The Alpha's Choice

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  Moisture gathered between her legs and she tried to think of snakes and spiders and circus clowns, any creepy thing that would take her mind away from the thoughts that were buzzing through her head. She willed the group to pass her by unnoticed.

  They did, all but Charles. He stood there at the foot of her lounge, his power curling up and around her like smoke from a candle, until the back door closed and the voices receded into the depths of the house.

  "You were eavesdropping, Katarina, and eavesdropping is not nice. Eavesdropping makes you a very naughty little girl."

  Kat could hear a sternness in his voice that she hadn't heard before. Was he angry? She didn't think so, but she left the cover over her face and squinched her eyes shut. If she didn't move and kept her breathing even, she could sometimes fool Grams into thinking she was really asleep instead of listening to the television though the paper thin walls.

  Her ploy was ruined by her startled squeak when Charles whispered through the towel by her ear. She hadn't heard him move.

  "And naughty little girls need to be punished."

  He pulled the towel down enough to see her wide open eyes. "I knew you were awake. I could smell your arousal."

  He could smell that? Oh, shit! Kat sat up straight and the towel fell to her lap. "Could they?"

  Charles stood over her, dressed only in his jeans. His grin was evil. "Probably. Would you like me to call them back and ask?"

  "No!"

  He nodded. "Now, why were you out here eavesdropping in the middle of the night instead of upstairs in your bed where you should be?"

  "I wasn't eavesdropping," she said indignantly and immediately recanted. "Well I was, but that wasn't why I was out here." It wasn't as if she'd overheard any wolver secrets. "I just wanted to see… the wolvers come home," she added quickly.

  Charles shook his head sadly. "And now you've lied. That'll earn you another punishment I'm afraid." He peeled the towel from her body and stood looking down at her.

  Kat pulled her knees up closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs to keep them there. "That's not fair," she pouted, refusing to look up at the broad, muscled chest looming over her.

  There was a thin patch of dark blond curls at the center of his chest that formed a winged vee over his pectoral muscles and if she looked at it, her eyes would be forced to follow the long tail of the vee down the center of his body to disappear into the waistband of his jeans. She licked her lips before she complained.

  "You can't punish people for breaking the rules when you haven't told them what the rules are. You have to tell me what the rules are first."

  "Where would be the fun in that?"

  Kat's head snapped up to find Charles smiling with mischief. He held out his hand to her and waited patiently until she took it.

  "Let the punishment begin," he said as he pulled her to her feet. He looked her up and down, taking in every inch of her, slowly.

  Kat wasn't sure where this was going. Charles was still talking about punishment and yet the look he was giving her was anything but punishing. She watched and waited, goosebumps rising on her arms, this time not from the chill in the air, but from the heat of his gaze.

  "You're going to run."

  Run? She remembered what he said about her refusal to run and his refusal to chase. "So you're just playing the Big Bad, right?"

  "The Big Bad?"

  "Yeah. The Big Bad Wolf. This is a game, right? Not a real punishment."

  "We'll have to see, won't we?" He grinned evilly. "Your punishment is to run to the barn."

  Kat looked out to where he pointed. She could barely see the darkened outline of the barn. It wasn't too far, about two hundred yards. She was in good shape. She could make that easily.

  Charles wasn't finished. "You'll have four stops along the way; the woodpile from the dead tree, the pear tree, the big rock half exposed, and the bucket Buddy left out by the drive. Those will be your safe zones." He pointed in the direction of each as he spoke.

  Two hundred yards just became five hundred. It wasn't a straight line to the barn, but a zigzag pattern. She could easily see the outline of the woodpile. It was huge. There were several trees clustered together with their buds just beginning to pop. How the hell was she supposed to figure out which one was the pear? Beyond that she could see nothing. His pointing only gave her a vague placement for the rock and the bucket.

  "If I catch you before you reach your safe zone, you forfeit a piece of clothing."

