Taming the Alpha

by Mandy M. Roth

  “Physically?” One black brow quirked. “I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

  “I had a baby, Wade. And a C-section. I gained like a jillion pounds. I’ve got stretch marks and a scar. Things aren’t as firm or flat as they used be.”

  If she’d kicked him in the crotch, she doubted his eyes could have gotten so wide. “What the hell? You really think that matters? I didn’t fall in love with you because you had a flat stomach or a great rack. I fell in love with all of you. You had my daughter. She grew inside you. I felt her kick every night and was in complete fucking awe. I don’t give a shit about a few stretch marks or that things are a bit softer.”

  “And heavier.” There was a bitterness on her tongue that twisted her mouth. “Like almost twenty pounds heavier.”

  “Wait. Is that why you didn’t want me to carry you into the cabin? You think you’re too heavy?” A scoff ripped from him. “You weigh what now, a buck forty? Fifty? I’ve got a hundred pounds on you. You were always too skinny. I told you that all the time. You’re five foot ten. Whatever pounds you put on looks good, darlin’.”

  “Doesn’t feel like it.” She picked at her cuticles, avoiding his eyes. He had told her she was too skinny but she hadn’t been. She’d been in her prime, with everything tight and toned. Now she felt old and flabby, frumpy and fat.

  He knelt in front of her. “Jesus, Josie, look at me.”

  She took another sip of liquor. It was so hard to raise her eyes. But she drew on the strength that had keep her going all these months and lifted her chin. He must have recognized the struggle because pride filled his face as he took the cup away and held both her hands.

  “Whatever female body image bullshit is in your head isn’t in mine. I don’t want some photoshopped image. I want you.”

  She looked away but he used two fingers to turn her face back to him.

  “I mean it. You’re beautiful. You always have been. I don’t care about a little extra weight or a few more curves. If anything, the fact that you got those because of Sadie just makes it all that more perfect.” His eyes dropped to her breasts and a naughty smile inched out. “And you still have a great rack. It might even be a little better now.”

  She shoved him, not with a lot of force or in anger, in more of the old-Josie ‘get out of here, you sex-maniac’ style. It was just too tempting to believe him. “You’re just saying that to get laid.”

  The grin vanished from his mouth. “No. I’m not. I mean every word. Yes, I want to make love with you but more than that, I love you, Josie. I am in love with you. I think you’re beautiful and damn, darlin’, you make me hard as a rock just by breathing.”

  “Do you mean that?” She had to wet her lips with her tongue to get the words out.

  “Yes, I do. Complete truth, right?”

  A shaky breath sailed into her lungs. Could she believe him? She had to, she realized. He hadn’t lied to her at all today, not even to spare her feelings. She gave him a grateful smile.

  “Hey, it’s not like I don’t have a few scars of my own, you know.” He tugged off his shirt and pointed to the divot along his left ribs. “This is where the chest tube was. And that’s the prettiest of them. If I take my pants off, you can play connect the scars on my legs. I think it makes a giraffe picture. Or an anteater. I was never quite sure.”

  Her gaze cemented to his chest. There was so much more of it than she was used to, every inch more sculpted. His stomach had always been flat but now it was tight and rippled. He’d put on weight, too, all of it muscle. And she liked looking at him. Her nipples peaked against her shirt and she glanced away. “More than that has changed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Josie nibbled on the inside of her lip. That brief moment let her gather her courage. Her gaze returned to his collarbone then slid over to his shoulder and down his arm. Gorgeous, he was more gorgeous now than ever. Her tongue licked out at her upper lip.

  Wade took her hand and brought it to the center of his chest. “Touch me, Josie.”

  For a moment, she didn’t move. Her hand pressed to his sternum, his heart thundering under her palm. She hadn’t really even touched him and her libido was roaring. She wanted to gorge, to learn the new taste of his skin and grow drunk on it. Her breath came in pants.

  Murmured low, his voice hypnotized her. “I’m still me. I still love you and I need to feel you touch me. Please.”

