by Susan Bliler
Sobering a little, Alise nodded. “It did make me feel special…safe.”
“And then he attacked you.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Men! Fucking idiots in all species.”
“Well in two days I’m done with him.” Alise took the cloth from Chloe and faced the mirror, wiping the blood off her neck. “When the full moon comes, I’m marking him and going home. I’m not doing this anymore. I just…I can’t.”
Chloe opened her mouth and closed it several times, mimicking a fish out of water. She was torn between telling Alise the truth about the full moon thing but knew that if she did Alise would demand to leave tomorrow, hell, probably even tonight. Curious, she asked, “Do you even like him, Alise? I mean could you even see yourself with him?”
Alise glanced at Chloe in the mirror and then lowered her hands. Bracing them on the vanity, she stared down at the sink. “I’m not gonna lie. The second I saw him, I found him highly attractive. When all this buzz started going around about being stricken and me being his…I honestly was a little excited. But it doesn’t matter.” Lifting her gaze, she stared at Chloe in the mirror. “None of it matters. You heard what he said about his mother. He’ll never see me as anything but a lowly human. He hates me, and because of that I haven’t been given the opportunity to see him as anything but a shifter who’s stuck with someone he doesn’t want.”
That cemented it. “Two days then,” Chloe agreed. “You’ll mark him back and then you two can separate.” She was going to buy them time, not only because they needed it, but they deserved it. They deserved to see if this thing could go anywhere.
Alise nodded. “Two days. I’ll mark him back, and then I’m going home.”
Chapter 24
The next day, Chief prowled around the house. Alise hadn’t come down from the guestroom all morning, and when he’d taken breakfast up to her, she’d refused to open the door for him. He was agitated and restless, and he knew it was affecting the other shifters in the house because right after lunch, Dell declared, “I’m taking everyone to town for a movie day.” He stared right at Chief as he made the declaration. “We’ll be back around sundown.”
The pack all bustled around the house gathering coats and starting trucks to warm them up for the jaunt to town. Chief helped scrape off windshields and shovel sidewalks as the women readied. He’d just leaned his shovel against the house when Chloe stepped out of the house.
Crossing the porch to him, she slapped her gloved hands together before blowing out a puff of breath. “Look,” she spoke quietly. “Alise wants you to want her. It’s that simple. Do you?”
“Of course I do!”
“Good. You’ve got today to prove it because she’s still waiting on tomorrow’s full moon to mark you before she heads home. This is your last chance big guy.” With a wink, she said, “Don’t fuck it up!”
Chief stood on the porch as the pack loaded up into three trucks. His eyes were on Chloe as she climbed up into the passenger seat of Dell’s truck before the Alpha closed the door and walked around the vehicle. Eyes on Chief, Dell shouted, “We’ll be back by sundown. Make it count.”
He would. He had no choice.
Turning for the house adrenaline dumped into his veins. Mind focused solely on Alise, Chief made his way into the house, and up to the guestroom while inwardly chanting, I’m gonna fix this. I’m gonna fix this. I’m gonna fucking fix this!
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the guestroom door and waited.
***
Sitting on the soft bed in the guestroom, Alise twined a thread from the star quilt around her finger as she considered whether or not she was being childish hiding away all morning. No, she decided. Avoiding Chief was best, plus how would she explain to everyone his mark on her throat when it was still a whole day before the full moon.
Outside, she heard the rumble of vehicles and climbed from the bed before discreetly peeling the curtain back a mere fraction to stare down at the compound. The men were a flurry of activity as they worked to shovel walks, and clear the foot of snow that had accumulated on the vehicles overnight. Chief was out there too, and when he glanced up at her window, she quickly dropped the curtain and stepped back.
Christ! Even that momentary glance had the blood in her veins feeling electrified, and it unleashed something molten low in her belly. Dropping onto the bed, she panted as lust ripped through her. She was more aroused than she’d ever been in her life, and she hated knowing that Chief would never feel the attraction to her that she was feeling toward him.
