Mate of the Alpha

by Marie Mason

  Then why the fuck don’t we have our mate? his wolf growled.

  Lily bent to retrieve a napkin that had fluttered to floor when he’d startled her and Ethan caught a brief glimpse of the shadowed valley between her breasts. The woman was stacked. From top to bottom. And back up again. Moisture rushed to his mouth and heat pooled in his loins. He wanted to palm those globes, plump the velvety smoothness in his hands and taste her. He’d suck on her nipples until she came, then pump his cock between the mounds until he exploded.

  He needed to reach down and readjust himself, something he often had to do when she was around. A mixture of amusement and irritation thudded through him.

  To distract himself, he walked to the table, chose a frosted brownie from one of the trays, and bit into it. He wasn’t hungry but he needed something to do with his hands and his mouth before he did something foolish, such as marking Lily.

  She put the napkin in the garbage can.

  He could tell she was nervous. He heard the thrumming of her heart, saw the pulse beating in her neck. His heartbeat sped up as well. “Here.” He held the iced square to her lips, offering her a bite from the place where he’d taken his own.

  The same explosive sexual energy he’d been feeling for months crackled between them. He knew she felt it, too. He could see the awareness of it in her eyes, the infinitesimal quiver of response of her body.

  Her pink lips opened and she took the pastry into her mouth, her even white teeth sinking into the sweet. Ethan didn’t even wait until she’d swallowed, the image of her biting him in the throes of passion more than his strained control could take. It overloaded his senses. He tossed the confection on the table and pulled Lily into his arms. He put his hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up for a deep, searing kiss. He dipped his head to press his lips to hers, his tongue tasting her bottom lip, teasing her to unlock the tight seam of her mouth. He broke down her natural and learned resistance, savoring the moment when she surrendered. He’d expected the resistance, but overcame it just the same. The taste of her mouth was intoxicating. He coiled his arms around her, drawing her against the hard intimacy of his body.

  Despite Lily’s less than comfortable attitude toward her body, she knew for damn sure what the hardness pressing against her soft belly meant – Ethan wanted her. Trusting a man with your body, with your pleasure was always difficult. Opening up to a man like Ethan was downright scary. She knew he could take complete and utter control of every aspect of her life. He persisted in his seduction of her mouth and finally she allowed him to kiss her. She had experienced many ‘first’ kisses. A sweet, chaste kiss at a homecoming dance, the first real French kiss in college, and an exploratory kiss that should have led to sex, but hadn’t because she’d been too timid and shy to ask for what she wanted, demand what she needed.

  This first kiss made the world tilt, her toes curl, and the love she felt for this man exploded inside her. His mouth devoured hers. His tongue thrust deep and she forgot everything else but the taste of his mouth and the touch of his body.

  Curling her arms around his neck, Lily heard a groan and didn’t know if it came from her throat or his. She could taste the dark richness of the chocolate on his tongue and the distinct, mind-blowing flavor that was all Ethan Scott. She clung to him, wanting more, needing more. She wanted to wrap herself around him and sink into his warmth.

  “Umm, where should I put these?”

  Another deliveryman stood in the doorway, smiling at the kissing couple. Ethan stepped away from Lily, growling as he turned and quickly strode into his office.

  “Over here is fine,” Lily motioned to the grinning man. She resisted the urge to press her fingertips against her lips. She also resisted the stronger, more primal urge to run after Ethan and demand he finish what he had started. Her pussy throbbed for his possession and her breasts ached for his touch. She needed him. She needed him so badly.

  About halfway through the meeting, Ethan had dismissed Lily and the junior executives and continued behind closed doors with the department heads. The meeting had still not ended by the time Lily usually left for the day. While there was ample work that would keep her busy past quitting time, she didn’t know if she should stay or go. She was anxious and excited, confused about the feelings their kiss had aroused. And, she was feeling slightly hurt. If Ethan had wanted to speak with her, see her before the day ended, he would have made time to be with her. Meeting or no meeting. A small touch of anger mixed in with the hurt. Gathering her purse, she made her way to the parking garage.

