Alpha Mine (The Alpha Council Chronicles)

by Brenda Sparks

  He eyed the apple in Kat’s hand with desire. “That apple actually looks good. Is there another one?”

  Kat reached in, grabbed another Red Delicious, and gave it a toss in Nicholai’s direction. He easily plucked it from the air as he moved with her to the kitchen table. Kat’s eyes widened when he set a faux leather bound book down onto the table.

  “I think you should see this, Katrina.” Nicholai tapped the book with one finger.

  Nerves tightened her stomach. “What is it?”

  “Just a little something I thought you might enjoy.”

  Kat really liked his thick accent. It made her think of cold Russian nights under warm cozy blankets. Yummy, she thought taking a bite of her apple.

  “Go ahead open it.” He pushed the book across the table so it came to rest in front of Kat.

  Kat opened the book gingerly and Nicholai took a generous bite from his apple. Her mouth gaped open when she saw what was contained within.

  Chapter 43

  Marcus fell onto the couch beside Stephan, and slapped him on the back with a rough hand. His gaze raked Stephan’s face steadily. “You look long in the tooth.”

  “With each breath I take, I smell honeysuckle. It’s everywhere. It surrounds me.” Touches every place in my heart. “She is such a part of me, and yet she doesn’t even know me.”

  “Well you can fix that,” suggested Marcus. “Give her time. She fell in love with you once, she’ll do it again.”

  “I don’t even know if she has any idea what she does to me.” She completes me and I will love her forever. “I want to spend the rest of my life by her side, loving her, protecting her, caring for her. Forever.”

  “I know you will get your chance,” assured Marcus. “The two of you were meant to be together. You won her heart once, you’ll win it again. I don’t doubt that for a minute.”

  “I wish I had your confidence.” Stephan shook his head slowly back and forth. “I hope you are right.”

  “I know I am. Give her some time, some space. Let her get to know you again. She’ll come around, just like she did before. And just think you’ve already won her once, so you know what to do.” A reassuring smile that reached his eyes lit Marcus’ face. “Not to mention the worst is over for now. We can breathe again knowing that she is at least out of danger.”

  Stephan sighed, ringing the back of his neck with one tired hand in an attempt to ease the tension in his muscles. “I can only hope you are right, Marcus,” he repeated. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I don’t think I could live.” It hurts because there is no sparkle in her eye when I reach for her, no love in her voice when she says my name. “It’s killing me to know what we had; what I might have ruined forever.”

  “Let’s look on the bright side,” said Marcus, ever the optimist. “She’s here in your house. She isn’t running in fear of us. She hasn’t asked to go back to the ranch. She has been willing to talk to us and listen to what we have to say about the memories. I’ve been reading her as I’m sure you have too. You know she believes us about her past.”

  Stephan nodded in acquiesce. “Thank the Fates we have pictures to prove we knew her so she will never have reason to doubt us.”

  “Exactly, see it’s not all bad. Tonight’s our last night all of the Alphas will be together. Why don’t we try to have a little fun. Have some alcohol, a little food and blood—behind Kat’s back of course,” Marcus added quickly when Stephan threw him an are-you-kidding-me glance. “And who knows where the night will lead for you and Kat.”

  Alexander moved behind them. “I have to agree with Marcus. If you just give her time, she’ll come around. You’ll see.” He rested both hands on the back of the couch. “For tonight just have fun. Show her a good time. That’s the first step in dating a woman.”

  “All right,” Stephan agreed reluctantly. “Perhaps you two are right.”

  Marcus clapped his hands together once and rubbed them heartily. “Sounds like party time. Let’s break out the C and C.”

  “C and C?” asked Alex, straightening.

  “Cuisine and cocktails,” explained Marcus with a grin.

  “Make mine Vodka—straight up,” chimed in Vlad, who had been silently listening to the conversation up until then.

  Demetri, echoing Vlad’s look of elation, said, “Make mine a true Bloody Mary if you would.”

  “Will do,” Marcus replied and turned on the stereo before making his way to the bar.

