Harper (Destined for the Alpha Book 1)

by Viola Rivard

  Jo wagged her eyebrows. “Hey. Aren't you gonna ask me where I was last night?”

  “Huh?”

  “You were gone when I got back. I figured you went looking for me,” Jo said, squeezing Harper's arm. “I should have said something. I'm sorry if I made you worry. I thought we were just going to talk, but then he kissed me.”

  Harper knew she was missing something. “You kissed Ian?”

  Jo blinked at her. “Uh, no. I'm talking about West.” Her eyes were big and shiny as she said his name. “Haven't you noticed? We kind of have a thing. It's nothing serious. I'm not letting it get in the way of anything and he knows we can't sleep together, but—”

  “Jo, he's old enough to be your dad, and if you think he's okay with just wanting to sleep with you, you're deluding yourself.”

  Jo held her hands up. “Geez, I didn't think you of all people would drop the age card on me. And he's not that old. And how old is Shan, anyway? He's got at least a decade on you.”

  At the mention of Shan's name, Harper's defensiveness went into overdrive. “What are you insinuating? There's nothing going on between Shan and I. In case you've forgotten, we came here to study their culture, not the insides of their mouths.”

  As Harper spoke, the rosy color had drained from Jo's face, and was quickly replaced by splotches of red. Harper felt a deep stab of guilt. She might as well have been yelling into a mirror, for all that she was taking her own shit out on Jo.

  “I'm sorry...” Jo said.

  Harper shook her head. “No. I'm sorry. I get it.” Better than you realize. “He's sexy and intriguing, and more than you could have anticipated. In a way, you're proving our point. They're more like us than not.”

  Jo's head bobbed. “When I talk to him, it's like I'm talking to any other man, except it's also not like that. He's more...I don't know, masculine, maybe? And he's so sure of himself. Most guys I meet don't even know what they're going to be doing in a year, but West just seems to have it all figured out. And it's not just him. All of them. They're so secure in themselves and their roles in the pack. I guess the thing that surprises me the most is that I sort of envy them.”

  If not for her scent, Shan wouldn't have noticed Harper perched high on the oak tree. Her new outfit was made of animal skins and it blended in with the foliage, which had turned from green to burnished copper in the span of the day.

  The clouds had given way shortly after sunset and from where he stood it looked like the moon was just behind her back. He didn't like how high up she was and he considered climbing up to collect her, but he doubted the branches around her would support his weight.

  Perhaps what unnerved him the most was the way she had arrayed herself on the slender branch, with her body stretched cat-like across it, one arm hanging over the side and swinging back and forth, as though swaying on an imagined breeze.

  He stood beneath her for a full minute before she pretended to notice him.

  “What took you so long?”

  “Have you been waiting long?” he asked.

  Her shoulders twitched. “Dunno. Forgot to pack a watch.”

  Shan placed his hand on the trunk of the tree. “Come down. I want to touch you.”

  It felt more like a need, one that had been building steadily over the long day. Tomorrow, he would find an excuse to have her stay by his side. It was the only way he was going to get anything done. When she wasn't with him, everything seemed dull and unimportant. That should have alarmed him, but he knew it would pass. He'd learned over the years that males were useless during courtship and the first few weeks following mating. He would not be in his right mind again until springtime, at least.

  She pursed her lips, but started down. For all her grace, Shan's teeth ground together as he watched her slip from branch to branch with nary a pause to calculate. When she reached the last branch, she surprised him by jumping. He caught her easily, his hands fitting perfectly in the space between her hips and her ribcage.

  Shan wasted no time in kissing her.

  He'd been unsure about kissing her the night before. He'd been certain to a high degree that she would allow him and that she would enjoy it, but there had been the smallest sliver of doubt. She could be so unpredictable at times and she very well could have tried slapping him.

