“I would have said something had I felt you were overstepping your authority. I admit sometimes I don’t take the time to smell the roses. These last few months have always been about Jason. His obsession has grown. He wants what he can’t have. I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up at my doorstep again.” I wasn’t suggesting that he become my personal bodyguard, but having him near made me feel safe.
“I’ve already proven no man is a match for me. Your safety is my main concern. Those who consider you weak will find out how strong you really are. I can protect you, but I don’t think I have to. Jason was the cause of your insecurity. Once you had the courage to let him go, you finally opened up your eyes to how you can be stronger on your own.”
He sounded like a fortune cookie, but everything that he said made sense in my head. My heart, on the other hand, was still a little gun-shy when it came to throwing caution to the wind.
We talked about how he would keep an eye on me, but also on those feelings we had been unable to voice without expressing ourselves physically. It was a little awkward and he stumbled over his words trying to find the right ones to convey to me the way he felt.
“I’m glad you said that. There are times I feel weak, but I know deep down I don’t have to give any man that kind of power over me.”
“Jason needs to learn women are not defined by the man they are with. A relationship is supposed to be a two-way street with compromise and affection. I would be glad to teach him how important it is to be more connected to his partner. I don’t mind making the sacrifice of beating some sense into him.”
I cringed at the notion of him tangling with Jason in his beastly form. “I thought for sure he was going to come back with the police to charge you with assault. He’s probably trying to grasp the concept of what he saw. If he’s thinking straight, he won’t want to have anything to do with you, and in turn, he won’t darken my doorstep again.”
It wasn’t just the meal, but the companionship was a pleasure. I didn’t feel I had to measure up to expectations. I was happy to report the meal was absolutely divine. There was nothing I would have changed except for a little less garlic.
“I should always try something new, but the ravioli is too good to pass up. I tried to bribe the chef into giving me the recipe to the sinfully delicious sauce, but he was not very receptive. I always thought everybody had a price, but some things are priceless.” He took my hand and he made me believe that I was one of those priceless artifacts.
He fed me from his plate and it was a little cheesy like Lady and the Tramp, but it still left me blushing two shades of red. I was a little embarrassed by his behavior, but also felt like a woman should be treated on a date.
The white linen tablecloth with the prerequisite candlelight was a perfect way to bring some romance into my life. I thought that I was immune to candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach. I was getting the feeling I had never discovered the true art of romance until Tom came into my life.
“I can’t stop thinking about last night. I’m not the kind of girl to sleep with a man I barely know. It’s funny, but I feel I already know you in a way that nobody else can. I told you your secret was safe, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been mulling it over. I’m guessing you’ve tried to find a cure or maybe you were born with this affliction.” I had so many questions and I wasn’t sure how to pose them without invading his personal space.
“We could talk about it, but wouldn’t you rather have a repeat performance of last night? I have never been so damn hot for someone. It’s painful to sit here with this fucking erection wondering how I’m going to get you on your back with your legs in the air.”
I looked around, afraid somebody was going to overhear, but it was as if we were in our own little world at the back of the place. “You really don’t mind saying what is on your mind. I admire the way that you don’t find it necessary to play games. It was rather sexy to hear you say those words in public. I’m having these images which I would like to make into reality.”
He raised my hand and dipped my fingers into what was left of the sauce on his plate. “Life is too short for regrets. I find something I like and I’m not afraid to say what is in my heart.” My index finger was summarily sucked into his mouth, sending a shiver of excitement down to my lower extremities. “I’ve never been in this position, but I feel you deserve more than lip service.” He licked clean my middle finger. “I’ve always been a big believer in action speaking louder than words.” Then my ring finger was sucked slowly, making my body imagine other places where I wanted his tongue. “I think last night gave you a pretty good idea of how you have affected me.” Finally, he cleaned my pinkie. It drove me wild. “Jason is a name I never want to hear cross your lips again.” Hearing that name put a bit of a damper on my libido. Tom didn’t seem like the kind of person to lie to me, not after everything that we had been through. But just that name brought back some difficult memories.
“He was the one I thought I wanted, but I know that you can treat me better than some Neanderthal pounding on his chest. I’m sure you are wondering why I wasted my time with the likes of him. There must be something damaged about me to get together with a man who treated me like shit.” I was appalled by the curse coming out of my mouth, but it was the only way to make my feelings abundantly clear.
Chapter fourteen - Tom
I watched her nervously sit there with her compact in her hand applying just a whisper of makeup. She had this natural beauty that was hard to ignore. I wanted her to know everything. I didn’t care about the consequences or the possibility of the Alpha having somebody watching me at all times.
“You had some questions I was reluctant to answer. I haven’t always been a shifter. I don’t remember what happened, but I was very young at the time. I was changed into something that wasn’t human. I remember blurs of an attack on my family during a camping trip. The Alpha was responsible. I was raised knowing he had my parents’ blood on his hands.”
