Alphas for the Holidays

by Mandy M. Roth

  No more kissing, she told herself firmly as she washed her face, then brushed her teeth with the new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste he’d obviously put out for her. See, she told herself? He was a bachelor who had extra toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste on hand. Who did that except for a man who had women coming and going out of his life at an alarming rate? He probably bought them by the gross at superstore.

  When she entered the kitchen twenty minutes later, he was standing at the stove. She’d taken advantage of the large shower, but had missed him next to her as the hot water had cascaded down her body. Boy was she in sad shape.

  “Did you find everything you needed?” Logan turned around, a black spatula in his hand. The scent of pancakes and bacon filled the air. Of course, he would have to fix her favorite breakfast. Her stomach growled to let her—and him—know just how hungry she was. The last time she’d eaten had been breakfast yesterday. That had been close to twenty-four hours ago. She’d skipped lunch, trying to get everything done before her shift ended so she wouldn’t keep Brad waiting. Had she been a fool or what? She realized she had put him completely behind her. Yesterday on the trip here, she’d known that her heart had never been involved.

  Another hunger rose inside her as her gaze travelled up and down the length of the man in front of her. She hadn’t satisfied that hunger in well over twelve months.

  His faded jeans were unbuttoned at the waist, the material dipping below the gorgeous view his body made below his navel. The material strained at the thighs, trying to contain all the muscle beneath it. Unwillingly her eyes were drawn to the natural bulge of his body. Again, the material was straining to contain all that masculine strength. He hadn’t donned a shirt and the smoothness of his chest was a wide expanse of yumminess she appreciated more than she could say. A dark shadow of stubble covered his jaw and upper lip, giving him that rough look she so loved on a man. Her nipples puckered thinking of what it would feel like having those bristles brush over her flesh. As she looked, she knew she was seeing sex appeal in its rawest form.

  “Thank you for the loan of the clothes.” She plucked at the long-sleeved t-shirt and knit pants he’d left for her in the bathroom. She hadn’t found her bra and panties or other articles of clothing she’d been wearing.

  “You’re welcome. I put your jeans in the wash. Do you want milk or orange juice with your pancakes?” He motioned for her take a seat at the breakfast bar before turning away to place three pancakes on a plate.

  “I’ll have milk.” She groaned to herself as she sat down, knowing she was going to give into temptation and eat all three of the golden circles before her. As long as she didn’t give into the temptation to beg this man to make love to her, she’d be okay.

  He poured two tall glasses of cold milk and brought over another plate which held six pancakes. It had been sitting to the side, ready to go. She realized he’d given her the last ones made so they would be hotter.

  Katie watched Logan as he ate. She tried to still the rapid thumping of her heart, but with him sitting so near, it refused to obey. Every fiber in her body had come to attention the moment she’d walked into the room. She could only hope he didn’t look down and see the faint movement to her shirt and realize how he affected her.

  “Aren’t you, um, cold?” she asked between bites of the delicious pancakes. They both knew she was talking about his shirtless state of being.

  “No, I’m a wolf. We’re usually hotter than most males.”

  Oh, yeah, baby, she silently agreed. Katie couldn’t be sure he realized what he had said until she looked at him from beneath her lashes.

  He knew exactly what he was doing.

  Lord, help her; was he trying to seduce her?

  And was that such a bad thing?

  Katie looked at him while thinking she had never seen a man quite as sexual as this one. And it wasn’t just the pleasing shape of his features or his thick dark hair or even his very, very male attitude. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about him. But the faint squint of his eyes, the sensual little curve to his lips even when he wasn’t smiling, and the strong angle of his jaw all worked together to do strange things to her sleeping libido. Well, her swiftly awakening libido. It had started to snap to attention the moment she’d seen this wolf.

  Maybe that was why she was having such a strong reaction to him. He was a wolf shifter. He was a man whose animal side just wouldn’t allow a woman to overlook him.

  Logan reached over and touched her face. “This looks a little better.”

