Shared by the Alphas

by Jayce Carter

  It was one of the millions of reasons they’d never gotten along. While they had to work together now and then, he had no desire to spend any time with the other man.

  Kane wanting to screw Tiffany only made it worse.

  Sam got between them, trying to shove them apart. Even after getting grazed with a hit meant for Kieran, Sam didn’t back off. “You idiots are going to scare Tiffany if you keep this up. I don’t think either of you wants that.”

  Kane’s lips showed teeth covered in blood, but he didn’t seem ready to end the fight. Good, Kieran wasn’t in the mood to give in, either.

  “Just leave her alone.”

  “She wants me gone, I’m gone. It ain’t up to you, though.”

  Sam shoved once more at their chests. “Don’t think I’m above using my stun gun on the two of you. Let’s see how much that omega wants either of you after you piss your pants from that, huh?”

  Kieran’s eyes narrowed, but he lifted his hands and took a step backward. Bloodying the idiot wouldn’t help, wouldn’t change a damn thing. He doubted the other alpha had enough brain cells to get sense knocked into them anyway.

  “Where the fuck is Tiffany?” Kane’s voice shifted, the tension out of him as if the fight hadn’t mattered at all anymore.

  Sam twisted toward the front door, which sat ajar. “She was right here. I told her to stay back so she didn’t end up getting mowed over.” He went to the door of the apartment, stuck his head out and called her name.

  Kieran and Kane stared at one another, their peacemaker no longer between them. Neither spoke, though the snarls said all that needed saying, Kieran supposed.

  Sam came back, face unusually hard for the normally cheerful man. “Well, good job. You two scared her off.”

  “Nothing scares that girl,” Kane said.

  “Then you pissed her off enough that she left. What the hell was that? You two aren’t teenagers. You know better.”

  Kieran crossed his arms, straightening his back, which had already started to grow sore. Seemed he’d passed the age where a fight made him feel alive. Now it hurt. “Where could she have gone?”

  It seemed Sam hadn’t finished his talk, because his voice kept the ‘you fucked up’ tone. “Wherever it is, let it be for right now. You need to work this out first.”

  “The fuck you want from us?” Kane pulled his phone out, thumbs moving over it. Texting her?

  “I want you to act like she’s more important than your egos!”

  “Fuck you.” Kane’s voice lacked any real anger, attention on the phone and not on the other alphas. “Ain’t my fault he won’t back off.”

  “She’s living with me. You’re a passing fascination. She’ll tire of your soon enough.”

  “You think? Because that’s not how it seemed when my fingers were in her.”

  They sailed toward each other again, but Sam got between them before they could start in again, the alpha’s growl vicious in a way Kieran had never heard from him.

  Sam was always happy, always steady. If he was still as difficult as he’d been when younger, he’d have enjoyed getting beneath the unflappable man’s skin.

  Still, it wasn’t Sam who pulled them apart. Instead, the ringing of Kieran’s phone separated them.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Kieran.”

  He frowned at the voice. “Did you need something, Marshall? I’m a little busy.”

  “Yes, beating on Kane from what I understand. I wanted to call you so you didn’t worry about your missing omega.”

  If Marshall knew where she was, had she gotten hurt? She couldn’t have been gone more than ten minutes, so what did that mean? Even for someone as troublesome as Tiffany, getting injured already would have been impressive. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. I wanted you to know she’s safe and will be spending the night at my house. It seems she needs a break from the both of you.”

  “At your house? Exactly how well are you two acquainted?”

  “Since I don’t want to be a part of whatever conflict you and Kane have going on, I’ll choose not to answer that. I didn’t want you dragging Sam in to track her down. I’ll ensure she calls you in the morning, once you and Kane have settled down and cleaned up.”

  “You expect me to accept that?”

