Obsession Too: Loving An Alpha Male

by S. K. Lessly

  Flirt…

  She smiled. “It’s good too, right?”

  “Yeah, pretty good. What other kinds of seafood do you like? Crab, salmon, fish?”

  And just like that, we were back in our comfort zone. The rest of our night continued to flow naturally. She and I talked like we were just old friends enjoying each other’s company, which we were. We laughed, joked, shared our meals, and enjoyed a third bottle of wine. We even shared a slice of carrot cake that we fed each other.

  Unfortunately, our night had to end. I guided her out of the restaurant, my hand possessively at the center of her lower back in a place that spoke of our intimate connection to everyone watching. And people were watching.

  Once outside, Misty handed the valet her ticket. I pulled her away from the door, placed my hands along her hips, and pulled her to me.

  “Come home with me,” I whispered in her ear right before I kissed her bare shoulder lightly.

  When I didn’t get an answer, I said it again. But this time I kissed her earlobe and pulled her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. Her body shivered in my arms and I started to say ‘fuck it’, hoist her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and take her to my place anyway. My mouth was prepared to tell her exactly what was in store for her if she were to come with me when I heard the gruff sound of someone clearing their throat next to us.

  Misty squeezed my arm and pulled back from me, her eyes darting from mine to something or someone just over my left shoulder. I wasn’t paying her any mind until she tried to push my arms from around her waist.

  “Where do you—” I started but quickly stopped, interrupted by Misty’s subtle gesture.

  She nodded to my left, and my eyes followed, coming in direct contact with the angry eyes of General J.D. Donovan.

  “Major Cooper,” he grunted, his disapproval written all over his face as he eyed Misty up and down before he did the same to me.

  Misty tried to back away from me again, but I held her tight.

  “General,” was my simple reply as I eyed his date; a woman dressed similarly to Misty in a black dress and heels, but she couldn’t hold a torch to my woman.

  “How’s my daughter?” the man had the audacity to ask.

  I noticed that General Donovan seemed a bit unhappy with the scene before him. The man was a few inches shorter than me, stocky with salt-and-pepper hair and a clean-shaven face. He had thin lips tightened in a stubborn line and hard brown eyes that were shooting daggers at me. His round face was beet red and his nostrils flared in disgust.

  The nerve of this son of a bitch.

  “I wouldn’t know, sir.” I responded, my voice taking on a hard and very formal tone. “I haven’t seen her in a few months.”

  General Donovan’s eyebrows rose with that comment.

  That’s right, you prick.

  “Oh really? Why is that?”

  I noticed the valet signaling for our attention with my peripheral vision. There was a black Tesla next to him with the driver’s side door open.

  “I’m sure your daughter will tell you,” I responded. “If she hasn’t mentioned it to you yet, it’s not my place to.” I laced my fingers through Misty’s and started toward the car. “Have a good night, sir, ma’am.” I walked Misty around to the passenger’s door and opened it. “I’m driving,” I announced and leaned into her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  Misty didn’t argue. She took the hand I offered and climbed into the car. I waited until she was fully inside before I closed her door. General Donovan was still standing there when I rounded the back of the car. I assumed he was waiting for the valet to bring his car. I made eye contact with him again before I passed the young man a tip and climbed into the car.

  I pulled out onto traffic and headed northwest on I Street toward Washington Circle. As we paused at the light to merge onto Pennsylvania Avenue, I finally noticed Misty’s gaze. I turned to her questioning eyes as I made the right onto Pennsylvania Avenue. “What?”

  “You don’t have anything to say about what just happened?”

  “No. There’s nothing to say.”

  She shifted in her seat as far as her seatbelt would allow and face me. I moved the car to the light just before Washington Circle.

  “Her father looked pissed. I mean really pissed, like he was going to punch you or something.”

  I scoffed. “Woman, please. That old man was not about to sign his death warrant. He was just trying to get a feel of the situation. Clearly, Casey hasn’t told him of our breakup. Not knowing that fact and then seeing me with another woman, I understand his quarry.”

