The Alpha's Promise

by Renee Rose

  She sucked in her breath.

  Still, he said nothing, but he stroked the top of her head, down her neck, across her shoulder. Not in a sexual way like before. No, he was offering her comfort. His brand of it, apparently.

  A snuggle. She was actually being cuddled by the dirty-talking tattooed bad boy who had just spanked her ass until it throbbed.

  She let him pet her, sitting stiffly in his lap, wondering what came next.

  But nothing came next. At least, nothing new. Cody continued to caress her, holding her captive in his big strong arms, on his lap.

  Exhaustion rolled through her and she sank into the embrace, leaning back, her head resting against his shoulder. Her eyes drifted closed, vague thoughts about how she ought to be furious with this overbearing meathead of a shifter flitting through but taking no hold. Not when she felt so warm and safe for the first time since her kidnapping last year. Possibly for the first time in years.

  She woke in the same position, still cradled half-upright against Cody’s chest. The moment she stirred he brought his hand to her head, stroking her hair again. Or maybe he’d never stopped. She blinked at the illuminated clock on the bedside table. It was two a.m. Hours since she’d fallen asleep.

  Had he slept at all? Or had he just been holding her like this for hours?

  Wanting to lie fully horizontal, she crawled out of his arms to the bed, curling up with her head on a pillow.

  Cody dropped a kiss on her head then got up and left the room.

  This time she felt the loss of him even more acutely. His warmth, his scent, though she’d never noticed a man’s scent before. His was particularly pleasing—like leather and pine and strong, hard-working man.

  She almost called after him—to tell him he could share the bed with her—but reason returned. That would be a bad idea. She’d already acted like a complete fool, opening her legs while sprawled across his lap after a spanking. Not just that, but begging him for an orgasm. And he’d made her.

  Say my name. Who makes you come?

  Even alone in the dark, she flushed at the memory. How had he reduced her to that wanton pleading girl? Stripped her of her pride and brought her right to the brink of ecstasy with just a few flicks of his fingers?

  A man—wolf—like him had probably slept with hundreds of females to master that kind of skill. She was glad she’d escaped having sex with him. Never again. No, thank you. A guy like that… well, she was already half lost for him. The intensity of her attraction to him terrified her. She needed to take three steps back and squeeze her knees together real tight. No sex, no flirting. Definitely no more midnight cuddling.

  Cody was the epitome of the kind of bad boy she always went for and this time, she was going to resist.

  Somewhere out there a nice accountant or engineer would probably love an up-and-coming real estate agent girlfriend.

  Somewhere, a nice, plain, boring guy wanted to sit on the couch and hold hands and watch Mad Men at night with her.

  Why did that sound so incredibly awful?

  Chapter Four

  Cody pushed open his front door quietly and carried in the bags from Walmart. The house seemed quiet, and his sensitive ears detected the slow sigh of breath from Melissa in the bedroom. Still asleep. He was glad—she needed it.

  He’d slept less than an hour all night. When he’d smelled her tears from the bedroom the night before, he’d been horrified. If they’d come during the spanking, it would have been bad enough, but for her to cry after he thought he’d eased the tension between them—or at least her sexual tension—made him want to smack his head into a metal beam.

  He didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman—had never tried it in his life, but the compulsion had been overwhelming. When she’d fought him off, confirming his fears that she’d never forgive him, he simply couldn’t get up and walk away.

  His mate was in need. He had to provide.

  That was how it felt, anyway. But he didn’t think of Melissa as a mate. Not even close. She was human, and a stuck-up brat. They didn’t even get along.

  But the chemistry between them, or at least his for her, was off the charts. Once he’d comforted her, he’d been unable to sleep or even rest. Something about her nearness had his blood singing. His brain had gone around and around in circles—about his inexplicable attraction to her, about the trouble she was in, about how he might win her trust so she would follow his orders and he could keep her safe.

  He wondered what her ex-boyfriend was like and he experienced violent thoughts toward the guy for putting her in this situation.

