“Shit, about the liquor distributor,” Zeke groaned, running his hand through his hair.
“Don’t worry about it.” Kace waved off his concern. “If I can’t go over there myself today, I’ll just ask Tane to do it instead. Spending time with your mate is more important than that small issue.”
“It was important enough to interrupt my dinner and football game last night,” Zeke grumbled, giving me a squeeze. “But I’m not going to complain because it led me to Allegra—the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Hello, Allegra. I’m Kace Lowell,” he introduced himself with a grin.
I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was in this situation, so I returned his smile and replied, “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to the Timber Ridge Pack.” Kace gripped my upper arms as he brushed the briefest of kisses across my forehead. He started to pull away, but then his hold on me tightened. “Your scent.”
I was starting to wonder what the heck was going on when Zeke wrapped his arm around my back and growled, “You might be my alpha, but I’ll still find a way to take you down if you don’t move away from my mate.”
Kace nodded and took a step back, holding his hands up, palms facing us. “Sorry, there’s something about Allegra’s scent that’s gotten my wolf’s attention.”
Zeke shoved me behind his back, and I peeked around his shoulder to keep an eye on what was happening between him and his alpha. “Stop smelling my mate.”
“You know I can’t just turn this off.” Kace tapped his nose. “And I didn’t mean that I thought she was mine or—”
“She’s nobody’s but mine.” Zeke’s body tensed, and I pressed my hands against his back in the hope that it would calm him.
Kace walked over to the recliner and sat down, and I felt some of the stiffness in Zeke’s body ease under my fingertips. He shifted me to his side—the one farthest away from Kace—and led me to the couch. Dropping down on the cushion at the far end, he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around my chest. His possessiveness was incredibly flattering...and turned me on.
It was difficult for me to focus on talking when Zeke’s hard on was poking into my buttcheek, but I lifted my head and looked at Kace to remind myself we weren’t alone.
“I’m well aware that she’s your mate, Zeke. Your scent is all over her.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His dark eyes shone with sincerity. “I’m your alpha and best friend. Your happiness is important to me, and I’d never do anything to interfere with your mating. You know I wouldn’t.”
Zeke’s hold on me tightened as he grumbled, “I do, but your wolf’s reaction to her scent is confusing.”
“It is,” Kace agreed with a nod. His attention shifted to me. “Do you have any sisters? Maybe it’s a family connection he’s sensing.”
I shook my head. “Nope, I’m an only child. My parents are too, so I don’t have any female cousins either.”
“I’m not sure what it could be then.” Kace grimaced as he shrugged.
“Maybe it’s one of your best friends,” Zeke suggested. “Since you live with them, a trace of their scent would be embedded in your skin.”
“Roommates? That could be it,” Kace agreed.
“I’m not sure about all that,” I drawled, my lips curving up in a tiny grin as I tried to picture this bossy man with either of my friends. Although it would be cool if my friends found shifters of their own, I couldn’t see it because Kace would butt heads with Larissa and steamroll over Calliope. “I mean, my best friends and I do share a dorm room. But from what I understand, I can’t tell them about shifters so I’m not sure how this is all going to work. We’ve known each other since kindergarten, and it’s going to be difficult to keep the truth from them when they’re really good at telling when I’m lying. Not that I have much practice at it since they’ve always been a part of any trouble I’ve gotten into growing up.”
Zeke chuckled and pressed a kiss against my neck. “What my mate is trying to say is that she’d like permission to tell her best friends about us.”
“I’ll consider the request,” Kace conceded. “After she’s had the chance to settle in a little and learn about life in the pack and what it means to be mated to my beta.”
I twisted my neck to stare at Zeke. “Beta?”
“It just means I’m Kace’s second in command,” Zeke explained, his hand stroking down my back in a soothing gesture.
“I thought you were the sheriff?”
“Many betas tend to be in law enforcement,” Kace added. “It’s one of those shifter things you’ll learn over time.”
“Adjusting to pack life and the shifter world is nothing you need to worry about. I’ll be with you every step of the way, sweetheart,” Zeke swore as he stared into my eyes.
I was still a little worried about how I would fit in, but I had no doubt Zeke would do everything in his power to help me. After giving him a soft smile and nodding, I settled against his chest. With the change in position, his hard on pressed between my legs. I felt the heat of him against my core and bit back a moan, squirming in need.
“Like I said before, stop smelling my mate.” It took me a moment to figure out why Zeke felt the need to give his alpha that warning again. When I realized it was because their superior sense of smell meant they knew my panties were damp. My face burned with heat, and I buried my face in Zeke’s shoulder.
“I’ll give you two some privacy.” Kace stood and strode over to the front door, pausing to look over his shoulder as he pulled it open. “But I’m going to want to know more about Allegra’s friends when I come back.”
I waited until the door closed behind him to turn to Zeke and ask, “What in the heck was all of that about?”
Zeke shrugged his broad shoulders and shifted my position so I was straddling him. “I’m not sure, but whatever it is can’t be more important than me giving you the orgasm your body is crying out for.”
When he put it that way, who was I to argue?
