by Mia Carson
“Thank you,” she said through her laughter, kissing him again.
Alec ran his fingers down her cheek and drew her closer, letting his lips brush over hers. “Want to go see it?”
“Tonight?” she asked, sitting up.
“Why not? You have the key, and I was told no one’s been in there since you closed it.”
She clambered quickly to her feet, key in hand, and reached for her purse. “Sam?”
He shook his head. “Nah, you two go ahead. I have a feeling I might be in the way,” he said with a wink. Iris reached out to poke him in the shoulder before she wrapped her little brother in her arms. “Alright, you’re squishing me. I get it, you’re happy, now go away,” he muttered, giving her a shove towards the door. “And Iris?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
Sam rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks reddened. “Tell Dad hi from me,” he said quietly. Iris squeezed his hand and promised she would. Clutching the key tightly, she walked towards the front door where Alec held it open for her.
“So you’re not mad about this?” he asked as they drove to the shop. She didn’t answer right away, and he sagged in his seat. “Look, I just wanted to do something nice for you,” he explained firmly. “And I’m not taking it back, no matter what you say, and I’m not about to run it myself, so you’re stuck with it. That’s final, end of story.”
“Alec?”
“What? I’m serious, I won’t take it back.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, leaning into his side. “It’s perfect, and I meant it when I said thank you. I didn’t think I’d ever get the shop back on my own.”
“You up for running it again?” he asked and draped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head as he held her against his side.
“I think I can manage. Do you have any idea what you just did for me?”
She felt him smile against her head as he pulled the truck alongside the curb outside her shop and parked. “I gave you hope that there is a future for you here,” he said, and she moved so she could see his face. “That life isn’t so bad anymore, I hope.”
“Not with you in it,” she replied and laughed, thinking about the first night they’d met. “I can’t say I’m over all my issues, but I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel now.”
“And I have never felt so free to be myself,” he remarked with a crooked grin.
They kissed briefly. She held up the key, and they exited the truck and walked towards the door to her dad’s shop. She breathed in the cool night air, remembering that the last time she was here was when she’d run into Alec and saw the pain and sadness in his eyes. Now, standing in front of the door again, she glanced over her shoulder to see the sadness gone, replaced by the same stirrings of love pooling like a river of fire in her body, spreading to her toes and fingers until every inch of her warmed at the sight of him.
“Here we go,” she said on a breath and stuck the key in the lock. It fit perfectly, and she took another deep breath before she turned it and the deadbolt clicked open. Iris pulled the key free and pushed the door open. It creaked as it always used to, and a dull bell chimed overhead. The sound grounded her in all the memories she had of this place, and a longing to see her parents again filled her. “God, I miss them.”
Alec’s hand slipped into hers as he followed her inside. “I’m sure they know that.”
“No,” she whispered and hung her head. “I was terrible after they died. I screamed at them, ranted, blamed them for everything.” She stared around the shadowy shop, picturing her dad standing behind the counter as he and Joe talked about the latest finds. “I hated them for so long.”
“You never hated them,” he assured her and pulled her around. “When my dad died, he left me to deal with a controlling mother who wanted me to live a life of high class and luxury. Dad always got me, but she never did. For months, I’d go to his grave and split a bottle of whiskey with him, and in the beginning, I was angry, too, but then… Then one day, I realized everything my dad taught me over the years made me a stronger person than I thought I was.”
“So you left home?”
He nodded and held her hands tighter. “And came here to find you. We all have our pasts, remember? Things we wish we hadn’t done, but the longer you hold onto that guilt, the worse you feel.”
Iris slipped away from him, running her hands along the dust-covered shelves, and made her way slowly to the counter. The sun had set, and the dim light from outside disappeared. “Dad always kept a few candles in here somewhere,” she said and dug around behind the main counter.
“You never moved them?”
“Nope,” she said sadly. “Never had the heart to change anything.” Her fingers bumped into something hard and waxy, and she let out an excited yell, dragging out three large candles and a box of matches. Once they were lit, she spread them out along the counter, lighting the open space of the shop.
“This is a good sized place,” Alec said. Iris watched his shadow bounce along the walls as he moved. His head tilted back as he looked at the walls, the unique curve of the vaulted ceiling, and the few items still hanging from the rafters, old wagon wheels and parts of a plow.
With each step, his shadow followed, his broad shoulders defined in the flickering light and his hair loose, hanging down to his shoulders, swaying with his movements. Iris blinked, and the shadow on the wall shimmered only for a moment before she stared at the form of Alec again. In that moment, though, she swore she saw the outline of a wolf, a true predator in nature. Something Joe told her one day in the shop came back to her, from many months ago when she’d gone in to sell yet another heirloom.
She had seen a beautiful wolf figurine, carved from wood with such intricate detailing, if she didn’t look at it straight on, she would’ve sworn it was a real one watching her. Joe noticed her admiring it and took it off the shelf.
“Here,” he’d said handing it over to her. “A gift.”
“No, I can’t,” she’d said roughly, still a little hungover from the night before. Her drinking had gotten worse when Sam had to go back to the hospital. “Not after everything you’ve already done for me.”
