Alpha Contender Boxed Set: BWWM Paranormal shifter romance BBW

by Terry Bolryder

  He pushes the door aside and I walk in tentatively and the noises stop somewhat as men of all shapes and sizes turn to stare as I walk in.

  “Misty!” Asher yells, tossing his basketball my way.

  I put my hands up to protect my face, because my reflexes aren’t awesome, and Jack blocks the ball with one hand and then catches it with both.

  “Asher, come on, man…”

  Asher blinks. “I called it.” He’s not wearing a shirt, just low-riding track pants and shoes, and a fine sheen of sweat glistens on his bare chest. Hot. He’s flushed from exertion, and I look from him to the other men in the room, who call out to me as I notice them.

  They all seem like they’re too aware that I was upset earlier. Could they hear me crying upstairs? Maybe shifter men are just as bad as regular men at handling female tears.

  “Bradley, Fifi,” I acknowledge. Fifi is wearing a pink shirt with white shorts. Bradley wearing a blue polo and jeans and is staying more on the sidelines, only taking the ball occasionally for a shot from the three point line, which he is surprisingly good at making.

  Lock and Thor are here too, and I wave to them. Thor blushes when I wave, an odd look with his tanned skin, and Lock just winks at me, throwing me off balance.

  The two brothers aren’t here, presumably they’re up resting from the hot springs trip.

  Then the door opens behind us and they walk in, in matching purple basketball outfits.

  As Tom’s gray eyes meet mine and a small grin lifts his lips, I think about the amazing feelings they gave me in the hot springs together.

  But that leads my thoughts to more unpleasant things that followed, and I ball my hands into fists and turn my eyes to the ground.

  “Hey,” Jack says, nudging me with an elbow. “Don’t look like that. Here, make a shot,” he puts the ball in my hands.

  I turn it over in my fingers, smiling. “Well, there is one shot I can make. But I’m too tired to play a game.”

  The guys boo, but then all seem to agree I should at least show them the shot. I walk up to the foul line, and then turn my back to it. The guys stand at the sidelines, arms folded, heads cocked in curiously.

  I lean back to look at the basket, then throw it backwards toward the hoop. It hits the backboard and goes in and the guys erupt in cheers, running toward me. It turns into a mob, and when Asher lifts me in a hug, the others grumble and mild pushing breaks out.

  Asher sets me down to push Thor and Thor shoves him back into Jack, and the whole thing makes me laugh out loud, so hard that I have to hold my stomach until the guys finally notice and stop jostling.

  I wave a hand. “Sorry, sorry. I’m probably a little punchy.”

  A few bashful grins later and the guys are arranging teams to compete, so they can “show Misty who possesses the greatest athletic aptitude and thus who would make a good mate” according to Thor.

  As the guys play, I let my thoughts wander through the past few days, looking for any clues that I was being fooled. I feel better when I realize there’s nothing I could have really done.

  I also feel better watching their healthy, gorgeous bodies. The smiles and the playfulness, the taunting, realizing how much I’ve come to care for these guys in a short time. Any one of them would hurt me if they were the killer.

  Fifi makes a shot and tosses his lavender-gray ponytail over his shoulder. Asher bumps him with his hips to move him out of the way, resentful and angry that Fifi made the shot, and Fifi merely grins and sashays away, waving fingers at him with a wink.

  Thor has the ball now and is charging down the court. He passes to Jack who goes for a layup and makes the shot. He and Thor bump chests while Lock watches them with a grin.

  The teams are Asher, Thor, Jack and Lock on one side, and Fifi, Tim, Tom and Bradley on the other.

  The ball is going the other way now, and Bradley makes a shot from near the 3 point line, a perfect swish. My heart skips a beat. It’s impressive in the way Bradley does best, no cockiness, no competitiveness. Just being good.

  I try to pay attention to the game, but there are so many chests. So many glimpses of abs when a guy pulls his shirt up to wipe his forehead. So many flexing, jumping muscles when a guy puts his arms up to shoot or pass or show he’s open.