10
Allegra
I twined my arms around Zeke’s neck as he stood and carried me up to the bedroom. He dumped me on the mattress, his dark eyes raking down my body. “Strip,” he commanded as he tugged his clothes off and tossed them on the floor. “I need you naked for everything I’m about to do to you.”
Spurred on by the hunger in his tone, I yanked the sweatshirt over my head. His hands beat mine to the pants, and he ripped them down my legs. I let out a surprised shriek when he rolled me onto my stomach and lifted my butt into the air. Then he slid a pillow under my hips, raising me higher. I didn’t have the chance to react before he shoved his head between my legs and started to devour my pussy. His hands gripped my hips while his tongue fucked in and out of me.
I buried my face in the pillows as he quickly forced me to the edge, nipping and sucking at my pussy as though he was starving for the taste of me. His deep groan sent shivers down my spine as his tongue stroked through my slit to circle my clit. Then he added his fingers into his sensual assault, and I couldn’t see straight. My head thrashed back and forth while he worked one finger, and then another, into me.
“Come for me, sweetheart,” he growled against my damp flesh. “I want your sweet nectar all over my face and dripping down my throat when I sink my cock into your tight pussy.”
He twisted his wrist, and his fingers found just the right spot to send me flying. Replacing them with his tongue, he stroked in and out of me until my pussy stopped clenching around it. My body was still trembling from the power of my orgasm when he flipped me over, my butt landing on the pillow beneath me. Yanking my thighs apart, he settled his body over mine. One of his hands pressed into the mattress at my side to hold him up over me while the other cradled my cheek. “I’m so fucking lucky I found you, sweetheart. I know it’s only been a day, but you make me happier than I’ve ever been before.”
My heart felt as though it was overflowing with emotion. I stretched
my neck up to brush my lips over his. “It’s the same for me, handsome. I never expected something like this to happen to me, but I don’t have a single regret. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Good, because I’m never letting you go.” He lined his cock up with my entrance and slowly sank inside me. “Fate picked perfectly for me, and I’m already falling in love with you.”
“I—”
He cut off what I was going to say by claiming my mouth in a deep kiss, his tongue sweeping inside to tangle with mine. When he lifted his head again, he whispered, “You don’t have to say it yet. I know we’re moving fast compared to most human relationships.”
I nipped his bottom lip and smiled. “Sure, it’s crazy fast, but that doesn’t change my feelings. You’re more than I could have ever hoped for in a husband, and I’m falling in love with you, too.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes so you never regret loving me,” he promised.
I glided my palms down his back and wiggled my hips. “You could start by moving.”
“Your wish is my command,” he rumbled as he slowly withdrew, only to slam back inside me. “Especially when you want me to fuck you. I could stay in this bed for weeks with your tight pussy squeezing the hell out of my dick, the scent of your desire filling my lungs, and the sound of your cries ringing in my ears.”
He circled his hips and made me gasp, “Holy crap, that feels good.”
“I can do better,” he promised, licking over the mating mark on my shoulder.
I felt the touch of his tongue all the way in my core as though there was a string connecting the two places on my body. I tilted my head to the side and panted, “Please.”
He fucked me slow and deep, his cock dragging against my pussy walls with each thrust of his hips. I gasped with pleasure each time he filled me and whimpered in need when he pulled out. He tangled his hand around his fist, staring into my eyes as he pumped in and out of me. “You’re close. I can feel it.”
“Uh-huh,” I whimpered as he kissed down my jawline.
His lips continued along my neck, stroking my sensitive skin all the way to my mating mark.
“Yes!” I screamed as I flew over the edge, my pussy clamping down tightly around his hard length. He thrust hard and anchored himself deep, his cock jerking as streams of his come filled me to overflowing.
As I collapsed against the mattress, there was a pounding on the front door, making me groan in frustration. “I hope it doesn’t become a habit for people to interrupt us like this.”
“At least we were already done both times.” He stroked his hand down my spine and patted my butt before rolling off the mattress to pull on his sweatpants.
“And it’s the front door instead of the bedroom,” I added, trying to look at the bright side as he tossed my clothes at me.
“I’m coming!” he roared when the person banged on the front door again.
“Not without a shirt,” I muttered as he headed toward the hallway, eyeing up his muscular chest.
He changed direction and grabbed his sweatshirt off the floor, flashing me a sexy grin before he slipped it on. I dashed into the bathroom while he went downstairs, needing to at least attempt to clean up a bit before I put clothes on. It was a good thing I did it quickly because I recognized the voice yelling at Zeke.
“Where is Allegra? She missed both of her classes today, and I haven’t heard from her since last night,” Larissa shouted. “I don’t care that you’re the sheriff around here, if you’ve hurt her in any way, I’m going to make you pay.”
“I’m okay,” I cried as I tossed on the pants and top before hurrying out of the bedroom. Larissa’s gaze was aimed my way when I reached the top of the stairs, and I saw the relief fill her blue eyes when she spotted me. She stepped around Zeke as I rushed down to her, apologizing. “I’m so sorry I disappeared all day. I don’t even know where I left my phone.”