  “Yes, I do, since we both know she could run as far as she wants if pushed. So, have a nice evening, and please stop this little fight with Kane. I’ll ignore any calls for the rest of the evening, so you two can find someone else to stitch you up.” The line went dead, leaving Kieran to stare at his phone as if that would create an answer.

  How did she know the doctor? He had treated her twice, but Kieran hadn’t realized anything else was between them. Just friends, perhaps? More?

  It didn’t have him reacting like he did to Kane, the idea less frustrating.

  He turned toward the other alphas, noting the damage to Kane’s face. Blood leaked from his nose and he sported a few nice bruises. Kieran would bet his face looked the same. “She’s safe. She’s staying with Marshall.”

  “The doctor?” Kane’s brows furrowed.

  “He treated her twice. I guess they’ve become friends.”

  Sam knelt beside the window in the small open bedroom. “Why don’t you two go get some sleep? I’ve already called this in, and we’ll look into it.”

  Kane hesitated. “She thought someone was following her the other night. She said she saw the same car a few times, and when she went to leave work, the car was parked next to hers.”

  “When I got there, no one was there. I think everything with Randy made her paranoid.” Kieran ran his forearm over his lip, wincing at the sting.

  “And what’s this? More paranoia?” Kane held his arm out at the room.

  “It’s a break-in. They happen, especially when an apartment has been empty for a few days.”

  Sam waved them both off. “We can guess all we want, but it won’t make any difference. Go home. I’ll call you in the morning.”

  Kieran wanted to argue. He wanted to demand that he’d stay, that he’d help, that he’d do something. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sam to take care of it, because the man was an exceptional detective.

  It was that the idea of going back to his own house alone, of how quiet it would feel without Tiffany already made him want to growl.

  He refused to say such a thing, and especially not around Kane. Instead he nodded, then left.

  All he could do was hope she’d only be gone for a single night, because if she left for good? He was pretty sure it would hurt more than he was willing to admit.

  * * * *

  Opening the door for Tiffany made Marshall nervous in way he wasn’t used to. He worked in a high-pressure profession, used to being sure, to making choices that could save or end a life.

  Why did inviting an omega into his space make him uneasy?

  If she noticed, she said nothing, walking in with dragging feet. Poor girl.

  “I’m really sorry about this—”

  He cut her off before she could go further. “It’s fine. I’ve got spare rooms, and you could use the break.”

  “It’s not quite the date we had planned.”

  “Well, I can’t offer you a blockbuster new movie and fine dining, but I do have trashy television, a large couch and microwavable popcorn.”

  She looked at him, and the smile was worth anything. “Sold.”

  Two hours later, Marshall had his arm over the back of the couch, the popcorn bowl in his lap and Tiffany curled up against his side.

  As they binged on reality TV, she’d started beside him with a bit of space between them, but each time she’d reached for popcorn, she’d scooted closer. By the start of this episode, she’d moved into the space beneath his arm as if it were made for her.

  Though, to be fair, it pretty much was. He’d left the space open, hopeful she’d choose to move closer, and he’d ignored the way it made him feel like a fifteen-year-old on his fi
rst date when he had no idea how to talk to a girl.

  It seemed classics never went out of style when they worked.

  Marshall looked down, ready to tell her they should probably get some sleep. He had to be at the hospital early, and as much as he enjoyed the quiet moment, showing up exhausted wasn’t a good plan.

  Only, it seemed she had the same idea. Her eyes had closed, her body gone lax and turned toward him. Her chest rose and fell in easy breaths, the hem of his shirt she’d worn as pajamas showing off her upper thighs, her legs folded beneath her.

  While it hadn’t been her looks that had attracted him at first, he had to admit, she was stunning. Her long blonde hair and those striking blue eyes all made her look like some innocent doe. Though, mistake her for such a thing and she’d show just how sharp her teeth were.

  He should wake her up and send her to bed, but he didn’t want to lose the moment. Who knew if they’d get another one? Tomorrow they’d wake, they’d go back to their lives.

