Alpha Awakening

by Diana DeRicci

  So far, he’d done nothing but touch her every chance he could. He’d even dared to steal a kiss. She should kick his ass for that. He’d do it for her, if he could. Everything he’d done had been reactionary, from the second he’d heard her address on the scanner. He needed to take back control of this situation.

  Staring down the house and hall, he nodded. That’s what he had to do, take back control. He had priorities. Pack came first. Oh shit. How long would it be before one of them heard about this? Would they come looking for her, testing his strength? Testing hers? A rock tumbled to his stomach and stayed there.

  He dragged a stiff palm down his face. “Shit,” he breathed. He was in no way ready for this to happen. There was no one to ask. His dad was gone. There were no real close friends, and he didn’t know the other alphas in his region well enough. One or two, but to ask about finding a mate? He swallowed the sour heat rising into his throat.

  He’d surprisingly earned the alpha position when, by some miracle, he’d bested the old alpha at the fun age of twenty-six. Now four years later, he still felt like a pup among the pack. He hadn’t been trying to win the leadership, but fighting in form established a lot of things, and alpha was the big one. The pack didn’t treat him that way, the insecurity was in his head. They respected him and knew he was young, but gave him credit for keeping himself and Sheridan going after the death of their parents. He’d made sure they both finished school, sold the old home to a pack member in need and when he could afford it, had this one built, better suited to them than the little forty year-old home his father had bought. Everything since that time had all been done with careful planning, each step studied and weighed. He wasn’t a half-cocked kid anymore. He had matured out of necessity.

  Up until now, it had just been him and Sheridan, and the pack.

  Now… He swallowed then cursed again with a harder edge to it. With Kay, he was running on pure instinct and lust. A lot of lust. A mate threw everything he’d been working to keep sane into a whole new spectrum of imbalance.

  Steady, deep breaths calmed a heart he didn’t notice had been pounding. He’d take her the meds, see her through the next two days and gladly deposit her at home or with any friend she wanted.

  It was the only, the safest, thing he could do.

  Chapter Five

  Kay waited for the audible click of the bedroom door closing then stripped as fast as her trembling hands could manage. At least she’d worn easy clothes, jeans and a lightweight blouse. God only knew what the shirt and chemise looked like now, and she didn’t care. Kicking off her boots, she ripped off the jeans. She hoped everything landed in a pile where she was because if he came back and she wasn’t ready… She whimpered and not out of fear.

  She was so turned on, she knew she needed fresh underwear.

  Damn it! She wished she could see. She wanted to see the way his eyes followed her like they had that afternoon, if they burned with the want she felt coming off of him with every stroke. There was no denying she wanted to return the caresses he’d been giving her almost non-stop. The husky roll of his voice had made her melt like butter more than once. Her heart had almost burst from her ribs at the touch of his lips on hers. It should have frightened her, but if anything, it had only left her craving more. He hadn’t pushed, hadn’t taken. If he had, she probably would have freaked like a screaming banshee. He’d given her the sweetest caress she’d ever received, completely cognizant of the pain and her injuries. Like a gift for her, a single touch of caring, it sent a jolt of heat straight through her system.

  It was sad that even though she knew nada about him, she liked being with him, and loved being held like she mattered. She wanted him with a heated need that had been steadily growing since she’d met him that afternoon, but she honestly hadn’t expected to see anything come of it; she still didn’t. Desire wasn’t unknown, but it had never been this…overpowering…before, either. She could barely stand with his warm fingers wrapped through hers, his every touch, word and motion attuned to her stuttered insecurity in her blindness. Kay felt absolutely safe with Rush, instinctively knowing he wouldn’t lead her astray.

  She could picture his face in her mind, the strength of his jaw with just the shadow of beard, like he hadn’t shaved that morning. It had made him rakish and sexier than sin on a stick.

  All she knew was her own face hurt everywhere, making anything she did painful, from smile to breathe. It was a wonder Rush hadn’t run in the other direction. Kay was positive she looked like some horror movie makeup dummy.

  “Damn you, Steven,” she hissed. She hoped he rotted in jail for what he did to her. She wasn’t a vindictive or blood thirsty type, but if he even dared to think she’d forgive him, he was more of an ass than she’d already labeled him.

  Reaching behind her, she found the t-shirt on the bed where she’d laid it, and debated leaving her bra on or not. Listening, she heard nothing but her own breathing and no steps approaching, so she quickly stripped it off then yanked the t-shirt on. Running her fingers around the neck, she felt the tag stamp under her fingertips and turned it, slipping her arms into the sleeves.

  She let out a grumbled sigh. Okay, at least she was decent. The hem reached her thighs easily, allowing her to relax a little more. She wasn’t on display, thankfully. The bed was behind her. She’d been very careful to notice every tactile detail about the room she was in. From the feeling of the wood beneath her feet, to the area rug that was on the side in front of the door to the bathroom. Crouching, she picked up her things and laid them on the bed, ticking them off in her mind. Good, she had everything.