Joe had pursed his lips and held the wolf up, examining it. “Wolves are pack animals by nature,” he’d told her seriously. “They care for one another deeply, and when one wolf in the pack is in pain, the others know. They find a way to comfort it.”
“Why are you telling me this?” she’d asked, exhausted and worn out from fighting so hard to keep the house and food on the table.
“Because it is important for you to know,” he insisted. “Wolves are able to sense pain from miles away, and they would come to the aid of their loved ones, to those who needed them, and woe betide any beast who stood in their path.”
She remembered staring at that wolf statue every time she walked by his shop afterwards, dreaming about someone coming to save her and ease her pain before she was consumed by it. And just when she was ready to give in, ready to give up and watch everything her parents built disappear to the family of the man she hated, she stopped by this shop and bumped right into Alec.
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the candle flames flickered and a draft blew through the room.
“That’s strange,” Alec said and turned to the windows. “I thought they were boarded up.”
Iris did too, but a draft wasn’t what was on her mind as she walked across the shop, stopping in the center to stare at the man who had saved her life. He was her wolf. Even miles away, he’d sensed her pain, and though he didn’t know it, he rushed to this small town in the middle of nowhere to save her. And maybe, just maybe, she was meant to save him, too.
Alec had his back to her as she stood in the center of the room and tugged off her sweater, letting it fall to the floor at her feet, followed by his t-shirt. All day, she’d been surrounded by his masculine scent of mahogany and sandalwood, and now, she wanted to be surrounded by him. He was look
ing for the draft and didn’t notice when she slipped out of her boots and jeans next, standing in nothing but her lacy black bra and thong.
“Huh, I’ll have to tear this down tomorrow and really check them over when I can see,” Alec called over his shoulder. “We'll get the power turned on then, too. What do you…” He swallowed hard enough for her to hear across the room, and his hands curled at his sides.
Seductively, Iris ran her hands up her sides, highlighting her curves and cupping her breasts through the thin lace. She licked her lips slowly, and Alec took an unsteady step towards her, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he fought for control. Iris didn’t want him to be in control, not with so many intense emotions robbing her of any more doubts or fears for the future. She wanted Alec with every fiber of her being. She wanted all of him as he was, nothing more and nothing less. Standing in the place that would lead her back to the right path, she wanted to feel him move within her, touch her soul, and turn her inside out.
Jenson had nearly broken her. Months ago, she thought she was beyond fixing, but she wasn’t broken, just damaged, and Alec was the balm to soothe her, just as she would soothe the hurt left in his heart from Nikki. Loving him, that was how she would do it, and she would prove that this night.
Iris massaged her breasts and pinched her nipples, a sigh escaping her lips as the candlelight flickered behind her. When she slid one hand across her stomach and down between her legs, her eyes never leaving Alec’s, filling her with an insatiable hunger that burned her very core, he covered the distance between them with a guttural growl and buried his hand in her hair at the nape of her neck. His kiss was hot and demanding against her lips as his tongue penetrated her mouth and explored its depths. As it glided across hers, he ground his hips and the bulge of his swollen erection made her thighs clench in want of him buried in her warmth.
She moaned as he rubbed against her through the thin fabric of her thong, and she grew wet, begging for him to touch her, to hold her in his palm. Her fingers found the hem of his shirt, and she tore it over his body, letting her hands caress every inch of exposed back they could find. This was love, this feeling right here, this insane hunger only Alec could quench for her. Every touch was a demand and question at the same time, seeking permission to conquer her body as he had not done their first time together. This was so much more, and the fire grew to an inferno between them, stoked to life by the release of raw desire.
Alec’s kiss deepened, and she moaned against his mouth. His hand moved against her, cupping her through the fabric, and she groaned when he slid it aside and found her wanting and soaking. “You cry for me,” he whispered in her ear, sucking and nibbling her earlobe as his kisses trailed lower across the tender flesh of her bared neck. Goosebumps covered her body, and her nails dug into his skin, silently begging him to take her. “God, you’re beautiful like this. I want to hear you scream my name.”
His fingers shifted and penetrated her swollen folds. She clung to him, and a cry slipped from her lips. “Alec,” she gasped as he ravished her with quick, hard thrusts of his fingers, stretching and spreading her.
When he claimed her mouth again, his tongue kept time with his hand, and she was completely possessed by this man. His broad-shouldered body swallowed hers in the shadows, and her legs weakened in his grasp. He pulled his fingers out, teasing her with the near orgasm, tugging on her clit as she squirmed against him, desperate for all of him. He chuckled, and the sound vibrated through his body and into hers, though he brushed her hands aside from his jeans.
“Not yet,” he whispered huskily. “Not until I hear you moan for me, hear you come apart in my hands so I can put you back together.”
He gripped the edges of her thong, and she heard the fabric rip and fall from her body. A white-hot spike of arousal shot from her loins to her tingling nipples. She pressed her chest against his, and he obliged her, relieving her of her bra so she stood completely naked before him in the flickering light. He leaned back and stared at her, his eyes caressing every curve and shadow of her body before he walked her slowly backwards across the room. When she bumped into the counter, he looked around and hurried back to their clothes. She watched, her whole body shivering for his touch, and he hurried back with his t-shirt in hand, quickly wiped down the counter of dust, and tossed it aside again.