  Several co-workers passed her as everyone headed for their cars, but Lily was in no hurry. A part of her hoped that Ethan would come after her. She’s felt something when they’d kissed. Something more than the sexual tension that had been flowing between them since she started the job. Something breathtaking. Rare. She knew he had felt it, too.

  She was still thinking of the kiss when she suddenly realized she was alone in the underground structure. There was still a goodly amount of parked cars, but she heard no one else moving about. Taking her keys in her hand, she hurried to her car. Even though daylight streamed in through the outside, it was still dim inside. Hushed and not in a good way. She shivered, remembering every cheesy horror movie she’d ever seen.

  Before she could open the driver’s side door, a black blur passed by her on the left. Instinctively she moved, pressing her back against the cold metal of the door. She still held the keys in her hand, grateful she hadn’t dropped them in the first flush of panic. Seeing nothing else, she turned back around. She needed to get inside her car as quickly as possible.

  Her hands were trembling and unlocking the car was difficult. It was an older model with no remote entry. She couldn’t help the small scream she gave as another black blur moved past her, this time on the right. As she heard the tumble of the lock, the tap of nails against the concrete floor sounded behind her.

  Fear gripped her as she realized she was surrounded by wolves. Shifters. Instinctively, she knew they were far more dangerous than any shifter she’d ever met. They reminded her of demons, filled with evil.

  She turned around to face her attackers. In front of her was a sickly, grey looking wolf. His coat was ragged and matted. His eyes were an ugly, dirty yellow and malice was stamped across the animal’s features. The creature was larger than any animal she’d ever seen on television or on a movie screen. The wolf growled and two more creatures stepped from the shadows.

  Instantly, she knew she was staring death in its face.

  She held up her hand. “Please. I’ve done nothing to you.”

  Several more wolves stepped forward. She fumbled for the door handle. Her one regret was that she’d never make love with Ethan. Never tell him how she really felt.

  Did she have time to throw herself inside and close the door before they attacked?

  The noon meeting had morphed into an all afternoon meeting and Ethan was sporting a cock from hell. Hard and stiff and aching from just the taste and feel of Lily’s lips. How the hell was his body going to react when he had her naked and writhing beneath him? His tongue licking the sweet, tangy cream from her pussy?

  Happy, his wolf replied. Very, very happy.

  Ethan agreed. Lily was going to be lucky if he let her out of his bed for the next month. Then out of their house the next year. He heard the sounds of her moving about in her office and glanced at the large clock at the back of the room. It was time for her to go home. He cursed silently. The day had gone nothing as planned. He’d expected to be done with this meeting an hour ago. In plenty of time to ask Lily out for a romantic dinner and explain a few facts of shifter life to her.

  Like telling her she was his mate.

  About damn time. His wolf was getting mouthy and he couldn’t blame the animal. It was as horny and frustrated as the man was. But not for much longer. As the people around him continued to talk, Ethan realized nothing was more important at this moment than finding and claiming Lily. “This meetin
g is over.”

  He strode through the conference room, cursing when he realized he’d waited too long to catch Lily before she left. He’d just pulled off his tie and headed toward the elevator when a feeling of danger washed over him.

  Mate.

  Danger.

  Protect.

  The elevator door opened at the basement level and Ethan was thrown straight into his worst nightmare. Wolves surrounded his mate. He could tell by their dirty and unkempt appearance they were rouges. Wolves that cared nothing for society’s rules, intent on taking what they wanted, when they wanted. No doubt, they had been drawn to Lily. She was the predestined mate of an alpha. What better prize for a rouge shifter?

  She’d pressed herself against the side of her car, her keys in one hand and her purse abandoned on the concrete floor, ready to defend herself. Her beautiful eyes turned his way and he heard his name leave her lips in a whisper. “Ethan.”

  Protect. Defend.

