by Crissy Smith
Austin opened his mouth to tell her he wanted them to be equal but Kiley didn’t even slow down her rant.
“I don’t know what it is about Alpha men who think they can just issue orders and expect them to be followed, but that is so not going to happen,” Kiley stated loudly.
Austin shook his head. “I didn’t…”
Kiley huffed and quickly walked over to Jesse, picking the girl up in her arms. She headed for the door then turned back once more.
“We’ll make cookies later. I believe you gentlemen have a meeting.”
Austin just stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.
“I’ll get my bags, don’t you worry about that. Right now Jesse and I are going upstairs to work on a puzzle.”
And with that, his mate sashayed out of the kitchen.
Austin continued to stare at the empty doorway for several minutes before he turned to the other men. “What in the hell just happened?” he asked.
The entire room burst out laughing. Austin wasn’t amused.
“She did just admit to being your mate,” Colt pointed out.
Austin grinned. “She did, didn’t she?”
Chapter Four
Kiley couldn’t believe it. She’d gone off on her mate! In front of a full room—including another Alpha. God, she was so ashamed. And yet that hadn’t stopped her from going on her own to her apartment. Every woman needed to have a limit, and hers was to not blindly follow orders.
She hadn’t missed the tail she’d picked up, either. Since leaving Tyler’s house, another vehicle had been following at a slower pace. She circled her block a couple of times just to make sure.
It had to be one of Austin’s men because Tyler’s would already know where she lived.
Giving up on losing her follower, she pulled into the parking garage and parked in her designated spot.
She exited her SUV and waited. It didn’t take long for the big black truck to show up. Kiley waved at the driver. The truck pulled in front of her and the passenger window rolled down. She was surprised to see her mate.
“Austin?” she asked, surprised. It wasn’t a real question but he nodded anyway. “What are you doing?”
“You know what I’m doing. I’m keeping an eye on my mate,” he stated sternly.
Kiley supposed he hadn’t got over the encounter in the kitchen either. She blew out a breath and counted to ten—slowly. “Park over there,” she told him, waving to the nearest visitors’ spot. “You might as well come up.”
He pressed his lips together and sat quietly for a moment before rolling the window up and complying.
Kiley waited until he’d got out of the truck and joined her before she led the way up the stairs and into her building. Neither spoke, and Kiley’s nerves were frayed. She didn’t know how to act with him. Didn’t know how to be a good mate. She was at a complete loss for what to say to make everything better. So she said nothing.
Austin followed her to the elevator and she pressed four to be taken to her floor. The ride up was quick but she was still relieved to get out. Being so close to Austin made her feel uneasy. Not in a bad way—she wasn’t sure how she felt. She wanted him—there was no question about that—but she didn’t know how they could possibly get along.
She needed to warn him. She needed to let him know that being with her could be dangerous. He might leave, she knew that, but she was already starting to crave him near her. If he left later, it would only hurt more.
Even though it was the last thing she thought she’d wanted, she found herself already enjoying the thought of him being hers.
Still, it was a good time for her to find out if he could handle being her mate. At least here they would have privacy. If he left…well, she would get over it. His silence was also nerve racking. She walked down the hall and unlocked her door before she stepped aside and let him enter first.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if he wanted to check her closet for monsters or not. But that probably wouldn’t help the suitation.
Instead, she watched him take in her small but clean and comfortable apartment. The front door opened into the main room. The living room was to the left, containing a black leather couch and chair. On the right was the open full kitchen with an island in the middle. Straight ahead were the bedroom and bathroom doors. Her style was simple but elegant, or so she thought. She was secretly pleased when he whistled low.
“Nice place,” he told her.
“Thanks,” she waved him forward. “Would you like a drink?”
Austin shook his head and walked over to the full length windows behind the couch. “Pretty view of the mountains.”
Kiley took her eyes from her mate and looked at the scene he was enjoying. It was a wonderful view. Tyler had helped her get the place, and she was glad she’d agreed to take a look. She’d jumped at the chance to move in.
It was a far cry from the museum she’d grown up in. Her father had been a stickler for rules and formality—which was one reason she refused to have a formal dining table. She ate standing in the kitchen, on stools at the island, or even occasionally at the coffee table.
Neither spoke for several minutes. Finally, Kiley couldn’t take it any longer. “Will you sit down? We need to talk.”
Austin turned and, with a look of apprehension, nodded and sat on the couch. Kiley took the chair across from him and curled her feet under her.
“First, I want to say I’m sorry about what I said in the kitchen,” she told him sincerely. “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that, especially not in front of the others. I’m sorry.”
He looked surprised but slowly nodded.
“I have a tendency to go off sometimes and say things without thinking them through. I overreacted,” she added.
“Kiley…I…” Austin started. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head.
She bit her lip, scared that because of her outburst he wouldn’t want to mate with her after all.
“We have to figure this out,” he said softly. “I won’t always say the right thing. I’m going to make mistakes. But if you’re my mate, you need to talk to me about these things. You can’t walk out every time I say something you don’t like.”
