Five Alarm Alphas

by Leah Braemel, Lexxie Couper, Delilah Devlin, Marie Harte, Desiree Holt, Lissa Matthews, Cari Quinn, Shelli Stevens

  But he hadn’t had to. Zac had been pampered in comparison.

  “Besides,” Quinn continued, “it wasn’t me Tab was looking at while she licked the icing off her finger back there. It was all about you.”

  What red blooded man would not have been mesmerized as her tongue swirled around the tip of her finger, over her lips? The sight had practically caused him to lose his load, especially when his imagination had substituted his cock for her finger, traces of her vintage fifties red lipstick smearing on his shaft.

  He wanted to be buried balls deep inside her, over her, as her eyes unfocussed, and his name fell from those lush lips. Except Quinn wanted her too. Quinn, who had never had anything handed to him, deserved something to go right in his life for once.

  Quinn squared his shoulders. “Did you ever consider that you’ve been dating her all along.”

  What the fuck? “No. Dates involve holding hands and kissing. Going home and getting naked and sweaty.” He adjusted himself at his body’s reaction to that image .

  “Think about it, Z. How many times do you stop by her place and have dinner with her in your average week?”

  Four times last week.

  “Who helped her paint the diner after the asshole she hired disappeared partway through?”

  “Both of us.”

  Quinn shook his head. “I helped paint half of one wall before I got called in for an extra shift. But you helped not only paint the diner, but put down a new floor, and made sure her sprinkler system and electrical was up to snuff. And how many movie marathons have you guys had?”

  They’d watched the entire Breaking Bad series, eight seasons of Criminal Minds, and watched Firefly at least a dozen times. And he’d enjoyed every damned minute.

  “Hell, you even told me that she fell asleep with her head on your lap last week, remember?”

  It had been hell and heaven at the same time—heaven with her hair spilling onto his lap, over his fingers, her lips curled into a soft smile, her breath warm against his jeans-covered cock. Hell because he kept picturing her waking up, lowering his zipper and taking his cock in her mouth. Hell, because she hadn’t. When she’d finally awoken, he’d made a mad dash to the bathroom to beat one off.

  Quinn continued, obviously unaware of the memory he’d revived—or maybe he was and wanted to drive home his point. “You know what her favorite dessert is.” Cheesecake. “Her favorite movie.” A tie between Princess Bride and Serenity. “You know that she loves manicures, pedicures, back rubs, and vintage clothing.”

  “Hey, you know all that stuff too. Which means you’re perfect for her.” The fuel tank refilled, he replaced the nozzle in the tank and climbed back into the chopper.

  If he’d been hoping Quinn would give up and leave him alone as he parked the chopper in its reserved spot, he’d been dead wrong. The moment he finished his final inspection, Quinn started after him again. “Just take her to the concert already. Give things a chance—and don’t deliberately try to screw things up to push her my way. You have to give it a real shot.”

  “What if I scare her off?”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, Buchanan, I don’t remember you ever bein’ such a whiney ass girl. You’ve put Tab up on this fucking high virgin pedestal . She isn’t afraid of you because she already knows all the worst parts about you. Trust me.”

  Damn it, Quinn could be like a Pit Bull guarding his favorite bone. “All right, all right. So I’ll take her to the concert.

  Tabatha shoved the mop and bucket into the cupboard and surveyed her diner with a sense of satisfaction. The pink neon Twisted Tabby’s sign outside, along with the smaller Open sign hanging in the window, had been turned off for the night. The door had been locked and all the booths’ tables had been cleaned until the chrome shined.

  For the first time in months, the regret at being forced to close up her place in Carter Valley didn’t niggle at her. Maybe her former landlord, who had also been her father-in-law, had done her a favor by cancelling her lease after she’d divorced his son.

  Shannon’s throaty chuckle sounded behind her. “You remind me of a lion surveying his kingdom.” She slung her arm around Tabatha’s shoulders. “You did good with this place, kid.”

