Alpha Doms Box Set: 9 Delicious Stories + 10 Sexy Heroes = 19 Reasons to Indulge

by Christin Lovell

  I tried to calm myself long enough to reach for a slice. It smelled like heaven, but I was too angry, too upset…too disappointed.

  My size had never held me back. I wasn’t a Skinny Minnie, but I wasn’t immobile either. I walked regularly. I hadn’t tried to run since high school, but…

  I reached for my glass of wine. I sipped it lightly, knowing it would knock me quick since I hadn’t eaten…and couldn’t bring myself to eat.

  I knew it wasn’t healthy, but, well, I wasn’t going to waste away. Plus, I’d read somewhere that fasting for a day every once in a while was good for your metabolism.

  I just couldn’t get over the asshole’s insinuation. He’d cut me off mid-sentence, mid-reply to one of his questions to tell me this wasn’t going to work, that he realized he needed someone with a military or security background, further citing that jumpers were fast runners with a knack for eluding the quickest of bondsmen. He thought my psychology background with my criminal focus would help in locating the men quicker, but he would rather it take a little longer and know they’d be caught and their bail revoked. He then briskly thanked me for my time and all but shoved me out the door.

  I’d never felt used…until today.

  He’d wasted my time. He must have learned from his jumpers because he had me hurdling through hoops and in the end, he eluded offering me the job.

  “Callie Cat?” Jay’s voice was smooth as silk, with a hint of concern. He brushed the back of his hand across my cheek.

  I blinked a few times, the silence finally registering. They’d paused the show; somehow, they’d known I wasn’t watching, despite my eyes being trained on it. They knew me too well.

  Glancing back and forth between them, a wistful smile curled my lips slightly. “Sorry, guys. You can watch whatever you want.”

  If I really analyzed my reaction, I knew I’d made this bondsmen into a bigger jerk than he really was. My mind had turned all of my hurt and frustration on him because I’d worked the hardest to obtain the position he was offering, and he’d been the only one honest enough to turn me down on the spot. I suppose on some level I ought to appreciate his forward approach. Everyone else said they would call, but never did.

  It was everything though, all of my wasted efforts until this point. After today, I actually regret going to college for a degree, rather than a short certificate or diploma program, a specialized in-demand trade. I’d followed my heart. As a child, I devoured Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mystery books. As a teen, I stayed up late watching 48-hours, Cops, Cold Case and all the other real crime shows. How did you gracefully walk away from what you’d dedicated your life to pursuing?

  You didn’t. I couldn’t.

  Not wanting to ruin the guy’s night, I suppressed my emotions and attempted to quiet my mind long enough to excuse myself. I set my still-full glass of wine on the coffee table. “Um, I’m just going to go to my room and read for a while.”

  Eddie’s gaze intensified. His lips curled into a snarl as he assessed me. A flash of gold reflected in his eyes, ricocheting the tension riding his body. “No, you’re not.”

  Jay angled his head, watching Eddie for a minute before joining in. “Yeah. You’re not.” His features hardened in like.

  I was taken aback. The guys had never stopped me from doing what I wanted before.

  I blinked a few times, my mind fraught to process what had just happened.

  “Listen, Callie,” Eddie started. He angled himself forward on the sofa, a firm hand on my thigh as he glared back at me. “You’re not okay. You claim we’re your best friends, but you never let us in. You try to juggle the world alone, and you just can’t.”

  Guilt rammed my chest. I averted my gaze, staring at his hand on my thigh. I didn’t let them in, but that was because I didn’t want to be any more of a burden. It’s what I felt like…a burden.

  Jay lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “We love you, Callie Cat. We just want you to be happy, and you’re anything but lately.”

  I bit my bottom lip hard, ashamed of the tears that suddenly wet my eyes.

  Ever intuitive, Eddie pressed. “Why don’t you open up to us, Callie?”

  Jay met Eddie’s hard gaze. Once again, they silently communicated, they made plans without me, confirmed their plans without me.