  Slowly, her hand slid down, molding to the swells of his pecs. One fingertip delved into the puckered scar along his ribs. He was so warm. He always had been but now it sent a different type of heat along her bones. Taking her time, she let her hands relearn the contours of him. Each inch she explored was the most innocent and hottest foreplay she’d ever experienced. Between her legs, an achy emptiness formed.

  She traced around his nipple and it beaded. He’d never had a lot of chest hair but she liked to run her fingers through what he had, play with it, tug it gently. She did that now and his thighs went taut. His zipper strained across a growing erection and her tongue grew thick.

  “You changed. Got harder.”

  She knew rehabilitation had done a lot of that. It took a lot of strength to support himself on the walker when his busted legs couldn’t hold his weight. Then had come the crutches and the canes. She’d watched from a distance as he’d rebuilt the muscles in his damaged legs.

  “Therapy forced me to work out more. I had to if I wanted to walk again.”

  Her fingers skimmed his collarbone and she delighted when a shiver erupted in his spine. He hadn’t been lying. He craved her touch as much as she craved his. Fingers dancing along his body, she played and watched in fascination as his pupils dilated and his cheeks flushed. She caressed down his shoulder to his upper arm. One finger dipped into the valley of his biceps then smoothed over the swell of muscle.

  “It’s strange. I mean. It’s good but… different.”

  “I’m the same Wade you married, just a little bigger, a little harder, a little more banged up. This Wade loves you as much, if not more, than the old Wade.” Taking her right hand, he stroked it down his chest, down his stomach. He pressed her palm across his straining zipper. “I miss you.”

  When he let go of her hand, she didn’t remove it. Curling her fingers, she cupped his erection and his eyes closed. He put both palms on her calves and massaged his way up. To her knees. To her outer thighs. To her hips. The position was awkward and he had to rise up on his knees. A quick flash of pain echoed across his face.

  She tugged at his shoulders, drawing him up to the couch, into her arms. He took her mouth as he covered her, searing her with intense warmth and speeding the blood in her veins before curving his hands under her butt and lifting her to the floor. The couch wasn’t huge and they were both tall. The floor gave them much more room to move and oh, how she ached to moved beneath him.

  The carpet was thin, the wooden floor hard but she wouldn’t have cared if it was solid stone. Their tongues were intertwined, breath mingling, sucking in sighs and moans. Her hands slid up his back, marveling at new muscles and familiar skin. A quick pull on her hips scooted her closer as his lips skated down her throat where he buried his face in her neck. Their bodies might have gone through some changes but he still knew what she liked. There was a spot, just above her collarbone, that always made her quiver and Wade knew how to work it to perfection.

  A shudder shimmied up her spine. Lips pressed to his ear, murmuring his name, Josie sank her hands into the thick black satin of his hair. It was long enough she could fist it, use it to guide him, bring his mouth back to hers. Her tongue thrust, his parried and they dueled, striving for dominance and yielding only when the need for oxygen forced them to.

  Wade gulped a breath but his hands weren’t idle. He rolled her above him, settling her across his hips as his hands shot beneath her shirt. That blessedly hard bulge in his jeans pressed against her pussy, teasing her with what was to come. Suddenly famished after the long months of self-den
ial, Josie rocked, grinding against that ridge. Electric currents ricocheted through her.

  A low groan warmed the skin on her neck as he groaned. He unsnapped her bra and yanked both it and her shirt over her head. She paused in unzipping his pants just long enough to help toss her clothes aside. Beneath her, Wade froze.

  “I said you had a great rack,” he whispered, eyes locked on her breasts. “I lied. They’re beyond great, more like works of art.”

  Any reply she might have made died on her lips as his hands cupped her, long strong fingers molding to the curves. He worked her nipples with his thumbs then plucked at them, drawing them tighter, taller. When she couldn’t take anymore, he lunged up and took one crest in his mouth. A strangled cry tore from her mouth.

