Alpha's Claim

by 10 Author Anthology

  “I’m going to come.” Her words came out breathy and desperate. Just as she was reaching for that ultimate peak, he cut her off.

  “No. You’re not.” He pulled away from her, sliding his fingers free and climbing to his feet.

  Arika gaped wildly at him, her shoulders rising and falling with her panting breaths. She could see his erection jutted up invitingly in her direction. He hadn’t stopped for lack of sexual interest. That was for sure. “Why not?” She couldn’t keep the alarm out of her voice. She’d never done something like this before. She was allowing herself to live a fantasy come to life. He couldn’t be turning her down. Her pride wouldn’t survive it.

  “You’re not coming until I’m buried to the hilt inside you.” Before she could respond to that, Duke lifted her off the ground and tossed her over his shoulder.

  She gave a yelp of surprise, but couldn’t really complain. The view she had of his ass while draped over his shoulder was more than worth the rough handling. She braced her palms against his lower back and greedily took in the sight of his muscular backside.

  She was so distracted by his cute tushy that it caught her off guard when he tossed her down to the bed. She landed on her back, the breath rushing out of her lungs.

  Duke didn’t seem to notice. While she recovered, he forced her thighs apart, stepped between them, and jammed himself inside of her. She rewarded him with a cry of pleasure, and he gripped her hips and yanked her even harder onto his cock.

  Shit, he was big. Bigger than what she was used to. As he began working his hips, his pelvis ground against her clit. She whimpered and arched her back off the bed. Each slam of his hips against hers had her crying out. She’d never been fucked before. She knew that now. Her past experiences had been mere sex, lovemaking. This was hard, unrestrained fucking.

  Her fists gripped the comforter tightly, the fabric making its way between each of her fingers. She writhed and moaned and arched against him. She felt her body tightening, felt her orgasm approaching. “Duke…”

  His grip on her hips constricted, becoming nearly bruising. He pounded into her once, twice, three times. On the third thrust, Arika let out a scream of pleasure. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and she held him against her as tremors tore through her.

  Fingers digging into her hips, Duke gave a roar of his own and emptied himself inside of her.

  The orgasm seemed to last forever. She rode it out, her body clenching and trembling around his. With one final cry, her body submitted completely to the most intense and overwhelming orgasm she’d ever experienced.

  Chapter Three

  Arika lay gasping and dazed. While she slowly came back down from the amazing high that was a result of sex with Duke, a sense of calm and relaxation unfurled in the center of her chest. She could have lain there for the rest of the evening, her small body wrapped around his much larger one.

  It was Duke who finally pulled away. He slid himself from her still quivering body and stepped back a few paces. “Hot, rough sex with a random werewolf you picked up off the street … guess you can cross that off your bucket list.”

  Offended by his comment, she sat up on her elbows to gape at him. “Excuse me?”

  He shrugged. “You’re not the first woman to use me as a checkmark on her list. First to hit me with a car, though.”

  “You think I did that on purpose?” Her voice came out a breathy gasp that had nothing to do with really amazing sex.

  Running a hand through his hair, Duke shrugged again. “Listen, it’s not that big a deal. Nail hot Asian chick was on my to-do list anyway, so we threw each other a freebie.”

  “A freebie?” Her voice was an indignant yelp as she struggled up from the bed to stand in front of him. Disheveled and unkempt, she poked a finger into his chest, her temper rising. “For your information, I had no clue you were a werewolf until you shapeshifted in my bedroom! I thought I was saving a poor, helpless animal in need!” There was obviously nothing helpless about Duke. The man took what he wanted and did as he pleased. “In fact, I didn’t even know werewolves existed until half an hour ago.” A nervous laugh escaped her as she realized just how alarming and life-altering that discovery was. She was fairly certain she was in shock. Otherwise, she’d be freaking out right about now. “All things considered, I think I’m handling it pretty well…”

  At his doubting look, she pressed on. Her eyes narrowed in outrage, and she poked him once again with a lilac-colored nail. “Secondly, I do not hook up with men I have no intention of having a serious relationship with. This is a first for me. So stop looking for some scheming ulterior motive. This entire ordeal was a complete accident.”