I didn’t want this relationship to end up in disaster like all the others. Something was nagging at me. I knew being with Roseanne would give the Alpha a reason to step in where he didn’t belong.
“It must’ve been hard to be raised by those who killed your family. I can’t even imagine.”
There was no way I could find vengeance. The closure I was looking for was left out of my reach. “It was worse when I was living with them. I can’t say the idea of killing him hasn’t entered into my mind from time to time. Logan has always been there to keep me from doing something reckless and impulsive. I credit him for keeping me breathing.”
Roseanne was the only one to ever crack into the real reason of my animosity toward the Alpha. Not even Logan had any idea what kind of deep-seated hatred burned in my veins.
“I know I’m probably going to regret asking this, but why would you let him get away with it?”
I clearly knew how to fight, but the answer was more complex. “Fighting him was never the problem. I’ve always suspected I was a more accomplished warrior. I could kill him, but then the vacuum of power left behind would have to be filled by someone. It is sometimes better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
It was an excuse to avoid the inevitable. I knew the cost of killing the Alpha. I wasn’t sure I wanted to pay the price. I wasn’t afraid to die, but I was afraid to leave him behind gloating. I made him believe things between us were amicable.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, “but that’s a cop-out. I can’t begin to understand the loss of your parents. Nobody can unless they have walked a mile in your shoes. History has a tendency to repeat itself, though.”
I did wonder if the Alpha was waiting for the right opportunity to finish the job. I was an experiment. He thought I was complacent. He was wrong.
“There’s a part of me that wants him to come after me. I want the chance to make my parents proud of me. This has been a curse and a blessing.” I could feel
the beast itching for the chance to do battle in its natural form.
“What stops you from showing him there are consequences for his actions?” She was peeling back the layers to see the truth underneath. Getting me to open up was something no woman had ever been able to do.
“It’s what I see in his eyes every time he looks at me. I swear he’s waiting for the day to come when we finally air our dirty laundry. I have him looking over his shoulder, waiting for me to come. I want him to taste the anticipation of battle in the air.” I was starting to understand the reason why I lost myself not only during the full moon but also during passionate encounters.
“You definitely have some unresolved issues. I’m willing to listen, but I can’t judge you for how you feel. Anybody would feel the same way.”
There were others who had been sired by the Alpha. Those who faced him for their pound of flesh were never ready for the ice water running through his veins. He was cold and calculating. There was no wasted motion.
“Some claim they don’t remember when he brought devastation to their doorstep. I never believed them. They are waiting for a champion to do what they can’t.” I was staring off, into the past. The Alpha had proven himself in battle. There was no mistaking the blood on his hands. “They want somebody to get their hands dirty so they can live vicariously through them. I admit I’m somewhat guilty of that myself.”
“I know you say you wait, but how much longer can you possibly do that without losing a piece of your soul?” She was the voice in the darkness encouraging me to stand up to the face of tyranny.
Nobody really knew how old he was. His experience could be seen in his eyes during those times he stood against an adversary without even blinking. This was a serious topic of conversation and not exactly the kind of pillow talk I was looking for. Or maybe it was.
“They say to face him is like facing your own fears. The other shifters shake in his presence. His legend has grown to where he’s untouchable. Killing him would bring about chaos, and without direction, the others would splinter into different factions with their own Alpha.”
“I’m one to talk about finding closure… I can give you advice, but I can’t follow it. Jason hurt me emotionally and physically. A small part of me thought I deserved it. He made me feel worthless and unattractive.” She had her own demons to excise from her life and I was going to be there with her every step of the way.
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” I squeezed her hand reassuringly and saw her smile. It was such a simple thing, and yet it made my heart leap for joy.
I looked around and found everyone completely enamored with their significant others. It was a bold move, but I found myself in the position of being under the table. The tablecloth was hiding my hands slowly creeping up her legs with my thumbs grazing the inside of her thighs.
I knew I loved her before I met her. She was the faceless stranger in my dreams. She made up for what I was missing in my life. I saw her shiver and her knees spread with the purple leather skirt riding high, courtesy of my nimble fingers.
“You don’t have… to do this. I feel like I’m living in a world that doesn’t… belong to me.” I was perfectly situated to see her pink, almost virginal panties.
There was already a telltale stirring in my pants. The stain of her arousal painted an illicit portrait in the material. Pulling back the fabric and seeing those lips made me hungry.
One swipe and she was already letting me know in no uncertain terms how much she appreciated my efforts. The low moan of encouragement was a drug I couldn’t get enough of. I’d always had an addictive personality and she had become something of an unhealthy obsession.
“No good deed goes unpunished.” She had listened to me and gave me her counsel.
It deserved a fitting tribute. My tongue was going to leave her breathless. I had done it already once and I could do it again.
