Taming the Alpha

by Mandy M. Roth

  She growled, and he chuckled before kissing her neck. “My mate is nice and wet for me.”

  “Wet and frustrated as hell. Fuck me now, Sean Fisher, or I’ll unpack the vibrator.”

  Without a word, he thrust his cock into her and she arched her back. His voice was like a whisper against her neck. “No vibrator. Tonight you’re mine, all mine.”

  That she could live with.

  Then he gripped her hips with his warm hands and started thrusting in and out of her, slowly at first, before picking up speed. Only because of her grip on the couch in front of her could she remain standing.

  Sean then changed his angle, and his pounding went from good to fabulous. Without thinking, she hummed and said, “Harder.”

  The sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room, and she gripped the couch as she arched her back. She loved the way his big cock fit inside her. Then he slapped her ass and she moaned. Maybe later he’d tie her up and make her wear a blindfold.

  Then his hand on her ass moved to between her legs and rubbed against her clit. She widened her stance to allow him better access, and he pinched her sensitive nub. “Sean.”

  He pinched her again, and lights danced before her eyes before a wave of pleasure coursed through her body. She was barely aware of Sean still pounding into her until he stilled and gave a roar loud enough to be heard down the hall.

  As the spasms of her pussy slowed, she murmured, “Hold me, Sean.”

  Never removing his cock, he gently lifted her torso off the couch until she was leaning against his chest. She looked up into his blue eyes and smiled. “Is roaring loud enough to wake the neighbors another shifter tradition?”

  He chuckled before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “I think the tradition decrees three orgasms loud enough to be heard down the hall.”

  “Decrees, huh?” He grinned and she couldn’t help but soften against him. “I’m starting to like some of these obscure traditions. Why don’t you teach me a few more of them tonight?”

  His eyes turned heated. “Baby, I have a whole list of traditions to try with you.”

  He kissed her again, more demanding this time as his tongue swept her mouth. When he finally pulled away, she smiled and said. “Let’s hope tonight is just the beginning. We have a whole lifetime to try them all. I’m sure they’ll get pretty creative by the time we’re fifty.”

  Sean laughed and the sound warmed her heart. Whatever troubles they would face in the future, and she knew there would be quite a few considering the nature of their marriage, she could handle any of it as long as she had this wonderful, funny, loving man at her side. “I love you, Sean Fisher.”

  He squeezed her tightly. “I love you, too, Lauren Spencer-Fisher. Now how about I show you how much?”

  One of his hands moved to her clit, and he gave it a light brush,. the sensation making her pussy throb again. “Hmm, I think that’s a good idea. After all, we still have to make you roar two more times tonight.”

  His hands cupped her breasts. “Then we’d better get started.”

  He did exactly that, and it wasn’t long before he’d roared all three times. In the end, they’d made it four, just to be safe.

  About the Author

  Jessie Donovan is a USA Today Bestselling author of sexy paranormal romances full of dragons, cougars, and magic. If you’re looking for books often set in international settings with strong heroines and alpha males, then check out her books.

  www.jessiedonovan.com

  Coming Home

  by N.J. Walters

  Burned out from his last assignment, DEA agent Tobias Slater has come home to Chicago a changed man. Disillusioned and uncertain about his future, the last thing he expects is to run into Kansas Fielding on his first night home.

  Kansas has loved Tobias for years. They shared one memorable kiss two years ago before he walked away. Now he’s back, and this time she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make him admit his feelings for her.

  Chapter One

  Tobias Slater sat in his truck and stared at the dark vacant house near the end of the street. There was no real front yard, but there was a small patch of grass out back. A slightly battered chair sat on what passed for a porch.

  Not for the first time, he wondered what the hell he was doing here. It was almost eleven o’clock and the street was pretty much empty this time of night. This was a working class neighborhood with houses built tight together like boxes in a row. Many of the homes had been passed down over several generations.

  Which was why he was here. While he’d been off playing hero and trying to save the world, his grandfather, the man who’d raised him, had passed away. Tobias hadn’t even been informed of the news until he’d finished his deep-cover assignment that had lasted way longer than it was supposed to.

  A year and a half. He’d lost eighteen months of his life.

  He raked his fingers through his hair and let out a breath. That part of his life was over. It had taken him another six months to extricate himself from his job with the DEA, but he’d finally done it.

  He was home.

  Except he wasn’t the same man who’d left here all those years ago to pursue a career in law enforcement. He didn’t know if he could fit in here anymore. He knew he damn well didn’t fit in any longer with his buddies at the Drug Enforcement Agency. The world was no longer black and white for him. There were too many shades of gray.

  And sometimes the darkness threatened to overwhelm him.

  Yes, his bosses told him he was officially on leave. They’d given him six months to think about things, but Tobias knew the truth—he wasn’t going back.

  Sitting out here in his truck wasn’t going to change anything, but he wasn’t ready to go inside just yet. It might be cowardly but he didn’t give a fuck. It didn’t seem possible that his grandfather wasn’t inside waiting for him.