  "That's not fair!" She complained and she shivered, more at the thought of running naked than the cool night air. What if someone should see them? "You can run faster than me and I'm wearing sandals. I can't run in these."

  He looked down at her feet. "You're right. I'm not wearing shoes. Take yours off. We want this to be fair." The grin Charles gave her told her he wanted this to be anything but fair.

  Kat kicked her sandals off and giving it one last try, she ran her fingers over his chest. "Can't we just go inside and…?"

  "Where would be the punishment in that?" He sighed. "Tell you what, I'll give you a head start. Ready, set, go!"

  Startled, Kat stumbled as she took off, but she gained her footing quickly and ran for all she was worth toward the jumbled pile of wood, the remains of a dying maple tree. The ground over which she ran had been turned and tilled and freshly seeded with grass. It was soft beneath her feet.

  She could see the outline of each piece of wood and was only about ten feet away when she was grabbed about the waist and spun in a circle, her feet in the air. She squealed in the delightful fear she used to feel when she was a little girl and her father chased her around the house as a growling bear.

  Charles set her on her feet and looked her up and down slowly. Kat stood still, arms to her side, awaiting his choice of forfeiture.

  "Turn around and take off the shorts," he ordered, surprising her.

  "I thought you were going to…"

  "Ah, ah," he admonished her with a shaking index finger and then stirred the air with the same finger to indicate she was to turn. "No talking during punishment." He paused for a moment and when she didn't move he added, "I'm waiting."

  Kat slowly undid the button and inched the zipper down. The shorts, cut down from an old pair of jeans, were tight she had to shimmy her hips to get them down. She bent to pull them off her feet and shivered a little as the cold night air hit her nylon clad bottom. Without looking back, she held the shorts out to him.

  "We'll leave them right here on the wood pile," he told her and before she could straighten, his hand was on her back holding her in place. "Let me see that little wiggle again."

  Kat giggled and wiggled and when she heard him hum in appreciation, she wiggled again.

  "Ready, set, go!" he said in the middle of her wiggle.

  Startled again, Kat ran for the cluster of trees, laughing now. Her legs were freer without the tight shorts, and she thought she might have a chance. The tilled earth turned to scratchy weed that prickled her feet, but she ignored it and sprinted on, reached the half dozen trees and grabbed the first branch she came to.

  "That's a plum," Charles said behind her and she jumped. She hadn't heard him running.

  She turned to him and huffed, "How was I supposed to know which one…"

  The wagging finger was back. "That's twice. Don't make me warn you again. I think I'll take those panties now."

  As before, she kept her back to him as she removed her panties, feeling more vulnerable and yet somehow aroused by being fully clothed on top and fully exposed at her bottom. She bent at the waist to untangle the panties from her feet, knowing she was exposing her cheeks to his view.

  "This is very… weird," she was about to say, but gave a sharp shriek instead when Charles slapped her ass with his hand. It was hard enough to sting, but not to hurt. She brought her hand around to cover the spot.

  "No talking and no touching. Turn around." He took her panties from her and hung them on the tip of t
he branch, a bright pink blossom on an otherwise bare tree.

  Kat snapped her hand away and did as she was told, stamping her feet a little to take away the sting. She huffed, but didn't speak. She did, however, clamp her thighs together when she felt a growing wetness between them. Charles snickered and Kat felt herself flush red.

  "I think my kitten likes to play." He ran his finger down her narrow landing strip of curls and laughed when she squeaked when his finger breached the barrier of her closed legs. "Yeah, she likes to play."

  She relaxed her legs as he found her sweet spot and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensations. That was when he cracked her other cheek.

  "To the boulder. Ready, set, go!"

  "No!" she moaned. She was dazed enough that Charles had to turn her around and give her a bit of a push in the direction he pointed. The prickly grass turned to harsher growth and she found herself hopping on one foot and then the other as the stubble poked her feet. The daze was gone and the embarrassment of her bared behind bouncing with each hop slowed her further and she wasn't even close to the barely visible rock when Charles caught up with her. The stubble didn't seem to bother him.