  Too many shows of aggression where two hot, tall men bump each other while guarding. Too many sweat tousled heads of thick, gorgeous hair. Too many eyes sparkling from exertion and looking up at me with that pleased, cocky promise when they do something well and they know it.

  I swallow, heating up from just watching them.

  I decide to put the Lindon thing aside. It’s good to know that someone is after me, and I can be safer now that I know. But at the same time, I’m going to enjoy this. I’m going to enjoy it even more just to spite him. And most importantly, I’m going to kiss lots of guys and never kiss him again.

  I promise myself that, not sure if I actually believe me.

  The game ends with Jack’s team winning and some copious chest bumping and man hugging. I really can see them as a pack of wolves playing together. I kind of want to see them all as wolves at the same time, now that I think about it. Some people look a lot like their wolves, and some don’t look like them at all.

  “Alright, what do the winners get?” Jack asks, as the other guys leave to go upstairs and take the penalty of preparing dinner.

  Asher folds his arms and looks at me. “I want something from her.”

  I squirm in my seat. I still can’t believe these guys want me, but they really do.

  Thor straightens and folds his arms as well. “As do I, but I’m not going to share.”

  “Even with your team?” Lock jokes, earning a dark look from both Asher and Thor. He shakes his head with a laugh. “No, me neither. We should have thought this through better.” He throws an arm around Jack’s shoulder, and Jack is laid back enough that he doesn’t seem to mind.

  Damn, he looks hot all sweaty, muscles pumped with adrenaline.

  “Misty?” Lock asks. “What do you think?”

  I put my finger to my lips. “Hmm…”

  “Damn, I want to put my hands on those yoga pants…” Asher says, licking his lips.

  Thor sticks out one hand and shoves him to the ground with one easy movement.

  “Thor!” I say, scandalized.

  Thor just folds his arms again and raises his strong jaw in a conceited motion, whipping dark red hair back off his forehead. “You said you wanted someone like Sylvester. Sylvester protects his own.”

  “Who’s Sylvester?” Lock asks, looking perplexed. A headband is holding his dark red hair back off his face. Jack shrugs.

  Thor goes redder. “Nothing.”

  I grin and put a hand over my mouth to cover it. He’s been reading the book. I think I’ll have to explain the difference between Sylvester’s protectiveness and shoving people on their butts later.

  “Alright, how about we play horse and figure it out?” Asher says.

  The guys agree and the game starts. Asher and Jack are the frontrunners. Thor is better at passing and guarding and dribbling but not a great shot, and Lock is good, but maybe just too laid back.

  I also get the sense he doesn’t like taking anything from Thor. Which kind of stinks, because Lock is still at the top of my list, along with Jack. Some of the others are making their way up, but those two are still my favorites.

  The game ends with Jack as the winner and the others whine, salute me, bump shoulders with the others, threaten Jack with bodily harm if he oversteps his boundaries with me, and then agree head up to dinner.

  Jack just waves them away, that calm but mysterious expression on his face, and my body tenses when it realizes we’re now alone in the big room.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” he says, taking a step forward. “I promise I didn’t call you out here expecting to win something from you.”

  I stand up and walk toward him, arms folded over my breasts. Even in a modest tank top the two sp
orts bras are squishing me up, giving me more cleavage than I’d usually be comfortable with.

  He looks down at me as I get close. After all, he’s nearly a foot taller, and I’m short. He smells of clean mountain breeze, as usual, but with added masculine musk from working out. I kind of want to bury my nose in his chest and let him hold me and just lose myself in his smell.

  Imagine I was somewhere else right now.

  A finger tilts my chin up. “Hey, don’t look so sad,” he says. “I can’t stand it. What’d Lindon do to you?”

  I frown and try to look away but he pulls my gaze back to his. “Misty, you can trust me. Whatever is going on…”

  I blink, hoping my eyes only sting because I’ve been staring at all the men too long, not because tears are threatening to fall. I look over Jack’s handsome, striking face. Rugged, I’d guess you say. But I’m not sure I can trust him. If he’s the killer, then telling him we’re on to him would be the absolute wrong thing to do.