  “Her mom didn’t seem too upset about it.”

  I looked over at her and smiled, my smile completely devoid of any pleasantries. “That wasn’t her mother.”

  Misty kept staring at me for a moment longer before she nodded her head. “Oh, wow… Ummm, that was very hypocritical of him.”

  “Yeah, very.”

  I made it to L Street where my apartment was located and turned into the U-shaped driveway of my apartment complex. There was an empty parking space in the shadows of the front of the building off to the side of the entrance. I pulled into the space and shut the powerful engine down.

  “Wait here,” I instructed and climbed out of the sedan. I walked around to her side and opened her door. I extended my hand to her and helped her up, trying not to drool over her exposed thighs and breasts.

  Once she was clear of the car, I closed the door, pulled her too me, and devoured her sexy red lips. Damn, it felt like I hadn’t tasted her in centuries. I deepened the kiss, gripping her body as close to me as humanly possible while moving my tongue with hers, reacquainting myself with her sweet taste.

  Damn, I want this woman.

  When I finally pulled away from her, I cradled her face in my hands, barely holding on.

  “Come upstairs, Grace,” I said and breathed just inches away from her lips, trying my best to gain some control.

  “Shane, I can’t,” she returned, her voice equally soft and just as raw as mine.

  “Yes, you can.” I hit the lock on the key fob in my hand.

  She laughed softly. “No, I really can’t. I’m staying at my parents’ house and I have to get up early to go to church with them in the morning. If I go up there with you, I won’t be able to get up.”

  I growled my disappointment. I couldn’t help it. I gripped her hips tight and kept her close to me, resting my forehead against the top of her head.

  “You’re killing me, smalls.”

  She laughed again. I sighed, letting her scent and my desire for her wash over me.

  “What about tomorrow? Are you coming to my parents’ house for dinner?” I moved back slightly so I could see her eyes.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  I kissed her again, not deepening it even though my body was screaming for me to take her again. Finally, I let her go and walked her to the driver’s side of the car. I unlocked her door and started to help her inside when she turned and placed her hands against my chest.

  “Wait a minute?”

  My eyes lit up. “What? You’ve came to your senses and changed your mind?”

  “No, I just realized we didn’t talk about us at all. You know, what’s happening between us? Wasn’t that the point of tonight?”

  “Grace, there’s not much to say about it. I’m not keeping my hands off you. There’s no way that’s going to happen. I’ll restrain myself at work, but anywhere else and you’re fair game.”

  Her eyes grew wide and she pushed me back from her. “What? Wait a second. What do you mean I’m fair game? Oh no, mister, stay right where you are and explain please.”

  “Okay, it’s like this. You and I are adults, right? And we’re friends. You’ve said before that you’re not looking for anything more than that and in light of my recent situation, I’m with you. I think you and I can handle being in a friendship that includes a lot of hot, sweaty, orgasmic benef
its. Now, I’m willing to concede to some restraints that you may suggest, but please understand those restraints may be subject to change.”

  She laughed and shook her head incredulously. “You’re crazy. Do you know that?”

  I leaned against the car and crossed my arms across my chest. Misty looked at me for a minute, I assumed thinking about everything I had just said, before she closed the door to the car. She walked around to the back of the sedan and lifted herself onto the trunk. I followed her and stopped in front of her, arms folded, feet apart waiting for the opposition she was no doubt going to throw at me.

  “Okay, Cooper. While I agree with your evaluation of our situation, I still have some questions.”

  “All right, lay them on me.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Misty

  “How do you see this happening with us? I mean, do we call each other whenever the mood strikes us and say “hey I’m horny, let’s hook up”? Then what? Do we select a time and place to meet? Is that how you see things going? Because, Shane…” I shook my head as I allowed the end of that sentence to die in the air around us. There really was no need to finish the thought.