  Katie grimaced. “If you like the colors of blue and black.” It really wasn’t as bad as it could have been. She’d vaguely remembering tripping and she’d probably landed on a rock. She could have hit the edge of a sidewalk or maybe even a flower bed and suffered a severe concussion.

  “I’m sorry you hurt yourself.” He brushed his fingers across the bump before dropping his hand away. She immediately missed his touch.

  Logan’s wolf was happy that their mate seemed to enjoy her breakfast. Feeding and caring for a mate was a shifter’s most basic need. One of their needs. The other being fucking and impregnating them.

  He couldn’t wait for that.

  Digging into his own pancakes, he realized the only thing that would have made this a perfect morning would have been loving Katie slow and easy before they’d fixed breakfast together. He’d never had any woman set him on fire the way she had. Last night had been a study in torture, being so close, but not being able to claim her. Hell, not even being able to touch her. His wolf had paced inside him the entire night and before dawn, he’d started to go for a run to burn off some of his excess energy, but the wolf had refused to leave its mate.

  He knew he’d spend many nights with Katie—his freaking mate!—in his arms, but he wanted her now. He still couldn’t believe he’d found her. He wondered what she would do if he went with his instincts and tossed her on the counter and ravished every inch of her.

  “I have more batter, would you like another pancake?” His wolf gave another rumble of satisfaction to see that she had eaten everything on her plate and drank all of her milk.

  “No,” she answered hurriedly, then more calmly, “No, thank you.” She blushed as if she was embarrassed and he frowned. Was she somehow embarrassed to eat in front of him? That wouldn’t do at all but he decided not to make a big deal out of it. Not yet anyway. His mate would eat and she would eat until she was full. Her curves fascinated him.

  “What about some coffee?” That got a smile out of her and he relaxed.

  “That sounds great. Is that what smells so good?”

  Logan silently agreed it smelled good, but not as delicious as she did. Rising from his stool, he grabbed two cups from the overhead cabinet. When he turned back around it was to see that she had cleared away their dishes and was placing them by the sink. He stepped close, behind her right shoulder, crowding into her space without seeming to do so. Something his wolf was very adept at doing with its intended prey. He needed to watch his prey, up close and personal, before he pounced.

  Her cheeks flushed with color as he leaned into her and poured the coffee. His body brushed against her and he heard the slight inhalation of her breath. He placed the cups on the counter and asked, “Cream and sugar?”

  “Yes, please.”

  He grabbed the quart of sweet cream from the refrigerator. He was grateful that Morgan had been able to stock some things for him before the snow started. He knew it would have been difficult what with worrying about getting his wife to a safer location in case she went into labor.

  His cock stiffened as he thought of Katie’s stomach swollen and heavy with his child. He was grateful he’d grabbed a pair of jeans to put on. The knit material of a pair of pajamas wouldn’t have been able to control the raging hard-on he was now sporting.

  He handed her the cream and pushed the canister of sugar toward her. He took his black, but watched as she carefully added a touch of cream and two spoons of sugar
to hers.

  They stood in silence for several moments, drinking their coffee. The silence was peaceful. Unlike a lot of women, she felt no need to fill it with ceaseless chatter. Above the sink was a double paned window which overlooked the large deck. Outside the snow sparkled in the sunlight, but Logan knew it was deceiving. It was cold outside and the sunshine wouldn’t last long. He’d checked the weather when he’d come downstairs and the storm hadn’t moved on just yet. It had just taken a breather. He took another sip of coffee, his attention divided between the beautiful scene outside and the beautiful woman standing by the sink. It was no contest though. He could look at Katie all day. For the rest of his life. His mind was already working feverishly as he realized he was about to embark on the most difficult journey of his life…

  Wooing his mate.

  Setting down his cup, he figured there was no better time to start than now. His fingers encircled her wrist and gently disengaged her fingers from her mug. He sat it on the counter next to his, keeping hold of her fingers as he did. It shocked him how much he simply wanted to touch her. And taste her. Logan’s nostrils flared with the need to pull her roughly into his arms and claim her lips with the fiery need that was burning him.