  He put the milk and other staples in the refrigerator. Finding he had no idea what Melissa liked to eat, he’d stalled at the grocery store, then ended up buying everything in sight.

  Behind him, he heard the rustle of movement from the bedroom and then the flush of the toilet. The door pushed open and the soft pad of bare feet sounded behind him.

  He continued shoving groceries in the refrigerator to stall as he tried to figure out what to say.

  When she didn’t speak either, he turned and reached for one of the bags from Walmart. “Here’s some clothes. I’m sure you’ll hate them.”

  She reached for the bag. Somehow she managed to look even more beautiful with her hair all rumpled, her cheeks still stained with sleep. His eyes traveled to her lips, which looked bee-stung, swollen, and oh-so-kissable.

  He tossed her a second bag. “There’s a burner phone in there. And a Chromebook, so you can work.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You bought me a phone and computer?”

  “Just a Chromebook.”

  “But I can’t afford that,” she said immediately, then blushed as if she didn’t want him to know. Her words surprised him, although he should have gathered that from the location of her house. She had acted so stuck up that he’d assumed she came from money. But no, she was a wanna-be rich girl, the type who spent all her money to look rich, and fell into credit card debt to keep up appearances.

  “Your brother-in-law can,” he said gruffly. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to tell her it was no sweat off his back, that he had plenty of money and didn’t mind buying her things. Possibly it was because she had been so stuck up about Walmart and his place. Like she’d been too good for him.

  He didn’t want to impress her with money, because she was a superficial girl who cared about stuff like that.

  There was a flaw in his logic, but he didn’t care to tease it out at the moment.

  She rolled her eyes and snatched the bags, opening them. She looked back up. “Thanks,” she said grudgingly.

  “What’s missing?” He could tell she wanted to say something but had bit it back.

  “Makeup,” she mumbled.

  He frowned. “You don’t need that.”

  Her eyebrows lowered. “Whatever. You’re the one who has to look at me.”

  He laughed. “What I see looks just fine, baby. More than fine.”

  Pink tinged her cheeks, making the blue of her eyes pop. Yeah, that girl did not need a drop of makeup.

  “I got a bunch of food. I didn’t know what you like to eat, but you should be able to find something. I gotta go get some work done.”

  She raised an inquisitive brow. “What kind of work?”

  He hesitated. “Construction.”

  “Mmm.” She looked properly unimpressed, as he’d expected. “Is there coffee?”

  Damn, he hadn’t thought of coffee. “No coffee,” he grunted.

  She stared at him in surprise, like he’d denied her a basic right, like the use of a toilet or something.

  “You’ll have to suck it up, princess.” He entered his number into her phone. “My number’s in there. Call me if there’s any trouble. Do I have to put a guard on the house, or are you going to stay put?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll stay put.”

  He stared her down for a beat, alpha style, but since she was human, she didn’t quite get it. Her eyes never
lowered, although a blush did start to creep into her cheeks.

  Though he knew it was unwise to get too close to her, he couldn’t stop himself. He stalked around and leaned one hand on the table in front of her, bringing his face nose-to-nose with hers. “If you set foot out of this house, I will whip you with my belt,” he warned in a low voice.

  She jerked back and flushed an even deeper red.

  He inhaled her scent before he walked away, and smiled when he detected the beautiful musk of arousal.

  He headed out, calling Ben as he walked the few blocks to his current house project. He just had a few more rooms to paint and then molding to put on around the floors.

  “This is Stone.”

  “Cody Steele. Checking to see if you found anything out on your end.”

  “My pack mate Mark Ruhl is DEA in Denver. He knows the guy Rabago that you saw. Word on the street is that someone stiffed Rabago on a huge shipment to Colorado Springs. He’s coming down to question Melissa, but he already has an APB out on Jeremy, her dickwad ex-boyfriend. Best guess, Jeremy or one of his friends was behind the bad drug deal and they think he has the money. I’m willing to pay it off to get the hit off Melissa, but we need a plan to contact him and make the offer. Do you have any connections to this guy?”