  “You’re telling me I’m supposed to believe you didn’t know I was a werewolf before you brought me home? Werewolves have been active members of the supernatural community for decades.”

  “I’m not a member of the supernatural community!” Her breaths were starting to feel panicked. Supernatural community? There were more things out there than werewolves? Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

  Duke looked shocked by her admission, as if it had never occurred to him that she might be just an average, oblivious human. Then he rolled his eyes. “You’re really going to try to sell that it was an accident you hit me with your car? Seems kind of cheap to play the shitty Asian driver card.”

  Arika scowled. “That’s offensive.”

  Ignoring her, he pushed on. “Let’s say for half a second I believe hitting me was an accident … then what the hell were you doing ushering a wolf into the backseat of your car? Even for others like me, I’m massive. There’s no way I could pass for your friendly neighborhood pooch.”

  “It was raining. My vision was hindered.”

  Duke threw up his hands in frustration. “You’re an idiot.”

  The two of them glared at one another, the minutes stretching by. Finally, he asked, “So are you going to take me home or what?”

  She bit her lip. After his about face following sex, she wanted nothing more than to see his ass—his fine ass—walking out her front door. But her guilty conscience wouldn’t allow that. “How is your leg?”

  He shot her a less than friendly look and attempted to put weight on it. “It hurts. How do you think it feels?”

  Her scowl deepened. “Should I take you to the hospital?” She was worried what that might do to her insurance. Hitting a man was kind of a big deal.

  “No!” His reply was practically a shout. “No doctors. You think I want some quack that hasn’t the slightest clue about my DNA poking and prodding me? I’ll pass.” He shrugged. “Besides, werewolves heal fast. Give me a couple days and I’ll be good as new.”

  She instantly hated the idea that popped into her head, but it was the most logical one she could come up with. Since she wasn’t taking him to the hospital to get his leg looked at, the least she could do was help him out until he felt better. “Until you’re healed, I think you should stay with me.”

  Duke gave a disbelieving bark of laughter. Then, once he realized she was truly serious, he threw back his head and hooted. “You want me to stay with you?” She glared, which only caused him to laugh harder. “Oh honey, I am so far out of your comfort zone.” He waved a hand around her bedroom. “Look at this place. You’re one of those uptight women who have to have everything in order.”

  She gave a sputter of protest that fell short of sounding truly offended. One look around the room and he’d pretty much pegged her correctly.

  “Shit, this room is a man’s nightmare.” He pointed to her shelf of dancing trophies. “Everything in its place and all lined up accordingly.” He stomped over to the closet and slid back the door. “Not surprising.” His tone was accusing as he rifled less than gently through the clothing hanging in front of him. “Everything organized by color. Each item arranged ever so perfectly with all the wrinkles ironed out.” He moved next to her dresser and tapped his finger along the tops of her bottles of nail polish. “It’s like a fucking colo
r chart, all descending perfectly in a row.” He spun on her and pointed a reproving finger. “A man like me does not fit with a woman like you.”

  “You seemed to fit quite well a few minutes ago.” Arika wasn’t sure where the snarky comment had come from. She was usually so polite. Something about this man put her on edge, made every inch of her tingle with adrenaline.

  Duke’s eyebrows rose. It appeared he was just as surprised by her reaction as she was. “You’re serious about this?” He shook his head with a chuckle. “You want me to stay with you?”

  She shrugged a noncommittal shoulder. “I’m the one who injured you. The least I can do is get you back on your feet.”

  “Hmm…” He stared at her from across the room, his eyes dark and foreboding. “You have no idea how dangerous I am.” Crossing the room, he loomed threateningly over her. “I’m a shapeshifter. I become a beast. When I’m not a slavering animal, I ride a motorcycle. How does that fit into your perfect, pretty world, sweetheart?”