  “Why not?” Jay clipped.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. My chest tightened. I felt like I was on ice, frozen in place, and yet I felt the flames flickering off of them. I’d upset them. “Because I don’t want to ask anymore of you than I already have. It’s not your place to feed me, shelter me and listen to me bitch about not finding a job, especially when it’s my own fault for picking an unavailable career.”

  They seemed to soften as my words set in. “When are you going to learn that we don’t look at you as a responsibility, Callie Cat?” Jay slipped my hair behind my ears, studying me closely; this was the gentler side of him, the in-control one.

  My heart beat a little quicker, my pulse thumped a little faster as he locked onto my gaze. Over the years, I’d trained my body not to respond to them, but, being so raw, feeling so overwhelmed all around, it didn’t take much for them to affect me right now.

  Eddie began to tenderly graze his fingers up and down my thigh, soothing and heating me up simultaneously.

  The air was thick with anxiety; our breathing became louder, harder. Something had shifted between us in that moment. I felt dangerously close to crossing a line I’d vowed I never would. I closed my eyes, trying to regain my composure. Damn it. I couldn’t ruin ten years of friendship for a one-night-stand with them. Right now, I felt like they were all I had left; I couldn’t lose them.

  Opening my eyes, I abruptly stood and clumsily put a bit of space between us. I worked my bottom lip, crossing my arms over my chest protectively.

  Jay appeared agitated while Eddie looked disappointed. Their chests rose and fell in a heavy rhythm as they watched me.

  “What part of mate don’t you understand, Callie?” Jay ground his teeth, his muscles flexing unnaturally.

  Eddie backhanded Jay across the chest. The smack echoed through the room.

  Jay growled at Eddie, his nostrils flaring.

  I mulled over his words, trying to choose my own wisely before I spoke. I kept my tone soft, appealing to him sensibly. “I’m not a werewolf, Jay-Jay. I don’t understand your laws, your words or your rituals. I also don’t assume to know them either. Fiction is not reality, and being a factual person, I keep my theories to myself and would never impose them on you. So, if our definitions of a mate don’t match up, it’s because you’ve never redefined it for me.”

  I loved these men. I loved spending time with them; I loved them for indulging me, for being there for me, for making me laugh when I wanted to cry, for offering what so many others wouldn’t. They were wonderful.

  But, like I’d come to learn on my job hunt, you didn’t have a job until they said “You’re hired.” I would never assume the guys looked at me as more than a friend, or a competition, until they said so.

  They were always flirty, with every woman they came across. Jay in an overtly charming sort of way; Eddie with calculated, sultry seductions.

  At times I thought their definition of a mate was what every romantic fiction story explained, but then they would cave and go out with one of the money hungry women who’d been stalking them. Though they tried to be discreet most of the time, it didn’t escape me. Books romanticized soul mates. In fiction, the men, werewolves, became obsessed; their worlds revolved around their mate. While Jay and Eddie’s lives involved me, I wouldn’t say they lived for me.

  In high school, in the beginning, I thought they were both interested in me in that way, but then I discovered their history and learned that I was just another piece of property, another competition for them: I was a prize, a trophy, not an actual desire. In their pursuit though, I got to know each guy and came to appreciate him as a friend. I forced myself to keep the hard li
ne and not cross it with either of them. I didn’t want to get hurt, and I didn’t want to destroy what I’d come to cherish. Competitive or not, I could never argue that they weren’t great friends.

  “A mate. You don’t know what a mate is?” Jay rose up; his hands fisted at his sides.

  Eddie was right behind him, scrutinizing his every move; on the prowl in some ways it appeared.

  Jay swallowed hard, working his lips. “A mate is the person nature designed to be my perfect partner, my perfect other half, the person I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. You’re who I plan to spend the rest of my life with.” His features bunched, and for the first time, I witnessed his pain. “We love you, dammit. You’re it for us, Callie Cat.”

  My mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. Goosebumps coated my flesh; a bubble of pressure encapsulated my heart.

  I looked to Eddie. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his faced turned down. His lips were mashed together. It took a minute for him to finally lift his gaze, but it was his wolf shining through, not him. And without asking, I just knew it was the truth.