  “None.” His pack mates weren’t angels, but he’d helped most of them become semi-contributing members of society. He’d know if any of them were into anything that deep.

  “Okay, I’ll keep working on my end. You just keep Melissa safe, and try to get your hands on her asshole ex.”

  The alpha in him bristled at Stone giving him orders, but then he experienced a stab of doubt about leaving her alone at the house. Maybe he should’ve put a guard on her.

  “What are you doing with a human wife, Stone?” he blurted.

  “Fuck you.”

  “No, really. I want to understand.” He sounded rude, but he couldn’t explain to Ben Stone that he found his sister-in-law utterly intoxicating. He just had to know if Ben had felt the same about Melissa’s sister. Had he wanted to mate her right from the start?

  “She’s part wolf,” Ben growled.

  Cody stopped halfway up the walk to the house he was working on. “She is? Melissa too?”

  “They’re twins,” Ben said drily and it pissed him off he didn’t know that. He didn’t know anything about her, really, and that annoyed him, too. He didn’t plan to have this conversation with Ben, though. He’d ask Melissa, for fuck’s sake.

  He unlocked the door to the house and headed in to prep the house for paint.

  Knowing she was part wolf changed everything. Explained everything. There wasn’t something wrong with him—she had wolf blood that sang his song. It still didn’t make her a worthy choice for a mate. He needed a she-wolf who could produce pups, not human babies. But at least he understood the attraction now.

  He stretched out the drop cloth and shook a can of paint, wondering if he’d bought anything she liked for breakfast. That was stupid. He shook his head to clear it of thoughts of her. What did he care if the stuck-up human liked what he bought? It wasn’t like he was courting her.

  * * *

  Melissa made an omelet for breakfast. She followed it up with a fruit smoothie, since Cody had bought fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Funny, she didn’t think a guy like him would buy fresh berries. He seemed like the boxed cereal and canned meals type. Were they for her?

  She called into the office on the burner phone and told them she was going to work from home because she had a sore throat. It rang again just as she finished eating. She wasn’t sure if she should pick up, but then she recognized her sister’s number.

  “Hey, how’s it going? Cody texted Ben your new number.”

  That was nice of him.

  “Did you survive the wolf domination?”

  She snorted. “Okay, first of all, you weren’t kidding.” She brought her hand back to her ass and rubbed. It actually didn’t hurt at all anymore. Good to know. Spankings hurt a lot in the moment, but the pain faded fairly quickly.

  Ashley groaned. “Did he punish you?”

  “Yep. Although I have to say I asked for it. Curiosity did kill the cat.”

  Ashley laughed. “Are you okay? Was it horrible? Did you…”

  “What?”

  “Have sex with him?”

  She choked on her coffee, spraying it across the kitchen table. Grabbing a napkin, she mopped the dribbles. “Not exactly.” Her voice sounded strangled.

  “What happened?” Only a twin would have zero boundaries with demanding every dirty detail.

  “He fingered me, okay?” she snapped.

  “Nice. Was it good? Did you get off?”

  Why was she blushing when her sister couldn’t even see her face?

  “It was okay.” That wasn’t true. It had been spectacular. Cody had done more with his fingers than any guy had done with his mouth, fingers, or manhood. The orgasm had been explosive.

  And humiliating. She’d been draped over his lap in the spanking position, for God’s sake!

  “Just okay? What aren’t you telling me? You’re holding something back. Did he… you know… go for your ass, too?”

  She blushed some more. “Ashley!” she protested.

  “He did, didn’t he?”

  “Is that what Ben does?” She attempted to redirect the conversation.

  “Ben does whatever he…” Ashley stopped herself mid-sentence. “Yeah, he definitely goes for the ass on a fairly frequent basis. I think it’s hot.”

  What had her sister been about to say? Ben does whatever he wants? Was that what this wolf marriage was all about? The alpha wolf rules with an iron fist? Was Ashley some kind of wife-slave to him?

  But no… Ben adored her sister and she’d never seen Ashley so happy or fulfilled. Whatever kinky shit they were into, it worked for them.