“It’s in my office.” Zeke moved to my side, wrapping his arm around my back and pulling me close. “I noticed your battery was low after you fell asleep last night. Since we have the same model, I plugged it in to recharge in case you needed it later.”
“If you were trying to be helpful, you should’ve set an alarm so she wouldn’t have skipped the entire day and worried her friends.” Larissa’s gaze softened when she switched her attention to me. “It was a good thing your location is shared with me on our phones, or else I wouldn’t have had any idea how to find you.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Gesturing at Zeke with my free hand, I added, “I just lost track of time.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” she snorted as she pointed at my messy hair. “But you’re going to need to figure out how to juggle having a guy and school, or else your grades will plummet and then your mom will be all up in your business even more than usual.”
“You know getting a degree has never been important to me. I enrolled in college more because of you and Calliope than anything else,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but you can’t just drop out before the end of the semester,” she argued, crossing her arms over her chest in a gesture I was familiar with. She wasn’t going to let this go until she was satisfied with my answers.
“There’s only three weeks to go, so of course I’m not going to drop out,” I assured her with a smile.
Zeke gave me a comforting squeeze. “The campus is only a ten-minute drive, and my job is flexible. I’ll make sure she doesn’t miss any more classes.”
Larissa’s eyes widened in shock. “Hold up! Are you trying to say Allegra is moving in with you? After only one night?”
“Good question.” I tilted my head back to stare up at him. “Are you?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
I beamed a smile at him before looking back at my best friend. “Yup, that’s what we’re saying.”
“I don’t even know what to say to all of this.” She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.
I leaned into Zeke’s side, my grin widening. “Is it really that much of a shock? You know that all I’ve ever wanted is a family of my own. I finally found a guy I could picture myself growing old with, so why should I go slow?”
“I’ll be more than happy to give you as many babies as you want,” Zeke offered.
“You’re already talking about babies?” she sputtered. “Do I need to remind you again that you only met this guy last night? You haven’t even had time to introduce him to your best friends.”
“I can fix that with half of my best friend duo right now.” I patted Zeke’s chest. “This is Zeke. I get that it’s super crazy, but I’m already falling in love with him.” I pointed at Larissa. “Zeke, this is Larissa, one of my best friends in the whole wide world.”
“Nice to meet you.” Zeke jerked his chin in her direction. “Allegra has told me a lot about you.”
“I wish I could say the same.” I knew Larissa couldn’t possibly understand why we were moving so quickly, and I was surprised when she didn’t try to drag me away from Zeke. “If my mind is blown by all of this, I can just imagine how your parents are going to react.”
I wasn’t quite ready to find out. I wanted at least a little bit of time to settle into my relationship with Zeke—and pack life—before we tackled my parents. “I think I’ll wait until Christmas break to tell them about Zeke, and then I’ll have a whole month to decide if I want to take any classes next semester.”
Larissa’s back was to the door, so she didn’t see it open as she snorted, “Good luck with her mom.”
A wide grin split Zeke’s face as he looked over her shoulder. “Good luck with my alpha.”
“Huh?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion, much of which was probably due to the fact that I hadn’t been able to let her in on the shifter secret yet, so she had no idea what an alpha was. But with the look on Kace’s face as he strode toward her, I had a feeling she’d understand soon.
“Oh, boy.” I shook my head, my jaw dr
opping open when Kace tossed my best friend over his shoulder and carried her away while she pounded her fists against his back.
“What?” Zeke wrapped his arm around my waist. “Kace hauling her off isn’t that much different to what I did when I found you.”
“Larissa isn’t like me,” I warned. “She isn’t the type to go with the flow. She tends to make the flow go her way instead.”
“I think my alpha has finally met his match.” Zeke grinned. “I think fate nailed it on the head because your best friend seems to be exactly the kind of mate Kace needs.”
I leaned into his side. “It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure.”
“I’ll show you something interesting.” He swept me into his arms and carried me back to the bedroom, where he fulfilled his promise...over and over again.
Epilogue
Zeke
Allegra’s hand squeezed mine tightly as we walked up the steps to a pretty house in a typical suburban neighborhood. “Relax, sweetheart,” I murmured before leaning over to brush a kiss over the top of her head. The curtains in the picture window to our right shifted slightly, and Allegra’s grip tightened again.
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I just want them to like you and to tell them…” She shivered, and I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or the cold, winter air.
I stopped on the porch and turned to face her, wrapping her in my embrace. “We’ll tell them together, and even if they are resistant to the idea in the beginning, I’m sure they’ll come around eventually.” I wasn’t as confident as I sounded, but I wasn’t about to do anything to upset my mate any further. I couldn’t stand it when she was unhappy.
I wasn’t sure what I’d do if her parents didn’t accept the idea of shifters or having their daughter mated to one. For a moment, my wolf pushed against my skin, and I almost gave in to the urge to bare my teeth as we considered simply killing her parents and removing them from the equation. Just as quickly, I told my wolf to back the fuck off and reminded him how angry and sad it would make our mate. He immediately calmed down and retreated.
Shifted Love: Volume 1 Page 5
