Alec (Keepers Of The Lake Book 3)

by Emilia Hartley

  That didn’t seem to stop Alec from drifting closer. He sat on the bed beside her but kept his distance. He was an arm’s length away and had to lean to take a potato. He dipped it in the homemade mayochup, but only barely. There was only a hint of it on the potato.

  She gave him a dubious look, and he sighed, dipping the potato further into the cup. Charlie watched him slowly take a bite, like the potato was going to bite back. He schooled his face as he chewed. Charlie couldn’t tell what he thought. She expected him to leap off the bed at any moment and spit it out the nearest window.

  “Fuck, that’s actually really good.”

  “I told you!” She bounced on the bed, pleased. “And you doubted me.”

  She was being too friendly, acting as if they never left. Like they still knew one another. She should have stopped, but she couldn’t help herself. Alone with Alec, she felt safe. For the first time in years, Charlie didn’t worry if someone was going to open the door in the middle of the night. All she could think about was the man beside her that was trying to fight his smile and failing.

  She wanted to wrap her hand around the back of his neck and pull him into her, but she just grabbed another potato from the bowl. They were cooling, but still filled the emptiness inside her that wanted something else. Alec watched her. She couldn’t tell his he was watching her lips as she bit down or if he was watching to make sure she ate.

  Little by little, the distance he kept from her began to fall away. Finally, their shoulders touched. She bounced off him before coming back to settle into his heat. He was so solid, so real. This was better than any dream she could have come up with as a teenager.

  It was real.

  When the mayochup ran out, she set aside the bowl of potatoes. Alec reached across her, suddenly too close. All she could see was him. All she could smell was him. She couldn’t stop her hands from rising. Then, he pulled back. Her hands hovered in the air, empty.

  Crinkling tin foil filled the air with static. She didn’t care about food. Her beast craved something else. The room smelled of him and it made her head spin. If she didn’t taste him soon, she thought she might starve.

  But then a fork hovered before her, laden with something that smelled sweet and salty.

  “Peanut butter pie,” Alec told her, his voice soft and sultry.

  His eyes were on her lips. She opened them and he brought the fork closer. The hitch in his breath was audible when she bit down on the fork. Silky peanut butter melted over her tongue. Chocolate crust crunched between her teeth. Alec quickly grabbed another forkful.

  Together, they leaned back in the bed. Alec fed her one bite at a time. There was something intimate about it that Charlie couldn’t describe. It was trust and joy. The corners of his mouth slowly rose into a smile. He moved to offer her another forkful and then quickly stole it back and devoured it.

  Charlie erupted in laughter, not even bothered that he’d stolen her bite. When she finally got herself under control and wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes, she found Alec watching her.

  “What is it? Did I smear my mascara?” She quickly wiped at her cheeks.

  He shook his head. “No. I just…That sound…I want to hear more of it from you.”

  “You mean laughter?”

  “Well, yeah. I don’t know if you’ve laughed that hard since you got here. I know things are a bit dangerous right now, but if I can make you laugh like that then…”

  Charlie couldn’t stand it anymore. She stole a kiss. It was chaste, just her lips against his. When she leaned back, a growl tore from him. His hands found her face. His lips descended upon hers. His kiss was greedy. He fed from her mouth, stealing her moans of pleasure.

  When his fingers slid into her hair, a rush cascaded over her scalp and drew it tight. She wanted him to grab ahold of her, to keep her safe and guarded. She wanted him on top of her, her legs wrapped around him. She wanted him in so many ways.

  He pulled back before she could get anything more. He kept his hand on her cheek, fingertips in her hair. She leaned into his touch and kissed his palm. His breath quickened. So, she bit the soft flesh. This time he gasped.

  His eyes rolled back. His grip on her tightened. Alec would never hurt her. Fear didn’t wash away the fire burning in her gut. Even if he didn’t know who she was, he was a good man. She trusted that about him. The good in him would never change.