  ****

  Flipping through the book Nicholai had given her, Kat’s perusal of the photos made her frustrated. She couldn’t remember being at the places she saw in the pictures, did not remember having worn those costumes before.

  In the picture she now looked at she wore a Cleopatra costume and stood next to a man dressed as a mummy. She tapped the mummy costume. “Who’s that?” she asked taking another bite from her apple.

  “I believe that is Marcus. From what I understand the two of you loved dressing up on Halloween,” Nicholai informed her.

  “Huh.” She huffed, turning her blue-gray eyes to the next picture. This time her face and the face of the person beside her were quite visible. In the picture, she and Marcus stood side by side at the Hoover Dam.

  As she flipped through the album she noted how at ease and happy she appeared in all the photographs. Each smile seemed genuine. She ran her hand over the cellophane covered photos, wishing she could remember something of them, even just one, but none of the memories came to her.

  She continued to peruse the album until she came to a picture of her and Stephan sitting in a gondola. “Did I ever go to Italy?” she asked in surprise.

  Nicholai swallowed his mouthful of apple and chuckled. “I don’t think so. If memory serves me, I believe that is the gondola ride in the Florencia Hotel here in Vegas.”

  “Ohhh.” She ran one finger down the picture of Stephan’s face, circling it on his chest. She noticed how instead of looking at the camera like she had been, his head was turned toward her. The look on his face, one of total rapture, made him seem like he was having the time of his life just sitting there next to her.

  She breathed a heavy sigh.

  “Do you remember anything?” Nicholai asked quietly.

  She looked down again at the picture before shaking her head and replying solemnly, “No. Not a thing.”

  “Well, that is okay.” Nicholai shrugged. “It was worth a try. I hoped reviewing some pictures might run your memory.”

  Kat looked at him with confusion. “You mean jog my memory?”

  “Yes, yes. Sometimes my English still gets mixed up,” he apologized with a shy smile. “So did any of the pictures jog your memory?”

  Kat shook her head and took a last bite of her apple.

  “I am sorry, Katrina. I hoped the pictures would help.”

  “I wish I could remember. We seemed so happy.” She laid her hand over the picture of her and Stephan as a song whispered into the kitchen from the living room.

  After chucking their apple cores into the trash free throw style, Nicholai rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers, thoughtfully resting his chin on his index fingers as they touched.

  “Let me ask you something Katrina. Do you know how long some people wait to find true love?” Not waiting for her answer his rhetorical question, Nicholai continued, “Some people wait a lifetime and never find it. If you knew the love of your life stood in the next room, would you not go to him?”

  Would she? Yes, she decided, she would.

  “Love requires bravery, a leap of faith. Will you leap, Katrina?”

  Before Kat could respond, Nicholai stood, smiled down at her and extended his hand. “Come, let us go join the party.”

  Kat took his hand wondering what the evening might bring if she just dared to leap.

  Chapter 44

  Kat sat in the living room surrounded by beautiful specimens of male virility and she would have had to be dead not to notice. Each man wa
s handsome in his own way from Alex’s cowboy looks to Vlad’s dark chiseled features. All of them had an air of confidence about them, like they would gladly take on the world and knew they would win. But it was Stephan to whom her gaze kept returning.

  Every time he neared, her blood heated with desire. Her heart raced, cheeks flushed with wanton need. Her body knew what it wanted, even if her mind had yet to get on board.

  Marcus turned up the stereo and the drinks flowed like the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, even Kat genuinely enjoyed herself.

  But her mind kept wandering to Stephan. Nicholai’s words ran through her head leaving soft footprints of consideration. If Stephan was her true love, didn’t they both deserve for her to give him a chance. She might not remember him, but she could get to know him if she dared take a chance on love.

  As the evening wore on, she found herself more and more drawn to Stephan. She appreciated how he and Marcus seemed to be giving her some space—time to think. She could tell by the way his eyes were always on her, that it was a struggle for Stephan to give her room. She treasured the effort, it endeared him to her.

