forward. “I think we need more than eyes on the place. We need ears. We need to hear what is going on in that house.”

  A thoughtful look crossed Stephan’s face. “That’s a great idea, exactly what we need. We need to have ears inside.”

  From the speaker phone the two males heard, “I know someone in VES who can probably hook me up with a…what is the word? Insect?”

  “You mean a bug?” laughed Marcus.

  “Da, that is it, a bug. Andrea wanted me to get the autographs of my prima ballerina and premier danseur. I can go to the home under the pretense of droppi
ng off the autographs and plant the bug.”

  “That might just work,” said Stephan smiling with satisfaction across his desk at Marcus.

  “It has to work,” commented Marcus. “If Gage Lucio is the one doing the hunt club, we have to prove it so we can stop him before the hunt.”

  “Da. If Gage is behind the club, he will most likely be doing the hunt during the party he invited me to.”

  “That would make sense,” concurred Stephan. Marcus nodded his head in agreement.

  “All right then, we are all set,” said Nicholai. “I will go to my contact at the Vampire Enforcement Squad and get the bug, then hide it in the house. I will call you when I am done and let you know how it went.”

  “Just do me a favor, Nicholai,” Stephan said. “Don’t tell VES why you need the device. It’s too early to bring them into this. We aren’t even sure there is a hunt club.”

  “Personally, I think if we find out there is a hunt club, we Alphas should take care of things, not VES.” Marcus earned a nod of acquiescence from Stephan at the suggestion.

  “I will be careful. I will find a way to get the device without involving the VES. Perhaps I will tell them I need the device to listen in on a cheating lover.” Nicholai’s deep chuckle cracked over the speaker.

  Marcus laughed. “Not sure that will work. Maybe you should tell them that you need the device for research. You could say you’re thinking about buying some and would like to try them out before you invest in any.”

  “Hmm,” said Nicholai thoughtfully. “That might work. I will come up with something.”

  “We have a plan, so I think we are done for tonight.” Stephan clapped his hands together once before rubbing them back and forth in satisfaction. “Thank you, Nicholai. Good luck planting the device. Goodbye and safe travels.”

  “Safe travels, my friends,” the Russian said, his thick accent purring the Rs.

  With a punch of the button, Stephan cut the phone connection and looked up at Marcus. He appreciated the way the Alphas always worked so well together. He supposed centuries of fighting together could do that. There was a special bond they shared that went beyond simple friendship. A small smile lit Stephan’s face as he fondly remembered good times with the warriors he had come to think of as his friends.

  Stephan leaned back in his chair. “The Alphas have definitely been through a lot. A lot of fights, conflicts, empires, and…fun.”

  “Yes, we’ve had some very good times over the centuries.” Propping his elbow on the arm of his chair, Marcus leaned his head onto his hand. “And some not so good times.”

  After several moments of reflective silence, Marcus spoke, bringing both of them out of their thoughts. “Soooooo,” said Marcus in a sing-song voice. “I noticed when you took Kat to bed, you went to your room. Does that mean…”

  “It means that from now on you are welcome to go back to sleeping in your room.”

  Marcus flashed a knowing grin and rose to leave. He dipped his head once toward Stephan.

  “As you wish…sire,” he said formally before giving Stephan a wink and leaving him alone in the room.

  Stephan padded silently out of the room behind Marcus. Making his way down the hall to his room, his thoughts turned from the violence of his past to the soft, docile woman who was his present.

  Once in his suite, he reverently disrobed Kat, his only intention to make her comfortable as they slept. After silently removing his own clothes, he slipped into the bed beside her. He laid one arm across her stomach enjoying the gentle lift with each breath. He closed his eyes, allowing her warmth to surround him as he drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 20

  Kat’s eyes fluttered as she emerged from her dream state. She’d been dreaming about Stephan making love to her in a cave. It had been a sensuous fantasy, in vivid life-like Technicolor.

  As the sleepy haze cleared from her mind, slowly she realized she was not recalling a dream but instead a beautiful reality. She and Stephan had made love and it had been the most amazing experience of her life. Never before had she experienced anything with such intensity and feeling.

  Stephan said it was his blood, but she knew better. They experienced a real connection between them, like two halves of the same whole coming together. The earth moved, her heart beat in time with his. Perhaps the blood enhanced the experience, but their connection was none the less real.

  She turned her head and gazed at the chiseled features on the face lying beside her. Kat stirred slightly, wiggling her toes, testing her body.

  Stephan’s eyes snapped open and locked with hers immediately. He seemed instantly ready for action, no sleepy fog for him. His sensual smile exposed his straight white teeth and extended canines, which Kat found sexy.