  “I can’t…we can’t…”

  Alec suddenly got to his feet. He put so much space between them that it was hard to believe he’d been right next to her a second ago. She reached for him, but he was already gone. The room was empty save for her and the half-eaten container of pie.

  Charlie drew her knees to her chest. It seemed that she wasn’t enough. The bonds she’d been so sure of weren’t there. Had Alec been her mate like she thought, he wouldn’t have run away from her. Now, she was left alone with the truth.

  No on could save her from the life that she was trapped in. Norman’s dragon would soon come and gather her. He would force her to leave the lake and the clan behind. Hell, the dragon would probably even force her to abandon her car. It would work once she put the fuse back, but Norman was probably tired of waiting for her. There wasn’t enough time to drive her car back.

  She couldn’t believe she had put herself through this for nothing. She lay back and curled up with a blanket, the lingering smell reminding her of what she could never have. If they weren’t fated mates, then why did she still yearn for him? Was it a childhood crush that she’d never recovered from? How could she remove him from her heart after all this time?

  “I’m sorry,” came a voice from the hallway. Alec’s.

  She didn’t roll over to look at him. She could barely face him now that she knew he would never be who she needed him to be. Her beast howled and clawed at her to get back to him. The poor creature was confused. Charlie had fed it too many lies.

  “I couldn’t control myself,” Alec went on. It sounded like he was sitting in the hall.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I started it.”

  “Yeah, but I could have been a gentleman. Instead, I was a cave man. That’s not what I’m like. I promise.”

  “I know.”

  Silence stretched out, filling the room until her ears started ringing. It was too much. It was overwhelming. She sat up.

  “I should go back to my own cabin.” Charlie grabbed at the blankets, like she had something she needed to take back with her, but she was just empty handed.

  Empty handed. Empty hearted. Charlie was just plain empty.

  She sighed, feeling the hollow ache in her chest. It would only get worse once she got back to the Pacific Northwest. Hope that Alec would be the one had gotten her through the worst times. When her beast refused to let her die, she’d found the hope that things could get better so long as she found Alec.

  That wasn’t true. He wasn’t her mate. She was just a woman intruding on his life. She’d chased him across the country, lied to get near him, and held onto the idea that he could somehow save her. She realized now how crazy she had been.

  Not just crazy. Desperate.

  Why couldn’t she save herself? She’d found a spark in her heart when dealing with Zane. She’d had determination and bravery, if only for a moment. It had died with her hope, though. She couldn’t escape Norman on her own.

  “Don’t leave,” Alec begged.

  His words brought her short. They made her knees weak.

  He stepped in front of her. His warmth washed over her. It eased the tension slowly drawing her shoulders together. She should have asked him not to give her hope, to just let her go. But she couldn’t bring herself to give up. Her beast and her heart still needed him. Even if he didn’t need her.

  “You should stay. Your cabin is still a wreck. There’s no way I can let you sleep there. If you want me to, I’ll leave. That way you can get sleep.”

  “No,” she nearly shouted. “I mean
, you don’t have to leave on my account.”

  Alec tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. His fingers trailed over her skin like he wasn’t ready to part with her either.

  “I like the pink. It suits you.”

  “Do you remember,” Charlie caught herself.

  He went still. “Do I remember what?”

  She scrambled to find a lie to cover her slip. She almost asked him if he remembered her yet. What was the point in hiding it though? He wasn’t her mate. He wasn’t the one who could help her save herself.

  That was all she’d wanted. Someone to stand beside her while she did her best to save herself. For a short while, she’d thought she found it. Here with Alec and the new clan reforming around the lake. Not even Zane bothered her. He was a monster she could understand. Not like Norman.

  “Never mind. It was silly.”

  Norman’s dragon was on the way. Asher hadn’t found him yet. The white dragon was probably sleeping off his long day. Norman’s dragon would arrive, and no one would stop him.