  But she hadn't. There had been zero hesitation, as if she'd been waiting for him to kiss her. It was the same tonight. Her lips parted for him at once, eagerly accepting him into her mouth. Her lips were the softest he'd ever felt and the inside of her mouth tasted divine.

  He had her pinned against the tree before he knew what he was doing. He never got carried away, never lost control, until her. He assumed it was because she was human, or because he'd begun courting her that his body was pulling so hard for him to claim her. It probably didn't help that she'd spent every night in his bed.

  The scent of her arousal was thick in the air between them when he finally drew back. Her bottom lip puckered in a pout as he ran the heels of his palms across her cheeks.

  “Are you marking me with your scent?” she asked, sounding more curious than annoyed.

  “Yes.”

  “But I already smell like you. Believe me, I've been getting weird looks all day.” She lifted a clump of her blue tresses. “It's mostly my hair. Or at least, that's when I notice it. I had to tie it up today because I would smell you every time I turned my head.”

  He brought his nose to her hair and nuzzled the side of her head. “You recognize my scent?”

  “Of course I do. You smell like...” She shrugged. “I don't know what. I just know that I like it. A lot.”

  He took a final drag of her scent and then lifted his head to meet her eyes. She appeared concerned and was nibbling her lip tentatively.

  “Is it the same for you?” she asked. “Do I smell really, really good to you?”

  “Your scent is the olfactory equivalent of a siren's song.”

  Her lips quirked. “That's the fanciest way anyone has ever told me I smell good.”

  She looked away, took a breath, and then lifted her hand to his face. Her palm was soft and sweaty as it came down on his cheek in a quick stroke.

  “There. Now I marked you.”

  Shan wanted to kiss her again, but he didn't think he would stop and he knew she wouldn't stop him. It was incredibly frustrating. He could feel that he was making progress with her, and quite quickly, considering her reservations. Yet it still felt like it was taking forever for her to accept him. He could not remember ever being so impatient for anything.

  “This isn't normal,” she said, looking away from him again. “I know what it's like to be attracted to someone and this isn't it. I barely know you, but...” She trailed off, running a hand through her hair. “I don't like this. It's too much.”

  “We're bonding,” he said. “It's part of courtship.”

  It was the best explanation he had, though it didn't feel entirely right. Courtship did tend to come with intense emotions, but Shan didn't think it could fully account for the way he felt for her. It didn't feel like he was courting a potential mate. It felt like she was already his. Like she had always been his, and he had only just realized it.

  “Maybe that explains what's going on with you, but I'm not a wolf. I shouldn't be feeling like this.”

  “Like what?”

  In the space between his question and her response, his mind generated at least a dozen answers that she might give. None of them came close to what she actually said.

  “I don't know, like I'm falling in love with you, or something.”

  She clamped a hand down over his mouth, presumably to cut off his response. It was wasted effort. For once, Shan was speechless.

  “I'm not saying I am falling in love with you, just that it sort of feels like that. I don't know what else to compare it to. It's really intense.”

  She pulled her hand back and let it rest on his shoulder.

  There were at least a hundred things Shan wanted
to say, but it all led to one place.

  “Come to my bed.”

  She frowned. “I'm too anxious to sleep.”

  “I'm not asking you to sleep.”

  Chapter 12

  Shan laid her down gently on the bed, so that her head rested on the pillow. It was too dark for Harper to see him, and she waited for his lips to descend on hers. Instead, she felt the heavy weight of a pelt being draped over her and the disturbance in the air as Shan stood.

  “Wait here.”

  Harper sat up, drawing the pelt up around her shoulders. Only then did she realize that it was his pelt, the one he used to shift. She ran her hand over the fur, marveling in its texture. The fur was long in some places and short in others. The inside of the pelt felt like skin and was unusually warm.

  He could have covered her with any one of the bed furs, so the fact that he'd chosen to give her his own pelt felt significant. Doubt began to trickle through the cracks in her resolve.

  Come to my bed, he'd said.