  He blinked several times, suppressing his wolf. “Diddo, sweetie.”

  My heart took off, my pulse speeding ahead of it. Reeling didn’t properly explain my reaction. “I…” I clamped my mouth shut, closing my eyes for a moment. They’d turned my entire world upside down; they’d turned all I’d fought for on its head. This whole time I’d been fighting not to look at them this way, and they’d been fighting for the opposite, a war of wills, so to say.

  “I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. My parents take off around the world anytime they feel like it; they don’t even bother to help me financially. You’re the only ones who are there for me; you’re all I have. I never wanted to lose that.” Emotions thickened my voice. “It’s not about the money; I just never wanted to lose either of you.”

  Jay released a breath, smiling charmingly. “Baby, letting me take care of all of your needs is not gonna send me packing.”

  I felt my cheeks flush even as I met his passionate gaze. “What if I’m extra needy?”

  The guys chuckled softly. Eddie licked his lips. “That’s why you have two mates.”

  Jay stalked towards me. “What do you say, Callie Cat? You gonna finally open that door and let us in?” He bent, pressing his cheek against mine. Whisper soft, his words sent desire chasing down my body, pooling in my womb. “Because, baby, I want in. Forever.”

  I felt Eddie behind me. He swept my hair back, kissing my exposed neck and shoulder on the opposite side.

  Suddenly, my lungs struggled to expand. Their warmth sent erotic tingles through me; their declarations effortlessly demolished my walls.

  “This is a forever type thing, sweetie. We don’t plan to run, and we won’t allow you to run once we’ve claimed you. You’ll never want for anything, but you have to decide if this is what you want forever.” Eddie sealed his words with a kiss on my cheek.

  “Right now?” Damn my voice for squeaking.

  His hands combed my arms, drawing them back towards him. “Right now.”

  Jay leaned back, making eye contact. “Right now, Callie Cat.” For the first time, he sounded unsure of himself. Jay was overly confident, bordering cocky most of the time. I’d never seen him nervous before.

  “I don’t want to lose either of you,” I stated.

  The muscle in his jaw flickered. “It’s a yes or no question, Cal. Either you want to be with us, in every way possible, forever, or you don’t.”

  Eddie’s thumbs drew circles around my wrists, silently reassuring me.

  They were amazing. They were sexy as hell, smart businessmen, true leaders in the most attractive way; they were self-assured, never floundering. Their confidence was a security blanket for me. I felt safe with them; I felt loved by them. Not once did I ever question whether or not they cared for me. They were there for me when no one else was. They’d proven themselves time and time again. They deserved the same love and acceptance from me.

  The true question I had to answer wasn’t whether or not I wanted to be with them; I did. The question was whether or not I could allow myself to be. I looked up to them. They set the bar so high, and with my lack of a job, I didn’t know if I would ever be their equal. I loved them enough to set them free to find someone better than me, if that’s what they wanted.

  “What if I don’t find a job? What if I do find a job, but it’s out of state? You guys can’t just uproot your packs and move.”

  “You let us handle that.” Eddie’s breath tickled my neck, sending a chill down my spine. My breasts swelled, reacting to his calm control.

  “I don’t want you two being responsible for me in that way.”

  Jay’s green eyes sparked, lighting up as if I’d challenged him. “I don’t care if you never work a single day in your life. If you do find a job out of state, we’ll make it work. One of us will always be there with you unless it’s close enough that the packs can migrate. We want this to work. We want you, Callie Cat. We’ve wanted you every single day these past ten years.”

  Happiness flourished within me. I’d be a fool not to take that offer with its guarantees attached. The conviction in his voice helped wash away any lingering doubt. I fought to suppress my smile. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” He quirked a brow, analyzing me.

  I nodded my head in agreement. “Okay.” This time I let my smile break through.

  “There is a God!” A growl vibrated through Eddie’s chest, shaking me. Without warning, he spun me and captured my lips.

  It was then that I realized I was incapacitated. He wasn’t soothing me, the bastard had been tying my arms behind my back, and damn if I didn’t find it sexy as hell.