  He feasted. She knew no other words to describe it, couldn’t process the higher centers of her brain to check for one. He suckled each nipple, tracing his tongue around it, drew it between his lips, nibbled it, nuzzled it. The throbbing between her legs turned achingly sweet. When he drew as much of her breast in his mouth as she could, he set a fire in her soul that scorched down to her bones. Just seconds before she melted, he turned to its twin.

  His button was undone, the zipper wide. Forcing her mind to focus, she delved her hand between them, slipped beneath his underwear and circled his shaft. His mouth released with a pop, his head falling back. “Josie, be careful. I’m not going to last long, darlin’. It’s been too long and you’ve turned me on too much.”

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “You have. You gave us a second chance.”

  Had she? A knowing smile shook her head as she scooted back, giving her more access to him. “We did that together.”

  The hand around his cock slowly stroked and she reached up with the other, her fingers skimmed over his lips, so firm but lush and tempting. His jaw held the scratch of whiskers but was a solid wedge that could display his stubbornness in a single shift. She traced every feature, every aspect that made him unique. His eyes closed, letting her find her way by touch and taking nothing in return.

  The small thatch of hair on his chest thinned as it trickled down his belly. She caressed over the defined lines of his abdomen as womanly instinct took over. The arched bone of his hip melted into that delectable divot that magazines called the Adonis Belt. It was more pronounced now and she marveled in it, how it felt beneath her touch. Stroking along that line opened his eyes.

  In her palm, his cock pulsed. “Josie—”

  “Shh.” She worked her hand, moving his underwear out of the way. His erection sprang free, thickening, lengthening, heating. She kept her rhythm slow, working him to fullness.

  He leaned up to take her mouth but she shied away. This wasn’t for her. It was for him. And she’d never wanted anything more. Accepting her wishes, Wade let his shoulders fall to the floor. His hands fisted open and closed as he fought for control.

  Josie slid further down his legs and lowered her head. His anticipating inhale hissed. “You don’t have to—”

  Her first suck silenced his protest. He was heavy on her tongue, warm and firm. Her lips rolled as she took him as deep as she could, slicking her tongue across his corona with every downward glide. Of everything that had changed, this remained the same. He was still as intoxicatingly full in her mouth.

  His head fell back with a soft moan. There was no rush, no frantic race to an end. She just lavished attention and delighted at his every sound. Her hand stroked to meet her mouth, twisting to draw out his enjoyment. His thighs jumped beneath her swollen breast and she knew, as only his wife could, that behind her, his toes were curling in his socks. She dragged her tongue up the underside of his cock before drawing the head inside her mouth once more.

  Every suck and lick built until despite her leisure, his hips drove forward. His hands grasped her head, steadying her as he thrust. She moaned, letting the vibrations dance along his shaft. His chest heaved with gulped breaths as his hips propelled forward faster, shorter, jerkier. The pulse along the side thumped against her lips and she increased her suction, letting her cheeks hollow and heighten his pleasure.

  With a throttled growl, he shoved his hands under her arms and hauled her up until she plastered across his chest. Her lips tingled but his mouth on hers tasted like the sweetest nectar.

  “Now. I need you now.” His words grunted against her tongue as he rolled her under him. “I’ll go slow later, I promise. I’ll lick you until you scream, play with your clit until you sob but Jesus, Josie, please, I can’t wait.”

  Frantically she grabbed at her own pants button. Wade was faster. He tore his jeans off his legs and pitched them aside then grabbed her waistband, yanking the denim down her thighs. She hadn’t planned on having sex with him this weekend. She’d worn no lacy underthings, packed no slinky negligees. But he barely paid attention to her plain pink striped panties as he shoved them down her legs.

  His eyes zeroed between her legs and he licked his lips. He crawled up her body, every muscle quivering with unharnessed power. His palm fell to her thigh and she parted them, opening for him. One finger circled around her pussy, parted the slick folds then sank inside. A whimper broke from her throat. She’d forgotten how good, no how magical, his touch was.

  Although she was more than ready for him, he lingered long enough to stroke her, to coax the tight knot of her clit from beneath its hood until it stood, aching and desperate. He thrust, slowly, teasingly, tempting her closer to the peak. Long ignored inner muscles clutched at him. One finger wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She needed more.