Iris reached for him, but he turned her around, kissing her shoulders slowly as his hands ran down her arms and up to her sides, wrapping around her stomach. His mouth teased and nipped at her neck, moving upwards until he turned her head gently enough so he could slant his lips across hers again. As his tongue thrust into her mouth, his hand slipped down her front and massaged in hypnotizing circles around her clit and wet warmth. She trembled, her hips circling with his hand as the spring within her tightened.
Her head fell back against his chest as the well of pleasure swelled, but again, he pulled his hand back and she grunted in annoyance. “Don’t worry, love. I’m not through with you yet,” he promised hotly in her ear.
His hands moved to her hips before disappearing, and she heard his jeans unzip and hit the floor with a muffled thud. She wanted to turn and look, but his knee spread her legs apart and his hand glided down the smooth curve of her ass, spreading her lips and rubbing against her vigorously. She gripped the counter as his other hand massaged her breast, tugging and teasing her nipple into a hard point. A cry tore from her chest, and she shook in his arms as the orgasm ripped through her body, every muscle in her legs shaking with the effort to remain standing as he moved faster against her, lengthening the pleasure and drawing every last moan from her throat.
Iris rested against the counter, though not for long. Alec’s engorged member rubbed between her legs, coating himself in her flowing wetness. She arched her back, and he spread her legs wider. She wanted him, needed him, and when he pulled away, she whimpered, but a second later, his crown pressed up against her sensitive flesh, and she bit her lip on a cry. His hands cupped her breasts, holding them in the hotness of his palms as he spread her sheath in one slow, long thrust.
With each shift of his hips, he buried himself deeper within her, swelling even more and stretching her to the max. The sensation of being full and complete tightened the burning column of heat within her again, and Iris gripped the counter until her knuckles turned white.
“Alec,” she whispered on a breath. “I can’t… I can’t hold on…” She moaned, and he thrust faster and harder, his fingers tugging her nipples and rolling them between his fingers.
“Then don’t,” he growled behind her, his voice strained as his hands shifted to her hips and held on tightly.
He adjusted the angle so it was deeper, rubbing perfectly against her g-spot, and Iris lost it. She screamed his name as her inner muscles clenched him hard, holding him inside her body as his hot seed spilled within her depths. His body covered hers as he held onto her tightly, his legs trembling as he pulled out and rested against her.
“I think… I think we just christened the place,” she muttered. He laughed, a deep throaty sound that made her heart flutter. She turned around to face him and held his face in her hands.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t found you,” he said and kissed her nose, forehead, and cheeks. “I forgot what it was like to just be happy, and you did that for me.” He lifted her and set her on the dusted-off part of the counter, pushing between her legs so he could nuzzle her breasts. “I think I could stay like this forever.”
She ran her hands through his hair, imagining the shop come to life around them as the candles kept their vigil. “You know, Danny’s usually pretty nice about delivering take out. Want to stay here for a while longer?”
“If you’re here, I’ll stay forever,” he swore and pressed his cheek against her chest. “Stay here forever and listen to the lullaby of your heart.”
Iris’s body swelled with a love so deep she knew it should scare her, but with Alec holding her securely in his arms, she could take on
the world and never be scared again.
Chapter 14
Alec stood in the kitchen, drinking his beer and staring at the photograph, a close-up of Gyda Lundy’s face, a different one Joe had found in the archives. She wore the earrings Joe’d said Iris had sold him several months ago. He’d brought it by that morning, and all Alec had done since was stare at it. August covered his shift at the gun range and was showing Sam around the place. They still hadn’t talked to Iris about it, but he’d let Sam decide if he really wanted to work there first before they dropped that on her.
After last night, he doubted she’d say no to it, though. His body reacted, remembering the sensuousness of her body in his hands, melting at his touch. She came alive in that shop, and when they woke that morning after falling asleep against the wall, her eyes were so filled with fire it was intoxicating. They’d spent most of the night digging through what stuff was left behind and found a decent stash of antiques she’d assumed the bank had sold.
It wouldn’t be much stock to open her doors with, but it’d be a good start. She was going back over there after her shift at Joe’s shop, and he was going to join her. The electricity would be turned on today, so no more working by candlelight.
The eyes in the photograph followed him as he tossed out his empty bottle of beer and snagged another one from the fridge. One hour. He’d see her in one hour. His body itched to go to her now, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hands to himself for long. That, and he wanted to tell her about everything Joe had uncovered so far about the Lundin family disappearing. Everything was linked back to that arrest record, but Joe hadn’t been able to find any concrete evidence on it yet.
Alec pulled out his cell to text August and check in when the doorbell rang. He set his beer carefully on the counter. When he reached the door, he called out, “Who is it?” because he wasn’t expecting anyone and Joe always called before he showed up.
“Nikki,” she yelled back. He rested his hand against the door, cursing quietly under his breath. “Please, Alec, I just want to talk.”