  Shane heaved a heavy sigh and closed his eyes as if he were reaching within to find the patience to deal with me. “No, of course not, Grace,” he replied, the tone in his voice sharp. “Look, this doesn’t have to be so sterile or mechanical. Stop thinking so hard about this. You’re making it out to be more than what it is.”

  I raised my shoulders and shook my head, doing my best to stay in control and forget the fact that he had dropped my real name again.

  “What do you expect me to do?” I asked. “I’m a marine. We don’t do anything half-ass without having a plan or something mapped out. We’re not like you army Joes. Unpreparedness makes us nervous. Seriously, Shane, let’s talk this through. I don’t see this working without us making a plan. How do you see us making this work? Do we just call each other up and shoot the shit? How do we express when we want to get our freak on without sounding so sterile as you call it? It’s not like we can just pop up over one another’s place unannounced. What if one of us has company or something?” I chuckled anxiously. “I mean can you imagine how disastrous and awkward that would be?”

  I ran my hand over my head, fingering my ponytail in adamant frustration. I looked at him, waiting for him to make this all better while hoping to God that we could do this without casualties.

  I stared deeply into Shane’s eyes, searching for something, for any kind of clue of what was running through his mind. I saw nothing. Actually, that wasn’t entirely accurate. I did see a whole lot of confusion clouding his darkening features as if he were getting more and more pissed and confused as I spoke. My intention wasn’t to confuse him or send him mixed signals or even piss him off. I was fucking this up so bad. I wasn’t arguing against doing this. I wanted to do this more than I wanted to breathe. I just wanted a plan.

  Ugh! I need to say something to make this right and to explain my hesitation before it’s too late.

  Consequently, I was in a full state of utter panic. My lips decided to take on a mind of their own and I found myself uncontrollably spewing a bunch of bullshit.

  “Look, Shane, it’s not that I don’t want to do this. Believe me, I do.” I stressed the words ‘believe me’ to make sure he understood that my hesitation had nothing to do with him; well, sort of. “I just don’t want our friendship to suffer because of our wants. I’ve said it before that I’m not looking for a relationship. To add to that, I’m not marriage material. I just don’t have that in me. That makes what I have to offer very limited. Getting to know someone and spending meaningless time together for the rest of my life; yeah that doesn’t sound too appealing the second time around.

  “Also, having to deal with another person’s bullshit or explaining my bullshit and expecting them to accept it, it’s exhausting, tedious, and time consuming. But I can’t assume you feel the same way. In fact, I know you don’t. You just got out of a relationship, Shane. You may not want one now, but you can’t tell me that you’re not going to want one in the future. And where would that leave us? How easy would it be for us to walk away with our friendship intact?”

  I kept looking expectantly into Shane’s eyes as I spoke. I was waiting for him to say something, anything, but he just continued to watch me. He remained stoic while he stood before me, his expression becoming blank as a fresh white canvas.

  God, I hate when he’s unreadable like this. Insufferable hard ass...

  Just then, a frightening thought popped into my head and I wondered if he could see just how full of shit I really was. Could that be the reason for the change in his demeanor? Or maybe he saw all of my secrets and my fears and knew the real reason why I was holding back and was ready to call me on my shit.

  “Are you done rambling or do you need another minute?” he asked, his eyebrows raised, body slightly tensed.

  I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms underneath my breasts. “Yes, I’m finished.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I glared up at him, but didn’t reply.

  Shane didn’t say another word either. He simply smiled, not a very nice smile, I might add, and closed the distance between us; keeping his eyes solely on mine. Goodness, the heat coming off him was doing things to me that I couldn’t control.

  The aggressive way he grabbed me under my knees and pulled me closer to him, caused my heart to sputter. Shit, I had to undo my arms from in front of me and grip the thin steel underneath my hands as best I could before I fell off the trunk of the car. Shane had never handled me with that much force and aggression before. It was a complete turn on. My body came alive, my breathing picked up, my pulse was beating a hundred miles a minute.