  “Good evening, Kitten,” he said, his deep voice sending a bullet of desire shooting through her body straight to her core.

  “Good evening,” she replied back dreamily, more breath than voice.

  “I believe we were planning on doing a little experiment this evening. Weren’t we?”

  A shiver of anticipation traveled through her. Kat smiled coyly, lowered her eyes, and did her best southern accent. “Why my good sir, whatever are you talking about?”

  “If my memory is correct, and it always is, I believe you were going to convince me that I am just as—what was the word you used—amazing tonight as I was last night.” Stephan propped himself up on one elbow and trailed one of his long fingers down the valley between her breasts.

  Kat ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips, moistening them, the motion tracked by his eyes. “Oh. Well I guess the least I could do—in the name of science—would be to find out if sex with you is just as amazing tonight without your blood affecting me.” She smiled at him as he bent to capture her lips.

  “Ah, the sacrifices we all must make in the name of science,” he whispered just before his lips descended on hers in a hot and hungry kiss.

  He slid his hand through the valley between her breasts, blazing a fiery trail down her stomach to the juncture between her legs. She parted her thighs slightly allowing his fingers to find her dewy with need. He drew tiny circles over her swollen nub, and a moan escaped her lips, vibrating against his own as they kissed.

  Stephan drew back to watch the expression of ecstasy on her face. Her eyes closed, her top teeth biting into her lower lip as he continued his sinuous ministrations.

  Small mewling sounds escaped her throat as Stephan gently slid two fingers in and out of her sex while his thumb continued to circle her sensitive pearl. Pressure within boiled up hard and fast. She thrust her hips shamelessly against his hand in wild abandonment, demanding release. A release he happily gave. Calling out his name, she fell over the edge.

  Kat lay panting, looking at Stephan as he blanketed her body with his own. With a skilled thrust, he entered her, causing her to arch against him, her breasts meeting his chest. Kat snaked her arms around his neck. She threaded her fingers in his hair and brought his head down to lock their lips in a deep kiss.

  Stephan slowly built the pressure between them as he increased the speed of his thrusting hips. He slipped his hand beneath her bottom, raising it so he could penetrate her deeper. With one long, hard stroke he rammed fully into her. The invasion caused her to stiffen slightly from the feeling of him filling her so, but when he began to piston in and out of her, her body relaxed, adjusted to accommodate his girth.

  Katrina ran her hands down his back, holding onto his solid form to keep herself secured to this plane as he sent her body soaring higher. Her hands tightened over his muscles that flexed with each sure stroke.

  She matched him stroke for stroke. Her nails bit deliciously into his buttocks, spurring him on. His hips pistoned faster into her moist heat.

  Stephan bent his head and captured her lips to once again savor the sweet taste before he suckled at her breasts, pulling on her pink taut nipples. They puckered, thrusting out as he swirled his tongue over them. He took his time
, making sure each had equally lavish attention.

  He kissed a trail up her body, running his tongue over her neck. Teeth grazed ever so lightly over the sensitive skin, making her writhe beneath him.

  She felt him nip at her flesh. His body started to quake under the pads of her fingers as they traced the taught muscles on his back. The sound of her beating heart filled her ears. It pounded in her chest, pushing her breasts against his body. He moaned against her neck, the sound almost animalistic.

  Sensing a change in her lover, Kat stilled beneath him. She felt the slight sting of his teeth against her neck. It both excited and terrified her, the two emotions warring within her. She knew she was safe with Stephan, but her phobia was still strong from her attack. No one had bitten her since the night of the attack. Could she allow such a thing now? Would the sensation of Stephan’s teeth sinking into her flesh be any different from the way those other fangs felt?

  Her fear surrounded them, breaking the moment in a way nothing else could have. Stephan’s mouth closed against her skin. He murmured a string of vicious oaths and groaned against her neck, burying his face in the spot where her neck and shoulder met.

  Stephan pushed himself up on his forearms, rising above her to look at her with sad eyes. “I can smell your fear. I’d never hurt you, Kitten,” he said softly.

  “I know. I trust you,” she whispered, believing she truly felt that way. She knew in her heart she could trust the man with her. She just wasn’t ready to have him bite her. And really, how unreasonable was that? There were plenty of people who didn’t want their lovers to bite. She wasn’t into that BDSM stuff.

  She looked at him, letting her trust show in her eyes. It was enough to ease the features on his face. He allowed her to pull him toward her when she encircled his neck with her arms. Kat wrapped her legs around his back as her mouth wrapped around his tongue.