  After looking at the photo album, she had resigned herself to the fact that there had been a history between them, and if the smiling faces in the pictures were any indication, it had been a happy history. She didn’t doubt any of the stories the men told her. She just wished she could remember. It was like looking at pictures of someone else’s life where her head had been Photoshopped in. It seemed surreal.

  As she worked the room, she found herself having a good time with all of the men. Kat enjoyed the way they treated her with courtly respect. Talking with Alex and laughing with Marcus helped her relax. Even Vlad and Demetri no longer seemed scary.

  One by one the men took turns dancing with Kat. They twirled and dipped her with ease. She never would have guessed these big burly men could be so graceful. Being the only woman in the place, made her feel as desirable as Venus De Milo herself.

  As she danced with Demetri, she found a smile tugging at her lips. He moved like a professional, gyrating his hips in time with the fast music. With his old world demeanor, she could imagine him waltzing in a high court of old, easily picturing him in a time long ago. But the sexy way he moved to the modern music amazed and surprised her.

  Her gaze however, did not remain on her dance partner for long, but instead her eyes were drawn to Stephan. She couldn’t help but glance over at him, taking note of the look in his eyes that made her stomach tighten.

  He stood across the room, braced against the wall with one leg crossed over the other at the ankle and his arms crossed over his thick chest—a chest accented by the black dress shirt he wore tucked into his gray dress slacks. He looked like sin and lust combined into one gorgeous package. The dark possession in his sapphire-blue eyes when he stared at her set every nerve on fire. She felt his gaze roam over her as her body moved in time to the music.

  It was clear that the other men had also noticed the possessive way Stephan looked at her, for none of them hesitated to hand her over, when he cut in on them dancing. All of them seemed to bow to his will, as if they did not wish to challenge his authority.

  When the music came to an end, the next song to play was much slower. In the blink of her eye, Stephan suddenly stood beside her, his hand proffered. “May I have this dance?”

  Demetri backed away as she answered, “I’d like that.”

  Kat smiled wide, and Stephan took her into his arms. It felt so right, felt good and safe to be with him.

  She laid her cheek against his shoulder and breathed in his masculine, woodsy scent. A quiet, contented sigh escaped from her lips and she closed her eyes, allowing the moment to take her. It did not escape her attention that every time a slow song played, Stephan ask her to dance.

  While the two of them swayed slowly to the music, Kat contemplated all Nicholai had told her. Though she could not remember her time with Stephan, somewhere deep within her, she felt connected to him. Being held in his strong arms as they had danced together seemed comfortably familiar.

  It couldn’t be love her thoughts denied, but he was definitely handsome, the most beautiful man in the room, and he’d treated her well. After all, he risked his life to rescue her from the kidnappers. He must be a good man, given how all of his friends had helped not only him, but also her. Obviously they wanted the two of them to be together.

  While they rocked slowly in time to the music, Kat decided to accept all that everyone had told her of her past, especially what Marcus had said to her about she and Stephan being in love. She would remain at the penthouse in hopes that something might eventually restore her memories and if not, then more time with Stephan would allow her time to get to know him, even love him. She owed him that.

  Owed herself that.

  The love coming from Stephan wove a path through her body and wrapped around her heart, warming her from the inside out.

  “Kitten,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. He waited until she raised her eyes to meet his gaze. She could feel herself falling into his gaze as if mesmerized. Kat closed her eyes slowly and shook away the vertigo. When she opened her eyes again he had stopped moving and looked at her with anticipation.

  “Kitten,” he repeated softly. “I promise you I will do everything I can to make you happy if you stay. Tell me you will remain with me and give us a chance.”

  She thought back to the picture of the happy couple riding on the gondola. “Yes, yes I will give us a chance,” A look of relief took his gorgeous face.

  Abruptly the song playing changed and the mood was broken by the upbeat music. As the tune blared, their attention left one another to focus on Marcus who wrenched his underwear up, making it look like a thong appearing overtop of the kaki waist band of his pants. He began shaking his booty as he sang along to the song, “’cuz she was livin’ la vida loca.”