  “Thanks. It’s exactly how I envisioned it when I signed the lease.” And better, because she hadn’t had to acquiesce to Bill and his equally controlling father like she’d had to at her original place.

  Someone tapped on the front door. Tabatha was about to call that they were closed when she realized it was Zac peering in. She hurried to the door and unlocked it. “Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about why I didn’t ask you to the…” Zac’s gaze slid to Shannon.

  “And there’s my cue to leave.” Shannon grabbed her purse from under the counter “See you tomorrow, Tab.” She bumped Zac’s shoulder as she passed. “Don’t blow it again, stud. I’ve got a bet riding on you.”

  The moment Shannon closed the door, Zac flipped the lock. The loud click of the deadbolt sent a slow crawl of shivers beneath Tabatha’s skin.

  “What do you want, Zac?” This morning she’d have thought Please say me. Strange how a pair of tickets to her favorite band could change her perspective so quickly.

  “I wanted to explain about this morning.” He jammed his hands in his pockets and blew out a breath. “And to ask you to take me to the concert instead of Quinn.”

  Seriously? What type of game was he playing? “I’m not sure I want to go with you. Not now. Or is that your not-so-subtle way of saying you want the tickets back?”

  “No.” He paced, running his fingers through his hair. “Shit, I really fucked this up, didn’t I?”

  “D’ya think?”

  “Okay, I made a promise to give Quinn a first shot at you, all right? But he’s been hanging back and I figured he needed to a push.”

  “Quinn really isn’t interested in me, Zac. Seriously.”

  “Yeah. He is. Seriously.”

  “There’s something else though, isn’t there? Something you’re not telling me.”

  He dropped his gaze to something beneath the counter, from the angle probably his own very large feet. “Do you remember when I came back for spring break right before you graduated high school?”

  She nodded.

  “I was alone in the house one night and, uh, Val…well, she walked in on me and this girl. We were tryin’ some kinky shit. It was all consensual, don’t get me wrong.”

  “I don’t care why or what you were doin’ to her.” The hell she didn’t. “Just get to what Val told you.”

  Okay, this was getting interesting. Not the other girl, but what did Zac consider kinky?

  “Anyway, Val got upset because, the night before, she’d heard me telling Quinn about how I was planning on asking you if I could take you to your graduation. She told me you were dating Billy and it was getting serious, and even if you weren’t I obviously wasn’t suitable for you. That I’d break your heart. Let’s just say she made her point damned well. And frankly I thought she was right for a long time. So I kept my distance.”

  It was the type of manipulation Val was famous for. Twisting things to her own benefit. But that was… Shit! “You said Val told you I was dating Billy before I graduated?”

  “That’s right.”

  Fuck. “Val lied, Zac. I didn’t date Billy until after we graduated. And I only went out with him because…” She blew out a breath. “Because you decided to take that job in Houston.” Which made me realize I wasn’t a blip on your radar and figured I might as well be realistic and look closer to home for a boyfriend.

  “Even if she lied about you being with someone else, Val was right to protect you. I was pretty wild back then and you deserved better.”

  “She didn’t lie to protect me, Zac. She lied because she wanted to you to herself. She figured if you couldn’t ask me, you’d ask her.”

  “But I didn’t.” His hair stuck up in every dir
ection. “I was never interested in her. I saw what she put Quinn through. I saw how unstable she was—is. I may have not been looking for a long term relationship but even back then she was bat shit crazy, and my Danger Will Robinson alarms were going off like crazy about her.”

  “So what changed your mind? And, by the way, I don’t need protecting. Or are you not the wild thing you were back then?”

  “Oh, you still need protecting, kitten. I may have worked a few of my wilder ideas out of my system, but there are things I will expect of my lovers. Things you might not cotton to.”

  Her mind immediately shouted, “Sex things! Whee!” and then it started singing the Bad Boys song. God she was so pathetic when she was around him. She folded her arms across her chest to keep herself in check. “What makes you think we’re going to become lovers?”

