Alpha Temptation: Sanmere Shifters Romance Collection

by Lola Gabriel

  She wanted to feel every part of him, to run her hands over his whole body. And she wanted his hands on her. He had one hand resting on her hip, the other one cupping her cheek as they kissed, but she wanted more. She wanted his hands all over her.

  As though he had read her mind, Cedric moved his hand from Laila’s cheek, trailing the ends of his fingers down her side and over her leg. He rested it on her knee for a moment, and then he began to move it up her thigh, pushing it beneath the hem of her dress. He ran his fingers over her inner thigh, spreading delicious fire through her body and up into her stomach. His fingers moved higher, brushing over her panties and pressing the material against her clit. Laila moaned again as her center burst into life, demanding attention.

  Cedric moved his mouth from hers, kissing down her neck as his fingers pushed beneath her panties, his skin on hers. His fingers found her clit and began to move back and forth, sending waves of pleasure through Laila. She tightened her hold on Cedric, moaning again as her body began to come to life in a way she had never imagined was possible.

  His mouth moved back to hers, his tongue pushing between her lips. She massaged his tongue with hers, pressing against his fingers more tightly, needing to feel him against her.

  He moved his fingers out of her panties and she moaned, this time in frustration. Cedric pulled back from her and smiled down at her, and then he gently pushed on her shoulders until she was lying on her back, her head resting on the arm of the couch. Cedric stood up without a word and lifted her legs. He pulled them, pulling her head off the arm and onto the body of the couch. He reached beneath her dress, grasping her panties, and she lifted her ass, allowing him to pull them off her.

  He threw them to the ground, pushing her dress up around her waist, and then he hooked her knees over the arm of the couch. He smiled at her, a smile so full of lust that she felt herself getting wetter by the moment. Cedric got to his knees, his head between her thighs. She moaned again as he lowered his head and she felt his warm breath on her most sensitive spot.

  He pushed her legs wider, and then sucked her clit into his mouth, working it deliciously with his tongue, stretching it out and making Laila gasp. She felt like she was floating on a wave of pleasure, and when Cedric released her clit and began to lap at it with his rough tongue, moving it from side to side, waking up every nerve ending, she felt her orgasm starting to build inside her.

  Her orgasm came quickly, spreading heat and pleasure through Laila’s body, and when she climaxed, she climaxed hard, her stomach contracting, every muscle in her body stretching out and going rigid. She pressed her head back into the couch, her hands clenched into fists by her sides. She moaned Cedric’s name in a voice so consumed by lust that it didn’t sound like herself.

  She felt warm explosions traveling through her body and her breath came in ragged gasps that seared her throat. She cried out, an almost scream of unintelligible syllables, as Cedric kept working her long after her climax had come over her. Her orgasm felt like it was going on and on forever. Every time she began to coast back down, Cedric pushed her right back to the point of no return again.

  When he finally moved his mouth away from her and got back to his feet, she was spent, her muscles warm and heavy, but her body craved him.

  Cedric smiled down at Laila and reached down to his waistband. He opened his jeans slowly, watching her reaction as he pushed them down his thighs. She lifted her head for a better view and Cedric’s smile widened. He pushed his boxer shorts down and a shiver went through Laila when she saw his huge, hard cock being unleashed.

  Cedric turned his attention from her face and looked down at her glistening wet pussy. He ran his fingers through her slit, pressing down on her pink pearl and making her gasp, and then he grasped his cock in his fist and pressed it against her clit, working her with the tip of his erection.

  Laila knew she should stop him. If she let him fuck her, she could no longer pretend nothing could happen between them. But she knew once this was over, she had to tell Cedric they couldn’t be together, and she wanted to experience him making love to her, at least this once. She knew if she stopped him now, she would always regret it.

  He pushed his cock inside of her core, slipping in easily despite his size because she was so wet. She felt her body stretching to accommodate him, and she bucked her hips greedily, wanting to feel all of him inside of her.

  He reached beneath her and cupped her ass cheeks, pulling her ass closer to the edge of the couch’s arm. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding herself in place against him, and when he began to thrust inside of her, she matched his thrusts with eager, greedy thrusts of her own.

  As he thrust into her, hard and fast, he reached out with one hand and began to massage her clit almost lazily. Her clit was swollen and tender, still not recovered from her long, drawn-out orgasm, and at first, his touch was almost painful, but the pain receded, soon becoming pleasurable again, and Laila found herself falling headlong into another orgasm. It tore through her body, making her gasp out Cedric’s name over and over again. Her center clenched around his erection as he moved inside of her, and this time, it was Cedric’s turn to moan as she tightened around him.

  She was just coming back to earth from her orgasm when Cedric moaned her name and thrust into her one more time, filling her right up. He came with his cock going wild inside of Laila, and for a moment, she was distracted, reminding herself that he was planting his seed in a barren land. She dismissed the thought and as he spurted into her again, she tightened her pussy, clenching it and making Cedric moan again, a long, loud moan, drenched in pleasure and desire.

  Cedric pulled out of Laila, standing looking down at her. She could see his chest rising and falling as he panted for air, and she knew her own breath was coming equally quickly as she tried to get her mind and her body back under control.

