“Oh, also it has its own bathroom as well,” Hawes says, pointing to a door on one side of the room.
I’ll explore the bathroom later. Right now I’m enjoying just soaking in the luxury of this place.
I look over at him and see him twiddling his thumbs, thinking deeply about something.
“I apologize for my brother. He was definitely overstepping his bounds,” Hawes says, looking at me apologetically.
“It’s okay. It’s not the first time some male werewolf ran his mouth a little too much. I’m just surprised he caught on to me like that,” I reply.
“What was all of that about pheromone science and other mumbo jumbo?” Hawes asks, smiling and shuffling a bit closer to me.
“To be honest, it’s all pretty top-secret, so I can’t say much,” I say, breaking eye contact and looking down at my hands.
“That’s ok,” Hawes says sincerely. “What I’m wondering is how you’ve been able to go so long without wanting to be claimed,” he adds, giving a smirky roll of his eyebrows. I love when he’s being ridiculous. It helps me be more open and feel less like this is an interrogation. Like he’s more interested in just getting to know me than getting answers from me, which I appreciate. There have been too many people in my life who never cared to get to know me.
“I guess I don’t know either. It’s complex.”
“Maybe you just haven’t met a lot of males?” Hawes asks.
“Yeah, I guess so. My life has been all rules and regulations. A life of hiding, not only the fact of being a shifter from everyone around me, but especially the fact that I’m an alpha female and the heir to my father’s legacy.”
Hawes looks at me intently and just nods periodically. It’s nice to feel genuinely listened to for once.
“It’s hard. The city is not a place where you’re able to turn into your wolf form and just run wild or let loose. Because of that, you just get used to suppressing those feelings inside of you. Used to ignoring them.”
“I’ll have to show you around sometime then. Give you the full wolf tour of the grounds,” he tells me. “The property stretches for a good ways behind the house, all the way up until it reaches the base of the mountains.”
I can hear that other half of me calling, yearning to run free like that. To be wild and unchained by expectations or duty.
But I still have a job to do while I’m out here.
“Just remember, Hawes,” I say. “We’re just out here until we find out who is after us…nothing else.” I swallow, hoping he gets the picture. After this, there can’t be anything for us. He’s not at all right for me, long term at least. And I’m not right for him.
“You know, Hawes isn’t my full name,” he says.
“Oh?” I ask, raising one brow curiously.
“No,” he says. “My full name is Hawthorne.” He moves closer to me on the bed and puts a hand on my leg. It’s warm, and my skin lights up a little at his touch. I try to ignore it.
“What, really? That’s your name?” I try to scoff to keep my mind off of the searing intensity of his touch.
“Yes,” he says, moving closer little by little. “Too many syllables though, so I go by Hawes most of the time.” The whole room is starting to feel warmer now, and the easy closeness between us is being replaced by a thrilled anticipation in the back of my mind.
“Hey, you. I said no funny business,” I try to say it assertively, but it comes out sounding unsure.
“Funny business? What? Never,” he says with a scoff. But he’s already in the process of rolling over to straddle me on the bed, one knee on either side of my hips. He leans forward until his lips are only inches away from my mouth, and I can feel the warmth of his breath. He looks into my eyes, and I see fire there. Burning from deep within.
Light me up, I tell him silently, with my eyes. Give me some of that fire. If only for a moment.
As if hearing my thoughts, he licks his lips and closes the distance between us with a powerful kiss. His tongue plays along my teeth until I open to let him in. Then he explores me slowly, languidly, achingly, as if he has all the time in the world to give me as much pleasure as possible. His hips are pressed against mine, and I arch slightly to meet him, bringing us even closer together. His hands move down my sides and around my back, pulling me into him as he deepens the kiss.
My wolf side is going crazy. I wrap one hand around his neck and pull him into me, as if he could get any closer. I’m voracious for more of his tongue, more of his touch. And he obliges, quickening the pace and moving his hands over me in a way that builds a slow frenzy inside.
I tense up against the building pressure and Hawes pulls back for a moment, wanting to make sure I’m okay with this. There’s a silent question in those warm, sunset eyes.
I respond by pulling him to my neck so he can kiss me there. He growls with pleasure and nips my skin, sucking and nibbling as I curl my toes into the luxe sheets beneath us. I never ever imagined I would be here, like this, with someone like him. But I’m not going to fight it.
Just for once, I’m going to be wild.
My wolf is calling, bringing images of cool forests and nights under the moon as Hawes kisses me with an alpha dominance that I can’t help but succumb to.
I’m ready to rip my clothes off and let him have at the rest of me. The rest of my body is aching for it. I hold my breath as he rocks against me, overwhelmed by the feelings threatening to surge over me as he takes my mouth in a deep kiss again.
This is so. Damn. Hot. And I don’t want it to ever stop.
But just then, the doorbell rings. Hawes’ head snaps up and we look at each other, both trying to determine if we heard something or merely imagined it, but hoping it’s the latter.
It dings again, and Hawes gets off of me gently, and goes to the window to look outside. I follow him and look down into the drive, where a blocky, black car with tinted windows is parked next to the red Ferrari.
