The Alpha’s Saving Grace

by Melissa Schroeder

  She turned in the direction of the voice. Jake was leaning against the doorjamb watching her with tawny eyes. For a long moment, every thought in her brain dissolved. He was wearing a pair of jeans, but he had left his plaid shirt open.

  “Alex?”

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, her face heating in embarrassment. “How long was I out?”

  “It’s about eight.”

  “I slept all evening?”

  “It’s eight in the morning.”

  “Eight” She started to slide out of bed, then looked down to make sure she was wearing something. It was an oversized t-shirt, and she sighed. At least, she wasn’t naked.

  When she stood up, she wobbled a bit.

  “Whoa, there,” Jacob said, striding across the room to her. He had her by the arm before she could pitch forward in a faint.

  Shit.

  “I can walk to the bathroom.”

  “Well, to appease my worries, let me help you.”

  She studied the innocent expression on his face and knew he wasn’t a shrinking flower. She knew he was doing it more to help her save face more than likely

  “Okay.”

  Of course, she had to agree. She wasn’t sure if she would make three steps before falling on her face. She took his arm and allowed him to walk her to the bathroom. When he looked like he was coming in with her, she shook her head.

  “I think I can take it from here.”

  The expression on his face told her he thought otherwise, but she would not back down on this. He nodded but didn't appear too happy about it.

  She stepped onto the cold tile and shut the door behind her. Then she studied the bathroom. It was masculine, much like the guest room she had slept in. The towels matched the color the linens in the bedroom. And it was bigger than her whole freaking room. Good lord, she could live here. There was a massive shower that could fit at least ten people inside, and it had three shower heads. The garden bath was deep.

  As she glanced at herself in the mirror, she frowned. There was something different about her eyes. They were darker…or something. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was wrong. Maybe Caleb had given her something. She shrugged, then decided to get about her business. She needed to get to work.

  An emotion he had never felt before filtered through Jacob’s blood. He knew what it meant, and he as an Alpha, rejoiced in it. Since he’d brought her to his house, he had felt settled. Everything was right. She had slept in his bed with his shirt on her back. That was enough to satisfy him for the night. Still, he knew it wasn’t always going to be sufficient, and he had to move their relationship along fast or things could spiral out of control. He turned the bacon over and then grabbed the bowl of pancake mix.

  Any wolf who had found his Mate would need to consummate. An Alpha was a different sort altogether. As each day passed, his inner beast would beg to be released. If he didn’t do something soon, violence would become too common. He had seen it once, with an Alpha who went too far over the edge that he never returned. Living as a wolf without ever returning to his human form was something Jacob didn’t want to do.

  He heard her soft steps across the thick rug. Even if she had not been his Mate, he would have heard her, but there was an inner sense that told him she was drawing near. It sent his heart racing and his lust humming.

  “That smells good,” she said from behind him.

  He counted backward from ten trying to get his need for Alex under control. “I thought you might need something hearty to eat this morning. You didn’t have dinner.”

  Her stomach grumbled and her face turned pink. There was something so enchanting about the big tough chief blushing. It made her look more vulnerable. She was standing in his kitchen, wearing his shirt, and dammit, there was only so much he could control. Even a normal man would have issues with that. She must have sensed something because she took a step back.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” he growled.

  He knew he was acting like an ass, but it was hard not to be. His cock was so damned hard he would probably have the impression of his zipper on it. He turned to cook, and the silence that followed was enough to prick his temper more.

  “Do you know where my clothes are?”

  He didn’t want to tell her because he didn’t want her to remove that shirt. It made him happy that she had his scent on her. She looked perfect.

  “In the dryer. I washed them last night.”

  He bit out every word. His diplomacy was gone after only one night with her in his house. He was known for beings smooth when dealing with women. Now, it seemed he had turned into an ogre. For Alex’s part, she looked around as if trying to find something else to say or do.

  “This isn’t part of your parents’ house.”

  “No.”

  “You brought me to your house?”

  He nodded.

  “Does everyone know?” she asked, horror dripping from each word.

  “Caleb and Dillon know.”

  “If Dillon knows, everyone knows.”

  He found some humor in that. “Usually, but he’s been warned.”

  She said nothing for a few seconds. “Have I done something to offend you?” she finally asked.

  “Offend me?”

  “Yes, you’re practically growling at me. It’s not as if you’ve ever been very nice to me, but still, you’re worse this morning.”

  “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Oh.”

  The silence continued as he flipped the pancakes.

  “Are you sure, because it feels like I did something wrong?”

  “You’re standing there half dressed, and there is only so much a man can take.”

  The words burst out of him before he could tell himself not to say them.

  “Um…I guess I can get dressed.”

  With a snarl, he turned around and grabbed her by the waist. She gasped, the soft sound so loud to him that he let loose another growl. He couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t deny himself at least one taste. The scent of her hit him first. It was feminine, sweet, and unique to her. He bent his head and took her mouth in a hot, wet kiss. At first, she didn’t respond, but a second later she did. As she opened her mouth, he stole inside, tasting the minty freshness of toothpaste and the desire she held from him. She slipped her hands up over his arms and to his shoulders as he backed her against the counter.