  When the largest of the wolves growled and advanced, he knew there would be no reasoning with the animals. At his appearance, other wolves would have either dropped in submission or turned and ran away. Not that a civilized discussion was what he wanted. He wanted to tear the shifter limb from limb, permanently ending any threat to his mate. One of the wolves tensed his haunches, preparing to attack.

  Ethan and his wolf flowed together and a howl echoed eerily throughout the concrete structure of the underground parking garage. It was loud and filled with the power of an enraged alpha. He launched himself at the wolves, putting himself between them and his mate.

  Ethan caught the attacking wolf mid-flight and twisted the creature’s neck. As the sound of crunching bone melded with the grunts and growls of the other wolves, he snarled. He grabbed Lily, sitting her on top of her car, all the while keeping the wolves in full view. They had chosen not to obey the rules of the pack and live under the authority of an alpha. They were about to die at the hands of an alpha.

  He shifted quickly. As an alpha he didn’t have to worry about being attacked while he shifted, it was too swift. One minute he was a man, the next a great, hulking, black wolf, ready to take on the shifters foolish enough to mess with his mate.

  They would die tonight.

  Even in animal form, he was aware of Lily. Her rapid heartbeat told him she was still upset, but the scent of fear had vanished. It gave him an infusion of power and strength to know she trusted him to protect her. As the leader of the rouge paced back and forth before him, he thanked the powers-that-be he had found his mate before he had suffered this wolf’s fate. A mate kept a wolf grounded.

  The grey wolf launched himself at Ethan but was no match for his alpha strength. Even with the help of the others, the wolf never stood a chance. Ethan used swift, killing blows. He refused to let any animal suffer.

  He quickly shifted back turning his attention once again to his mate. “Did they hurt you?”

  She shook her head, still kneeling on the hood of her car, positioned as if rooting for her favorite sports team. Or poised to join in if she’d felt the need. Any other woman would have been curled up, huddled as far away as possible from the fight. Or would have run away screaming. But not Lily, not his mate. She had been determined to take on a pack of rouge wolves on her own.

  He wondered if she was prepared to take on her alpha mate.

  “Come here.”

  Warm hands reached for Lily, pulling her from the hood of her car, to hold her against a hard, muscled body. She could feel the heavy beat of Ethan’s heart as he lifted her into his arms. She wanted to say something, but she knew better than to poke at the angry wolf. Instead, she concentrated on the feeling of being in his arms. The sensation of being carried in a strong man’s arms was an unfamiliar one. She couldn’t recall a single instance when a man had carried her.

  She wanted to bury her face against the starched linen of his shirt. He always smelled of freshly ironed cotton, the forest, and a masculine scent she couldn’t even begin to describe. All she knew was it made her weak in the knees and achy in places she only touched in the dark of the night.

  Ethan had almost reached the elevators when three burly security guards burst through the stairwell doors.

  “Sir,” they shouted.

  Ethan stopped in front of the elevator doors. The guards joined him and one reached around to hit the call button.

  “Is she hurt, Alpha?” the oldest of the three asked.

  “No.”

  His arms tightened around her painfully and she could hear the emotion in his voice. It gave her hope that he felt more for her than just lust. When the elevator arrived, the guards didn’t follow them inside. Ethan turned around and Lily buried her face in his shoulder, hiding her eyes from the carnage that reminded on the garage floor.

  Seeing her reaction, the guard spoke again. “We’ll take care of it, sir.”

  Ethan gave his men one short nod before the doors closed. He savored the feeling of Lily in his arms, her face buried against his shoulder. But he could still feel the tremors of fear coursing throughout his body. What would he have done if she had been injured, or God forbid, killed?

  Died with her.

  He knew his wolf was right. There would have been no living without her. She was his. Always. And forever.