Oh shit.
“Who could that be?” Hawes asks, peering over, trying to get a look at the front door, though it’s entirely obscured by a large white column on the porch.
“The last person in the world I want to see,” I reply.
“Who?” Hawes asks, sounding inquisitive and worried.
“My partner…”
* * *
* * *
To be continued in Alpha Rogue 2. Turn the page for the next volume!
Alpha Rogue 2
Copyright © 2015 by Terry Bolryder
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers
Chapter 1
Rose
There’s another knock at the door, booming from the living room. I can hear the rap rap rap even though it’s coming from the other side of the house. I bolt out of the room and down the hallway, headed for the stairs leading down to the first floor. I can hear Hawes running behind me, gaining on me despite my head start.
I have to reach the front door before anyone else does.
If it is who I think it is, he can be difficult at times. Heck, he can be difficult even with his own coworkers, so I have no clue how he’ll react to Hawes and Lindon. Especially with me being here, since he tends to be rather protective of me.
I sprint down the stairs, taking them two at a time, but find the door in the front room is already open, with Lindon standing at the side and my partner filling the doorway.
“Josh,” I say with a huff, catching my breath.
“Rose.” Josh takes off large, dark sunglasses and clips them onto his suit pocket, his dark green eyes studying me intently.
Josh, my partner at work, is quite large, probably 6’4”, and wearing his standard-issue clothing for a daytime mission. Clean, black
business suit that’s well-fitted, a white button-up shirt, and a black tie. The agency has us dress in a way that makes us look official when working with humans. At least, generally. I look down at my jeans and blue tank top and suddenly realize how ridiculous I must look to him now.
Josh’s serious look turns to relief, and he walks up to me, drops a small suitcase, and gives me an unexpected hug, pulling me in tight against those huge shoulders.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Rose,” he tells me, relief audible in his voice.
I attempt to give him a small hug back, but his huge arms are trapping mine at their sides.
“I’m glad to see you too,” I mumble, breath cut off by his embrace.
After a few seconds, he releases me, trying to keep the hug to a proper duration. He looks at the house and the two other men in the room, taking note of them, but then turns back to me.
“When I received word of the attack, I immediately requested approval from the Tribunal to begin an investigation. We didn’t know if you were alive until you called this morning.”
“Yeah, sorry it was so short. Hawes thought it best to get on the road as soon as possible.” I glance at Hawes, standing with his arms folded, eyeing my partner with no small amount of suspicion.
“Thankfully, I was given approval to join you here until we make our next plans. Normally we would probably have put you in one of our designated safe houses until the investigation yielded a culprit. You father actually gave the sign-off and demanded I come here immediately.”
“My dad? My dad sent you here?”
“He pulled some strings, made some things happen.” He pauses, glancing at Lindon and Hawthorne, and scoffs. “Given the company you have here, I’m glad he did. You can’t trust shifters who live off the grid like this.”
At this Hawes sneers back at Josh. Lindon appears unaffected though, simply listening intently to the new development.
“I don’t need you here, though,” I reply.
Not listening to me, Josh picks up the small suitcase he brought in with him, and hands it to me.
“These are your things from the office. I know it’s probably not comprehensive, and I can phone someone to bring more from home if needed, but your emergency supplies should be in there,” he says officiously.
Lindon interjects, his voice soft and patient. “Rose, would you mind introducing us to your friend?”
I turn around and address the owners of the mansion. “Lindon, Hawes, this is my senior colleague, Josh. We work together at the office.”
Josh gives a deep chuckle. “Senior partner. We have different roles, but we work together on many of our cases.”
“Not all of our cases,” I say. “But yes, most of the time.” At this, Hawes lifts an eyebrow suspiciously.
Lindon, at least trying to act cordial, closes the door and invites everyone to sit down in the living room. I’m suddenly aware of the fact that I haven’t eaten since yesterday though, and my stomach makes an embarrassing growl.
Josh and Hawes both turn around at the same time and look at me, worried.
“Uh, do you have anything to eat here?” I say, grabbing my stomach in the hopes of preventing any other rogue sounds from escaping. How embarrassing.
Josh turns to Hawes. “What kind of place is this?! No food?” he says accusingly.
“Hey, we just got here,” Hawes replies, his voicing rising quickly. “And maybe you’ve forgotten already, but I saved her life last night. Where were you?”
“It’s because of you that she was in danger in the first place!” Josh yells, walking up to Hawes, getting in his face and staring down at him. The difference between the two couldn’t be more stark.
Josh is slightly taller than Hawes and looks like a cardboard cutout of a professional man. Dark hair, cut short. Well-groomed, cleanly shaven. Suit perfectly fitted. Almost like Clark Kent on steroids. But even though Josh is much bulkier, Hawthorne’s muscles are much more defined, and his tanned skin gives a sportier, outdoorsy look. His hair is soft and tousled, his fiery eyes burning with anger at the newcomer on his turf.