There were voices speaking, but Alise couldn’t make them out, and reluctant to go back to the window, she forced herself to remain on the bed as she rode out the arousal that was plaguing her.
When the sound of engines intensified, she hurried to the window and looked out just in time to see three trucks heading away from the compound.
Were they leaving her? With a snort, Alise muttered, “Wouldn’t be surprised if they forgot about me.”
Dropping the curtain, she paced back to the bed and was just about to sit when there was a knock at the door. Crouched in a half sit/half stand, Alise eyed the door.
“Alise, it’s Chief. I’d like to speak to you…in the den if that’s okay. Come down when you’re ready.”
Footsteps paced away, and Alise dropped onto the bed. Did she want to talk to Chief? Lifting a hand to her throat, she rubbed at the mate mark. When she woke this morning, the wound had been mostly healed, just slightly tender to the touch, and even that had passed by the time noon had rolled around.
Pacing the room, Alise debated going down and finally decided that she’d have to face him sooner or later. She was supposed to mark him tomorrow night, best to get the awkwardness out of the way now.
Alise made her way down to the den. The quietness of the house was a little unnerving, and she wondered if she and Chief were completely alone. The fear of that had her wondering what would happen if he went feral again.
Maybe this isn’t a good idea.
But it was too late. She’d made it to the entryway of the den and was now in Chief’s direct line of sight from where he sat in an oversized chair facing the door. One of his legs was kicked out in a relaxed pose, but the tense set of his jaw, the way one of his knuckles pressed hard into his lips where he leaned heavily on one armrest belied the pretense.
His gaze was intense as he silently studied her. Alise didn’t miss the flicker of his gaze to her neck, no doubt appreciating his mark. Then his gaze slid lower where it caressed her breasts, dipped to her hips, and slowly lifted back to her eyes. And just like that, a fluttering sensation erupted in her stomach.
Watching him watch her, she swallowed hard as the muscles of his shoulders bunched with the effort of pushing himself slowly up out of the chair. He rose like a damn tidal wave, all six foot six of him and Alise swallowed hard again. His nostrils flared, and when a glint hit his eyes just a second before they narrowed on her, she knew he scented her arousal. And aroused she was. How could she not be? He was too damn sexy for his own good.
Watching him, she realized that she probably knew more about this man than anyone else. He didn’t let people in, but he’d cracked the door slightly for her. People knew the Chief that was tough as iron with calloused hands. They saw him all dark and broody. Yeah, he was a beast in his own right, a monster of his own making, but he was a monster she now realized she reveled in simply being near. With her, he softened. He held open doors and helped her in and out of vehicles. He brought her meals and made sure she was never cold. Hell, he even went to battle over her, and now that the pain and fear over the fight had worn off, Alise found the whole thing…sexy. She got to see a side of him that no one else ever did and she liked it. It made her feel special and capable. It made her feel like a lion tamer, and it made her want to kiss his claws. He felt like her monster, and she hated that her heart had already laid a claim while her head screamed for her to stop. It felt unfair to be this attracted to him when aside from his overpr
otectiveness, he never gave any hint of interest in her.
Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed that he’d slowly crossed to stand in front of her until he held out his hand and murmured, “Come here.”
She fought to hide the shiver of excitement that tore through her at his command. Automatically lifting her hand, she placed her soft palm against the roughness of his and allowed him to pull her toward the door.
“Wh-where are you taking me?”
He didn’t answer, simply kept his eyes glued to hers as he led her out of the den, through the hall, and to the stairs.
“Chief?” Alise asked again, dainty brows spearing down. “Where are we going?”
***
Chief grinned at the way Alise had changed it from, ‘Where are you taking me’ to ‘Where are we going’. Whether she admitted it or not, they were a we now, and if he got his way, they always would be.
“We need to talk,” he growled, realizing only once the words were out that Beast was so close to the surface that he was polluting Chief’s voice with his own animalistic snarl. Beast had done it last night too, and Chief worried that it’d frighten Alise. When she hesitated a step, he was almost certain of it, but instead, she said, “We were talking in the den.”