  It was well past quitting time, and only a few employees lingered on the top floor of the building. He ignored their curious glances as he carried Lily through the halls. No doubt come tomorrow morning everyone at Wolfe Enterprises would know that the alpha had finally claimed his mate. He kicked her office door open and strode inside. Once he reached his, he kicked the wooden door shut, drowning out all other sounds. The early evening sun was shining through the tempered glass windows, giving the room a warm, golden glow. When he deposited her on the wide leather sofa, her arms clung to him, tugging him down. His muscles strained. His body yearned.

  Take her. Take her now, his wolf commanded. He wanted to, how he wanted to. And he would. Before the moon rose in the sky, Lily Reynolds would be his. First, he needed to take care of her more than he needed to fuck her.

  Right. Well, taking care of her was a close second.

  He braced his arms when she would have pulled him down on top of her. He sat down beside her on the edge of the sofa, the soft flesh of her thigh burning his hip. “You’re safe now, baby. Always safe with me.”

  He lowered his head needing a taste of her sweet lips as much as he needed his next breath. Her mouth was soft and inviting. She participated in the kiss, from the first tender touch to the hot, moist tongue mating. His cock hardened. He wanted more. He wanted everything she had to give. He’d been afraid her near brush with death at the hands of a shifter would have soured her on shifters. On him.

  It made his heart sing to know she wasn’t afraid of him.

  When her fingers brushed against his side, he grimaced. The other wolves had gotten in one or two good swipes before he’d taken them down. He hadn’t killed all of them, but he’d come pretty damn close. He’d cared more about getting Lily away from the threat. His security team would dispatch those unfortunate enough to have lived. No threat to his mate would be allowed to remain.

  “You’re hurt,” she said.

  “It’s nothing.” He kept his voice low, barely speaking above a strained whisper. Her touch was more painful than the injury because he wanted it elsewhere on his body.

  She let her hand drop to her side. “Were they–”

  “Yeah, baby. They were shifters.” He waited to see how she would respond.

  “Like you?”

  “No, baby. Nothing like me. I don’t attack women. There is good and bad in the shifter community, the same as with humans.”

  “I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, uh?”

  “It should never have happened.” He still cursed himself for not putting a protection detail on her as soon as he’d known she was his. Arrogant bastard that he was, he’d never given thought that some othe
r male would try to claim what was his. “The only place you’re going to be from now on is by my side or in my arms. Forever.”

  When she looked away as if doubting his words, he leaned closer until they were face to face. He wanted no doubts between them as they took their first steps toward a new life together. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.”

  Lily shook her head. “No, you haven’t.”

  “Sometimes I have to jerk off in the middle of the day because I want you so much. Do you know how difficult it is to conduct business with a hard-on?”

  “Umm, no.” Her mouth curled, a smile lightening up her beautiful face.

  “Well, it’s damn difficult, let me tell you that.”

  Lily giggled even though her last sane brain cell was jumping up and down and waving its hands to get her attention. She fought the urge to run and went with the stronger urge to stay.

  He took her hands in his, stroking the backs with his thumbs. “You are my mate, Lily. I want you with every fiber of my being. My wolf wants you so much he’s ready to break through my control and take you. But you can change your mind. If you want to take it slower, we can.”

  “But I can’t tell you no? I can’t say yes to now and no to forever?” She hoped she understood all that was happening and thought she already knew what his answer would be, but she needed to hear him say the words. Words were important to a woman and she was no exception.

  “This is forever.” He pulled her to him, taking her mouth with his. The mouth she wanted on her, doing crazy, erotic things. The mouth spreading wildfire through her veins even now.

  “Then I take forever,” she whispered against his lips. “Forever with you, Ethan.”

  The sound of his name on her lips, whisper soft, and so close to the attack, brought Ethan’s wolf to the forefront. His vision changed, his body grew. The animal side of him wanted to force her to her hands and knee and sink his teeth into the delectable flesh of her neck as he drove his cock inside her. Hard. Deep. And fast. The animal was panting with the need to come. Ethan knew he should have marked her the day he found her. His wolf growled at him, angry with the man for waiting then and waiting now.