Taste for Alphas: Paranormal Fantasy Shifter Romance

by Milly Taiden

  The beast wanted him to strip her down right now and take her, but Tyson had been specific that women liked a man to be a gentleman, so he checked his bear and guided her to the house.

  “You look beautiful,” he said and kissed her. Fuck it. Let her be angry over that. He couldn’t help himself. That dress looked amazing and her smile indicated she didn’t mind the kiss too much. Good.

  “Thank you,” she said and groaned as she walked into the house. “Oh my goodness. It smells delicious.”

  He hoped she liked the food. He followed her recipe. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “Starved. I worked on Mom’s website, so I didn’t get a chance to eat anything.”

  He took her to the kitchen and pulled a chair for her. She smiled at him again. That smile was making it hard for him to stick to leaving her dress in one piece. “You do websites, too?”

  She nodded. “This table setting is lovely.”

  That was all Poppy. She’d shown up and saw all the food and almost had a heart attack when he said he had a date. She decided to set the table and decorate it with the flowers Cara had picked up on their walk up to his cabin. “That was my sister.”

  She raised her brows. “Was the food your sister, too?”

  He shrugged. “You’ll see soon enough. You tell me.”

  He started placing baking dishes and serving plates on the table until the entire table was full of platters. A table that could easily sit eight to ten people. The look of surprise on her face made him wonder if he’d overdone it. “Not enough?”

  Her eyes grew wider. “Not enough? What am I, a blue whale? This could feed you me and my family.”

  He chuckled at her sass and her grin made his heart flip. She was so beautiful, his mate. He could see she’d had a tough life, but she was full of love and energy and he’d make sure from now on all her life had was happiness. “Are you ready to grade me, professor?”

  She rolled her eyes and nodded. “Let’s see how you did. By the way, I can tell if you used a different recipe or got it from a store. My recipe is special.”

  She was right. It was special. He noticed the couple of ingredients and instructions that stuck out a little. But he opened the lasagna pan and let her be the judge. After cutting a piece and placing it on her plate, he uncovered all the dishes and watched her take it all in.

  “Go on,” he said. “Try it.”

  She inhaled and frowned. “It definitely smells like my lasagna.”

  He grinned at the disbelief in her features. She took the first bite and her eyes widened then closed as she moaned at the taste of her food. “And?”

  Her eyes snapped open. “It is my lasagna. But…how?”

  He laughed and cut himself a piece. “Shifters have amazing memories. Especially bears. You probably didn’t know that.”

  She glanced around the table. “And you’re also a big-time cook, huh?”

  “Oh, that. No, I’m not. Once I made the lasagna, I didn’t know what would go well with it, so I did a few searches and ended up making every suggestion online.”

  “Well,” she said and took another bite of her food, moaning as she chewed, “I’m not going to lie and say I don’t appreciate it. It’s amazing to be able to eat something I created to my taste, and not have been the one to cook it. I actually feel I can enjoy it.”

  He frowned and ate, loving how she immersed herself in the meal, trying this plate or that but always keeping her gaze coming back to him. “What do you mean?”

  “When I cook, the urge to eat what I made usually goes away and I end up wanting something totally different. It’s why I always bring my projects to my sister Isaline. She eats everything.”

  “Well, I would eat all your projects, too. You are amazingly talented. I loved that pie you made yesterday.”

  Her cheeks turned a delightful pink and she shrugged. “It’s no big deal. We were partners. You deserved to try it, even if you spent the entire time giving me the Spanish Inquisition.” She drank her iced tea and chewed a tomato quietly before meeting his gaze again. “What about you? Tell me about your family.”

  “It’s only me and Poppy, now. My mother and father moved down to Georgia to live with my Uncle Boyd. He got into an accident recently and can’t take care of himself anymore. He wasn’t an alpha or anything, but he lived in a pretty lonely area, so Mom and Dad built a cabin near him and his wife, and go over and help out a lot.”

