by Sara Kimball
Alex looked behind her at Lincoln, who nodded. “I spend as much time here as I can, although it ends up being less than I’d like sometimes.” The smell of him on the sheets and towels made more sense.
Alex felt the smile on her face that the cabin home, so similar to what she had dreamed of having for herself, belonged to her mate. Since mates were usually never far apart for long, that meant that Alex would spend at least some time in the comfortable home as well. Elizabeth’s home was nice, but very formal, and full of their Pack. She would rather lounge around with Lincoln in his cozy home any day. As she walked back to the bedroom she thought about all the places she wanted to have sex with him—the couch, the kitchen counter, the floor in front of the fireplace.
///
It was a few hours before they were ready to leave, as Jax and Gareth went to rent a vehicle—Lincoln’s being in need of repairs. They couldn’t have Alex and Lincoln ride with the rest of the men in the other vehicle just in case Lincoln’s instincts kicked in and he got possessive. Alex in particular, and she was sure the others too, didn’t want to find out what would happen if a male recovering from a rut got agitated in a small car hurtling down the road.
Which was why Alex found herself sitting in the passenger seat of an unassuming white sedan, looking back at the damaged SUV as they drove down the driveway. “How are you going to explain that to the insurance company?”
Lincoln glanced at it in the rear view mirror and winced slightly. “I probably won’t. There is a wolf in Sacramento who is also a mechanic. I’ll see if they can fix it out of my pocket and if they can’t I’ll just scrap it.”
The ride back was quiet, but Alex’s wolf was feeling frisky, demanding that Alex touch Lincoln, run her hands over his body. Not the best of ideas when their mate was driving along the curvy highway. She managed to restrain herself to gently stroking her palm up and down his thigh, looking out the window to distract herself.
Lincoln shifted on her next upstroke, and she felt her palm slide up and over a bump in his pants—a firm, growing bulge that was spreading further and further down his leg towards his knee. Alex stroked it lightly with her fingertips, still looking out the passenger window, a small smile on her face. “Do you know, if you keep getting these unsightly lumps, we may have to take you to the doctor. Cancer is a big concern in today’s world.”
Lincoln chuckled and continued driving. “I don’t recall you thinking it unsightly when I was balls deep in you…your pussy or your mouth.”
Alex shifted in her seat as his words brought her body to life. The scent of her arousal bloomed in the air between them. Lincoln cursed and adjusted his erection, smoothly maneuvering the car around another curve, then turning off the roadway onto a small lane. They stopped on a small pull out, trees rising all around them. Watching in amusement, Alex sat inside the car as Lincoln exited, stalking around to her door. He opened it quickly and drug her out, then into the woods.
“Your phone is ringing.” Alex wasn’t concerned at their impromptu stop, but she bet that the others would be, especially as they had been following the rental. She could see them parked up the road.
Lincoln answered the phone, and said without preamble, “We are going to be a few minutes.” He hung up and stuck the phone back in his jeans’ pocket, walking through the leafy trees until they were just out of sight. Whirling around, he backed her up into a tree and leaned forward, kissing her. His mouth tempting her to open, and then his tongue was mating with hers as his hands began divesting her of her clothing. Alex’s shirt was unbuttoned and her pants and shoes were discarded, her bra slid up above her breasts by his impatient movements.
Tweaking her nipples between his fingertips, he slid his teeth along her neck, and shudders wracked through her body. Alex impatiently unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down his hips, grasping his erection in her hands and stroking his firmness from base to tip.
“You would think after the past couple of days I wouldn’t be day dreaming about how many times I can fuck you before you pass out from pleasure. But I still am.” Lincoln’s voice was gravelly with desire. Turning her around, he bent her forwards, and Alex rested her hands on the tree, her breasts exposed between the spread halves of her shirt. His knee spread her legs, and she arched her back, lifting her opening towards him.