  “Could you… Could we push the beds back together? I don’t want to continue what we were doing. I just want to be close to someone for a little while. Do you think that would be okay?” Charlie couldn’t believe herself. Yet, her need to not be alone was so much greater than her disappointment.

  Even if Alec wasn’t her mate, she still felt safer around him. If he was close while she slept, then Norman’s dragon wouldn’t be able to steal her away. Not at night. Not while her guard was down.

  “Yeah. I think we can do that.”

  Alec crouched near the bed he’d previously pulled away and shoved it toward her. She jumped out of the way so that the two mattresses could become one. His mattress was on the outside while hers was against the wall. She crawled onto it and let Alec be her guard against the outside world.

  He took the position without argument, laying on his side to face her. She couldn’t help but stare into his green eyes.

  Wait. Green?

  Why was his beast lurking in his eyes like that? Charlie didn’t know what they had to argue about. He shouldn’t have been fighting for control with the dragon inside him. Not over the beds…

  He’d run away from her after the kiss, but he hadn’t gotten far. Alec only made it to the hallway. It hadn’t taken him long to step back into the room. The beast had pulled him back. It made sure that he couldn’t run away from her.

  She turned on her side, away from Alec so he couldn’t see her smile. Relief was like a warm blanket after she’d been shivering. She relaxed into the bed and breathed deep, Alec’s scent filling her. Maybe she hadn’t been wrong.

  Maybe things were just as complicated for him as they were for her.

  10

  Over the course of the night, Alec’s beast pulled him closer and closer to Charlie until he was wrapped around her back. She let out a soft sigh and sank into him. His heart melted. Whatever fear that had gripped her earlier was now gone.

  In sleep, she looked peaceful. Some color had returned to her face. He thought he saw a bit of her body returning, too. Her cheeks were fuller, her body soft. Was it his arms wrapped around her that gave her such peace? Was it his presence that gave her back her appetite? He wanted to think so.

  After he’d left her alone on the bed, she’d looked so broken. It was his fault. Touching her, giving in to just how badly he wanted her, had hurt her. He shouldn’t be back here. He shouldn’t be wrapped around her the way he was. Alec couldn’t stop himself, though. She drew him in again and again. There was no escaping Charlie.

  His world was starting to revolve around her, and he wasn’t even mad. It was like he’d found the true center of the universe. Everything felt right again. It was too bad it couldn’t last. He never should have touched her. He should have given the beds over to her and gone to sleep on the couch.

  Was this how Cole and Heath felt? Probably not. Charlie wasn’t like their mates. While his Charlie was strong and wild, she wasn’t brash like Jude. She wasn’t soft like Buffy, either. Charlie was somewhere in between. The perfect balance of woman and beast.

  He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled. She smelled of strawberries. Was it her hair? Her bodywash? He didn’t know what she used, only that he was drunk on it. He could have eaten her whole. Before he knew it, his teeth were on her skin.

  Charlie let out a soft moan. Alec hesitated, wondering what he was doing. He waited for her to wake, to push him away. Nothing happened. Charlie snored, a soft and cute sound. He tightened his grip on her. She was tight to his chest, and he could feel the gentle rhythm of her heart beneath his hand. His beast finally settled.

  This was where they belonged. Both of them.

  He began to bite down. The taste of her on his tongue was intoxicating. He wanted more. More. More.

  He drew back. He was marking her without her permission. What was he thinking? How could he claim her like that? It was rude. He couldn’t let her stay. He couldn’t make anything right. If he claimed her and then made her leave, he would ruin everything good that the world had given him.

  He was a fool. This wasn’t the time. Someday, in the future, he would be able to claim her. He would be able to take her the way his beast begged him to do.

  Charlie wanted to spin in his arms and demand that he finish what he started. She’d felt his teeth on her skin. All the while, she’d held her breath, hoping and praying that this was what she’d been waiting for.