  “That’s really nice of them. And I imagine Poppy’s family is up here, too?”

  He wiped his mouth and sat back on his chair. “No. She got pregnant by some human male soldier some years ago. Before he got a chance to know he was going to be a father, he died at war. Cara is all Poppy has. She’s not found a mate and I don’t know that she’s trying to.”

  She raised her hand to push a long dark lock of hair behind her ear. “Who can blame her? Relationships are scary.”

  He grabbed her hand before she got a chance to take a hold of her fork again and stared deeply into her eyes. “It doesn’t have to be scary. Not when I’m here to make sure your happiness is my priority.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zuri sat on the sofa, her body growing lax and relaxed after the food, dessert, and wine. He had amazing wine in his home. When he put the movie on, a suspenseful thriller, she was ready to fall asleep.

  The anxiety of the day had started to leave her body and she was finally comfortable. The recliner wasn’t helping her stay awake. Neither was his arm curled around her shoulders and the sound of his beating heart under her ear, lulling her into an almost comatose state.

  “You look tired,” he whispered, placing a kiss of her forehead. The gentleness of the touch didn’t go unnoticed. She hadn’t been with a man who was so concerned for her satisfaction in everything. Even when she’d been married to Edward, it was she who needed to make sure he was getting his way.

  “Mmm,” she yawned. “A little.”

  “Come on,” he said and then picked her up in his arms like she was light as a feather instead of filled with curves. She nuzzled her head into his neck and inhaled his scent. He was so sexy. Everything about him. From the way he treated her, to the way he spoke. He was the first man to make her feel giddy being with him. He carried her to the same room she’d slept in with him.

  Did he think that a date meant he was going to automatically get sex? Because…yeah, she was ready to give him all access to her body now that she knew he cooked all that stuff to make sure she would get something she liked.

  “Savage…” she felt awkward starting the conversation, but he set her on the bed and took a step back.

  “Don’t worry. Just rest. I’m not asking for more than you’re willing to give.” He licked his lips. “Not tonight.” He leaned in and kissed her lips softly. “But don’t get used to it.”

  Then he was gone. She had a hell of a time falling asleep after that. Her body was hot and electrified. Blood buzzed in her veins, making her feel high on her desire for him. Too late, Savage. She was ready to give herself to him and figure out what to do with herself later.

  Zuri woke to light filtering through the shades again. The side of the bed beside her had been used and she clearly remembered being held while she slept. There was a pair of sweats on the bed with a note from Sav.

  I got these for you. I hope they’re more comfortable than the dress.

  Sav.

  Man, that guy just kept adding points to the give-him-some-pussy-o-meter. She showered and changed and not only was surprised the outfit fit, considering it had no sizes on it, but it was velvety and soft.

  Expecting to see him, she rushed downstairs and went straight for the giant kitchen, but he wasn’t there. She frowned and glanced at the note beside the coffeemaker.

  It’s fresh. Don’t leave. There’s a report of a missing human and Tyson asked me to help assemble a search party. Don’t leave.

  She grinned at his repeated request for her to stay. After making a cup of coffee, she
opened a box of pastries from her mother’s store. There was a note on top of it.

  These reminded me of you. I ate a honeybun before heading out and the flavor was warm and sweet honey. Like the honey dripping from your slit. I imagine my tongue dipping in and lapping your cream like I did with the honeybun. The dough was soft and so fucking tasty, it is like you, addictive. Then I licked my lips like I did when I had your cream on my face. I wanted to continue tasting it the same way I love having my face between your gorgeous legs. And eating honey buns will forever give me a hard on as I think of your honey on my tongue.

  She picked out a honeybun and sat to eat it. Like all her mother’s pastries, it was light, fluffy, and decadently sweet. It dissolved on her tongue and she moaned at the taste. He was right. It was addictive.

  The front door opened and she hopped to her feet, wiping her fingers on a napkin and ready to greet him by ripping his clothes off.