  Careful, his wolf warned, and he wanted to laugh at the animal. The damn wolf had been pulling at his chains for hours, determined to break free and ravish their mate.

  “I got my thank you kiss, but no good morning kiss.”

  An instant before his mouth covered hers, Katie saw a golden light spark in his eyes. Then he was ravishing her with a good morning kiss the likes of which she’d never experienced. This kiss started with a soft brush against her lips that held a sensuous promise of heat… passion… need. And just that easily, he made her ache for him again.

  She quickly discovered he was more difficult to resist than a giant-sized bar of milk chocolate. One of her hands tangled in the tousled dark locks and held his bent head to hers. With a groan, she kissed him back, and forgot her own name.

  Later, she couldn’t have said how long he kissed her. It could have been seconds… hours. Days could have passed.

  “Oh, Katie, what you do to me.” He growled against her lips as he pulled her closer, their hips bumping against each other. The feel of his aroused cock was all it took to bring Katie back to her senses.

  She eased back. “I’m sorry, Logan. I didn’t mean to let this go this far. I’m, I’m.” I’m horny as hell and I don’t want to take advantage of the situation. Yeah, that made perfect sense.

  “It’s okay, baby,” he smiled down at her, still holding her in his arms.

  The look on his face was wickedly handsome and she called herself three kinds of fool for not seeing where this early morning attraction would lead. He took her chin between his thumb and finger as he had last night when he wanted to get her attention. “But know this. I want you. It’s that simple. Every time I get near you, every time I touch you, I want you so much, it’s a physical pain.” He leaned down and placed a light kiss against her cheek and whispered in her ear, “And make damn sure you know, I will have you.”

  Katie wanted to cry for the second time that weekend. The first time had been when she’d realized she could easily end up in a ditch on the side of the road and no one would know where she was—or care.

  Now, she stood just inside the door of the cabin her good for nothing ex-boyfriend had rented for their love getaway. It was a one room… she couldn’t bring herself to even call it a cabin. It was a structure that lacked—everything.

  After their explosive kiss in the kitchen, Logan had called the rental agency. She should have realized how horrible it would be by Logan’s reaction when he was told where she’d be staying. Her rental was only a mile down the road from his house, which explained her mistake last night.

  He’d argued and threatened and then ordered her to stay with him. She knew her coming to the cabin had upset him, but she wasn’t quite sure why. Or at least she hadn’t been until now. He must have known what bad shape it was in. But, there was nothing else for it. She couldn’t stay with him a moment longer. Her defenses were down and her need to get away from him even higher. Getting higher by the moment.

  He had insisted that he drive her, promising to bring her car over later that afternoon. Seeing the condition of the graveled road between her cabin and the main road, she wasn’t certain her compact car would have made it anyway.

  Logan had refused to let her out of his SUV until he had shoveled a path to the front door. She suddenly wished she hadn’t let him. The time and effort it had taken had certainly not been worth the reward.

  It was painfully obvious that whoever owned this cabin only cared about the rent money it could garner. It might—through a large stretch of the imagination—might have been satisfactory for a hunting party. But not a couple hoping to cement their relationship during a romantic weekend away.

  Finally getting up enough courage to slip through the doorway, she wrinkled her nose in distaste at the smell. It was a mix between a pine scented air freshener and a stagnant pond.

  “Well, this is cozy.” Logan came in behind her, her suitcase in one hand. She was grateful that his tone didn’t carry any sarcasm or condemnation that she knew would have been in Brad’s voice, even though he had been the one to book the place.

  “Isn’t it though?” There was little she could do but try and make the best of the situation. She knew she’d been foolish to turn down Logan’s offer to stay with him. Maybe her brains had been addled by the fall. Who in their right mind would want to stay here and not with a gorgeous man in a beautifully appointed house?