  So I really can’t tell any of the guys.

  “I can’t. I can’t say…” I try to look away and he pulls me back, still gentle, but persistent. His eyes look like they can’t stand my sadness. That’s comforting somehow. “It’s nothing, really,” I insist.

  He studies me with serious eyes, full lips in a tight line. “You sure? Because I have no problem kicking that guy’s ass. I mean, hell, the way he treated me when I first showed up? He’s been asking for it.”

  “You were early.”

  “Eager,” he replies softly, a small grin on his face. “I was eager to meet you, after hearing so much.”

  “So much?”

  “You think you’re the only one who got an info packet? You were super cute, exactly what I was looking for in a mate.”

  “From what I understand, you guys don’t get a lot to choose from.”

  “Well, we could always go to the human world. But yeah, you seemed cute, and you were even cuter when I met you and got to know you, and I suspect you’ll get cuter from here.”

  “Ah, maybe?” I say, feeling myself blush as he rubs a gentle thumb at the side of my temples and down the side of my face, electrifying the skin there, making me aware of just how close he is to my lips.

  He leans down. “But for now, I’ll settle for taking my reward.” Then he leans the rest of the way to capture my lips, and gives me another of those soul shaking kisses I’ve come to expect from this crew.

  While his first kiss was searing and dominant, this one is more surging and powerful, like being hit by an ocean wave. His lips move over mine in a rhythm, and then his tongue crashes against mine as he lifts me up against his chest and I wrap my arms around him. I feel completely home here, completely safe, and that’s what I need right now.

  The kiss goes on, secure in the darkness of my closed eyes and the strength of his arms around me. The tenderness of the arousal building within me.

  I’m not sure why I feel a little like crying, when this feels so good. But he seems to sense it, and breaks off the intense, amazing kiss before I’m ready. He sets me back down on my feet, looking concerned.

  I just can’t believe I was so stupid with Lindon. And I can’t believe I still want him now.

  “You okay, Misty? Hey, don’t cry,” he says, making me aware that my eyes were watering. “Here, let’s talk. Though I reserve the right to continue my kiss when you’re feeling better.” He pats the seat next to me and I sit, hands in my lap, shoulders slightly hunched.

  “I have no problem with that,” I say, sending him a grin. “Your kisses are amazing. It’s just been a long day, and I was bound to get emotional at some point.”

  He rubs the back of his neck and looks nervous. “About that…I guess, I didn’t know how to tell you, but we could sort of hear you being emotional earlier. But Matt and Lindon kept their lips zipped about anything they knew.”

  I shrug. “You know, up until a little while ago, I thought I was human. And alone in the world. It’s not that this situation isn’t better, but it’s overwhelming. And in a way, I am alone. I don’t feel like there’s anyone I can trust.” I bite my lip, feeling like I’ve said too much.

  “Well, you can trust me, if no one else,” he says, putting an arm around me. His eyes are knowing, like he’s trying to tell me he knows more than I think he does. Can I really trust him, maybe?

  His kisses do make me feel safe, and maybe that’s better than that out of control passion I had with Lindon anyway.

  “Alright, I’ll trust you,” I tell Jack, patting his knee.

  “Great. Now let’s go get some dinner, put some meat on those bones,” he says, pulling me to my feet.

  “Bones, ha!”

  He just grins and jogs ahead to get the door.

  Chapter 4

  Dinner is kind of a quiet affair, at least for me. It’s my first time seeing Lindon since our talk today, and the bad mood between us is palpable, even at the long dining room table. Some of the guys try to break the silence and converse, but the heaviness of the mood in the room quickly silences all attempts.

  Never one to be easily deterred, Thor clears his throat for another attempt. I’m starting to become quite affectionate toward the large man with the short dark red hair. I’m starting to see the man beneath the muscles and the grunts.

  “I’m uh, I’m nearly done reading the mating book you’ve given me,” he says, ignoring the wide-eyed looks from the males around him.

  Asher coughs on his food and hits his chest, dark hair flying over his face as he regains composure. He narrows dark eyes on Thor. “Mating book? What the hell did you give him that you didn’t give us?”