  She might have needed a night off, but that hardly guaranteed she’d feel that way again, that she’d want anything else from him. She’d have to return to Kieran, to whatever was happening with Kane.

  Not that those things bothered him. Marshall had never been a jealous man, had never expected to be interested in an omega. Hell, he’d spent his life avoiding them.

  He could still remember the nights as a child when he’d fallen asleep to the sound of his father’s snarls. He’d wake to the bruises on his omega mother’s face, the broken hunch of her shoulders.

  One night, when he’d gotten old enough to think about standing up to him, he’d asked his father why he did it. All seven-year-old of him had gotten between them, had tried to cover his mother’s body with his own tiny one, as he’d hurled the question at his father.

  His father had grabbed him by the collar and hauled him from the house despite his mother’s screams. He’d gotten a black eye for the interference and his answer.

  ‘It’s what we are. You can’t see it yet in you, but I see it in those eyes, prowling around. You’ll see when you get older, you’ll understand. Being an alpha is like having a monster inside you, and you give that fucker whatever it wants, because the power you feel? Best feeling in the world.’

  Marshall shuddered at the memory, at the fear that swamped him as it had since he’d first realized he was an alpha, when at sixteen he’d recognized the signs of his designation, and he’d worried his father’s words were right.

  Tiffany huffed an unhappy sound, twisting closer, her arm thrown around him hard enough she smacked him in the ribs.

  He shoved the memory away. He’d spent his life making up for what he was, and in all that time, he’d hidden that side of him. He’d controlled it, leashed it.

  Tiffany will never see that side of me, never be risked by it.

  Sleep came easily, as if the scent of the omega calmed a part of him he hadn’t realized was so tense. He spent so much time worrying about his alpha side, so much time trying to control the snarling monster that lived beneath his skin.

  Somehow, that side of him relaxed with Tiffany against him. It always prowled, always sat beneath the surface. Right then, though? Right then it eased enough of him to close his eyes and rest.

  Hours later, something woke him. He lifted his wrist to find the time. Three-fifteen.

  A glance around let him remember why he had slept upright on the couch. The stretched-out omega against him was the blame. She’d gotten even closer, his legs on the table and her body draped over him.

  Still, what had woken him? The uncomfortable position?

  A soft sound from Tiffany told him no. She twitched, her legs slung over his thighs, and the sound happened again.

  A moan, soft and gentle, that dissolved into a purr.

  Despite the fact that he’d never taken an omega, had never heard the purr of one, instinct alone let him identify it.

  Her hips shifted forward, her lips parting so her next moan came out louder.

  Marshall’s cock ached. Huh, guess he’d been hard already, as if even asleep he’d risen to the occasion for her, to the call of her mouthwatering scent.

  The temptation to reach a hand down and stroke his cock to those pretty sounds she made had his arm moving. Before he’d moved more than a hair, he stilled.

  No. That was instinct, and it was disgusting. He wasn’t going to masturbate to her sleeping body.

  Her fingers curled into his side, and the warmth of her bare cunt rubbed against his thigh.

  Well, it seemed she’d worn nothing beneath his shirt. It shouldn’t have shocked him, since she’d tossed her clothes in his washing machine so she’d have them clean by the next morning.

  Still, a deep growl rumbled from his throat as if crawling out itself.

  A louder purr was her response, her hips grinding her cunt against him and leaving a wet mark on his sweats.

  He had to stop it. It wouldn’t be right to let it go on, to let her do this without meaning to.

  And the other part of him feared he couldn’t control himself if she didn’t stop.

  “Tiffany,” he whispered.

  At the sound of his voice, she dragged her soaked pussy against him again, slower and harder, as if his voice turned her on more.

  He repeated her name, louder, almost frantic. If she didn’t wake up, he was going to pull her closer, spread her thighs and slide into her.

  She jerked up, a hand to his chest, darting her sleepy gaze around the room. It took her a moment before the panic slipped away and she seemed to remember where she was.