“I know,” she admitted.
“I understand you have a problem with my position. I don’t know why, but I can see it bothers you,” he continued. Kiley opened her mouth but he held up a hand to stop her. “Just listen for a moment, please.”
“Okay.” She could let him get out whatever he needed to say. She owed her mate that chance.
“I’m an Alpha. Yes it was by choice, but I was born to do it. My Pack is small compared to most others. We’re a family. We have disagreements but that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other,” he told her. “We’ll have disagreements, Kiley. But we need to take care of them in private.”
She dropped her head. She knew that, really she did. “Yes.”
“I want this to work. I promise to try my hardest to give you what you need but you have to talk to me. You’re my family now.”
She had to blink back the tears that were forming. The last six hours had been the most emotional time for her. She hadn’t been such a mess since she’d left the Pack. And she still needed to tell him about that.
“You know I’m Rogue?” she asked.
“Tyler told me that much,” he responded gently.
“I left the Pack after Tyler took over. I didn’t have the choice to do it before. My father had demanded I marry the son of the Alpha,” she explained. “I couldn’t stand the man. He was loud and abusive and made my skin crawl.”
“Your father didn’t know?” he asked.
“Oh, he knew,” she assured him. “He just didn’t care.”
“But why would he…”
Kiley shook her head. “I didn’t grow up with a father like Jesse’s. Instead of letting me go like I begged, he gave me over to the Alpha when I turned eighteen.”
“
Fuck.”
Kiley sighed. “It wasn’t good. I won’t go into detail now but it was bad for a really long time. I had no choice in anything I did. I was to follow orders, and that was that.”
“I’m sorry.” He scooted off the couch and knelt in front of her.
“What are you sorry for?” she asked, confused.
“It upsets you to talk about this.”
“It does,” she confirmed. “I don’t have great memories from my childhood, but as an adult it’s even worse. For the first time in my life I’m on my own. I feel like I finally have control of my life,” she explained.
“And here I come along. Your mate. An Alpha.”
“Fate. A mate is given to us by fate,” Kiley clarified.
“So again you have no choice. Is that why you don’t want me as a mate?” Austin asked. His voice cracked at the end and the sound pulled at Kiley’s heart.
She got up and knelt before him. “No. I still have a choice. I could deny you. You asked me if I did. You gave me a choice. Now I will give you one.”
Austin opened his mouth but she put her fingers up to his lips. “Just listen now.” She waited until he nodded. “I was told I would never have my mate. At first, I used the excuse of a mate to try to get out of being with Simon. The Alpha, Simon, even my father assured me I had no mate. And if one came looking, he would die before he ever found me.”
“What the…” Austin barked out.
Kiley shook her head. “I can’t help feeling if I say…if I admit out loud that you are my mate that you will die. They’ll find a way to take you from me.”
Kiley squealed in surprise when Austin grabbed her and planted her in his lap. “No, baby. You’re mine. Nothing is going to happen. I promise.”
“Logically I know that. I know the Alpha can’t hurt me anymore. Tyler killed him when he fought for the Pack. I even saw the body. I know that, but still…”
“It scares you,” Austin finished.
“Yes,” she admitted softly.
“It’s okay to be afraid. But you can’t let that fear rule your life,”Austin said, with thick emotion in his voice.
“You have to be sure before you mate with me, Austin,” she pleaded. “I can’t let you in and then lose you.”
“You won’t,” he promised.
Kiley took a deep breath before she confessed her biggest concern. “I don’t know how to be a mate. I don’t know if I’ll be good at it.”
“Oh baby,” he said grasping her hands in his. “I know you’ll be a great mate.”
“How?” she questioned. If she didn’t know, how could he? But he sounded so certain.
“Because you’re here with me now, sharing your fears. The way you are with Jesse. The goodness I see when I look in your eyes. I couldn’t have asked for a better mate.”
Kiley laughed uneasily. “You may be building yourself up for a big fall. You don’t even know me.”
“No, no I’m not. And I do know you. I know what I see when I look in your eyes. I am connected with you even though we just met,” he told her before he kissed her.
The kiss was soft, just a meeting of lips. Kiley relaxed into the first intimate touch from her mate. Austin ran his tongue over her bottom lip before he nibbled the soft flesh. She opened with a gasp and he slid his tongue inside.
Her whole body came alive instantly. His taste, spicy and manly, burst in her mouth and she moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could smell his arousal and it made her body ache with need.
Her panties were catching the liquid that escaped from her sex and she shifted in his arms, trying to relieve the pressure.
He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “God, Kiley.” He didn’t need to say any more. She knew exactly what he meant.
“Yes Austin, kiss me again, claim me as yours,” she urged, knowing it was now or never.
He growled and slammed his mouth back down on hers. This time the heat came quickly. Her head swam with the passion she felt for him until she found herself straddling his lap, humping him.