  “I didn’t give it to him,” I say, swirling my spoon in my soup. “He sort of climbed in my window and ambushed me.”

  “What?” Asher says.

  “You can get in her window?” Bradley asks. I’m a little surprised that he’s the one that seems intrigued by that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they all want to win and thus would all want to know about a way to get extra time alone with me.

  “Depends on the level of male you are,” Thor says proudly. “How much skill and daring you possess, how willing you are to—”

  “To break the rules,” Lock says, sharing an empathetic grin with me as all hell breaks lose.

  “What book is this?” Asher asks again. “Mating? What kind of filthy female are you?”

  I shrug and keep eating the soup. Seeing the men argue is a nice distraction from thinking about Lindon.

  Thor takes out the book and hands it to Asher, who opens it eagerly. He reads a few pages and then throws it forward, knocking over a soup tureen that was nearly empty anyway. Still, Lindon gets up, calmly, and begins to wipe up the mess with a napkin.

  “Holy shit, did you know she reads this stuff?” he asks, pointing at the wet book like it’s a piece of trash covered in contagious germs.

  Thor takes the book back, frowning, and wipes it off. “It’s interesting. It’s not all about the mating. There’s a lot of talking, some rescues, some…fighting? Fighting emotionally. Oh, and some depressing stuff about the girl getting sick.”

  Lindon looks up at that, oddly interested. He stands and walks to Thor and puts his hand out for the book. Thor shrugs and hands it over.

  Lindon looks at the spine. His eyes widen slightly and then he opens it and flips a few pages forward, scanning it intently, urgently almost. Then he slams it closed and sets it back on the table and leaves the room.

  Hm, grossed out by my habit? It’s not even a very explicit book. The sex scenes are really tasteful, very emotional and fitting with the romance. It’s been my favorite book since it came out a few years ago, and it stars a lonely duke who is brought out of his shell by a beautiful but impoverished woman with a plucky personality. Drama ensues, but is resolved in the end for a satisfying read overall.

  It’s one of my favorites, and it’s a shame the author didn’t write another book afterward.

  I kind of hoped Lindon
would like it.

  I feel eyes on me as Thor takes the book back and look up to see Hawes studying me.

  His eyes move to rest on the book. “Here, hand that down.”

  I put my hand out for Thor to give it to me and he does with a pout. I pass it to Hawes, who licks a finger and flicks through a couple pages and bites his lip, features tightening. He gives me an apologetic glance and puts the book down, keeping his finger in the spot where he was reading.

  “Would you guys excuse me for a minute?” he asks, standing to leave the table.

  “Sure,” I say. “We’re nearly done, anyway.” Hawes nods and walks out of the room, presumably to follow Lindon.

  “I’m supposed to give you swim lessons after dinner, anyway,” Lock says to me, grinning. “We don’t want you drowning again.”

  By now, the house has been updated on what happened. All they know is that I fell in the hot spring and we said nothing about someone intentionally pushing me.

  A few grumble about the unfairness of the swim lesson, but as Lock swam in college, none of them really have a right to protest. And looking around at the grim, withdrawn faces I think I’m not the only one who’ll be doing much better after a night of sleep.

  Thor sighs.

  “Sorry he took your book,” I say apologetically. “I can try and order another copy.”

  He shrugs. “I was just getting to the good part.”

  “It gets super sad near the middle, when she gets sick.”

  “Right, and then when the brother comes in, because she’s actually his wife?”

  I nod. “Yeah, it gets pretty intense. That’s why I like fiction, there’s this false intensity you can just get lost in.”

  Thor nods, and I get the idea that he actually gets what I’m saying.

  I still want to know why the book seemed to upset Lindon. Can’t stand the romance, hm? Especially knowing you push everyone in your life far away from you?

  I sneer at him in my mind and it only makes me feel slightly better than I did before.

  “You ready, Misty?” Lock asks.

  “Sure, I’ll go get dressed.”

  “Aren’t you not supposed to swim after eating?” Thor asks.