  “Did you hate it? Is that why you’re upset?” Ashley probed.

  “I’m not upset. What makes you think I’m upset?”

  “Maybe that’s not the right word, but your voice is all tight like there’s something you’re not saying.”

  “I’ve got guys trying to kill me, I’m being held semi-prisoner by a wolf who spanks, and I can’t meet with clients or show houses, so I may miss out on some important deals. Is that enough to make my voice tight?”

  “It’s something about Cody. I know it is.”

  Damn. Sisters were hard to fool.

  “He unnerves me. I can’t quite figure him out. One second I decide he’s a misogynistic redneck laborer and the next he’s comforting me or doing something thoughtful and all the while he’s turning me on, making overt sexual come-ons that should totally piss me off, but instead have me soaking my panties. It’s just all too much. I don’t know what to do with it.”

  “Wow. I wish I’d met him. I don’t know whether to advise you to stay the hell away from him or not.”

  “I think I should keep my panties on and my legs crossed. He’s got the same kind of appeal as Jeremy, and you know how badly that went.”

  “Yeah, I do. Then you’re probably right. Steer clear. Don’t provoke another spanking, because that just complicates things.”

  “I’d arrived at the same conclusion.”

  “Ben’s working on this end to get things figured out with that asshole who’s after Jeremy. He will pay him off or his buddy will arrest him. Either way, they’re taking care of it, ‘kay?”

  She exhaled, releasing some of the stress she’d been carrying around. “Thanks, I feel a little better. I’m sorry if this is ruining your honeymoon.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m on the beach getting a tan and drinking a banana daiquiri, but if you want us to come back, we’ll be on the next plane home.”

  “No. Please, stay. Hey, Ash?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t want Jeremy to get killed. Could you tell Ben and his friends that? I know they don’t give a crap about him, and this is h
is fault and everything, but…”

  “What, you still feel like you owe him something for saving your life?”

  “Yeah.” She knew Ashley would get it.

  “Okay, I’ll relay the message. Take care of yourself.”

  “You too. Give that wolf of yours a long slurpy blowjob.”

  “Ew, did you have to use the word slurpy? Never mind, I will. Hasta luego, hermana.” Her sister’s Spanish sucked.

  Melissa laughed at the horrible accent. “Talk to you later. Love you.”

  She hung up smiling and flipped open the Chromebook Cody had bought her. It was surprisingly easy to set up and in no time at all, she had accessed her email and listings. Maybe working from Cody’s wouldn’t be all that bad, so long as she could conduct all business over the phone, rather than in person.

  And working in her pajamas wasn’t half bad either, although she was ready for a shower. She stood and stretched, grabbed the bags of clothes Cody bought, and headed to the en suite bathroom.

  Like the rest of Cody’s place, the bathroom could use a good cleaning. She wrinkled her nose at the mold growing in the corners of the tile and the ring around the tub.

  Nasty. She wasn’t setting foot in that thing until it had been disinfected at least three times.

  She looked under the sink and found cleaning supplies. With a pair of rubber gloves pulled up to her elbows, she broke out the Ajax and got on her hands and knees with a scrub brush.

  An hour later she deemed the bathroom passable, and took her shower. Of course, the shampoo was total crap and there was no conditioner. Plus, she hated—hated—deodorant soaps. Yuck. Now she would smell like sudsy grass all day.

  She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body before dumping the bags of clothing on Cody’s bed.

  Seriously?

  She picked up a four-pack of the ugliest set of pastel granny panties she’d ever seen. He must’ve been joking with those. And the purple leggings. And the wife-beater that read ‘Princess’ in fuchsia across the boobs. Oh, he’d love to see her in that, wouldn’t he?

  Some normal stuff was in the pile, too. He’d bought jeans in a size five and seven—she supposed he didn’t know which size would fit her. Several solid colored t-shirts and cute cotton panties that actually might fit. Nothing she would ever buy on her own or be caught dead in in public, but it was better than wearing his shirt and boxer shorts.