Annoyance at the strength of his fear snapped his face into a frown. Chief bent and lifted her into his arms, ignoring her sharp inhalation at the action. He didn’t like the worry that flooded him when he thought about her walking away from what was brewing between them. He didn’t want her hesitant either. How could she not know that she owned him? He was hers.
Having her in his arms, her body held tight to his chest had him only able to rasp out a single response. “Privately.”
He carried her up to her room, and once there, he used a booted foot to close the door. Placing her gently on the bed, he planted himself in front of her to make his declaration.
“First off, I’m sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry for marking you like I did. You deserved better. I can do better. I want to be better…for you. I don’t know what the fuck it is about you, but I can’t get outta my head, outta my heart. You fit. Perfectly. It’s like this hole that’s been inside of me my whole life has been waiting for something. It’s been waiting for you, Alessandra. You filled it up. You fill me up.”
She blinked up at him in astonishment a moment before countering, “But we’re not the same.”
“We’re not. But our souls are. You and me, we were made for each other.”
“Why? Why now? You’ve been so distant.” Lifting a hand, she grazed it over the mate mark at her throat. “Is it because of this, because if it’s guilt you feel…”
“It ain’t guilt, sweetheart.”
Alise looked up at him and felt a little start at the flaming amber gaze that stared back her.
“I tried to warn you, tried to stay away, tried to save you from this.”
“Th-this?”
Lifting a hand over his head, he fisted his shirt between his shoulder blades and yanked it up and off.
Alise’s eyes dipped to his muscled chest, the hard discs of his nipples, the abs that bunched and flexed with what she now realized were labored breaths. Her eyes flicked back up to his. “What…what are you doing?”
“What I should have done from the start.” Taking a knee in front of her, he captured her hand and pulled it to his chest, flattening her palm over his racing heart. It matched her own.
“You feel that? That’s all you. That’s what you do to me. It’s what you’ve done to me from the second I laid eyes on you. I let my stupid fucking pride stand in the way of what I wanted, what I needed, but no more. Alessandra Crane, I’m asking you to give me a chance. I’m asking you to pick me, a lowly wolf, to be yours. I’m asking you to have the courage to do the one thing I was too afraid in the beginning to do.” Pulling her hand from his chest and lifting it to his mouth, he pressed his lips against her palm and closed his eyes, holding like that for long moments before finally blinking up at her from beneath his shag of black bangs. “Choose us, baby. Please!”
Oh my God! Alise’s heart was hammering now to compete with Chief’s. Choose us? Yeah, she’d been thinking about what would happen between them if they both gave in to this thing building between them. Honestly, she’d been a little excited to see where it would go, but now with Chief on his knees in front her, begging her to choose him, she realized just how permanent this was. Do I want that? For long, tense moments, she thought about it. She thought about everything. Her home, her job, Alex, James. She thought about it all. But there was one thing that had her dipping her chin in a nod. Chief! She didn’t think she could be without him now and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
With a triumphant grin, Chief shot to his feet and pulled Alise up with him. In a blink, she was up off the ground, legs wrapped around his hips as he crushed her to him.
Burying her hands in the thick, dark strands of his hair, Alise forced his head back. Her eyes locked on his mouth and he took the hint. His kiss was desperate. They both were. Tongues lashing, breath mingling, Alise couldn’t get close enough to him. She moaned helplessly when he ground against her pussy, and Alise had to break the kiss to gasp in air. It felt so good. After all this time, he felt so damn good.
Pulling back, Chief snarled, “I’m gonna fuck you, sweetheart.”
A zing of lust shot straight to her clit and had her body jerking against him as dew moistened her fold.
With a wicked grin he promised, “I’m gonna fuck you so hard.”
Hand on his jaw, Alise guided his mouth back to hers. If he’d expected a protest, he wasn’t going to get one. In fact, he got the opposite, as Alise began to rub against him. Through the material of her jeans, she could feel the iron-hard length of him. She swore his cock was pulsing with need.