  Kat laughed at the show. Stephan leaned over and against her ear whispered, “I love the way you laugh.” His sexy voice caressed her ear, tickling it with his hot breath when he spoke. Her body reacted instantly. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Her blood warmed from the heat of her desire.

  Kat’s top teeth tugged at her bottom lip nervously. “I think Marcus has had too much to drink.”

  “Perhaps just not the right kind of drink. I think he might be a pint too low,” Stephan muttered, as he too watched Marcus spasm about.

  Kat glanced up at him questioningly, catching him wince as if he realized how strange his comment sounded. Before she could question him about what he had said, he lowered his lips to hers and captured them in a kiss.

  She was tentative at first, this was their first kiss—at least that she remembered. His lips were feather light. They skimmed across hers, driving her desire for him higher with the tease.

  She relaxed into him and her hands snaked up his arms encircling his neck. Her lips parted in invitation, which he RSVP’d by sweeping his tongue in her mouth. Stephan moaned against her mouth, his passion stirred. Yearning built between them, encasing them in a spell of ecstasy until Katrina felt herself slipping away to ride on a cloud of delight.

  The sound of Vlad calling out brought her back down to earth. They broke their kiss. And when she looked around she realized that Marcus had apparently wiggled a little too hard and backed into the coffee table. Catching the backs of his knees, he crashed down on top of the drinking glasses sitting on the table. It shattered under his weight, slicing through his pants.

  “Are you okay?” Alex asked, making his way to Marcus.

  “Of course, I am.” Marcus brushed the shattered glass off his legs. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You are bleeding,” Demetri observed.

  “I’ll be fine,” Marcus repeated, still nestled within the remnants of the table. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

  Demetri quirked one eyebrow. “I wasn’t going to, smartass.” He crossed his thi
ck arms over his chest.

  With Marcus injured, the mood instantly sobered. The men seemed relatively unconcerned, but the accident was enough to dampen their spirits and no one appeared to be in a partying mood any longer. Stephan seemed clearly put out by the incident as he hauled Marcus up from the mangled table.

  Demetri looked down at the mess under Marcus with disdain. “I think that is a sign, it’s time for us to call it a night and take our leave.”

  Vlad quickly agreed and Stephan escorted the group to the door where Kat watched as one by one they all said goodbye, sending each other off with a valediction of “Safe travels.”

  When it was Nicholai’s turn to leave he paused, one hand on the door, and turned to Katrina. “Do me a favor.”

  She looked up into his serious eyes. “What?”

  “Give love a chance. True love is a rare gift, something to be cherished. Don’t throw it away.”

  Katrina moved forward and gave him a hug around his waist. “You know, you really are a romantic at heart.”

  Nicholai’s arms wrapped around her in a steel embrace as he leaned down putting his lips to her ear. “Shhh, don’t tell anyone. They all think I’m a badbutt.”

  Katrina giggled as he drew back. “I think you mean badass,” she bantered, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

  Nicholai chuckled. “Goodbye, sweet Katrina. Remember what I said.”

  His long strides took him out the door, leaving her alone with Stephan and Marcus to face the future.

  Chapter 45

  As they moved into the living room, Stephan watched Katrina try to stifle a yawn. He was not fooled, she was obviously quite tired. He moved closer and slid one arm around her waist. Into her ear he whispered, “Kitten, I can feel how tired you are. Why don’t you go up and get some sleep?”

  Katrina looked at him. The look on her face said she didn’t want the evening to end, but she reluctantly acquiesced. “I guess I am tired.”

  Stephan nodded and escorted her up the stairs watching her bottom swish back and forth in front of him, swaying in time to the music that still played on the stereo in the living room. As she did her nightly ritual in the bathroom, he took advantage of the time to slip into his own pajamas, waiting patiently for her to finish. She emerged dressed in a shear pink nightgown and Stephan couldn’t help but notice how the shade complimented her cheeks. He smiled and drew back the sheet and comforter. “Climb in,” he instructed.