  When she'd understood what he was asking, a tide of relief had washed over her. All she could think of was that the days of intense sexual frustration were finally coming to an end. She hadn't really wanted to go to his bed. She'd wanted him to take her right then and there, up against the tree. Fast, hard, and impersonal enough that once it was finished, they could both forget about her saying that she was falling in love with him.

  But, no. He'd brought her to his bed, covered her with his pelt, and now he was building a fire.

  “What are you doing that for?” she asked.

  “I want to see your face while I'm inside of you.”

  She swallowed. “Are you always so blunt?”

  He didn't answer. Within a few seconds he had a small flame going. Not sticking around to stoke it, he rejoined her in bed and beneath his pelt.

  Harper was accustomed to being the aggressor, so it was strange for her to sit, watching him and waiting to see what he would do. His hand went first to her hair, pushing it to one side. He ran a thumb down her exposed neck, making her shiver.

  “Don't bite me,” she said.

  A bite was the chief way that a wolf shifter marked his mate. While not binding by any means, it would be flaunting the fact that he was courting her.

  His thumb drew a circle in the hollow of her neck. “I'll make no guarantees.”

  “Maybe I should wash up first. I haven't bathed in a week.”

  He took her by the chin, making her look at him. “You're nervous.”

  “No. It's just sex.” She paused, her throat working to clear a lump. “It is just sex, right? After we sleep together, you're not going to expect me to change my mind about becoming your mate, right?”

  He answered her with a kiss, his tongue sweeping in to claim her mouth. She put up no resistance, knowing it would be futile. Regardless of what happened after—and it was bound to be a disaster—she wanted him as badly as she'd ever wanted anything.

  Their lips remained connected as Shan moved her into his lap. They parted as he removed her shirt, and then reconnected with renewed intensity. Straddling his huge body, his big hands caressing her torso, Harper felt small and delicate for the first time that she could remember.

  He kept her like that for a while, one hand gripping her waist and the other moving to support the back of her neck. Harper loved kissing him, but she was eager for more. She released his hair, reaching behind her back to grab the clasps of her bra. Before she could get them unhooked, Shan seized her wrists and pushed her down onto the bed, pinning her beneath his heavy body.

  She thought he would resume kissing her, but his mouth moved to the top of her neck, closing over her flesh and sucking. He began a slow assault down the side of the slender column, teasing her skin until it felt raw. She knew he was leaving marks and a perverse part of her wanted him to. Although she'd told him not to bite her, the first time she felt his fangs graze her skin, Harper leaned into them.

  “Not here,” he murmured. “Unless you want me to puncture your airway.”

  He moved lower, near the space where her neck met her shoulder. He sucked her flesh into his mouth, not biting, but teasing it with his tongue and teeth until it was tender. She whimpered, her hands fisting in his hair. It hurt, but it was more than just physical pain. There was an ache coming from somewhere deep inside of her, and for an instant she wanted him to bite her even more than she wanted him to fuck her.

  She was on the verge of begging him when Shan finally let go. He flicked his tongue over the tender spot and then blew on it.

  He told her, “That is where I'm going to bite you when I claim you as my mate.”

  “Shan...”

  Harper knew she should protest and remind him that she wasn't going to be his mate, but instead she allowed herself to surrender to his narrative. She pushed out all thoughts of the life she'd imagined and pictured what it would be like to be his mate. To be loved and cherished by a man like him. To spend every night beside him.

  It was a tantalizing fantasy.

  Shan's free hand slipped behind her back and he deftly unhooked her bra. He released her wrists, allowing her to remove her bra. She let her arms fall down on either side of her, sensing that if she tried touching him, he would just pin her again.

  He sat up, his pelt pooling around him. Firelight highlighted the contours of their bodies, and she drank in the sight of his bare torso while he surveyed hers. When he finally touched her, it was to run his hand down her chest in the space between her breasts.