  Walking the edge, she found the lip of the covers and slid under them, tugging them over her hips, then sat and waited. Rush was going above and beyond the call of duty. She frowned then winced with abrupt pain. Stacee was at her mother’s this weekend. She and Jonas were officially informing her of their engagement, and Kay knew as well as her best friend did just how well that was going to go over.

  Jonas was in law enforcement, the same as Stacee’s dad had been. Stacee’s mom had been devastated when he’d died in the line of duty. Saying she held a grudge was an understatement. Jonas had been winning her over in increments to make the truth a less bitter pill to swallow. The difficulties the girls each shared through their childhoods and through their parents was one of the reasons she and Stacee had been friends for so long.

  Under the circumstances, Kay could forgive Stacee for not being there. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Crap,” she muttered. She was supposed to call and tell Stacee where she was!

  What time was it? Where was her purse? Where had she last seen it? She mentally rolled her eyes. She hadn’t seen anything in over seven hours, at least. She didn’t even know what time it was.

  A light tap on her door had her letting Rush in with a quick, “Come in.”

  “Do you know what time it is?” she asked as soon as she heard his feet moving.

  “Almost midnight.”

  “Rats.” Her shoulders slumped. Make that ten hours.

  “Why?”

  God, his voice sent shivers down her arms and spine no matter what. It had to be because she couldn’t see. Her senses were zeroing in on his voice. Had to be. Gathering her straying thoughts, she said, “I forgot to call Stacee.”

  “I told her to try here first in the morning if you hadn’t called.”

  Following the sound of his steps and voice until he stood next to the bed, she crossed her arms and legs to hide the tightening response of her body beneath the shirt. It had little effect to help her reactions. Her belly quivered with him so close, relying on her hearing and surprisingly, the scent of his clothes and body to find him. He had a unique maleness to him. Not over doused with cologne, if he wore anything at all. Just a subtle spice that tingled her senses with awareness. The more time she spent with him, the more she found herself looking for it.

  She made herself talk, because drooling was just not the image she wanted to give him. “Conf
ident I’d come here, weren’t you?”

  “No, she agreed it was better, too. She knows roughly where I live, and I gave her everything from my phone number to how many baby teeth I lost.”

  Kay chuckled. “Okay. Where is my purse though? My cell phone is in it.”

  “It’s probably still in the truck. I’ll get it if you need it.”

  “No, tomorrow is good enough. Midnight is too late to call her mother’s house.” Or mine, she snorted in silent disgust. She wouldn’t have called her mother anyway. There wasn’t a point in it.

  “Okay, time for your horse pills. I have broccoli green and something that I think is neon blue, but don’t hold me to that.”

  She wished she could smile more. He made her want to laugh. His touch was gentle when he turned her palm to drop the two pills into it. “In the hatch,” he ordered, the husky timbre sending shots down to her womb. She did the only thing she could do and ignored it and her body’s response.

  “God, this hurts,” she muttered, trying to open her jaw enough. It was even harder to swallow water. He took the cup from her hand, and then she felt a dampened, warmed towel on the edge of her face. If she thought about it, she could almost feel tears at his thoughtfulness. She couldn’t remember once when someone had taken so much time and effort in caring for her. Her mother could have used Rush’s lessons. Kay pushed the bitterness away. The only reason she even wanted her mother was because she was familiar and Kay was alone and out of her element. Her mother had never wanted her, so it was an equal negative attraction. She refused to want or need anything from the woman.

  “You’ll sleep the night with those,” he said, reminding her of his close presence. Like she could forget.

  “Rush?” She listened for his breathing, turning toward him. “Thank you. I know you didn’t have to do this, responsibility or not.”

  The sweep of fingers through her hair made her salivate. He was touching her again, combing through it with light strokes even though she could feel how the bandage restricted him. He never did anything too forward, always gentle and he seemed to know just what he could do without frightening her. It was hard to not relax into his palm and wallow like a happy pig in his kindness. It had to be the medications making her sappy. She did not act like this around guys!

  “My pleasure, ma’am,” he drawled with a hint of laughter. “Okay, time to rest. Don’t worry about anything in the morning. We’ll see how you’re feeling then. Doctor Aimes said to report in if things changed drastically.”

  Kay nodded and lay down on her back. The covers were pulled up to her neck and patted down.

  “Goodnight,” he told her.

  “’Night.” She thought it would take a while for the pills to kick in, but she couldn’t remember fighting to find sleep at all the next morning.

  * * * *

  Rush threw the covers off his body, frustrated with their heat, with anything he could name. He was too sensitive to anything and everything touching his skin.

  The spare room had been cleaned up and Sheridan had put fresh sheets on the futon. It was as far as she seemed willing to go, though. The room was black with deep night, the window partially opened to clear the air.