  He rounded the counter and closed the distance between them, the intensity of his gaze burning through her system to settle in her pussy. “If you go out with me, it’s not a matter of if you will end up in my bed. It’s just a matter of when.”

  Holy crap on a cracker, she liked that confident, commanding side of him.

  “Okay, yes, we’d probably end up having sex.” In his bed. In hers. In the back of his truck. Right here on the counter top. If it could be done—she wasn’t sure about the height. And promptly found herself comparing the height of his groin to the height of the counter. Heat flared in her cheeks when she realized where she was staring. She jerked her gaze back down to the vintage napkin holder. Whose chrome side reflected Zac’s fly.

  Was the world conspiring to point out what she already knew? That Zac was sex on a honey stick, and she was a bee?

  “If we’re going to have this discussion, you need to look at me.”

  The command in his tone had her lifting her head to find lust and desire filling his gaze. Her body heated in an instant, making her breasts heavy, and her heart raced like she’d just run a marathon. “What is it you do that you need to protect me from? What did Val walk in on?”

  He didn’t flinch. Nor did his color change one shade. Instead his gaze zeroed in on her, its intensity staggering. “My date was blindfolded, bound and ball-gagged.”

  She squeezed her thighs together as images crowded through her brain. Her on her knees in front of him, her hands bound behind her back, him tying a blindfold over her eyes—no, not the first time. She wanted to see all of him, every inch that had been denied her in the past.

  “Will you do that to me?”

  His voice deepened, reminding her of thick, dark chocolate. With chili peppers for a bit of bite. “Do you want me to?”

  She could get into any of his suggestion as long as it was Zac. Well, except for…“Please tell me you’re not a furry. I mean, it’s okay if you are but I’m not into that kink.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus, no. No fur, I promise.” The tension in his shoulders, neck and jaw dropped. As if he’d been nervous about her answer. How had she not seen that before?

  That he’d been nervous about her response reassured her that he was still Zac, even if he did like things a little kinky in the bedroom. Hell, from the dampness between her thighs, her body was totally onboard. “All right. As long as you stop if I tell you to.”

  He nodded. “Of course. Everything between us will always be totally consensual. But if you just want to stay friends that’s fine, but now’s the time to decide, because once we cross that line, we can’t go back.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be more than just friends with you, Zac.”

  “I want you to be absolutely sure about this, Tabby.” He stepped back from her, as if he realized he might be crowding her. “Now’s your last chance to say no.”

  “Stop this.” She pressed a finger against his lips. “You’ve always been the Barnett Springs Champion Overthinker. And yes, I’m absolutely sure about this. I’d rather find out for sure if it won’t work than wait for you the rest of my life, wondering what might have been.”

  She met his gaze, allowing him to search her eyes, but lost herself in the sapphire blue of his. What would his face look like when she took his cock in her mouth? As he pressed himself inside her? When he came?

  Maybe her fantasies showed in her eyes and convinced him she was serious because he stepped back with a single nod. “All right. I’ll pick you up here on Saturday. Say, around six?”

  “Wait a minute. Do you really think you can just show up and drop that type of bombshell and then walk away and leave me hanging? Not a chance, bud.” She tugged on his collar and stepped backward, leading him to the back of the diner. After pausing to flip off the remaining lights, she resumed their trek toward the rear exit. Well, she’d intended to. They’d made it as far as her office when Zac banded her wrists with one hand, dragged them above her head and pressed her against the wall with his body. With her trapped, he captured her mouth.

  Even her most erotic fantasy hadn’t prepared her for his kiss.

  Her eyes drifted closed so she could concentrate on the pure sensation. From the hardness of his chest pressing against her, holding her in place, and his breath on her skin, to the soft prickle of his stubble on her cheek. That he was showing a side of himself she’d never seen before was just as erotic. She’d seen him playful before, but there was an intensity to him, as if carefully stoked embers had ignited.

  His long fingers slipped to the back of her neck. A quick tug and her apron sagged to her waist. Cool air from overhead brushed bare skin as he unbuttoned her shirt. The heat of his touch as he pushed the fabric aside caused her nipples to harden into tight buds.