  One who was scared as hell of losing her heart, that’s who.

  She didn’t know what it was about the man, but she’d felt drawn to him on some level she’d never imagined existed. Oh, he was sexy as sin, made all her girl parts tingle and clench, but there was something more. He made her heart feel so full.

  He sat the suitcase just inside the doorway and turned to go. Her heart fell to the ground, realizing he was about to leave her. Before she could protest, or beg to go with him, he said, “I’m going to get you some firewood.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Hush, Katie.” He said in a tight voice and walked back out the door. There was certainly no use closing it behind him. It was just as cold in the cabin as it was outside. She noticed the baseboard heaters and thermostat on the wall by the kitchen. Since it was just one room, the cabin shouldn’t take long to heat.

  That’s right, Katie, look for the bloody silver lining in everything. Now she was being snarky to herself.

  She took off her coat and draped it over the couch. While everything looked worn and used up, the cabin did appear clean for the most part. Going over to the fireplace, she realized she’d have to clean it out before she could start a fire.

  Time to pull up her big girl pants, put on her grown-up hat, and deal with what life had given her. She’d done it before and she no doubt would do it many times during the course of her life. One thing she’d realized long ago was that she hadn’t been born under a lucky star. Katie Wilson made her own luck. Sometimes.

  She found a dishpan under the sink and a fireplace shovel hanging on the mantle. Taking it slow and easy, she started removing the layer of ash.

  The door opened, blowing in the fresh scent of snow. Logan stepped through, carrying a load of firewood.

  “What are you doing?” he demanded, closing the door with the heel of his winter boot.

  “This seemed to be a little dirty.”

  “Get up.”

  Katie’s gaze jerked up to him. Those were the first sharp words she’d ever heard him say. “I…”

  He put down the firewood and almost lifted her to her feet. Taking the shovel from her hand, he nudged her toward the couch.

  “I’ll do this. You don’t need to be breathing in the ashes.”

  Katie sat on the edge of the couch, unsure what to do now. She wasn’t
used to someone else taking care of her, seeing to her needs. She was pretty sure if she said she was going to bring in some more wood, he just might tie her to the couch. That thought shot up her body temperature fast. “I was being careful.”

  “This chimney probably hasn’t been cleaned in years. It’s unsafe. I don’t want you to use it.” His words were clipped and hard as he continued to dump ashes into the pan. When it was full, he stood up and strode to the door. He was back in a few minutes and he did the process all over again. She wondered why, if she wasn’t supposed to use it, he was still cleaning it. Maybe because he knew she wouldn’t just blindly obey and probably light a fire after he left.

  It took two more times before he considered the chimney clean enough. On the last trip, he went to the sink and rinsed out the pan before washing his hands.

  Katie jumped up from the couch worried about his silent demeanor. Gone was the caring man who had spent the night taking care of her and the morning flirting. He’d been replaced by a wolf who was in a temper. “Thank you for your help. I guess I’ll see you later. When you bring my car. That is if you still—”

  “Damn it, woman, why are you being so stubborn!”

  Yep, that was one angry animal Katie thought, taking a step back. Strangely, she didn’t feel threatened with his show of temper as she would have with Brad.

  Damn the man for causing all this mess. If he hadn’t been a tightwad and booked this shithole and if he hadn’t been an ass wipe by fucking that nurse...

  If he hadn’t been all of those things, she would never have met Logan.

  She closed her eyes at the thought. There was no way in hell she was going to be thankful to the obnoxious doctor. “I don’t understand. What am I being stubborn about?”

  Logan ran his fingers through his hair, leaving some of the shorter locks standing on end. He clasped his hands behind his head as if he didn’t know what to do with them. She smiled just a little. He looked like a very frustrated man.

  “Come back home with me.”

  A dagger of warmth sliced through her at the thought. Stop it, Katie she warned herself. Don’t go off into la-la-land and read more into this situation than what it was. “Thank you for the offer, but that wouldn’t be right.”