Crossing Paths: A Brooklyn Shifters Romance Book 1

by Daphne Snow

  He spanked her repeatedly, making her feel the heat of his hand as it landed on the squishy flesh over and over. Her legs quaked and her breast felt heavy.

  Her world looked dormant from sheer inexperience, but Alexander brought out every sexual desire she had hidden.

  Her release was ratcheting up with each touch. With each smack across her ass, she moaned. At one point she tried to reach back to touch him and he just pinned her arm to her back gently. She needed to touch him or she would just die.

  If the groans and snarls from behind her were any indication Alexander was really getting into this. She loved that she could do things to him without trying. “Baby you are destroying me.” His raspy voice was followed by a feral groan as he spanked her again.

  He bent over her with his hard chest on her back. "Do you want me to fuck you?" His words were disguised beneath his harsh tone but actually sounded like a genuine question.

  "Please." He turned her head to give her a quick and brutal kiss. As his lips left her he nipped at her bottom lip breaking the skin, a bead of blood rested there before she licked it away realizing she wasn't opposed to this brutal man.

  “Who do you belong to?” He asked as she felt his length rest upon her ass. She didn’t want to answer. She didn’t want to give in. But she needed him desperately right now. He took a step back and she frantically called out.

  “To you.”

  “Who do you belong with?”

  “With you.” He grunted an approval. Frannie whimpered as he started to fit the head of his cock in her entrance. The feel of him stretching her was amazing. He was big and honestly last night she wasn't sure if she would be able to take him but she was in awe at her body.

  Alexander surged into her taking her breath away. He automatically hit that spot so deep in her it made her eyes roll back in pleasure. He didn't pound into her as she had desperately wanted. He began to pull out so irritably slow. "Faster" she pleaded for him to move but he just chuckled.

  "I belong to you Francesca, everything that is me is now yours." His declaration shocked her. It was inconceivable that he could already be so infatuated with her already. Was it possible? Did she dare to even hope? His large strong hands bit into her hips. They would bruise but she didn't care.

  "You know you belong to me as well. All that you are is mine. Your beautiful smiles are mine. Your wit is mine, your fat ass is mine." He bent to whisper in her ear. "Your pretty cunt is mine. " She shivered as he started to speed up. His languid thrust now becoming more desperate. Though she couldn't see him she could hear the groans and grunts he unabashedly let out.

  His thrust were harsh but filled her with everything she needed from him. As he slammed into her the creak of the desk surrounded them as the force of his body pounding in hers made it skate slowly across the floor. Frannie moaned and called out his name softly.

  "I want to hear you." His tone was demanding and she cared more about what he wanted than the tinge of fear that the guards would come back and see her getting fucked on the desk, so she got progressively louder and pampered him. The stark notion that she would do anything for him haunted her. "That's a good girl baby."

  He grabbed her hips tightly and jettisoned into her. The screams ripped from her throat, his name a prayer on her lips. With each slide of his cock she was engrossed in the upcoming intense, ecstatic orgasm.

  He brought a hand between her thighs and started to rub at her overly sensitive clit. The hard pulsing flesh ready to burst.

  "Come." A single word, a single command and she did furiously she came screaming his name, her sex clenching around him. His release was just moments behind hers.

  And as she felt the hot seed coat her insides she also felt another wave of pleasure hit her but it was almost as if it wasn't her own. It radiated through her in an inexplicable manner. She knew that had to have been the bond feeding them the emotions from one another. It felt strange but comforting all the same.

  Her legs felt like jelly as he rode out their orgasms until he withdrew himself. As she stood on shaky legs she couldn't help her wide eyes. "How?" Fran asked incredulously, staring at his partial erection. He chuckled as he reached to grab a nearby cloth and wipe the sheen of sweat from her backside and the commingled fluids from her thighs.

  "You do things to me that even I can't explain." Once he was done, he cleaned himself off. She couldn't stop staring at his cock. The consistent fantasies she had of sucking on it floating to the forefront of her mind. But he buttoned himself quickly though she could see the outline of him hard and ready through the black denim. She was satiated though craving him undeniably.

  “Baby, that kind of look makes a man react.” He grinned obviously knowing where her mind was as she looked at him. He seemed so much more relaxed now so comfortable with her.

  Again, however, her nagging thoughts flooded through her. She pulled down the hoodie to its full length covering as much of her body as she could. "We need to talk, Alex." The darkening look on his face said it all. He wasn't about to be happy with anything she had to say but she already knew that. she sat on his desk looking at her fingers as she toyed with the nails there. He came up to her his presence feeling like it was sucking all of the air out of the room.

  Fey was already onto her before she could say a word. Why do you refuse him? Axl says he wants us as his mate. Why think about it? He had claimed us we are his! She roared clearly unhappy with Frannie's indecision. But Frannie wasn't all that happy with it either. She didn't want to feel confused but she was.

