by Julia Talbot
Pack Mentality: Alpha Bites
Julia Talbot
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2006 Julia Talbot
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ISBN (10) 1-59596-437-1
ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-437-3
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Prologue
The latte went down real nice. Sasha Leonovid had the girl at Starbucks trained. Two shots of espresso, a little foamy whole milk, and a shot of mocha. Yum.
The Starbucks at South Tejon Street was the perfect place to sit and watch the door of Jack Quinn’s Irish Ale House, a block down. If he’d set things up right, they should be arriving any time. Sasha fancied himself something of a matchmaker. He’d managed to put Jenny in Liam’s path at the grocery store, the Laundromat, and the feed store. Eventually, that thick headed Irishman, Liam, had asked Jenny out. Now, all they had to do was start sleeping together. Hopefully, this would be the date that did it.
Jenny had asked him what she should wear, doing it casually, like “what would I wear if you asked me to go to a pub.” Sasha liked Jenny in her tomboy garb, but he knew Liam prefer soft and feminine, so he told her to wear a dress. She kissed him then, guilt flashing in her eyes. It was all he could do to keep from telling her not to worry, that he’d fantasized about her and Liam a lot…
There. Liam’s red curls and Jenny’s mink brown hair appeared in his line of sight, attached to the two bodies Sasha admired most in the world. Those two bodies made him hard and sweaty every time. Something he hoped the barista would either ignore or not notice, because right now it was pretty obvious. Sasha shifted in his chair, noting the way Jenny leaned into Liam, seeing the way Liam’s hand sat on Jenny’s waist. Oh, yeah. It was working.
Tonight was the night.
Thank God. Sasha tossed the paper cup he held into the trash. Now it was time to move on to step two of his plan.
Who said he didn’t have patience?
Chapter 1
“I don’t know, Myra,” Jenny said, pacing back and forth, her arm waving wildly as she talked to her roommate on her cell phone. She was on her supper break and needed to vent. “I just can’t decide which one I like better.”
“Well, you’re going to have to figure it out sooner or later,” Myra replied.
In the background, Jenny could hear the whirr of a blender. Myra made her living off grinding up all sorts of things to make protein shakes, and she was always experimenting. “Sooner rather than later, I think. Liam doesn’t seem to have a clue, but Sasha keeps… sniffing me. I think he suspects.”
“He’d have to be an idiot not to.” Myra chuckled, the sound merry, like the woman herself. “You can’t double time guys like him. Tell them, Jen.”
“I will, I will.” Jenny bit her thumbnail, watching the clouds gather in the sky outside her veterinary clinic. Looked like rain. “Okay, I gotta go, My. I’ll see you in a few days. After, you know.”
“I do know. I’ll say a prayer to the Moon Goddess for you,” Myra said, like she always did. “Be safe.”
“You too, honey,” Jenny returned. “Later.”
“Bye.”
The phone flipped shut in her hand, just like that, and Jenny sighed, rolling her stiff neck and shoulders. Really, she needed to hire more help. Trying to make sure all of the animals she was keeping for observation would be safe was, well, trying. The problem wasn’t the work. It was the fact that her clinic was so far out of town. No one wanted to commute out there. Hell, no one could really understand why she’d chosen the location except Myra, who knew her dirty little secret.
The small building with its food storage shed and attached dog run was hers though, and it sat on a clearing off the main highway, a patch of woods sloping up the hill behind it. Jenny went back in, smiling as the whines and barks from the dogs and meows from the cats doubled in volume.
“Gotta get you guys bedded down for the night, huh? I promise, I’ll get you locked in good and I’ll leave you alone.” Jenny petted this nose and that tail as she got the food storage containers out and started laying in dry food for the night. She’d be back to herself in the morning, and could come in and do it all over again.
Jonas the Rottie whined at her and Jenny went to check his sore paw, automatically glancing at the clock as she went. “Poor baby,” she said, “still hurting, huh? Don’t you worry. It’ll heal up in no time.”
Contrary to popular belief, animals weren’t afraid of her. Now Sasha had caused the cats to sort of hiss and spit a little, but really, that could have been all that testosterone the man exuded as a human and had nothing to do with the other. He was all man.
So was Liam. That was the problem. They both had a lot to recommend them. Sasha had dark hair and kinda golden eyes and this deep, vaguely Russian voice. Liam had deep red hair and green eyes and the Irish lilt and… yeah, well. It was no wonder she was torn.
A shiver wracked her and Jenny hurried through the rest of the chores, soothing yelps and wags, trying to get outside before the sun went down. Just a few more minutes.
Was that her hand shimmering?
She made it out the door, locking it behind her just in time. All of the dogs inside the shelter answered her when she let out her first howl.
* * *
Sasha checked his watch, leaning on the hood of his Mustang while he waited. Damn, but Jenny worked late hours. She always seemed to work harder after the full moon. Like she felt she’d left all those animals alone for three nights and had to make up for it.
He was… horny. Hard. Ready. He always was after the change, and he’d been saving it for Jenny. Leaning through the open window, Sasha tapped the horn, his ears pricking up a little when he heard barking and whining inside.