  He released his grip on her wrists and shoved her bra beneath her breasts, the fabric rasping over her sensitive nipples. She lost herself in how his eyes were now nearly black with desire.

  His groan rumbled through her chest. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to see these?”

  As long she’d wanted him to touch them? Why had she settled for Bill when she should have admitted to Zac she was attracted to him back in high school? All those wasted years.

  Her knees trembled when he cupped her breasts, his long fingers toying with the hard buds. Between the kissing and his attention to her breasts, her body heated and softened.

  Free of restraint, she brought her hands down, gave into the need to thread her fingers through the silky strands of his hair. It was just how she’d expected it to feel. And this wasn’t a fantasy, wasn’t a dream. She leaned in to resume the kiss, only to have him pull away.

  “Behave.” Once again he banded her wrists with one hand and hauled them above her head.

  The command in his tone had her immediately obeying. Strange, considering she usually balked whenever someone tried to take over. “But I want to touch you.”

  “Kitten, you touch me right now and I’ll go off like a bottle rocket.”

  Huh. Who knew she had such power over him? Smiling, she rested her hands on her head and flattened her spine against the wall. Only then did she notice that holding her arms up made her boobs stick out. Especially with how hard she was breathing. From the way his gaze immediately dropped to her chest, he noticed too.

  “Like what you see?” The huskiness of her voice betrayed her lust, her need.

  When he met her gaze, hunger filled his eyes. “I love every part of you.”

  He dropped his head and caught one taut nipple between his teeth, nipping lightly. His muttered endearments sent warm tendrils down to her pussy faster than the licks and nips to her breasts.

  She gasped when he dropped down to his knees, and lifted her skirt. And stayed absolutely still. Not touching her, not saying a word.

  Damn it, why couldn’t she have bought a thong or at least worn a pair of bikini briefs today? But no, she had to wear the white cotton vintage-style ruffled panties, complete with pink satin bow at the side of each leg. She might as well have pulled on a pair of granny panties.

  “They were pretty and I liked them,” she explained.
>
  “Kitten, if you think I’m disappointed in anything about you, you’re dead wrong. I’m trying hard not to rip these pretty panties off you and bury myself in you right here where you stand.” His breath was hot against her thigh. “They are absolutely fucking perfect. I want you to buy a dozen more just like them.”

  Perfect didn’t begin to describe the set of white lacey panties she wore. He fucking loved them. Erotic, provocative, enticing, and a whole passel of other words that escaped him. Who knew she wore sexy lingerie beneath those prim and proper vintage dresses?

  If he’d thought she was sensual when she was frosting the cupcakes, he’d seriously underestimated her. The woman was sensuality personified. He’d never be able to look at her again without imagining her wearing a lacy concoction beneath her clothes. Hell, every time he saw her now he’d picture her wearing only these.

  But for now they were in the way. He tugged the lacy undergarments until they were at her ankles. “Lift.”

  Once her pretty little panties were removed, he shoved them into his jacket pocket. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted her to buy a dozen more. He’d found them the sexiest thing he’d seen since…well, since he’d seen her the first day she’d come back to town.

  She’d obeyed him, leaving her hands above her head, and she’d let her eyes drift closed.

  Unable to resist any longer, he flipped up the fabric of her skirts and pressed feather-light kisses along the tender skin of her thigh. A hint of cinnamon teased his senses, probably a remnant from the cinnamon buns she’d been baking. The netting beneath her skirt rasped the back of his neck—the slight irritation helping keep the edge off the need to take her right here, standing up against the wall, just as he’d threatened. The higher up her thigh he went, the scent changed, mixed with the scent of her arousal.

  At last he reached the top. He swirled his tongue through her folds—damn she tasted like heaven. And she was so fucking ready for him, her juices coated his chin. She quivered with each flick of his tongue, her scent rising around him, filling his senses.

  “Zac…” Her hands dropped to his hair, tugging on it, little licks of pain keeping him focused and making his dick hard.