  Her hips began to rock, trying to draw more of his touch inside her. He slipped a second finger beside the first and her hands clamped onto his shoulders. He didn’t even flinch when her short nails dug into his skin and his hand never slowed.

  It also never sped up and her frustration mounted. Desire rushed, more potent than alcohol, more addictive than heroin. Like a long-dry addict who fell off the wagon, the rush hit her like hurricane. He was the only drug she needed.

  “More.”

  A luscious burn took her breath as a third finger entered her. His thumb tweaked her clit with every movement until the edge of orgasm hovered just out of her reach.

  “Wade, please.”

  She didn’t have to beg long. His hands withdrew, leaving her empty and unfulfilled. But he circled her ankles, bending her knees, and crawled between her legs. The damp tip of his cock trailed along her inner thigh and she bucked, hopeless hooked on her need for him.

  He entered her slow. Each glorious inch filled her until her emptiness vanished. But it was no relief. It was simply the first thrilling blast of a building high that threatened to fracture her mind.

  Only when he’d sank deep inside her, when he had given her his everything, did he halt. Her legs wrapped around him and held him close. Eyes pinched tight and with his harsh breath huffing along her brow, Wade just let the connection, the reconnection, grow. But they were too hungry to savor it too long.

  The first thrust blanked her mind. The second reduced her to simple sensation. With the third, she grabbed the back of his neck and jerked his mouth to hers. They fit perfectly. He was hard where she was soft, commanding where she was yielding. He delved deep and hard, then went slow and coaxing. She rocked beneath him, taking what he gave and squeezing tight, reluctant to let him go. Her hands clutched at his back and her thighs strained against him. Each forward motion nudged her clit, propelling her higher, nearer climax.

  Nonsensical steamy love words slipped out between kisses, licks and nips. He picked up speed and her body quivered, the first brush of orgasm tensing her nerves. Levering higher, he wedged higher, and each plunge pressed hard and drew that bud to the precipice. The cords in his neck stood out as he struggled to hold back, to prolong the pleasure for one more moment but it crashed into them both.

  A guttural moan echoed as he bared his teeth. The first powerful pulse of his release triggered her own. She had no breath to spare t
o cry his name. Her soul simply shattered. Heated waves swept through her as her pussy rhythmically grasp at his cock, milking at him.

  It lasted forever and left them both shaking, bodies slick and gasping for breath. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, cradling her shoulders in his hands. Exploding lights had her blinking as her vision slowly returned. Pressing her cheek closer to his, she hugged him close.

  A strange pressure faded away. Her muscles were languid, her mind clear and the rigidness she’d clung for so long just melted away. A strange understanding brought a smile to her lips. She knew she could face anything now. She was strong enough to do whatever she needed to do alone. But she didn’t have to. She could lean on him, knew that he’d be there if she needed him.

  “I love you, Josie.”

  His words were sluggish, his voice thick with the need for sleep. The same necessity tugged at her, making her eyelids heavy.

  “Wade?”

  “Hm?”

  “Take me to bed, baby. I’m tired of sleeping alone.”

  Chapter Five

  Early morning sunshine streamed in the curtainless window and sliced across Wade’s face. Squinting, he rolled to his side and reached for her. His hand met nothing but cool cotton sheets. His eyes flew open as he jerked upward and scoured the room. Josie was gone. The bathroom door stood open, the tiny interior empty.

  “Josie?”

  Her name echoed back to him. There was no sound in the cabin and his heart stuttered. Where was she? They’d both stumbled into the bedroom and crawled beneath the blankets, curling around each other like vines in a rose garden. They’d slept for a while but had woken twice, each time reaching for each other in the dark. The second time had been longer, slower, sweeter but no less intense. The third time had been a semi-acrobatic adventure, starting with both of them crammed into that ridiculously little shower stall and ending with her ass pressed against the porcelain sink edge, his knees quaking as he held her up.

  So where was she now?