  She shrugged out of her tee and tossed it at his head, laughing when he had to pause to peel it off. Sprinting for the rock, her fists in the air in a silent cheer, Kat wasn't prepared to be swept off her feet and roughly tossed over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. She kicked her feet and tried to pound him on the back to protest the unfairness of it as he plopped her onto the wide boulder that arose a mere foot and a half from the ground. How in hell was she supposed to see that? To avoid another swat, she held her complaint and instead, put her hands on her hips and stuck out her tongue. Charles only laughed harder, damn him.

  "You learn quickly, kitten, but you're ruining my fun."

  Kat clamped her lips together to prevent a retort.

  He positioned her up on the rock, facing him. This put her bottom half on display before him. She closed her eyes and her thighs.

  "Open them," he ordered.

  She wasn't sure if he meant her thighs or eyes, so she opened both just enough to claim she had obeyed. But her eyes went wide and her bottom clenched when he ran his finger along her slit and up her belly.

  "Since you gave your shirt up freely, there's only one bit left. Take it off slowly so I can enjoy it."

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say that at least one of them was enjoying this, but she kept the thought to herself and admitted, if only to herself, that she was enjoying this erotic game, too.

  She inched her bra straps off her shoulders and watched his face, enjoying the hunger she saw there. In the darkness, his eyes glittered with it and she heard him release a ragged sigh, but all expression was gone by the time the bra was off. He simply stared.

  She stood there, hands on her hips, eyes wide open and staring out over his head. She was cold now and she tried not to show it, but her teeth chattered a little. That seemed to bring Charles back from wherever his mind had wandered. He smiled.

  "Cold?"

  She almost said, "What the hell do you think? I don't have the body heat of a wolver." She'd noticed they all felt a little warm. Instead, she held her tongue and nodded. Her next giant shiver convinced him.

  "Don't look down," he said.

  She didn't need to. A soft golden glow illuminated the area around them. It was the same glow that filled the room when he healed Buddy. The warmth began at her feet and rose up her legs. When he reached the tops of her thighs, he moved to her arms and the same flush of warmth suffused them. He moved around her, never touching her, but wherever his hand hovered was warmed. Across her shoulders and down her back, the heat soothed her like a steaming shower at the end of a long day and as she often did in the shower, her head tilted back and she sighed with pleasure.

  "Damn, kitten, you're beautiful," he breathed.

  And then the light dissolved and her source of heat was gone. She almost cried out at the loss. Instead, she wiggled her rear end to show him he missed a spot.

  "Always complaining." He smacked each cheek and on the cold flesh, it stung. "That's for trying to shorten your punishment."

  Kat eeked and did a little dance with her feet, jiggling those stinging globes. It was as much for his pleasure as her relief and if he was distracted…

  "Ready, set…"

  This time, she was leaping from the rock before he got to "go". She ignored the stubbly growth jabbing at her feet. There was the bucket and suddenly, there was Charles picking it up by the bail before she reached it.

  "Hmm, what should the penalty be if you've nothing left to forfeit."

  Fully in the spirit of this extraordinary game, Kat slid her hand down the center of his chest and along the valley that separated the muscles defining his abdomen until she reached the button of his jeans. It was too dark to see his face from her position on her knees, but she took his sharp intake of breath as permission for her to continue. She freed his erection and took him into her mouth.

  She played with him as he had played with her, teasing with her tongue and teeth and 'purring' once she had him fully in her mouth. She kept her hands behind her back as if tied. This was, after all, her forfeit and punishment.

  Charles understood the gesture right away. "Finally," he sighed, "I've found a woman who likes to play."

  She wondered vaguely about how many women he'd gone through to find her and had to remind herself that it was okay as long as she was the last in line. Still, the jealous thought gave her an idea for a bit of revenge.