  Instead of Savage, she found Greer glaring at her. Talk about repeat awkwardness.

  “Hello,” she said to the woman, now sure she was not Savage’s mate. “May I help you?”

  “Where is Savage?” Greer growled, her eyes bright with her animal.

  “Not here.”

  “What are you doing here, human? I thought I told you to get the hell out last time.”

  There was anger in her face, her stance and her voice, but none of it worried Zuri. It was the weird changing features that did. Zuri wasn’t a shifter. And if Greer shifted, she’d be up against a bear. A big female bear.

  “You’re nobody to be telling me what to do,” she told her in a firm tone. “Savage wants me here. He says I’m his mate.”

  Greer narrowed her eyes, her lips pulled back in an evil snarl. “Over my dead body. He’s mine.”

  Greer’s body started contorting and changing, scaring the shit out of Zuri in the process. She had to think fast, but there were no weapons nearby. She grabbed a wooden statue of a bear off a table to her right and held on to it, ready to swing at the bear. The sound of the back door made her even more nervous. What if she’d come with friends? What if they were there to kill her for getting in the way of Greer’s clear obsession with Savage?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Zuri couldn’t believe it. There was a big ass grizzly bear charging toward her. She gripped the statue in her hand and waited for it to reach her, but she saw something move out of the corner of her eye and suddenly there were two bears fighting in Sav’s living room. They were destroying it in the process.

  One grizzly was smaller than the other that came from the kitchen. It wasn’t Sav because his bear was even bigger than this one. The black bear bit the other’s muzzle repeatedly and got shoved for her troubles. The smaller roared and scratched at the bigger bear, drawing blood.

  The bigger’s face and muzzle were coated in blood from the bites the smaller had inflicted. They shoved each other and the smaller landed on a coffee table. She made an even bigger mess of things when she couldn’t get out of the table’s debris and picked up the wood and threw it against the cabin wall, bringing down everything in its path.

  Zuri gulped and tried to think of what to do to help the big bear. Her puny statue wasn’t going to do shit. The last time she’d helped Savage, the shotgun had been on the dining room table, easy for her to find.

  This time, she had no idea where it could be stored. She scurried and crawled to the edge of the room, grabbing a poker from the fireplace not far from the fight scene. With more balls than brains, she held the poker like a baseball bat and waited for her moment.

  It came when the bigger one roared so loudly, it made Zuri wince. Then it shoved the smaller bear so hard, it landed just a few feet from her. When the smaller bear stood, she turned to Zuri and growled. Zuri stabbed the bear with the poker, ripping into her shoulder with the metal and rushing back.

  The bigger bear scratched at the smaller and made it impossible for her to ignore it. But the smaller was angry and in clear pain. It shoved the larger one and ran out the front door on all fours.

  Zuri didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she let it out in one fast rush. That was crazy. Except, the big ass bear was now turning its attention to her.

  She took clumsy steps back and watched the animal morph into a woman with an amazing smile, long dark hair and golden skin.

  “Hi,” the naked lady said. “I’m Poppy. You must be Zuri.”

  Zuri nodded, unsure if she should offer her hand or what. Poppy grinned and waved. “I’m just going to run to one of the guest rooms really quick. I’ll be right back.”

  While Poppy was gone, Zuri shut the door and made herself another cup of coffee. She needed it spiked but she didn’t see any vodka around, so plain it was.

  “Hi, again,” Poppy said walking into the kitchen. “Sorry about that. It’s the one thing we can do nothing about when we shift. Clothes just tear off. Usually we can save them if we just remove them before changing, but you were in trouble and I had to move fast.”

  “Thank you so much for coming to my aid. Seriously. I don’t know how she always knows when I’m here and he’s not,” Zuri told Poppy. “Can I make you a cup of coffee?”

  Poppy waved her offer away. “Don’t worry about it. Sit and drink yours. I can make my own.”

  She gulped her coffee in a sad attempt to calm her nerves. Having a relationship with Sav was turning into part romance and part guerilla warfare.