Chief carried her to the bed and with one hand around her back, he used the other to lower them to the mattress. Pulling back from Alise, he toed off his boots and ripped open the front of his jeans as he demanded. “Clothes off. Now!”
Breathless, it took Alise a second for his words to register. Apparently, it was a second too long because Chief grabbed her ankle and pulled off one shoe and then the other before he reached up and unfastened her jeans and was yanking them down her legs.
Alise didn’t watch. No, her eyes were transfixed on the glory that was Chief’s naked body. He was a bronze Adonis. Muscles everywhere marred by the occasional nick of a scar. Coarse dark hair covered his chest and trailed in a line down to the weighty cock that was bobbing with his movement. A small pearl of pre-cum dribbled from the end and had Alise licking her lips.
“There’ll be time for that later,” he promised.
She watched as he crossed to his discarded jeans and bent to pull a foil packet out one of the pockets.
A condom? Oh God, that’s right! Chloe told her that a shifter’s seed could change his mate. Alise had been so caught up in her own lust that she’d nearly forgotten.
Watching Chief roll the condom over his hard length, she felt almost disappointed. It warred with the pride that Chief was taking care of her. He wasn’t losing control like Dell. He was being considerate…waiting. It endeared Alise to him even more.
Back at the end of the bed, Chief gripped her knees and spread her wide as he crawled up the bed and settled himself between her legs. “Right now I need to be buried in that tight little pussy of yours.”
His words had her womb clenching in eager anticipation.
Capturing her jaw, he forced her to look at him. His gaze sparked with hunger and his jaw ticked like he was fighting to stay in control. “Tell me you want this,” he commanded.
Alise didn’t hesitate. “I-I want this. I want you.”
Brows furrowing, he didn’t blink as he said, “There’ll be no going back. This is forever, Alessandra.”
Licking her lips, she grinned when his eyes shot to her mouth. “Forever,” she repeated.
When Chief’s eyes collided with hers,
there was some unfathomable emotion swirling there. Alise couldn’t quite place it, and she didn’t get a chance to because as he stared at her, Chief slowly buried his cock inside of her.
With a little gasp, Alise’s eyes fluttered closed. Chief paused and held a moment before asking, “Alright?”
Sucking her lips between her teeth to keep from crying out in pleasure, Alise nodded eagerly. All attempts at good behavior flew out the window the second his hips started moving. With a leisurely draw, Chief pulled out of her and then slowly pumped back in. The friction was intense, and despite her best efforts to remain quiet, Alise cried out. Nails raking Chief’s back, she panted, “Faster.”
He obliged and then lowered both arms to hook her knees, hiking her legs up before he began fucking her in earnest. His powerful shuttling thrusts felt so good. So damn good.
Throwing her head back, Alise let loose a keening cry. She was grateful that the house was empty because her moans, mingled with his grunts, and the headboard banging off the wall, left little doubt as to what they were doing. And doing it they were.
Chief’s lips found her throat, and when he nipped at her delicate flesh with sharp points, she realized his wicked incisors had pushed through his gums. It had her pussy flooding. Just knowing she had that effect on him felt heady. He was barely in control, and she loved it.
As he bucked into her faster and faster, Alise’s heart felt like it was going to explode and need and desire combined into a maelstrom of passion that coiled tighter and tighter. She was close. So close.
Chief kept his teeth near her mark, and as she was about to fall over the edge, Alise panted, “Do it!”
Chapter 25
Dizzy with fucking lust, Chief barely registered Alise’s command. When he did, the heat rose in him like blinding inferno. Cock going iron hard, he sunk his teeth into Alise’s exposed throat, right over his original mate mark, with a feral grown of ownership. Her breathing hitched to match his, and his heart thundered so damn loudly in his ears that he nearly missed her sexy little moan. This is how it was supposed to be, painless, passionate, erotic, and expected. At that moment, everything in the world ceased to exist but her. He was lost, and there was no going back. Regardless of what she thought, he was claiming her, and he was going to keep her one way or another.