  A shift of her hips brought her cunt against his leg again, and this time her moan was loud and surprised. The moment she did it, the moment she realized what had happened, she shoved backward. “Oh, god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  That sort of rambling would take her a bit, so Marshall caught her hand before she could retreat far. “It’s fine.”

  “It’s not fine. I was…”

  He stroked his thumb over her wrist as he tugged her back. Maybe letting her go was the smart choice, but the pink on her cheeks and the shame in her voice had him wanting to fix it. Not to mention he feared that if he let her go, she might not return. “You were asleep. It’s fine.”

  She let him tug her back beside him, but this time when she folded her legs, when the hem of the skirt rode up, he could only picture the way she must look beneath it. He thought about how wet she was, how hot her cunt had felt against his leg. He’d never knotted an omega, and since an alpha’s knots only grew when taking an omega, he’d never experienced it.

  His knot would ache when he masturbated or when he took a beta. It would pulse at the base of his dick like a reminder, and even after he came, that ache never went away.

  What would it feel like?

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in a position like that. You’ve been so nice, and you let me stay here, and I do that to you?”

  Her words had him frowning. His cock had been hard before she’d even started, so it wasn’t as if he hadn’t enjoyed it. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t desperate for her. Marshall nodded down at his crotch, his embarrassment better than her guilt. “As you can tell, I didn’t exactly mind.”

  “So why did you stop me?”

  “Because if anything like that happens, I want you awake for it. I want you doing it because you want to. For all I knew, you were dreaming of someone else. I wouldn’t want you to wake up and regret anything.”

  She twisted to look at him. “So, you’re wanting something to happen?”

  “Of course.” When she settled back in beside him, he pushed his luck. “Were you?” When she didn’t answer, he clarified. “Thinking about someone else.”

  Her laugh was soft, embarrassed, but sweet. “Don’t tell me you’re another jealous alpha.”

  “No. Jealousy would be me being mad about your answer. I’m not worried about you wanting anyone else, I need to know if you want me in that w
ay as well.”

  Her fingers played over his leg, stroking the wet spot her cunt had left. Did she realize what it was? It sprang forward, the idea of having her lick her own wetness from his fingers, of forcing her to taste herself, of sharing what he was sure was a taste that would drive him crazy.

  Finally, she answered. “Yeah, I was thinking about you.”

  Her admitting it drew a possessive growl from him, one he cut off as soon as it started. “Maybe you should go to bed.” He forced the words out even though they were the last thing he wanted to say. He’d do about anything for her not to leave, not with the way she smelled, and that he knew how little separated him from the sweetness between her thighs.

  “Do you want me to go?”

  His head shook before he could think about it. “No, but maybe you should. You’ve got to tell me what you’re wanting, because you have a lot going on, and maybe this whole thing is too much?”

  She slipped her hand to the inside of his thigh, pressure there as she gripped him. “I want this.”

  “What is it you want?”

  Her chest lifted against the shirt she wore, as though she was hyping herself up with a deep breath before she slid from the couch and to her knees. She said nothing, but the look in those eyes was enough.

  She was on her knees begging, and he’d give her what she wanted.

  Marshall’s thighs spread out around Tiffany’s shoulders, so close that they brushed her when she shifted her weight.

  Each move turned her on more, and her clit begged for attention. She’d woken up mid-dream with his voice in her ear, and her body hadn’t forgotten it. It still hummed with unspent energy, awake and wanting and uncaring that it had been wound up on something not real.

  Marshall undid the tie of his sweats, then slipped his fingers past the waist. “Look at me.”

  She tore her gaze from the outline of his thick, tempting cock and moved up his body. He wasn’t as muscular as Kane or Kieran, having lived a life that didn’t require it. His body was large, as all alphas were, but it had a softness the others lacked.

  “Tell me about your dream.”

  Nothing came from her, but the tilt of his lips got her moving. “It was when we met in the hospital.”