  “So,” Poppy said brightly, “did you enjoy the food last night?”

  “It was delicious. He said he made it all himself, so I’m very impressed.”

  Poppy laughed. “You? Girl, I came and saw all that food and thought he’d overdone the delivery ordering, but he said he did it and he never lies. I’m damn proud of him, too.” She sat across from Zuri, shoving her long ponytail of brown curls over her shoulder. “Now he has no excuse not to cook when I’m not around.”

  Zuri laughed at Poppy’s indignant expression. “He’s a lot like my sister, Isaline. She’ll eat everything you give her, but expect her to cook and she’d starve.”

  “Tell me about it. That’s why I’m teaching Cara to cook now. I know she’s little, but I make sure she watches me and while I cook she cooks in her play kitchen. It’s never too early to get them started. Kids need us to teach them early or they become a pain in the ass for their spouses later on, you know?”

  Zuri nodded. “My ex-husband was like that. Not with food. He loved cooking all kinds of elaborate meals.” She met Poppy’s gaze. “Sometimes, I just wanted a sandwich and there he was, making me lamb chops with some sauce or other. And it wasn’t because I liked it. He wanted it, so we both ate it.”

  Poppy raised her brows and picked up her mug. “He sounds like a dick.”

  “Yeah, he kind of does. We’re divorced now, so it doesn’t matter anymore,” she said, eyeing the pastry box. Poppy pushed it closer to Zuri and smiled.

  “You mean his assholery is not the reason you broke up? You have patience, lady,” Poppy said and grabbed a cheese pastry while Zuri got a blueberry scone this time.

  “No. He broke up with me. Fell in love with someone else.”

  Poppy gaped at her. “What a dick. I’m glad I’m not looking for a man.” She ate from her pastry and gave her a secretive smile. “Sav’s crazy about you. I’ve never seen him this way. Of course, he’s never found his mate before, but this is fun.”

  “Do you mind if I ask you a question about shifters?”

  “Nope, go ahead.”

  She drained her mug and thought about what she wanted to know. “Why is Sav so possessive?”

  Poppy laughed. “It’s their nature. Well, our nature. We share our bodies with an animal spirit and we are only half in control. Think of basic emotions and you’ll see that nothing he’s doing is really all that strange.”

  “I’m a little nervous about this sudden relationship. I mean, I didn’t know him three days ago. Now, he’s ready to marry me and wants me to hav
e his babies. It’s a bit much.”

  Poppy nodded, a small frown on her brow. “I understand. The best way I can explain it to someone without that instinct to know you’ve met the person that’s right for you is to think of love at first sight. That zing of chemistry and that feeling that makes you realize this person is special to you even though you don’t know him.

  "For us, it’s kind of like that, but magnified. If you stop and listen to your instincts about Sav, you’ll realize you knew the moment you met him he was the man for you.”

  She was right. Zuri had been living in a bubble since her divorce. She’d pulled away from her family and cut off all her old friends since their husbands were still friends with Edward and that meant they’d always be telling her about him and his life. She’d wanted a clean break but by doing that, she stopped living.

  Human interaction became limited to her cooking classes and the rest of her time was spent reading romances. In those same romances, men fell in love with their women quickly and loved taking care of them.

  It was the main reason she kept reading them. And yet she chose to read those books and not interact with men. Screw that. Romance was great and reading was awesome, but she had a shot at something new and possibly wonderful. She was living her own romance right now and she was questioning it!

  Chapter Nineteen

  Savage didn’t like dressing up. But after his date with Zuri, he had to do something to make sure she realized he was willing to go the distance for her. He’d called her sister Sage and asked if he could come chat with her.

  That led to being invited to dinner at the mother’s house. He growled at the tie he tried to put on and chose to disregard. No fucking way. That wasn’t him. Instead, he ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it back for a ponytail. He’d trimmed his beard and had clean clothes on. What else could they want?