  Arika swallowed nervously, but after a moment, she lifted her chin bravely. “You’ll not be riding a motorcycle anytime soon with that messed up leg.”

  He conceded, taking a playful step back. “Touché.”

  “And if you were going to hurt me in animal form, you’d have done it after I barreled into you with a car.” She smirked. “Nope. I think I’m perfectly safe.” She clapped her hands together. “It’s settled. You’re staying with me until your leg is healed. I’ll take care of you.”

  Placing a hand to the back of her head, Duke leaned down and kissed her roughly. His tongue dipped into her mouth, tangling with her own. At her squeak of protest, he laughed against her lips. “You have no idea what you’ve signed on for. You’re in a world of trouble, little girl.” With that, he pulled back and started off in the direction of the living room.

  Arika took an uncertain step after him before asking, “What are you doing?” It unnerved her yet turned her on at the same time that he acted as if he owned the place. His arrogance should have been off-putting, but the dominance he exuded was so damn sexy.

  He grinned over his shoulder. “Wasn’t it you who said we were going to curl up on the couch and watch some television together?”

  She blinked at him in shock. That had been when she’d thought he was nothing more than a dog. “I … I…” Conceding, she asked, “Could you at least put some clothes on?”

  With a put upon sigh, he nodded. “Fine. Find us some robes and get your ass in here. I don’t want to miss Breaking Bad. Repeats of the last season are playing at nine.” With a wink, he disappeared from the room.

  Chapter Four

  Arika found she knew just as little about Breaking Bad as she had two episodes before. It was hard to concentrate on plot developments with Duke’s intimidating presence next to her. More distracting was seeing him in her purple bathrobe. It barely reached mid-thigh, and the way he was reclined on the couch caused the sides to flap open and reveal even more of his leg.

  She tried to follow the story, but it was hard to think of anything but his hands and the way they felt on her breasts, his cock and the skills he had with it. Having him in her home was too much to handle.

  He’d been right, of course. He didn’t fit in. Her bathrobe alone stated that very loudly. The place was pretty. And girly. Everything was orderly and clean. He was the glaring opposite of her tidy little world. He was large, intimidating, and rugged. He was pushy and sexual. He had a friggin’ tattoo. She’d never dated a man with tattoos … not that she was dating Duke. Nothing about what they’d done even remotely resembled dating. It was just casual sex, another thing she didn’t ever do.

  Duke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and she quickly looked away. He made her so nervous. Just peeking at him had her belly tightening with sexual pleasure. She’d never been so affected by a man before, and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. So many damn firsts. It had her all out of sorts.

  Duke glanced at her again before offering a soft exhale. Reaching to the coffee table, he snatched up the remote and turned off the television. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Arika jumped in surprise at his suggestion. “In the middle of an episode?” she squeaked.

  He shifted his body to face hers. “I’ve seen it before.” He touched her hair gently, running it through his fingers. “And you look … tired.” Pushing to his feet, he winced at the swift movement, then offered a hand down to her. “Let’s get you in bed.”

  She’d wanted to inquire into the obvious pain in his leg, and the topic of bed brought up the question of sleeping arrangements, which had been present in her mind since the instant he agreed to stay. “Um, speaking of bed…” She let him pull her to her feet. Her eyes lowered to her toes as she fumbled through her next sentence. “I figured, well, since I was the one to hurt your leg, you should really take the bed. I can’t have you camping on the couch. You’ll not get any better that way.”

  Duke chuckled and pressed a finger under her chin to lift her face to his. “I figured we’d share the bed.” She must have looked astonished, because he pressed on with an amused grin. “We’ve already fucked, sweetheart. We’ve seen everything the other has to offer. No point in being shy now.” He shrugged. “No sense one of us sleeping on the couch when we’ve already done the nasty.”

  Her brows furrowed, and she nodded slowly. In a way, it made sense. She’d pretty much thrown her modesty out the window after knowing him barely ten minutes. There wasn’t anything they could do that they already hadn’t. Besides, the couch was uncomfortable. With a shrug of consent, she followed him into the bedroom.