  She increased her efforts, teasing him with her teeth and working him with her tongue, sucking him deeply into her throat until his body tightened and his breath quickened and she knew he was reaching the height of his control.

  Whereupon she pushed herself to her feet and took off for the barn, shouting, "Ready, set, go!" as she ran.

  She was laughing and running full speed, her punishment over. She was sure she would win this leg of the race and the barn had to be warmer than the great outdoors. She had the door open before he caught her.

  "You cheat," he said, laughing as he gave her a playful shove into the barn. He closed the door behind them. "You'll pay for that."

  "I hope so," she laughed back. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body to him. She was shivering with a mixture of cold and excitement, but not for long.

  Charles wrapped his arms around her and held her close, running his warm hands over her back and buttocks while he kissed her with all of the ardor she had come to expect from this strange and exciting man. Cold as she had become, she was strangely invigorated by the chase through the yard and anxious to satisfy the cravings her body had developed during her run.

  The bulge pressing firmly to her belly through the rough fabric of Charles' jeans told her that in spite of his wet exposure to the cold, those cravings were shared. He'd enjoyed the chase and she found a certain pleasure and satisfaction in that, so when he gently pushed her away and took her hand to lead her into one of the stalls built along one wall of the barn, opposite the cars and trucks, she followed him willingly.

  If the barn was warmer than the outdoors, the stall was warmer still, particularly after he closed both upper and lower halves of the door. The floor was covered in fresh straw and smelled sweet to her unaccustomed to nose. The walls were solidly built of fresh cut pine and sturdy hooks dotted the upper reaches holding various pieces of rope, leather, and metal which she assumed were used for horses. Faint light from the main part of the barn seeped over the tops of the walls giving an impression of the muted glow of dawn.

  After looking about the stall, she turned to Charles who met her with a small white towel in his hands. Without a word, he began to rub her down with it. Starting with her arms and moving to her legs, he rubbed her briskly with the course cloth, heating her skin with rough friction.

  "I want you warm and toasty. Raise your arms," he ordered as he began the vigorous application to her back.
<
br />   Kat did as she was told, but not without question. Looking back over her shoulder she told him, "Charles, honey, I'm warm. You don't need to do this."

  Her answer was another sharp smack on her ass, this one a little more painful than the last. "Ouch!"

  "No talking during punishment and keep your arms up."

  Chapter 16

  Kat tried to step away, but an arm snaked around her waist and held her in place. "B-but I already served my punishment, the chase across the yard."

  She was rewarded with another smack to the other cheek. This time she didn't lower her hands, but grabbed the fingers of one hand with the other and squeezed.

  "Eavesdropping and lying. Two infractions, two punishments."

  He was speaking to her back, but Kat heard the amusement in his voice.

  "Charles," she pleaded.

  Another crack on ass, this one hard enough to make her feet dance before he moved to her front and worked the rough cloth over her breasts which bobbled back and forth under his ministrations. He moved to the soft mound of her belly and the small pouch she could never be rid of no matter how much she exercised. It jiggled, too, and she was embarrassed until he kissed it and murmured.

  "I love this part of you, so round and soft and feminine." He whispered it with his lips against her skin and in spite of what he was demanding of her, he made her feel sensual and sexy. Towel cast aside, his hand moved down between her legs.

  "Open," he ordered and without thinking, Kat obeyed, again with both eyes and legs.

  His finger probed more deeply this time than it had before and Kat whimpered a little when with the moistened tip, he circled her clit. At the sound, he plunged his finger inside and slowly withdrew it. His eyes never left her face and what she saw in those glittering green orbs took her breath away.

  She wasn't allowed to speak, so she inched her feet a little further apart as an answer to what she'd seen in those eyes.

  Charles lifted the finger now coated with her juices for her to see and then he slowly drew it into his mouth and cleaned it with his tongue, sighing when he removed it as if he'd tasted ambrosia.