Jenny came out, her lush body wrapped in tight jeans and an old t-shirt, a flannel jack-shirt over top and Sasha’s body perked up even more. Yeah. That was more like it. She locked the door and came over to the car, frowning at him.
Pushing her dark brown hair behind her ears, Jenny whapped his chest. “You know I hate that stupid horn. It makes them crazy and they’d just settled down.”
“Oh, bullshit.” Sasha slid his sunglasses into place, opening the passenger door for her. “They don’t settle until you leave and you know it. Italian or Greek?”
“Greek, I think,” Jenny said. Instead of stepping gracefully into the car, Jenny grabbed the keys where they dangled from his belt loop and went around, hopping in the driver’s side, daring him with a slanting glance of her blue eyes to say a word.
That was one of the things he loved about her. She defied him at every turn. She dared him and confounded him. She was a good match, a real alpha female. Now if he could just get her to commit.
“So when are you going to marry me?” he asked as Jenny pushed the Mustang into gear and peeled out on the highway, heading back into town.
Sh
e gave him a look, taking a curve on two wheels. “We need to talk about that,” she said. “But not now. Let’s have some lamb first. Maybe some baklava?”
They were going to talk. Oh, rah. Sasha put his hand on Jenny’s right thigh, letting it ride up a little, listening to her breath speed up. Much better. Less talking, more heat. “What is there to talk about?” Sasha asked, grinning as he smelled the distinct odor of female arousal. “You like me, you like my car, we fuck like a dream…”
“The romance is dead,” Jenny said in return, moving his hand off her leg.
The outskirts of Colorado Springs came into view, Jenny steering deftly toward Jake and Telly’s Greek place, the home of the best keftethes and lamb kivetzi. The guys greeted them warmly when they came in, and Sasha wondered idly if the chefs would be so nice if they knew his ancestors’ used to eat their ancestors’ sheep.
Nudging Jenny’s leg under the table always got her hot and bothered. Sasha played footsie while they ate, smiling as her cheeks heated and she finally kicked him, hard. They got dessert to go. They would go to his place. He liked her there, sort of natural and woodsy among all his fancy assed shit, her flannel contrasting with his chrome furniture and silk sheets. Besides, there was no Myra at his place.
Back at his apartment, Sasha grabbed Jenny around the waist after she put the leftovers in the fridge, pulling her to him for a kiss, bending her back over his arm to really make it a good one.
“You still want to talk?” he asked, grinning when they came up for air.
She blinked at him, licking her lips, one hand coming up to shove her hair out of her face. Her eyes had gone the color of the Colorado sky before a snowstorm, all grayish blue and still. “I should,” Jenny said, her voice thick with desire. “I have reasons, you know.”
“Reasons for what? Putting me off?” He worked at getting her flannel shirt off, one button at a time, exposing a lacy pink bra. Something about the feminine touch under the rough, manly fabric made him growl, made him rub against her.
“Yeah. For not… for not getting,” she trailed off, gasping. “Oh, there. Hitched.”
‘There’ was her nipple, and Sasha pinched it through lace and satin. It rose for him. It was so pretty, dark enough that he could see it through the cloth, the outline clear. He bent her back again, farther, leaning to close his lips around it, his teeth worrying the bit of flesh and fabric. He knew her reason for not getting hitched. He could smell Liam on her, and he approved. It made him all that much hotter. Now, if he could just get them to come to him together…
“More,” she said, starting to pant, her chest flushed above the bra.
“We done talking?” he asked, chuckling.
“Talking? What is this talking you speak of?” She pounced on him, pushing him back this time, both of them toppling to the hardwood floor. The edge of his fancy designer area rug dug into his back. She straddled him, reaching back to unhook her bra before ripping at his shirt.
Damn, he loved it when she was all tooth and nail.
She ran her fingers down his chest when she bared it, her breasts squeezing up as she braced her hands on him and rubbed back with her round, little ass, which made his cock jump.
Damn. Yeah. Talking was overrated.
Sasha popped the button of Jenny’s jeans, his fingers finding the zipper tab to pull it down, his knuckles sliding along her soft lower belly. She moaned for him, arching, her body undulating on top of him. A man could think he’d gone to heaven when she did that. Her nipples had turned dark pink, her face pink too, and her blue eyes were edged with gold as she growled down at him in demand. “More,” she said, her voice gone rough.
“Uh huh. More,” he agreed, pushing her jeans and underwear down to stroke her, combing through the curls covering her pussy. He searched out her clit to pet it, loving how she squirmed and panted, trying to get more of him. She gave as good as she got, and a man couldn’t ask for more than that. Oh, she was wet for him, hot, and Sasha gathered up her moisture and used it to ease his way, getting a sharp cry from her as he made figure eights around her flesh.
When he pushed a finger inside her, she arched, taut, begging with every line of her body. “Oh. Sasha. Good,” she said, her voice raw with need, her eyes sliding closed.
Hell, yes. Obviously she was ready, and she didn’t need more than one finger right now. Sasha lifted her, doing a little growling of his own. “My jeans, honey. Open my jeans.”