  After flipping for the last two hours to get comfortable, he finally tossed in the towel. Sitting up with his hands bracing his face, he rubbed his eyes. It was no surprise he couldn’t sleep. He glared downward between his thighs with a distinct disgusted frown. Unable not to, he encircled his engorged length and groaned deeply, stretching his legs to give himself some room. He was so full, it was almost painful. Blood pumped into his cock, making him thicker, throbbing mercilessly. “How is she doing this?” he managed through gritted teeth as pleasure slammed into his body beneath his hand. He moaned when his fingers flexed, the sensations spiraling tighter. She wasn’t even in the room with him, and he could smell every inch of her inside of his head.

  He remembered walking into the bedroom after she’d changed into his shirt and had almost been knocked flat at the wall of desire in the air. She had been turned on and the headiness of her heat hit his senses with a sweetness that stole his breath, and nearly his capacity for rational thought. Flush with need and hungry for more, her body had been calling for his. It had taken all his willpower to follow through with his commands and just give her the pills and water. When he’d wanted to dive into bed and satisfy them both in a primal way that he was still feeling, he’d managed to walk out of the room with his sanity intact. He was still paying for that decision.

  Sliding up and down his cock with a firm fist, he panted, needing more. Needing her. “Shit.” He was teetering on the edge. With closed eyes, he imagined those lush lips of hers encircling the tip of his cock, and he groaned again, his heart pounding. If he could just reach release, he could forget how much he craved her. Could forget that it was her scent, her body, her voice that was making him feral with lust.

  He leaned back, his hips thrusting into the ecstasy of his own making as dew drops glistened on the head of his shaft. “Yes,” he breathed, his mind creating all the images he could ever imagine. He rubbed the moisture beneath his palm, slick against hot, sensitive skin, making him ache harder. The throbbing was building, heat gnawing right behind his balls. Her sweet body, the feel of her tongue lapping his flesh, teasing him with flicks and swirling to claim the moisture beads, the heat of her skin, the velvet feel of her riding him. So good. The strength of his need for her left his blood pounding like explosions against his ears.

  A deep breath. So close. A low moan filled his chest as pleasure tightened his body.

  Almost compelled, he released his flesh, exhaling a bitter growl of needy hunger that filled the room with an echo. No. The next time he reached completion, it would be with her. Period. Rush didn’t know why, but he knew it was right. He knew no matter what he did now, he would never be satisfied. It would be like eating a spoonful of ice cream when the smothered in chocolate fudge and whipped cream sundae he was starved for was only two doors away.

  His head jerked around. She was only two doors away. His blood raced through his body again, hotter. Kaisha. The sound of her name rocketed through his system.

  Before he could think about it, much less understand the need, a sturdy wolf stood by the futon where he had just sat. Cautiously moving one foot in front of the other, he inched out of the spare, his gaze on his sister’s door. He knew Kay was asleep. Sheridan catching him would see him getting his hide blistered by her tongue for what he was about to do.

  Nosing his occupied bedroom door wider, he spotted her asleep just the way he’d left her, except she’d managed to kick the sheets off a little, exposing one small foot and a sleek, well-muscled calf. She may not be used to sleeping in different beds and had been restless before the pills kicked in.

  Rush didn’t care the reason. All that mattered was he could see her. He stood in the doorway and drank in his fill of her length. She looked small enough to still shop in the kid’s department for heaven’s sakes. The bandage across her forehead bothered him, and his lip lifted in objection. The wolf knew she had been harmed and it didn’t like that fact one bit.

  Carefully moving past the door, he prowled closer to the bed. Raising his nose, he tested the air, drew her into his senses, reveling at her sweetness, the warmth of sunshine and something so heady it made his entire body tremble with a renewed lusting hunger. It was her, her scent, her everything. His wolf knew it instantly. Rush wasn’t ready, but arguing with the tunnel-visioned want of his wolf was a lost cause. Tentative steps moved him up the side of the bed.

  He settled a paw on the edge and froze. She didn’t move, her breathing deep and steady. God, I’m going to Hell for this. There was little doubt. His wolf couldn’t have cared less.

  Nudging beneath the edge of the covers, he inched along her thigh, licking with delicate learning sweeps, tasting her on his tongue, absorbing her scent and her taste to be forever twined with his.

  What Rush would give to have he
r lost in the throes of passion, his hands cupping her hips as he licked her like a sweet confection all along the taut shape of her thigh to the very center of her being. He could imagine the tang of her juice, dripping over his tongue like ambrosia. Suckling on the plump edges of her sweet, pink pussy. He growled inside, the fantasy so real he could taste her when he licked his lips.

  Lost in the wolf’s presence, he let his desires run wild, his arousal hidden behind the animal’s curiosity. Then he pressed his nose to the juncture of her legs and inhaled. He let out a sharp yip of satisfaction. She was ready for him. She was his. Before he could control the urge, he licked the crotch of her panties with a determined pass. Rush froze within the animal’s conscience.

  Stop it! Idiot!

  She drew a deep breath in her sleep and twisted. The wolf waited for its mate to acknowledge him.