  My dress was inadvertently pushed further up my thighs when Shane positioned himself between them, almost revealing my hidden treasures for all to see; if he wasn’t standing in front of me that is. He definitely revealed the two pocket knives I had sheathed in the garter belts around my thighs.

  The revelation of me being strapped with my knives didn’t stun Shane in the least. He continued to hold me still with his intense blue-green eyes for almost a full minute. His fingers lightly caressed my face and lips. I dared not move; I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I was being held captive by his touch, the way his fingers danced along my skin, his closeness, and the scent of him. Damn, he was driving me crazy.

  Why the hell am I fighting this? Being with him was amazing. My body was beginning to crave him. My mind stayed on him and my heart… let’s just say if things were different, if I was different, he would already be mine.

  My eyes wandered to his lips. I wanted them on me again. I wanted them on my entire body. I wanted him to kiss me from head to toe; paying the most attention to my…

  “I’ve been racking my brain for a minute now, trying to figure out where your hesitation is coming from,” Shane said, bringing me back to him. “It can’t be an attraction thing. I’m sure if I slid my hand underneath your dress right now, I would find out just how attracted you are to me.” Shane’s hands dropped from my face to my thighs. He removed my knives, placed them in his pockets and started squeezing my thighs; rubbing them up and down as he massaged me. His thumb touched the inside of my thigh ever so gently, inching closer and closer to my throbbing pussy.

  My first instinct was to clinch my thighs together to minimize the ache that was building, in which case I did, and Shane’s eyes only grew more intense as if he knew exactly what I was doing and why. The commotion he was creating within was starting to drive my wants into needs. With each soft caress, each squeeze of his skilled hands increased the sensation between my thighs. He knew he was teasing me and I hated that I couldn’t resist him.

  “So,” he started again, his voice dropping a few octaves lower than before, proving that I wasn’t the only one affected by our closeness.

  I did my best to swallow a soft whimper that was threatening to spill
out of my mouth as I willed his wicked hands to move closer to its prize.

  “Since I figured that attraction wasn’t the issue, my thoughts naturally went to the next logical thing.”

  His eyes drifted to my bottom lip that was now trapped in between my teeth. “What would that be?” I managed to get out. I looked down at his hands as his thumbs and then his fingers disappeared underneath my dress.

  “Do you have feelings for me?” Shane asked me and I almost fell the hell off the car. What’s even worse was that I almost fucking said yes.

  “Umm… What?” My voice rose in pitch and volume as I stared at him, my eyes big as shit.

  What the fuck? I couldn’t move or breathe. I frantically searched his eyes, hoping for a clue as to where that question had come from. Shit, does he know? No, damn it, he can’t know.

  “You heard me. Do you have feelings for me?” Shane repeated.

  Okay, Misty, think fast. What do you do? Answer him? Of course you do, you idiot, but don’t tell him the truth. You can’t admit to anything. Dig into your training. Hell, use the damn force if you have to. But don’t fuck this up.

  I forced out a loud awkward chuckle and waved him off dismissively as if he were completely ridiculous for even asking me. “Uh, no,” I said, doing my best to ignore the loud hammering of my heart against my chest. “God, no. That’s… that’s absurd… no. I mean, do I have feelings for you? I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t think I don’t, I-I know that I don’t.”

  Fuck, I’m stammering. I shook my head, mainly trying to get the garbled thoughts in my head in order. Calm the hell down, I said to myself, silently trying to take deep breaths.

  Shane’s eyes narrowed on me, becoming slits of dark fire. He leaned back slightly. “First, why in the fuck are you saying it like there’s something wrong with having feeling for me? What? You don’t think I’m a catch or something?”

  Oh fuck!

  “Oh, God no, that’s not what I’m saying.” I extended my arms in front of me, waving my hands and shaking my head frantically, before gripping his forearm tight in desperation. “No, I mean, you’re great, unbelievable. Hot as hell, and your stroke game is off the chain. It’s just that um... I was just saying that, you know… that, no, I didn’t have feelings for you.”