Her eyes snapped open again. She look almost drugged, but she figured out what he wanted, ripping at his jeans hard enough that he was relieved she had short fingernails in this form. His cock sprang free, and Sasha stopped thinking. He just went with what came naturally, positioning Jenny above him and pushing up at her, his cock pressing between the lips of her cunt and sliding inside her.
Oh. Oh, God, yeah. This was why he wanted to keep her. She was so sweet. So slick and hot. No one else had ever felt like this. Not ever. Not even… Well, maybe Liam. Jenny closed around him like she’d been made for him, and just when Sasha thought he could stay right there forever and just feel her, Jenny started to move.
His hips rocked up, hers came down, and they moved together like a hunting pack, completely in tune with each other. Her hands clenched into fists on his chest, her body bouncing up and down, her breasts jiggling too. Oh, God, her breasts. Curling up, he went for one, lips closing just shy of a nipple until Jenny leaned down for him, pressing against him, her moans loud and happy. Sasha figured maybe he was in heaven.
Nothing that good could last though. Not for long anyway. Sasha felt his orgasm rising up his spine, felt it in his balls as they drew up tight, and he was gonna blow. Any second. Any… fuck, yeah. That did it, when Jenny rippled around him like that, her inner muscles squeezing down on him. He just lost it, filling her deep with hot spunk, his whole body shaking like crazy.
He didn’t forget her though. His hand was still trying to move on her, his fingers pushing clumsily at her clit. Finally Jenny reached down to guide his hand where she wanted it, showing him how much harder and faster he needed to go. She cried out, her back arching, her hands scrabbling against him, and he watched her come, saw her face as she became completely caught up in her own pleasure.
Oh, yeah. She was his. Whether she knew it or not. The rest they could work out one way or the other. Sasha would see to it.
Chapter 2
Myra was chanting. Some sort of llama llama ding dong shit. Usually, it didn’t bother Jenny at all. This morning it made her teeth itch while she made coffee and blinked blearily at her cup.
She’d been with Sasha two nights in a row, and the man just tore her up. She loved it, but he was so intense, so focused on her, that it exhausted her. And if Myra didn’t stop that monotone sing-songing, Jenny was going to explode.
“My!” she hollered. “Would you please take it somewhere else?”
Her roommate wandered over, the hundreds of little silver bangle bracelets she wore jingling when she moved. Much better than chanting. Pushing a wild curl of red hair behind one ear, Myra sat in front of her, sinking down on a tufted ottoman that had appeared one day, probably bought from the Goodwill.
“Hard couple of days? Oh, and who’s minding the store?” Myra smiled, the look sympathetic and yet, curious. Very curious.
“Sasha is… something else. And Dr. Cavanaugh said he’d take a few days at the clinic. I thought it was very nice of him.”
“It was.” Myra tilted her head. “Don’t you have a date with Liam tonight?”
“Oh, God.” Jenny shook her head, rubbing her neck. “I can’t possibly. I’ll have to call him.”
“See? I told you juggling the two of them…”
“Oh, shut up,” Jenny snarled, baring her teeth.
Myra looked unfazed. Once her roommate had found out she couldn’t change at will, the intimidation factor had gone way down hill. Besides, Myra’s talent was way cooler than hers.
“Oh, how did your date with, uh, what was his
name?” Jenny asked. “How did it go?”
Sighing, Myra got up again and pottered about, finally going to their little kitchen. “How about a smoothie?”
“Sure. As long as it’s a fruit one and not like goat livers.” She shuddered. Sometimes Myra got carried away.
“Not at all. I’ll put soy in for protein.” Myra jingled and jangled for a bit, the blender whirring before Myra came back and handed her a milkshake-like foamy drink. “His name was Stephen, and he thought it would be very cool to make love to himself on the full moon. He found out it wasn’t. It freaked him out. I hear he’s started going to church again.”
“Bummer.”
“Yeah.” Myra shrugged. “Men. Such narcissists, until it’s really possible. Then they go crazy.”
Jenny hid a grin in her surprisingly good smoothie. Myra was sort of a… free spirited wereperson. Whatever organic thing she was closest to on the full moon, she turned into. Boyfriends, poodles… Myra had once spent an entire weekend as a Venus flytrap.
“You’ll find someone someday,” Jenny said, going with the trite but comforting.
“If you don’t keep gobbling them all up. There’s only so many freak friendly types in Colorado Springs.” But Myra was grinning, bouncing a little. “So where is Liam taking you?”
“I told you, I’m calling it off.” Her coffee cup was empty. So was her smoothie. Maybe she ought to get some water. Liam was a doll, but he’d want to have sex… Lord, had she ever thought she could have too much sex?
Pulling her flannel robe tighter around her, Jenny got up and padded to the kitchen. Pouring another cup of coffee and a huge glass of water, she avoided Myra’s knowing gaze. Her inner thighs protested.
“Ha,” Myra said, laughter in her voice. “You’ll go.”
“Not if I find hickeys. You’ll help me look?”
“Everywhere but your privates, honey,” Myra said, really giggling now. “That you have to do yourself.”