His tip pressed against her, coating himself in her essence, sliding through her folds. Alex exhaled in pleasure as he penetrated her, his movements slow and indolent for all his rush to get her naked. She felt her inner muscles burn slightly from the stretch of his girth, and relished being filled to the brim with his cock.
Lincoln gripped her hips as he finally bottomed out inside of her, his balls pressed against her. He withdrew from her slowly before pressing back inside, and Alex squirmed in front of him, trying to press backwards to get him to go faster. His hands stilled her, and he controlled the pace as tension rose in her body. The speed at which he drove into her wasn’t enough to bring her release, but rather just enough to drive her to desperation.
“Please Lincoln. I need you.”
His right hand slid from her hip and up her front to her breast, pinching her nipple roughly as his hips thrust against her more forcefully. She groaned from pain and pleasure, panting as her climax built inside of her.
His voice, rough with desire, sounded in her ear again. “You were being naughty in the car. Do you know what happens when you are naughty?”
Alex breathlessly answered, “No.”
He leaned back, maintaining his rhythm inside of her, his hand falling away from her breast. A crack sounded in the air around them, and Alex felt a sharp sting on her rear, realizing that he had spanked her. He withdrew and smacked her again roughly, Alex’s breath catching with pain, and then slammed home inside of her, and she exhaled in pleasure. He continued to spank her with hard slaps of his palm and it wasn’t long until she was crying out in throatily, moaning as her core clenched around him and milked him, Lincoln spurting deep inside her.
They stayed connected for several moments once they were finished, panting heavily. Then Lincoln gently withdrew, stroking light fingers over what she was sure was her reddened skin. “Your skin looks so pretty with my marks on you. Remember this next time you try and tease me.”
Alex laughed. “Is that supposed to be an inducement not to do this again? If so, I think you’ve failed.”
He chuckled with her and helped her into her underwear and pants, her shaky legs barely supporting her. She adjusted her bra and then buttoned her shirt, slipping her shoes on, and they headed back to the car.
Once they were on the road again, Lincoln’s hand rested lightly on her knee. “Why don’t you take a nap? I’ll get us back to my grandmother’s safely. There isn’t anything to do until we get there.” She smiled and curled up in her seat, the sunlight warming her skin, and happiness warming her from the inside. Her release had made her lethargic, so it wasn’t hard to take a catnap to while away the time back to his grandmother’s home.
///
Lincoln pulled up in the roundabout near the front door and studied his sleeping mate as the others parked behind him. Normally he would park in the garage and walk over to the house, but Alex had been through a lot in the past week, and he didn’t want to overtax her any more. She stirred slightly as he exited the car and walked around to her door, but settled when he unbuckled her and lifted her into his arms. It wasn’t hard to send off foreboding looks at those that greeted him so they remained quiet, and he took her upstairs to his rooms. Setting her on the bed, Lincoln covered her with his blankets, and she cuddled up into the soft warmth eagerly. He kissed her on the lips lightly and then left her to her rest. She still wasn’t completely recovered from the heat, and Lincoln had plans for her tonight, so it was better she get some sleep now.
He stalked down the hallway and back downstairs to the main floor, where he could hear voices coming from the library. He heard Jax telling his grandmother and Moira what Alex had reve
aled about her brother, living in New York, and then working for Tyler Rypien. A new voice startled him slightly, and Lincoln tried to place the baritone, without success.
Entering the room, Lincoln paused inside the door. His grandmother rushed to him to give him a kiss on the cheek, and Lincoln studied the newcomer. Moira and Jax were sitting off to the side, Davin, Trent and Gareth standing behind them. His grandmother had been in a wingback chair, and a strange man was in the matching seat near hers.
The man was tall and muscular, in his thirties, with average brown hair and brown eyes. He had a face that the opposite sex probably found pleasing, and an easy smile.
“Darling, I’m glad you are back. Moira said you took Alex upstairs to rest. I’ll let Johnson know to tell us when she emerges.” His grandmother opened the door and relayed the instructions to the butler, who nodded and took off on silent feet.