If someone doesn’t do something soon, these two men will probably be giant, growling wolves in the next five seconds.
“Everyone just calm down. Stop being so petty,” Lindon says, interjecting. He gives them a condescending look, like he’s speaking to two children. He turns to me and says, “Yes, I have a few things. Come into the kitchen and I’ll pull them out.”
Hawes and Josh stand there, staring at each other, trying to win some sort of unspoken battle between them. I tap them both on the shoulder as I follow Lindon into the kitchen, and they put their dispute on hold and follow me, throwing angry glares at each other periodically.
“I made some chicken last night. Would you mind that cold?” Lindon asks me, caring only about my opinion on the matter, pulling out plates and cups as he speaks.
“Sure, I guess.” Anything at this point.
Hawes and Josh sit on opposite sides of the table, still eyeing each other suspiciously. I sit down at the head of the table, between them, and run my hand through my hair.
This is going to be a long day…
* * *
There’s relative silence as Lindon pulls out lunch and puts it on the table. Hawes gets up for a minute to grab drinks for everyone, but then sits back down and assesses the competition sitting across from him.
“Ok, that’s it, go ahead,” Lindon tells me. Somehow, in what feels like only a few minutes, Lindon has put together delicious-looking sandwiches, and I start to eat. They’re perfect, the right combination of everything, and although I try to be proper, I can’t keep myself from almost swallowing mine whole due to the extreme hunger I’m feeling.
I catch Hawes watching me out of the corner of my eye, smiling openly, but he hides it when he sees me watching him back.
“So, tell us what you guys do,” Lindon says.
“We work cases in which shifters have gone rogue or have lost contact with their tribe,” Josh replies.
“Shifters who are dangerous?” Lindon asks.
“Sometimes. Sometimes they’re rebelling against family ties. Sometimes they’ve disappeared and we need to track them down. Sometimes they’ve become… menaces, and they have to be dealt with.” He throws a not-so-subtle glare at Hawes, who glares right back at him.
“And you do the ‘dealing with’, so to speak?” Lindon asks, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“Yes, you could put it that way.”
“Here.” Lindon pushes the plate of sandwiches towards the newcomer, but he simply waves his hand.
“No thanks, I ate before I came here.”
“So, what do you do all day?” Lindon asks.
“Mostly desk work,” I interject between mouthfuls. I don’t want him to get any ideas about our job being super-glamorous. It’s not.
Josh nods with a slight shrug. “Some field work here and there. Sometimes they’ll assign me with a squad for special tasks, but even those are often rare.”
“So they put the muscle, so to speak, out in the field in those cases?” Lindon says dryly.
Josh lets out a booming laugh at being called ‘the muscle’, and Hawes rolls his eyes.
I’ve almost downed two sandwiches and am working on my third when I hear a song playing from somewhere in the room. It sounds like a ringtone, and the song is “Hall of Fame” by The Script.
There’s a dead silence in the room. Apparently nobody wants to own up to the phone being theirs.
The song continues playing, singing about being the best, or the greatest, or something like that. I never paid attention to the lyrics frankly.
“Hawes, we know it’s yours. Just pick it up,” Lindon says, annoyed.
Hawes shrugs guiltily. “Pshhh, what? Never! I would never have such a blatantly ridiculous song on my phone!”
Josh eyes Hawes. Lindon just cocks his head in disbelief.
“Fine, okay!” Hawes brandishes the phone fr
om his pocket. “I play it before my fights, so what?” He picks up the phone and answers as he stands and walks out of the kitchen. As he’s about to exit he covers the receiver and whispers to us. “None of ya have any class, I tell ya.” Then he disappears around the corner.
Josh gives me a glance, as if to silently ask, where did you pick this guy up? I don’t respond, just finish my sandwich.
“Thank you Lindon, those were delicious,” I say.
“Any time, Rose,” Lindon says, peering over his glasses at me again. He may act nice, but there’s still something I find unsettling about him. It’s like he’s watching me, just a little too closely.
“I’m going to go get my things and take them to my room,” I say, standing up and moving to the living room. It’s nice to have a full stomach, I feel like I can think more clearly again.
“I’ll come,” Josh says. “I want to investigate the security of the premises.”
I head into the living room, pick up the small black luggage that Josh brought, and start to carry it towards the stairs leading to my room. I glance at Hawes outside, speaking on his phone animatedly with someone. I can’t tell if he’s excited or angry…
Josh is a few steps behind me, checking out the house, probably looking at the locations for the security equipment and keeping track of potential entry points.
I’m about to reach the door to my bedroom, when Josh gently grabs my arm and pulls me around to face him. We’re alone in the long hallway, only a few feet from my bedroom door.
“Rose, do you have a minute to talk?”
“Sure, I guess.” I really want to lay down and take a nap right now, but I can make time for my partner. He probably has more news from the office.
“I don’t like that Hawes guy. Either of them, to be honest. But especially Hawes.”
“Whoa, where did this come from?” I ask, somewhat bewildered by the accusation.
Ultimate Alpha Boxed Set: A BBW and Wolf Shifter collection Page 26