  Just as she was hanging up her robe, Duke dropped the one she’d lent him to the floor. Without a single iota of shame, he stood before her naked. Her right hand swiftly lifted to grip the buttons on the front of her knee-length nightgown, and she sucked in a breath.

  “If I’m staying with you for a few days, we should probably take a drive to my apartment. I don’t want to wear your bathrobe all week.” Yanking the comforter back, he climbed in as if oblivious to her intense reaction.

  Arika had to take a few slow, deep breaths. Okay, so he was naked. That was only because he had nothing else to wear. He didn’t mean anything by it. As he’d said, it wasn’t as if he could keep wearing her bathrobe. “I think getting you into some clothes is a very good idea.”

  “I bet you do.”

  She ignored the husky tone of his voice as she crossed the room and slipped into bed on the opposite side of him. “Indeed.” She blanched. Indeed? If she was trying to prove to him that she wasn’t stuffy, saying things like that wasn’t the way to go about it.

  Huffing, she shifted down in the bed. She wasn’t trying to prove anything to him. She didn’t owe him anything as far as her personal life was concerned. “Can you turn the light out, please?” she asked tightly.

  “Sure thing. Werewolves have excellent night vision anyway. I’ll still be able to see the nightgown you borrowed from your grandma clear as day.”

  Arika gave a squawk of indignation and shifted awkwardly to face him just as he flicked the light out. “This is not my grandmother’s—”

  Duke silenced her with a kiss. His mouth crushed roughly to hers, and he pulled her toward him, yanking her to drape halfway across his chest.

  She gave a sharp sound of objection and placed a hand against his torso. “What—” Despite her protests, she couldn’t restrain herself. She kissed him in return when his lips lifted to hers. “Do you—” She moaned, her fingers splaying out against his pectoral muscles. “Think you are—” Her eyes rolled back when he slipped a finger between the buttons of her nightgown to flick across a nipple. “Doing?”

  “What you’ve been silently asking me to do for the last twenty minutes,” he rumbled against her mouth.

  She gave a soft sigh of pleasure, her body melting against his. Against her better judgment, she questioned his comment. “Just because I find you attractive…” She pulled back to g
aze into his chocolaty eyes. “That doesn’t mean you’re my sexual toy to play with every time I feel like because you’re staying here.”

  “No.” Grabbing the edge of her nightgown, he yanked it over her head and pulled her onto his lap. “You’re mine to play with.” He informed her of this with a possessive growl. He then cupped her bare breasts, squeezing them in his hands.

  Arika sucked in a sharp gasp and arched upward at the unexpected sensation. Her sudden movement rocked her hips against his, and she realized the only thing separating them was her thin panties.

  “You don’t seem to understand what you’ve invited into your home.” He lowered his face to her breasts, rubbing his nose along their peaks. “The wolf is insatiable.” His hands slid seductively down her back, over her hips. His teeth clamped lightly onto one of her nipples, and he tugged. When he finally pulled away, he said, “It cannot get enough of you. I smell your arousal, and it’s like a call that can’t be denied.” Through the silvery moonlight shining in the window, she saw his helpless yet amused expression. “Fuck me, Arika. Climb onto my cock and soothe the beast. I’m begging you.”

  A shiver swept through her entire body. She trembled at the sexual, incontestable need she saw in his eyes. No man had ever looked at her like that before. He rubbed his thumb in a slow circle against her clit, and all resistance left her.

  With a mew of arousal, Arika stripped out of her panties. She gripped his erection in her hand, squeezing lightly. She pumped it a few times with her fist before lifting herself ever so slightly so she could impale herself upon him.

  He gave a low, shuddering groan deep in his throat. His hips arched upward off the bed, forcing himself deeper into her.

  She gave a squeak of pleasure, another shiver coursing down her back. “Mmm. Duke…” She began rocking her hips, happily taking every one of his rough upward thrusts. Together, the two of them found a rhythm. She rode him hard and fast, and when he began stroking her clit, she came with an intensity she’d never before known.