  Then he pulled away once more. He needed to make a decision. She couldn’t take his constant dance around her anymore. The truth sat on the tip of her tongue. She could tell him who she was and that they had history together. That could help him understand why he felt the way he did around her.

  Then again, she suspected he already knew. For some reason, he wouldn’t admit it, though. What was keeping him from telling her? Even with Zane issuing threats every other hour, this clan was safer than the one she was hiding from. She should have told him that, too. Shame and embarrassment kept her from admitting it. How could she tell him that she was a servant? Soon to be…lover?

  That couldn’t be the right term. There was no love in what Norman did to the women in his clan. He felt nothing for the people under his rule. She could see that. The only person to show her any kind of love was Alec. Even if he forced this beast upon her. Not once had he treated her differently.

  Not like her parents, who became afraid of her. Not like Norman, who saw her as a young filly to be tamed.

  A scream built in her throat. She couldn’t let it out. Trapped there, the pain of all her secrets grew and grew until she couldn’t take it anymore. Charlie didn’t know how to save herself.

  Unable to scream, she turned in Alec’s arms. His brows shot up in surprise. He looked as if he would say something, but she didn’t give him a chance. Charlie wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. For a brief second, she thought he would run away again. The bond that brought them together tightened instead. It drew them together until they were nearly one.

  Alec cradled the small of her back as he pressed her into the mattress. His warm fingers were splayed out over her skin, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough until he was inside her.

  She’d dreamt of what it would be like to finally unite with him, but she had no idea that it would feel quite like this. And she hadn’t even taken any of her clothes off yet. Alec didn’t break the kiss as his fingers found the leg of her shorts and snuck underneath. He swallowed her small gasp when his fingers parted her soft folds.

  A greedy moan rumbled up her throat. She dug her fingers into his back and waited, anticipation tingling deep inside her. Just as his tongue slid past hers, he slid his fingers deeper. His fingertips were rough over her sensitive areas. They sparked pleasure in her hot core.

  “More,” was all she could say, barely a whisper.

  Alec’s only response was the same hungry growl she’d made earlier. He tore from the kiss to p
ress his forehead to her shoulder. He found her opening and made teasing circles around it. Charlie gasped from the small waves of ecstasy that hit her. Then, without warning, he filled her. It was only his fingers, but even they were too much.

  She squirmed, trying to adjust to his presence inside her. She buried her fingers in his hair and held on. Pleasure radiated from her core. As soon as she whimpered, Alec began a gentle stroking rhythm. He was slow and careful, building the sensation between her legs until she could barely breathe.

  He brushed his thumb over the sensitive part of her. All thought was scrambled by the wave that hit her. She could barely believe that this was just his fingers. This wasn’t his cock. Charlie didn’t know what she would do with all of him.

  She wished she could tell him how long she’d been waiting for this. The truth was trapped in her throat. Alec brought her higher and higher, the pressure building inside of her until she thought she would burst. No man had ever made her feel this way. Her needs had never been a priority like this.

  Alec made her feel like the center of the universe. There was no one else that mattered. The rest of the world fell away. His attention was meant for her and her alone. And he gave it all to her. He brought her to climax and made it last, the sensation singing through her limbs until all she could do was moan in his arms.

  When she finally came back to herself, she found him grinning over her. He looked alive. His eyes were a mix of gray and green. His beast made his teeth sharp. She ached to have them pierce her shoulder, to lay claim to her. He made no move to do so, though.

  Instead, he dropped lower. Nudging the hem of her shirt over her stomach, he began to lay kisses over her skin. She arched into him. He trailed his fingers down her hips and hooked them in the waistband of her shorts. He made no reaction when he revealed that she’d been wearing nothing under them, which meant that he knew all along.

  So, he had gotten a glimpse up her shorts!

  She didn’t have long to think about it because his tongue slid over her folds. She let out a shout. Just when she was going to tell him he didn’t have to do that, his tongue plunged inside her. She gasped. Alec gripped her butt and held her close while he lapped at her.