  "Francesca there is nothing to discuss." His eyes narrowed at her and she decided despite the fact it was him she wouldn't put up with it. She promised herself she wouldn't let anyone walk all over her and it would be no different with him.

  "Yes there is!" She cleared her throat ready to ramble off the list of reasons she had to leave. He stopped her before she could get going his lips tenderly on hers. Soft supple kisses at first until the heat took over them. She wanted to sink into his gentle embrace, his hands caressing her face. The picture in the bathroom flashed before her.

  She pushed at him, ripping her lips from his. His eyes were stormy and glowing slightly. "Alexander we need to talk. I can’t stay with you."

  "Why?" She could feel the barely leashed anger radiating from him.

  "I..I need time. Last night was a mistake. I should have never asked you to claim me." Even as the words left her mouth they felt vile and wrong.

  "Francesca..."He trailed off in disbelief and anger. His eyes were flickering an inner turmoil between him and his beast.

  "This is moving too fast for me." She said feeling exasperated and emotional. She paused in her clear assault on their bond to touch his cheek unable to resist but he flinched away. As if the mere caress from her was like a slap to the face. She dropped her hand. Her stomach rolled from pain.

  “You belong with me. That will not change.” His voice was low, deliberate and gut wrenching. She wanted to believe him more than anything but she was so scared to give in to something so amazing just to have it ripped from her.

  "I need time. Please take me back to Minas."

  He paced for a moment running his hands through his hair leaving it disheveled when he finally stopped. He looked at her his eyes filled with a fierce sadness that made Frannie's heart break. He stormed up to her and kissed her again leaving her breathless before pressing his forehead against hers.

  "Know this love, I do not care where you go or what you do. We are meant for each other regardless of whether or not you choose to see it." His fiery green eyes found their way to hers. " I will never let you go. Not even in death."

  Chapter 14

  Frannie watched tirelessly behind the curtained front door as Alexander Benson stood there. He was the most impossible man in the world. Or maybe she was the most unreasonable. He watched the house carefully and even as he took several phone calls he did not stray from his spot. She wondered if he even blinked.

  At one poin
t she had spent so long watching him Mina had grabbed her a stool and told her to sit down.

  Last night and this morning kept replaying in her head like a confusing movie. Frannie earnestly wished she’d never said those words in his office. She knew how wrong they had been. She knew they were lies. He had dropped her off around noon and it was nearing six now. The drive over was silent; they didn’t speak a word to each other.

  Before she left the car he gave her another possessive mind numbing kiss then she scurried off into the safety of Minas home. She looked back once and she regretted it. His jaw was set, anger flashing swirling with black in his eyes as he watched her go.

  Now he just stood there. People on the street passed by eyeing him. They whispered to each other as they went and he paid them no mind at all. His shiny Lexus was out of place in Mina’s neighborhood. His height and stoic face made him stick out like a sore thumb. He obviously didn’t belong but Alex also didn’t seem to care.

  He just stayed there like a statue. The windless air was still cold and he acted as if the light sweater he had worn was enough to keep him warm for days.

  How long would he stand there? How long would he wait for her? She was leaving in two days, her flight coming early in the morning. Could she even go back now?

  She just wanted to go home at this point. Not Minas house, not her parent's house. She wanted her little studio apartment in California where it was warm and the only thing she had to worry about was running out of ice cream. Then her thoughts drew to imagine him there and how silly he would look sitting on her tiny couch. Or sharing her full sized bed as they made a shit attempt at cuddling before he devoured her. It all seemed to make her smile in a way she wished it wouldn't.

  She didn’t want a mate. Didn’t need a mate. You are foolish. And though she knew it was Fey who was speaking the words seemed to resonate through her own thoughts as well.

  She lifted her arms and ran her hands through her hair settling on cradling her face in them. Frannie leaned back her head hitting the wall and adjusted her far too big butt on the little stool.

  She enjoyed their time of course. She fucking loved it. He was hot, the sex was beyond anything she could comprehend but that didn't mean she was ready to throw away the little safe bubble she had made herself back in California. She loved her job though it didn't pay much. And she enjoyed being warm all year round, not just a few months. She had friends...well kinda. She had reasonably nice co-workers and...and...and that was it.

  Was that it? She had no family at this point. Her best friend was here in Brooklyn and as much as she hated to admit it, Frannie had been the warmest and most content in her life in his arms. The arms that held her close as they slept, she felt so protected in his embrace. Like no one in the world could touch her. Her mother and Ray's self-destruction couldn’t touch her. Her crippling anxiety couldn’t even touch her. She was safe and cared for and...loved for the first time since her father's death.

  And what had she done? Even though it was a lie, she had told him she had made a mistake by letting the moment get away from her. Frannie gently rubbed at the little scar left on her shoulder. She had told him it was okay and he did what instinct wanted him to do. What he wanted to do. He wanted her regardless of her insecurities; he stayed firm and didn't second guess his choice even though she had given him plenty of reason to.