  Tobias pressed his thumb and forefinger against the corners of his eyes. His chest tightened, so he took a deep breath. Then another.

  He yanked the keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the truck. The overhead lamp in the cab had been disabled so there was no light to alert anyone that he was here. He also closed the door without making a sound. Old habits died hard.

  He was about to step around the hood of his vehicle when he heard voices off to his left. He froze and his hand went to the small of his back, where he’d hidden his gun. When he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away. Instincts, finally honed after months of living among people who would have killed him in a heartbeat if they’d found out his real identity, couldn’t be forgotten overnight.

  The last thing he wanted to do was shoot some poor guy who’d run out to the store for a six-pack. Still, he pulled back and blended with the shadows. Better to watch and wait until they were gone.

  His gaze narrowed as he watched a woman striding toward him with two men dogging her steps. One of the men grabbed her arm and spun her around. Tobias caught a glimpse of the woman’s face in the streetlight and every muscle in his body tightened.

  He froze, unable to look away from her. Then her voice cut through the night.

  “Let me go.”

  “You need to keep your nose out of other people’s business, bitch.”

  Tobias didn’t wait to see what happened next, he stepped out of the darkness and walked toward them, purposely letting the soles of his boots make noise against the pavement.

  All three of them glanced toward him. The two men frowned but the woman’s eyes lit up and the anger on her face ebbed away.

  “You want to take your hands off the lady.” Tobias studied the men. They were in their mid-twenties, both around six feet in height and they’d had the look of men who’d been in plenty of trouble. He knew the type.

  “And you want to mind your own business,” the one holding the woman told him.

  Tobias slowly shook his head. “Afraid I can’t do that.”

  The man’s friend was getting twitchy
and started to reach behind his back. Tobias moved, swung his body around and kicked out with his booted foot. At six-four he had very long legs. His size thirteen foot connected with the other man’s stomach and knocked him on his ass. His head bounced once against the concrete sidewalk and he didn’t get up.

  Tobias turned his attention back to the other man. “Hurt her and you’re a dead man.” He might have given the better part of his life to upholding the law but there was one person in this world who’d he’d kill for. Die for. And this asshole happened to be holding her arm.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” the man demanded.

  “Someone you don’t want to fuck with.” Tobias didn’t want to draw his weapon if he didn’t have to. Firing a shot would bring attention and possibly even the cops. He just didn’t want the hassle.

  “I ain’t afraid of you.”

  He could fight the man but it might be easier to just make him go away. Tobias reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thin leather wallet. He flipped it open to display his credentials. “DEA. I can make trouble for you and your buddy for the next twenty years of your life or you can walk away. Your choice.”

  The man released the woman’s arm as though it was too hot to touch. He backed away, his hands held in front of him. “Hey man. No need to get worked up about things. I was just trying to explain something to the bi—” He broke off when he caught the expression on Tobias’s face.

  Tiring of the posturing. Tobias took a step toward the man. He stumbled back and almost tripped over the curb.

  “Take your friend with you.”

  The man on the ground moaned but his friend yanked him to his feet and the two of them disappeared down the road.

  The woman stood silently beneath the streetlight and he drank in the sight of her. Her shoulder-length brown hair was gone, replaced by a short, sassy cut. And it was now cherry red. Such an obviously fake color shouldn’t have looked good, yet it suited her perfectly and enhanced the delicate features of her face. High cheekbones, a slender nose and porcelain skin made her beautiful. Her green eyes held intelligence and her lips turned up in a smile.

  “Still making friends with your winning ways, Tobias.”

  He closed his eyes briefly as the affection in her voice warmed him all the way to his cold heart. “I could say the same thing about you.”

  She gave a small cry and then Kansas Fielding was in his arms. He knew he shouldn’t hug her but his arms wouldn’t listen and they closed around her. She was all that was good in the world and he was tainted from too many years of living among the worst of the worst. His hold tightened even as he became aware of their surroundings.

  “We should go inside.” It was too open here. The men that accosted her might dig up some courage somewhere and come back.

  “Yeah. Okay.” Kansas pulled away from him and he had to force himself to release her. She dug into her pocket for her keys and started up the walkway toward the house she’d been raised in. “You coming?”

  He almost said no. He should let her go like he had over two years ago. Then he saw the shadow of fear in her eyes. She wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended to be. Bravado, it was something Kansas had in spades.

  Knowing it wasn’t the smart thing to do, he followed her. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

  ***

  Kansas was shaking and not just because David White and his sidekick Nolan Becker had come at her out of nowhere. She’d been expecting to see David at some point considering his girlfriend had come to the local shelter where Kansas worked to get away from him. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. What she hadn’t expected was to see Tobias Slater.

  Heart pounding so loud in her ears she could barely hear anything above the sound, she unlocked the front door with shaky hands. It had been over two years since she’d set her eyes on Tobias and their last meeting hadn’t exactly gone well.