  He slanted his mouth over hers again and again. Her muffled moan vibrated through his soul. He wanted her then, right there, in the most animalistic way possible, but he knew he was pushing it. He tore his mouth from hers and leaned his forehead against hers. Calling on what little control he had left, he stepped back from her. Her eyes were dilated, her mouth red and swollen.

  “I think it would be best to stop that right now,” he said, need dripping from each of his words.

  “What was that?”

  “That was what I felt.”

  She lifted her fingers to her mouth. “You felt like kissing me?”

  “Yes.”

  Then, he smelled the burning stench of their breakfast being ruined.

  “Dammit. You are too much trouble for my peace of mind,” he said turning around to save what he could.

  “Jake, I think we need to agree that will never happen again.”

  He would usually agree with her. She actually worked for him. As Mayor, he was her direct supervisor. But, now that he knew she was his Mate, there was no way around it.

  “I can’t.”

  “What?”

  He turned around and faced her. “Just accept that is going to happen again and often. Next time, though, I’ll have time to really do it right.”

  “And just what is wrong with what went on now?”

  “You’re still dressed and standing. If I had time to do it right, you would have been naked and beneath me.”

  Chapter Ten

  Alex sat across the table from Jake and watched him casually drink his
coffee. Since the kiss—and the warning—he had been acting as if nothing was wrong. It was like she had imagined what happened between them. Maybe it wasn’t a big thing to him, but she wasn’t a woman who gave into her passions. She might not be a virgin anymore, but she didn’t fall into bed with a man on a whim. All her rules seemed to fly out the window where Jacob Sanderson was involved.

  At least, she could say that all they did was kiss. Alex could control herself. She was a trained officer of the law.

  And that was the biggest load of bullshit she had ever thought.

  She looked at him and he smiled at her. “Do you not like the pancakes? Are they too burnt?”

  She shook her head. “Do you always do stuff like that?”

  “Do what? Burn pancakes?”

  “No,” she said, a little more sharply than she had meant to. She drew in a cleansing breath. “I mean what you just did.”

  “Kiss you? Well, as you know, it’s the first time I’ve kissed you in the kitchen, but I don’t expect it will be the last.”

  She frowned. “I have to disagree with you on that.”

  He shrugged as if they were discussing the Spurs chances of making the playoffs. “You want it as bad as I do.”

  She could argue with him on that, but she knew she would be lying. Still, it didn’t mean that she had to accept it as fate. She could control her hormones.

  “It’s not smart. I work for you.” But even she didn’t sound as if she was convinced. When he looked up at her, she knew he’d had caught her tone.

  “No, it’s not the most intelligent thing I’ve ever done, but I really don’t care. I don’t think you do either. Do you?”

  She shrugged and stuffed her mouth full of pancakes so she didn’t have to answer. The moment the sweet, buttery treat hit her taste buds; she realized at that moment just how hungry she was. Even the slight taste of burned pancake didn’t bother her.

  “Is that a no, or I don’t know? Or do you always do what’s smart?”

  “Most of the time.” She cut off another piece and ate it. Good lord, these were made of heaven. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this hungry.

  “Hmm, so I take it you don’t all the time? What, you plot every move and contemplate every decision before acting on it?”

  He said it as if it were a bad thing. She didn’t like the way he was making her sound. She planned things, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t take a few chances.

  “Don’t you?”

  He nodded. “Sometimes, but I have learned in life that spontaneity has its advantages in certain situations.”

  She thought that over as she sipped at her coffee. “I can agree with that. And I do believe in gut instinct at times. I have to.”

  “Does this have to do with the shooting in San Antonio?"

  She flinched, inwardly. It was a knee-jerk reaction. She’d had to defend herself immediately after the shooting, the aftermath of the IA investigation…and the loss of a family—a police family—she thought she had.

  “A bit.”

  “I didn’t ask you during your interview about it. There was enough in the news stories and your records to tell me about it, but I want to know what happened.”

  She sipped her coffee. “Not much. Murphy and I were out at a bar. There were a lot of other cops there that night too. Watson had gotten promoted, and we all hit our favorite place. Murph was designated driver.”

  The images, scents, and sounds from that night came rushing back to her. It soured the wonderful breakfast. An emptiness washed through her.

  “We left and had to walk back to Murph’s car. You know how San Antonio is. We were downtown and parked in a lot. There was a drug addict in the middle of a buy. Dealer turned and shot, asked questions later.”

  She pushed her plate away from her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  When she looked at him, she realized he was. So many people apologized, told her she would get through it, but this was the first one that seemed truly genuine.

  “Thank you.”

  He reached across the table and slipped his fingers through hers. “It must have been hard losing a partner like that.”