  She even had chances to stop him. Alexander had given her plenty of chances. He never forced her hand or told her he didn't care about what she wanted. By the gods, the man only did things when she gave him the okay. And now instinct has told him to protect her but she won't even let him near her. She should have said no should have pushed him away even if it killed her. She wasn't ready not for a life with him, not for change.

  She peeked again and Alexander leaned up against his car. His hair normally neat now shaggy and unkempt from last night. His dark jeans settling perfectly on his hips and his eyes. Those perfect emerald green eyes were unwavering. She knew the mate bond however unsolidified it was to her had a part in driving her emotions but what if it were more than that. What if he with all his dominance and sly smiles. His sweet gestures and kind words. What if he was exactly what she hadn't been looking for but needed all this time.

  As the sun started to set he finally stood from his leaned position and made another phone call. In the next few minutes she saw another car pull up and the man she recognized as Costas hopped out smiling at Benson. His smile faltered though as he looked at his boss. They had a rather short conversation before Costas turned and pointed towards the brownstone and nodded his head.

  Costas and the other man with him walked up to stand at either side of the front door. Both of them wore the same type of suit she had seen them wear before but it looked like this time they wore long coats over them. She scanned them noticing the guns on their hips and winced. What the hell was he doing? Were they going to hold her hostage here?

  They wouldn't hurt Mina and Ya-Ya, would they? Zelik was gonna kill her if and when he found out this had to do with her.

  Alexander looked on a minute longer before grabbing his phone once more and dialing. He stared intently with the phone up to his ear. Once she heard the familiar hum of her own phone vibrating in her pocket, she knew it was him. At first she thought to ignore it but she knew Alex would just call again. He would keep calling until she picked up. There was no point in prolonging it. So she took out the cheap phone from her pocket and brought it to her ear pressing the answer icon.

  Frannie said nothing there wasn’t a reason to, she knew who it was. A few seconds passed in a silence she felt deep in her bones. He breathed heavily and spoke.

  “You are everything to me now. I’ll give you space but don’t dare think this is over.” His words were quiet as if they were right next to each other and he was whispering in her ear. She couldn’t deny their connection. Couldn’t deny they had feelings that surpassed normalcy for each other. She just needed time.

  “Alex I-.” Frannie didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t tell him she was leaving in two days. He would just try to stop her. Did she really even want to go? She was so confused her brain felt like mush. Shouldn’t this be easier, shouldn’t it be clear as day as to why they belonged to each other? After many long minutes passed and she still said nothing, he spoke gently, as soothing as ever, and it surprised her.

  “Baby, I can’t assume this is easy for you. We can take as long as you need but I don’t know how long I’ll last without you at least in the same house as me. So unless you want my heart to break and my balls to burst…come back to me Frannie.” She stifled a chuckle as the tears came. Why was she such a cry baby?

  With that he hung up then climbed in the front seat of his Lexus and sped away. Her heart clenched and Fey roared at his leaving them. You are a coward. The harsh words from her own bear stung. But she wasn’t wrong.

  Still, though Francesca finally felt like she could breathe again. Though it didn't put her at ease that he had men standing guard at the door.

  For a brief moment, Fran considered sneaking out the back and going to her parents. She doubted she would find even a little refuge there. As her mother still had not bothered to text or call since Fran left. She couldn't let that bother her now though. Benson was not going to let her go anytime soon so she poked her head out just slightly to speak to Costas.

  "Can’t you say something to him?" She asked having seen how close they were prior. Or well how Alexander had never seemed to want to bite his head off. He cocked an eyebrow at her and snorted a little.

  "I'm sorry peach but there's no reasoning with a stubborn bear about his lady." She rolled her eyes and stubbornly grumbled. "I'm not his." Fey growled at those words alarmingly and a dull ache started throbbing in her chest. As Costas turned in disbelief, his boyish charm vanished and he stared at her as if she were a lost cause.

  "I have a question for you, miss peach. Why would it be so bad if you were? What is it that you think anyone else can of
fer you that he can't?" She wanted to shout at him that he didn't know the situation and that he wouldn't understand. She stayed quiet though her mind ran rampant.

  Before she could close the door in his face a familiar pissed-off figure came into view. Zelik.

  Even though Fran thought it was freezing he walked up in his usual vest and tailored pants his dress shirt sleeves rolled up. The thin layer of snow still on the ground from the last snow storm crunching under his feet.

  "Who the fuck are you two?" At first, he looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and then slowly he crossed his arms defensively.

  "Look fellas I think you have the wrong house." He said, taking a step forward. Both Costas and the other men put up a hand and then stepped down a step.

  "I'm sorry sir but you are not permitted to enter this residence for the remainder of Miss Bianchi's stay." He blinked a few times in disbelief and then gripped at his hips in annoyance. Zelik grew angry as he watched the men stare at him in silence. They didn't move or offer any further explanation. He was angry enough to pace the length of the stoop, breathing in and out repeatedly.