Lincoln was still staring suspiciously at the interloper, who was fully human, unless Lincoln’s nose had suddenly started malfunctioning. “And who is your guest?”
His grandmother closed the door softly and moved back to her chair before answering, sitting gracefully. “Well now, I think a better question would be how Mr. Rypien here knew where to find me.”
At the name, Lincoln’s gaze shot from the man to his grandmother and back again. Alex’s boss…her human boss, had managed to track them down. Lincoln pulled up a wooden chair from a work table and sat in it across from Tyler, taking his time to consider his questions. He supposed Alex could have told him where she was, but he doubted it. Protecting Packs from humans was ingrained in each wolf since birth. Even from humans you trusted.
Mr. Rypien began speaking though, his tone serious. “Before you begin to question me, I think it would be easier to disclose the whole truth. I know about werewolves, or shifters, whatever you prefer. My friend, Arthur Davis, and I served with Miles Henderson in the Army. Miles is a werewolf. We found out about it accidentally while we were deployed with him, and haven’t told anyone since…and it is only with his permission that I am telling you now.
“When Arthur got out of the military, he joined the FBI, and I created a bodyguard and security business. Miles works for the CIA. Six years ago, Arthur contacted me in relation to a case he was working for organized crime, and told me about a female werewolf he had uncovered that looked like she needed somewhere safe to go. That was Alex. Miles had told him to stash her with me, and so I offered her a job. Best decision I ever made when it comes to my employees. She puts all my others to shame.
“She hasn’t ever revealed herself to me as a werewolf, and I never asked, but when she didn’t check in over the past couple days, and I couldn’t get any further information from this one,” he tipped his head towards Elizabeth, “even though I was supposed to come and take Alex’s place, I reached out to Miles. He is deep in the intelligence field with all those hush-hush operations. He was a little shocked to find out that I had sent Alex to you lot, and told me a little bit about Mrs. Harcourt, while also revealing to me that he sincerely doubted any werewolf would need self-defense classes.
“When I called again and tried to get in touch with Alex, her phone was off. And so I tried Mrs. Harcourt again, who was unhelpful…to say the least. I determined the best thing to do would be to come here in person to make certain my best employee was okay.” He let that hang in the air for a moment before finishing. “And since Miles told me that a single female werewolf might be seen as fair game, I figured I had more than enough justification to show up on your doorstep.”
Lincoln could detect no lie in the man’s explanation, and was about to ask him a question when the door opened and Alex entered quietly. “You knew the whole time what I was? And you didn’t say anything?”
1903
Johnny sat on the back of his horse, watching the pretty blonde woman walk through town. He saw her go inside a house and tied his horse up in the closest alley, walking on foot until he got close enough to look inside.
He waited until dark, then went to peek in to the lit bedroom. She was undressing, so while she was distracted he slid her window open slowly. Barely making a sound, he crept over the sill and up behind her, grabbing her. One of his hands went over her mouth, the other around her arms so she couldn’t struggle. She tried, even tried to scream, but he held on until she stopped, whispering to her and shushing her as best he could.
“I just want to get to know you a little better, is all.” Tying a gag around her face with her stockings, he pushed her down onto the bed. Her eyes flickered over to the door. “Shush now. Your husband won’t be home for a while yet. I saw him go into the saloon earlier.”
She fought him, and he loved it, especially when she realized her claw marks healed almost instantly. The fear in her eyes…he relished it.
Chapter 14
Alex was shocked that Tyler knew about her, about werewolves, and had managed to act like he was completely oblivious to her secret the entire time she had known him. What was more surprising was Agent Davis had known as well. “Why didn’t you two reveal me to the government? Surely Agent Davis would have had reason to do so.”
Tyler shook his head, explaining, “Both Arthur and I respect Miles too much to reveal anything to the government. And we all know that it wouldn’t go over well…genetic testing and experiments aside, mine and Arthur’s goal was to keep you safe and out of trouble.