“Hot…need,” she panted out against his lips. The mating instict was strong and she didn’t want to fight it. She was so tired of fighting. In Austin’s arms, the arms of her mate, she could let go.
“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice low and husky. He stood, picking her up with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Bedroom?”
“First door,” she told him before sealing her mouth on his neck. She sucked and nibbled the muscled skin, running her tongue over him and tasting her mate.
His jugular pulsed as she paid special attention to that spot. That was where she would give him the claiming bite. She tested her spot, biting down gently but not breaking the skin. He stumbled before he tightened his arms around her.
“Don’t stop,” he ordered, his breath coming in short bursts.
Kiley was more than happy to listen to that demand. He made it to the bedroom door and threw it open while she gave him little love bites up and down his neck.
“Good, your mouth is so good,” he told her.
“Mmm hum,” she murmured.
They didn’t turn on any lights. Austin just clumsily made his way to the bed. He fell down on it with her underneath him.
Kiley pulled his shirt over his head. She ran her hands over his strong, wide shoulders. “I’ve wanted to touch your bare skin since the first moment I saw you.”
Austin looked up from where he was pulling off her boots and socks. “I know…I know…”
They undressed each other quickly but still took the time to explore each new piece of flesh that was revealed.
By the time he covered her body with his once again, Kiley was trembling. She wrapped her legs high up on his back, feeling his hard, leaking cock at her pussy.
“Please, I need to feel you inside me,” she told him breathlessly. Her entire body was flushed and she knew once he was inside her it wouldn’t take long.
He groaned long and loud, filling the quiet room with the sound. He pushed in slowly, but Kiley didn’t want him to be gentle. She dropped her feet onto the mattress and bucked her hips, taking him in deep.
They moaned in unison.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed. “So tight. Hot and tight.”
Kiley dug her fingernails into his shoulders. “Move, hurry.”
He pulled out before plunging back in.
“Yes! Yes!” she cried out. He filled her completely. More than just her body. With him thrusting in and out, she felt their souls connect. Her teeth lengthened, the need to claim Austin strong.
“God…Oh God…” he chanted. His hips pistoned faster and faster.
Kiley was beyond words. Her head thrashed back and forth on the pillow and she arched to meet every stroke. Her body shook, and like an explosion, she came apart.
Dimly she could hear herself scream, his hoarse cry above her, before she sank her canines into his neck. She didn’t even feel his bite to her shoulder as they claimed each other.
Chapter Five
Austin nuzzled Kiley’s neck as he carried her bags to her vehicle. “Drive back with me,” he asked softly. He didn’t want her to think he was demanding it, he just wanted her close. The mating bond was strong now and he didn’t want her out of arm’s reach.
What he had experienced with her had been wonderful. They’d only had a short time alone together but it had been enough for now. She was his. His claim on her had been made and they were tied together forever.
She stopped walking but didn’t pull away. “I can’t,” she whispered. “Please understand, Austin. I can’t be without a way to leave. I’m not saying I will leave again but I have to have a way.”
He cupped her cheek. Their eyes locked and Austin could see the emotions there, see how important this one thing was to her. “Okay, no problem.”
Her relief was so noticeable she actually shook with it. Austin could understand some of how she felt after learning more about her old Pack, but he wanted…no
needed her to trust him. He knew trust would take time, but the wolf inside him was restless.
The animal part of him didn’t want to give her time. He wanted to claim, to conquer, and to have Kiley admit she was his.
In his heart he knew he would have to fight that part of him. His mate was special. He wouldn’t do anything to cause her unnecessary worry or heartache.
He still had questions, though. When they had more time together he would ask but for now he knew enough. Home. When he took her home, they could talk and learn each other’s pasts. Now was for securing their future.
“Thank you,” she told him with a smile and pushed up against him.
Austin bent his head, unable to resist his mate’s luscious lips, and sealed his mouth over hers. Kiley responded quickly, wrapping her arms around his neck and opening to him.
He held back a groan as he pulled her body flush with his. It felt so wonderful to hold her. The sudden squeal of tires broke the moment and he pulled away in time to see a big, dark SUV racing towards them.
Instincts kicked in. He threw her bags between two cars, pushed her after them, and jumped to cover her body with his.
Metal hit metal as the SUV hit one of the parked cars. Kiley screamed and his wolf howled inside at her fear. Austin leapt to his feet as the SUV reversed. He couldn’t see inside the dark interior but he could smell shifter. He grabbed hold of Kiley’s arms and yanked her up.
“Go around the front and get in your car!” he ordered.
Without hesitation she scrambled to comply. She grabbed the bags at her feet and darted in front of the car that had shielded them. Austin stepped back out into the parking lot just as the SUV lurched forwards, as if taunting him.
Austin smiled grimly. He was a pretty easygoing guy but threaten his mate, and he felt like ripping someone’s balls off and feeding them to them. He narrowed his eyes and waited. The vehicle was only about fifteen yards from him. Whoever was inside would clearly see his challenge.