  She stepped inside and turned on the lights. He was right behind her and she drank him in. He’d always been handsome in a rough way, but now he looked almost scary. He was a tall man, thickly muscled and strong. The short-sleeved T-shirt he wore strained at the shoulders and clung to rock-hard abs.

  She tried to remember to breathe as she stared at his face. She’d dreamed of that face so many nights, often waking with tears on her cheeks, wondering if he was still alive or if he were dead and buried in some unmarked grave.

  Kansas hated that she’d missed him so much. She’d dated other men and tried to forget Tobias. Finally, she’d given up trying and had thrown herself into her work instead.

  His black hair was longer than it was when she’d last seen him. It fell straight to his broad shoulders. His eyes were blue and fringed with thick, heavy lashes and framed by dark brows.

  His nose was crooked. She knew it had been broken at least once when he was a boy. She’d been there when he’d jumped off the roof of the garage out back on a dare from her older brother. His nose had been set but had healed with a slight bump near the center.

  He had a strong jaw and a mouth made for kissing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her. “Did that guy hurt you?” Tobias gently lifted her arm and studied the skin where David had gripped her none too gently. Then he cursed. “It’s already starting to bruise.”

  He took her hand and practically dragged her into the kitchen. Tobias had been in this house as much as he’d been in his grandfather’s place next door when they were kids, and he knew his way around. He sat her on a chair and went straight to the freezer.

  There wasn’t much in there beyond a few frozen dinners but he found a small bag of peas and wrapped it with the dishtowel before returning to her. Then he hunkered down in front of her and gently pressed his makeshift cold compress against her arm.

  “Does it hurt?” His voice was incredibly deep and her entire body sat up and took notice. That much hadn’t changed.

  Kansas cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Really. It’s nothing.”

  His brows came down and he frowned. “It’s not nothing. They were going to hurt you.”

  “I know they were upset.”

  “Upset?” Tobias stood and began to prowl around the small kitchen, taking up most of the space. “They weren’t here just to talk.” He stopped and glared at her. “And just what are your idiot brothers thinking to let you live alone?”

  Kansas set the frozen peas on the table and stood. “You’ve been gone a long time, Tobias.” She took a step toward him. “You walked away from me, from all of us.” She stopped in front of him and drilled her fingertip against his chest. “You don’t get to tell me or my brothers what to do.”

  ***

  Tobias wanted to howl with frustration. He recognized the expression on her face. That was the problem growing up next door to someone. You knew them too damn well. This was her stubborn face. He’d almost forgotten that Kansas was the most obstinate woman in the world.

  Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took. He really tried not to notice the way her breasts pressed against the soft fabric of her top but he failed miserably. Kansas didn’t have a large rack but what she did have was firm and rounded. He’d always wanted to touch them but hadn’t dared.

  Not only would her brothers—his two best friends in the world—kill him, he was afraid if he had her once he’d never be able to let her go. “Where are Reno and York?” Their parents had been vagabonds, living and working all over the country until Kansas had come along and they’d moved back home to Chicago to live in the family home. As soon as she’d finished high school her folks had bought an RV and taken off for parts unknown. Last he’d heard they were somewhere in Arizona. They might not be close with their folks but the siblings had always been tight.

  “They have their own lives and I have mine.” She went to the counter, grabbed the carafe from the coffeemaker and filled it with water. Her movements jerky, she started a pot of coffee.

  “You sure you should be drinking coffee this late at night?”


  The look she gave him would have shriveled a lesser man. “I’ll do whatever I damn well please,” she informed him.

  “I guess I should go.” He made no move toward the door.

  She shook her head. “Stay. Please.”

  That easily he sat at the table and ran his fingertips over the scarred Formica. They didn’t make tables like this anymore. It was the same one that had been there when he’d stepped foot in this house with York more than twenty-five years before.

  “I’m sorry about your grandfather.”

  He jerked his head up and stared at her. He knew she’d loved the old man as much as he had. “Thanks.”

  “I did what I could for him after his first heart attack,” she went on. “He never really recovered.”

  Tobias closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He hated thinking about his grandfather like that. William Slater had always been so big and strong, larger than life to the young boy Tobias had been when he’d landed on the man’s doorstep when he was only seven years old. Orphaned and afraid, Tobias had stared up at the giant of a man standing before him and then his grandfather had smiled, taken him by the hand and showed him to his room. He’d known everything was going to be fine after that. After all, no one could hurt a giant.

  But the reality was that his grandfather was only a man, an aging one who’d worked too damn hard for too little pay over the course of his lifetime. He’d instilled values in his grandson and encouraged him to follow his dreams.

  “I should have been here.” The thought had tortured him for months.

  “No.” Kansas stood beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She’d always been so openly affectionate to him and he’d always lapped it up. “He was so proud of what you were doing, so proud you were making a difference in the world.”

  Tobias laughed and the sound and taste of it was bitter. “I didn’t make a damn bit of difference. All I did was abandon my grandfather when he needed me the most.”