  “And the questions. The thing that upset me the most were the people who thought they had the right to question what Murph and I were doing. He was married with three kids, and he adored his wife. But I had to deal with the looks afterward. If I had been a man, it wouldn’t have been a question.”

  He nodded and then pulled her hand up so he could kiss it.

  “I think I want to take a shower.”

  “Okay. I’ll get your clothes. They should be dry by now.”

  She nodded and hurried to the bedroom. She shut the door and leaned against it. Damn, the man was messing with her head. Alex closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Instead of clearing her thoughts, she could taste him on her lips; see the look of need in his gaze.

  Needing to get her mind out of the gutter, she pushed away from the door and walked to the bathroom. As she undressed, she tried to work through why the hell this man was driving her insane. Oh, he was attractive. Okay, he was one tasty piece of man meat, and she knew most of the eligible women in town hoped to bag him. So, why was he interested in her? And, why in the world was she acting like a teenager now?

  Alex started the water in the massive shower. At least five people could fit in it; although, she knew there was plenty of room for two people.

  She closed her eyes again. Damn, she had to quick thinking in those terms. He was her boss, and she wasn’t a woman who fooled around on the job. It wasn’t smart in her career, and especially not in a small town like this one. Once the relationship ended—and it would because none of them ever lasted for her—it would be unbearable. Facing him day in and day out would not be enjoyable.

  Why now? Even as a teenager she had never had fantasies like this, but something about him drew her.

  She shook her head and stepped into the shower. It didn’t matter. It could never happen. She didn’t have time for it, for him, for a broken heart. She had work to do, and it would be best to just stay away from Jake Sanderson. That man had heartache written all over him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Silence filled the room as Jake sat alone staring at Alex’s empty chair. Fuck. He wanted to kick his own ass. Seriously, what the hell had he been thinking? He knew there were rumors of an affair between the two partners, but he knew now there had been nothing. Bringing it up had only upset her and reminded her about workplace affairs. Dammit!

  He scrubbed his hands over his face. The lack of sleep was no excuse either. Sure, he had only less than three hours, but he didn’t ever sleep that much. Wolves rarely needed it. Of course, with his unbonded Mate under his roof, there was no way to settle down. His blood hummed, his arousal leaving him edgy.

  Shaking his head, he decided to do something or go insane. The dryer pinged, indicating that Alex’s clothes were done. Jake stood and started off to the laundry room to retrieve them when his phone rang.

  His cousin.

  “Hey, Caleb.”

  “Hey, cuz. How’s Alex doing?”

  “She’s fine. She slept through the night.”

  “That’s good. She needed some rest after the rush of adrenaline that she had. Also, I think I know what might have caused it. I have some information for you.”

  Excitement coursed through him. “Hit me. Is she a wolf?”

  “Nope. Well, I don’t think so. To be sure I need to have a blood sample. If I can get that, I can run some tests and find out what her background is.”

  “So, what do you actually have to tell me?”

  “The alternative is something even rarer than a shifter. And what she could mean to the Pack and to you is probably more important than her being a wolf.”

  Anticipation unfurled in his blood, and he tried to keep his excitement under control. He didn’t care either way, but he knew there was something different about her. When most of his instincts had
told him not to hire her, then to stay as far away from her as he could, he had ignored them. That had been his human mind, his other half. His Wolf had known. It had sensed that Alex was his Mate, his partner.

  “Tell me.”

  “She’s Native American, yes?” Caleb asked.

  “I’m assuming. She’s definitely got some blood in her. You can see it in her skin tone.”

  “Not to mention that hair and those cheekbones and her name. I did some research online, then I had to call in someone.”

  He thought about the one person who could help Caleb with something like this. “You called Fi, your arch enemy? The woman you said embodies everything that you can’t stand. Didn’t you say you would rather mate with a werecougar than talk to her? My, you must really think this is important.”

  “If you don’t shut up, I won’t tell you.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, okay. Spill.”

  “You know Fi likes history and bloodlines and she knows a lot about the Native American tribes who lived in the area. She has a little blood in her too. There was a faction of the Tonkawa tribe that were considered as sort of familiars to wolves.”

  He understood the words, but his brain was just not making sense of them. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’ll email you the information. But, they were related to us in some weird way. They were healers and protectors of the Pack. They helped protect us, they fought beside us, and they were our healers. They had medicine men and women for us, as they did for their people. And in turn, we helped protect them.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them. Hell, I don’t think I have ever heard the word familiar used.”

  “Not sure if they used that word. That’s Fi’s word for it. And, there’s a good reason. They were hunted by our enemies and their own. They scattered, just as the other tribes did. There might be a few left here and there, but I doubt very much that they know anything about it.

  “Humans,” he said, disgust easy to hear in his tone.

  “Yes. They seemed to understand their connection to us, and they wanted to make sure we didn’t have any help. Their healing powers were legendary…as was their ruthlessness in the protection of our Pack. Fi claims many of them intermarried into our Pack, and vice versa. There’s an excellent chance Alex is one, and that’s why you’re drawn to her.”