  “You're perfect.” His words made goosebumps rise across her skin. “There isn't a scratch or a scar on you, except...”

  His eyes moved to the bandaged on her injured arm. “If you were my mate, I would have killed him.” He cocked his head, his gaze going cold and remote. “I still might.”

  Harper took in a shaky breath as she sat up. She touched the sides of his face, emulating the way he'd marked her with his scent. When he made no move to stop her, she let her left hand move down his neck, the tip of her index finger tracing a thick vein. She stopped where his neck and shoulder met and peeked up at him through her lashes.

  For a moment he went perfectly still and stared at her unblinkingly. Just as Harper was about to drop her hand, he seized her wrist. His grip was tight, but he guided her carefully, moving her finger an inch to the left.

  She wet her lips and then lowered her mouth onto the spot he'd indicated. She flicked her tongue out, giving him a tentative lick. His skin was hot and tasted faintly of salt. She licked again, this time giving him a gentle, tugging suck. The sound of his deep inhalation encouraged her, and she sucked again, this time dragging her dull canines over his skin.

  Shan growled appreciatively, his hands going around to cup her bottom. He pulled her into his lap, positioning her legs so that she was straddling him. On reflex she bucked her hips and was rewarded by the feel of his erection grinding against her clitoris. She gasped, and he must have thought that she was letting go of him, because his hand shot up to grip the back of her head, forcing her back down onto his neck.

  “Bite.” His command seemed to reverberate throughout his body.

  Harper hesitated. She knew that she'd heard him correctly, but she still couldn't make sense of what he was saying. Did he really expect her to bite him?

  He eased his grip on the back of her head and began stroking her hair. “Stop thinking and do it.”

  She bit down hard. It was by no means a sensual bite, but more of a stop-ordering-me-the-fuck-around bite that left deep indentations in his skin.

  “Harder.”

  Harper had already learned two worrisome things about herself that night. One was that she wanted to be bitten. The other was that she became immensely aroused when a man said that he would kill someone for her. Now, as she was hit with a jumbled rush of anxiety and excitement, she discovered that the whole biting thing wasn't a one-way street. She wanted to sink her teeth into him—so she did.

  It was diffic
ult to bite through his muscle and into the softer tissue beneath. It took at least a half of a minute, which she discovered was an eternity in biting time. As soon as her mouth filled with the tangy, coppery taste of his blood she felt a rush of a new and exquisite form of pleasure.

  Possessiveness had always been one of her monsters. She'd spent many years managing it and maneuvering around it, but this was the first time that she'd fed it.

  He's mine.

  The words were more of an impression, felt rather than heard, and they terrified her. She released him at once and started to sputter an apology, but Shan's mouth closed over hers, muffling whatever she might have said.

  Harper was still too shaken up to immerse herself in his kiss. Feeling the need to explain herself, she tried pushing him away. Shan wouldn't be moved. With only his mouth on hers, he kept her pinned to the bed as he removed her pants and underwear.

  Any thoughts she'd had about stopping promptly evaporated as she felt him position the head of his cock at her entrance. He nestled himself just inside her outer folds and her legs went up around his hips, trying to urge him in.

  He broke their kiss, his hot breath sticking to her face. “It might be painful for you, at first.”

  “I'm counting on it.”

  Shan delivered another one of his bruising kisses as he slowly pushed inside of her. He'd been right. The pain was a burn that grew sharper with each inch that he buried in her. Harper endured it, letting out only a small murmur of encouragement. It seemed fitting that it would hurt, because everything about being with him felt like her first time all over again.

  A shudder ran through his body as Shan planted himself fully into her. His big arms wrapped around her, either to hug her, or to cage her in. In the ensuing stillness, the pain from his entry abated and she could feel herself throbbing around him. She dug her knees into the sides of his hips, trying to urge him to move. It was useless. As she'd now come to learn, Shan did everything in his own time.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, hating how whiney she sounded.