“When you first started working for me, Miles revealed that he had never heard of a female being allowed to be on her own outside of a Pack. But he had heard of a female werewolf that had run away from her Alpha…and that there were orders to return her back home if she was found. However, Miles also knew some gossip about why the female had run away, and without telling us why—something that has frustrated both of us to no end—he assured us that the female had made the right decision. He suggested hiding you in plain sight in the human world would probably be the best option. So that’s what we did.”
Elizabeth made a small humming noise under her breath, and Alex moved closer to Lincoln, sitting in his lap and wrapping her arm around his shoulders, her thoughts turning over rapidly inside her head. His hand stroked Alex’s back softly as she considered everything she was told.
“I think I know that name…Henderson. I believe he is a part of the Colonial Pack.” Elizabeth’s question diverted Tyler’s attention from Alex, and she continued. “Right. Well, to shed some light on the issue before us, the problem is thus: Alex’s brother wants her returned to complete a betrothal arrangement with another Alpha. However, Alex is irrevocably my grandson’s mate, and we aren’t going to be handing her over. So I rather think I have a phone call to make. If you will excuse me?” She rose and took a step towards the door.
Lincoln tossed his grandmother his cell phone, and with a grace that belied her apparent age, she caught the phone out of the air and shot him a wry look. “I gather I will be making the phone call here then.” She sat again, but did not dial, looking at Lincoln. “Would you care for me to ask him about the recent events at the cabin?”
Jax and Lincoln glanced at each other for a moment, and then Lincoln nodded. “Yes. I think it would be interesting to see if he admits to it.” Elizabeth pressed the number and waited while it rang. Tyler looked on with a slightly confused by interested expression.
“Cannon.” Her brother’s voice was clear to everyone in the room due to Elizabeth switching the phone to speaker. She held it in her hand as she replied.
“Mr. Cannon. I have a problem. And you are going to help me solve my problem.” Alex blinked at Elizabeth’s uncompromising tone. And laughed thinking of how her brother would react to being told what to do.
“I am sure we can come to some accord, Mrs. Harcourt. Why don’t you tell me what I can do to assist you?” Mitch’s conciliatory tone had a hint of irony in it.
“You can call off your dogs, leave your sister alone, and not darken my thoughts again outside of the yearly Conclave.”
The
re was a pause. When Mitch finally spoke he sounded more sinister than before. “Why would I leave my sister in your care, when I am her guardian? She has not been granted permission to remove herself to your Pack.” Alex narrowed her eyes at the words.
“She will hardly be in my care, as she’s been mated to Lincoln.” There was silence on the other end at Elizabeth’s smug tone. Alex had an image in her head that Elizabeth was prodding a bear with a pointy stick, and her next words followed along that vein. “Which I’m sure you very well know, as you tried to engineer their mating with your little trio of helpers.” Alex noted a faintly guilty look on Elizabeth’s face, but when she glanced around no one else seemed to have noticed. Tyler’s expression was startled, but he was the only one in the room who appeared unaware of what happened between Alex and Lincoln.
“Ah. Well then, I offer felicitations to my sister and your grandson. But I would hardly hand her over to you without some assurance of her happiness; along with a vow of assistance should I require your services.”
Everyone in the room stiffened their back. “Are you seriously asking her to buy me from you like a piece of meat? You treacherous scum—”
Her words were cut off when Lincoln covered her mouth. “I believe what Alex means is that she is already my mate. You are rather late in your negotiations, and we have no need to promise you anything when you were willing to throw Alex away to Dupree.” Lincoln’s deep voice sounded, and Mitch was silent for a moment.
“I see that we have an audience, Mrs. Harcourt. Well, this makes matters simpler. Lincoln, I will allow Alex to remain a part of your Pack and your mate as long as she is happy and healthy, and kept safe. I will change my request to this: that should you ever need assistance, you know that The Great Plains Pack is here and ready.”
Elizabeth spoke now, “And your men? Please tell me they have been removed from my territory?”
“They will be instructed to return post haste.”