I used my fingers to open the bubbling cauldron of her sex. She was boiling up inside and my tongue was the catalyst for turning up the heat. I was using my hand to manually stimulate myself.
The pointed end of my tongue cleaved into her making her my unwitting accomplice. She was courageous and brave, but she had her limits. I knew what buttons to push to keep her on the edge of her seat. She pushed closer with her legs on my chair. My head was between them reveling in the flavor spewing out of her.
“I wonder if you truly know what you’re doing to me. I’m doing my best to stay quiet, but it’s almost pointless. You have become educated in what does it for me. Do you have any idea how much I want to suck your cock?” Her obscene language gave me the incentive to keep her from retracting into her shell like a turtle. She was no longer hiding what was there all along.
Her clit was a beacon screaming for help. One touch and her legs trembled. Swirling around it had her slamming her hands down on the table with enough force to make the cutlery jump from the place setting on the table. Sucking it into my mouth brought forth the juices to coat the surface of my lips.
I made sure to clean up my mess by following the trail of her juices down her leg. My tongue was right there to lick her into submission. I’d never been this passionate, and most times it was like I was going through the motions. It was usually as if I were painting by the numbers without any real creative license to speak of.
I was gauging her reaction. I was learning the little things to make her happy in and out of the bedroom. I would’ve gone after seconds, but her legs lay limply with her fingers hanging loosely over the chair. I had this instant rush of gratification.
“I hope you know this is nothing compared to what I’m going to do to you. There’s no reason to think about it when the only answer on your lips should be yes.” I took one last look and touched her clit.
She twisted uncomfortably in her seat. Every woman was different, but the one glaring and obvious similarity was how they were oversensitive after something of that intensity gripped them by the throat
She was pretty much floating in the ether of her pleasure unable to wipe off the smile from her face. I saw it when I emerged from under the table with a grin on my face. She raised a finger to indicate she would need a moment to compose herself.
“I don’t smoke, but I could use one after that. I have nothing left to give. I can’t even feel my legs.”
I was dabbing my mouth with a napkin. There was no need to say anything when the ecstatic pleasure on her face was answer enough. “We should take this back to my place and continue what we started.”
She had to hold onto me with her legs like jelly. She looked like she was under the influence. She was sex drunk and looking to capture it in a bottle.
I took care of everything including the tip. It was very sneaky the way that I took the maître d’s hand and slipped him $100 bill. I always did like having money, but it was the power I was lacking.
We got into the stretch limousine at the curb. She had no idea what the bill cost and didn’t ask. She was content in letting me sweep her off of her feet. It was only the beginning. I had to take my mind off of the Alpha. He was a shadow, and what he did to my parents was never far away from my thoughts.
I knew deep down I was thumbing my nose by being with a human female. I could almost feel the Alpha hiding in plain sight. There were some things not worth questioning.
I had found more than a lover. I had found someone I had dreamed into life. I had been waiting all of my life for this sense of completion. I knew she was the missing piece to put my heart back together again.
Chapter fifteen - Roseanne
We rode in silence, and I could hear him breathing. It was a comfort to know he was there. I didn’t want to be the kind of girl who would want protection, but it did feel nice to know he could take care of me when the chips were down. It didn’t hurt that he seemed to know my body better than I did.
The restaurant was a reminder how different my love life could be with the perfect man. He wasn’t selfish and he gave more of
himself than any man I had ever been with. Jason and Tom had nothing in common. I’d found something worth fighting for and I wasn’t going to let it go easily.
We went up to the penthouse floor of this huge building in the center of the city. When the elevator opened, I was stunned into silence by how lavish everything looked, with nothing out of place. He was a little anal, but nobody was perfect. He swung open the doors to the balcony with the city calling my name from below.
“I have to say the skirt you are wearing is making me crazy. I want to take it off of you with my teeth pulling down the zipper. This is your time to let go of the past and live in the present with me.” He circled me like I was prey, pushing my hair out of the way and smelling the aroma of my perfume assaulting his senses.
“You say all the right things, and I still feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface.”
He lifted the hem of my skirt a couple of inches with his fingers grazing my bare leg. I wanted to tell him to stop, but there was no way those words were going to come out of my mouth.
“Last night was only the beginning. I suspect your panties are already soaking wet and practically dripping through the material. No other man in your presence could smell your excitement from where I’m standing right now. As you already know, I have this unique body chemistry and my senses are enhanced. The very scent of your desire is killing me a little bit more as I get closer.”
I yelped when he lifted me from the floor with my feet coming out of my heels. My legs found their way around him, and my ankles locked in place.
I was holding onto his neck and he was busy, ripping with enthusiasm through the only resistance protecting me from being objectified by him. The buttons of my top were rendered useless, tearing from the fabric and flying in all directions. The claws from the bear inside had made short work of the garment. I was never going to be able to put it in my closet again, and I didn’t care. It was destined for the trash. It was worth it.
Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance Page 42