  My body melted into him; over and over his lips collided with mine in a fury of passion. His tongue thrust in my mouth, curling to taste me with every stroke; stoking the flame burning at my core.

  It felt like an eternity before he broke away. My lips had never been so thoroughly ravished. I’d never witnessed the determined expression on his face before; he was dark and dangerous yet safe and alluring. I didn’t question whether or not I could trust them; I knew I could.

  “I want you naked now,” Eddie snarled.

  I arched into him; my nipples hardened, painfully sharp. Breathing was no longer easy; each breath was forced.

  Jay turned me towards him. “You take the bottom, I’ll take the top.” He stared intently at me as he shredded my shirt and bra.

  I frowned. “That was a comfy shirt,” I pouted.

  “I’ll buy you another,” they replied in unison.

  I felt a breeze skitter across my body, making me hyper-aware of my lack of clothing anywhere. I hadn’t stepped out of anything, meaning Eddie had discarded the rest of my clothes the same, even my socks.

  Their heated gazes swallowed me; I couldn’t see Eddie, but I felt his eyes on me.

  I shifted uncomfortably, abruptly realizing that I was standing naked - truly naked - before them. All of my flaws were on display while their perfection was still clothed in shorts. I felt beyond exposed; their lack of a reaction had me feeling more and more like an exhibit every second that passed in silence.

  “Stay still, Callie.” Eddie’s soft, yet firm, command had me halting. This was a side of him I’d never personally experienced. I’d witnessed it when he addressed certain members of his pack, but he’d never spoken to me like that. They’d never told me what to do.

  Jay closed the distance between us, claiming my lips. He was softer than Eddie in his approach, but more intense in emotion. His hands curled around my hips; he jerked me against him, unashamedly rocking his erection into my stomach.

  Heat scorched my womb; adrenaline pumped through my veins. I was nervous, yet excited. I didn’t know what to expect. The only thing I knew was that this felt right; they felt so right. If I did nothing else right in my life, at least I knew I would always have them.

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  Chapter Eight

  EDDIE

  Callie’s arousal swarmed my nostrils. There would be no more hiding, no more guessing. The torture was coming to an end today.

  My wolf rode dangerously close to freedom. My weakness was his strength. It took every ounce of my control to keep him from breaking loose and roughly claiming our mate.

  Without warning, I broke between Jay and Callie, tossing her over my shoulder. She screeched. I delivered a loud smack to her ass. That quieted her quick.

  I heard Jay half growling, half grumbling behind me; he was following me nonetheless. I knew my actions could have incited his wolf; had he not had complete control, our wolves would be fighting right now.

  I kicked open my bedroom door. A swift flick of my wrists and Callie’s ass was in my hands. Another jerk and her legs were over my shoulders. Her lack of a cry told me she trusted me.

  I collapsed onto the bed on my back and immediately locked my mouth to her pussy.

  Her breath hitched; her exhale was a moan. Her knees hugged my head. She arched backwards, laughing as she wiggled over my tongue. “You boys are crazy!”

  Jay moved in beside her. He palmed her breasts, forcing her to bite back a moan. “Damn right, baby.” Leaning in, he nibbled her top lip until she freed her bottom. He didn’t hesitate to claim her mouth again.

  I dipped my tongue inside her channel, tasting her honey. She was sweet with a hint of a salty floral base. Repeatedly I shoved my tongue in and out of her, mimicking what my cock was about to do.

  I closed my mouth over her, and sucked her clit. Jay smothered her cry, but he couldn’t stop her hips from writhing. I clamped my hands around her hips, forbidding her from moving.

  She broke away from Jay, erotically throwing her head back, which pushed her breasts outwards. “Oh, fuck!” Her lips fell into the perfect ‘O’; her nipples pebbled. She gasped for each breath. “Damn, Eddie.” She twisted her upper body, trying to fight to get free of my grasp. Pain twisted her features before release brightened her eyes. I felt her pussy flutter as she cried out. Seeing Callie let go was a beautiful sight.