  When she felt like she could move again, she pulled her legs off the arm of the couch and stood up, tucking her dress beneath her before she sat back down again. Her legs were like jelly, shaky. This was the best sex she had ever had. No matter where her life took her after today, she would never be able to get this moment out of her mind.

  Already, she wanted him again, but she knew she couldn’t let it happen. She had to tell him that nothing could ever happen between them. As much as she wanted Cedric, she had never had a real boyfriend since the day she found out she couldn’t have children. She had had a few one-night stands, but that was all they had ever been and all they ever could be. She had never felt like this before, though—upset to know that something that could have been magical had to end before it really had a chance to begin.

  She just couldn’t do it, the whole relationship thing. Even though it had been years since she had gotten the news that she would never be able to have children of her own, she still hadn’t wrapped her head around it, and until she did, it didn’t seem fair of her to dump it on someone else. And besides, she had no idea when she could ever tell someone her secret. It felt like such a big thing, a definite deal breaker for a lot of guys, and she didn’t want to lead anyone on, getting close to them and then telling them and having both of their hearts broken when they left. But it was hardly first date conversation, was it?

  Cedric looked at her as he sat down, his clothes back in place. He had a worried-looking frown on his face.

  “Laila? Are you okay? You look—I don’t know—like you’re ready to cry,” he said.

  “I’m not going to cry,” Laila said. At least not until after you’ve left. She forced herself to smile and Cedric’s face relaxed a little. “It’s just… I’m sorry. I got carried away in the moment, but I never should have let that happen. And I really can’t let it happen again. I’m sorry if I led you on.”

  “You didn’t,” Cedric said quickly. “I wanted it as much as you did. Do you mind if I ask why we can’t do it again?”

  He smiled at her and she felt like her heart was going to break.

  “You can’t t
ell me you didn’t enjoy it,” he said with a flirty smile that made her want to straddle him and fuck him again.

  “It’s not that. I definitely enjoyed it,” Laila said. “But I’m just not in the right place for a relationship right now, and if we keep doing that, that’s where we’re going to end up.”

  “Okay, I get it,” Cedric said, looking sad suddenly.

  No, you don’t, Laila thought. You don’t get it at all. You don’t get that I want you to tell me you’re going to fight for me. You don’t get that I want so badly to tell you the truth about why I can’t be with you, and for you to tell me it doesn’t matter to you and mean it. You don’t get it even a tiny bit.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again.

  “You don’t have to be sorry. We’re both adults and we fucked and now we’re not fucking anymore,” Cedric said.

  “You’re mad at me,” Laila said.

  “No,” he smiled. “I’m not. I’ll be honest—I’m disappointed. I really think we could have something special here, but if you’re not looking for that, then I’m glad you told me now instead of later. But if you change your mind about that, well, you know where to find me.”

  He stood up and bent down, kissing the top of Laila’s head. He lingered for a moment and she knew he was smelling her hair, and she wanted so badly to tell him she had changed her mind, she wanted him to stay and never leave her. But it wouldn’t be fair. Even if he thought he could handle the no-kids thing, there was always a risk he would wake up one day in the future and realize he had missed out on being a father and resent her for it. And that was a fate worse than an eternity of being unable to be with anyone.

  “I should go,” he said, finally straightening back up.

  Laila nodded. She didn’t want him to go but she knew it was for the best, and she really had no right to ask him to stay now that she had told him nothing could ever happen between them again. She went to stand up, but Cedric shook his head.

  “It’s okay. I can see myself out. See you around, Laila. And remember where I am if you ever change your mind. I live in the big house on the other side of the town.”

  And then he was gone, and Laila had an answer to what sort of person lived in the big house, and an answer to what her soulmate looked like, smelled like, tasted like. And an answer as to what a lifetime alone would really feel like. Empty. Lonely.

  She kept the tears in until she heard the front door closing behind Cedric, the door to their possible future together closing behind him, and then the tears came, hot and exhausting. Laila lay down on the couch and clutched a cushion to her, crying as she felt Cedric’s seed drying on her thighs.

  11

  Cedric lay in bed that night unable to sleep. His thoughts were consumed by Laila. He felt as though he could still smell her on his fingers despite his shower, and still taste her on his tongue despite brushing his teeth. She had been so wet, so delicious, so utterly fuckable. So his. She was meant to be his. There was no doubt in his mind about that now. He hadn’t just fucked her, he had made love to her, connected with her on a primal level, and despite her words, he knew she had felt it too.

  He didn’t know why she wasn’t willing to give them a chance together. Maybe it had something to do with that flicker of fear he had seen in her eyes when they had first spotted each other. Maybe she had an abusive ex-boyfriend, or maybe she was just terrified of the strength of their connection, having not been brought up to expect to feel that rush of certainty over a complete stranger. Perhaps it was something else.

  But Cedric knew a lie when he heard one, and when Laila had told him she wasn’t ready for a relationship, it had been a lie. She was ready. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, and that was a lot. He thought that need, that desire, would be too much for her to fight for too long, and he was confident she would come to him. But when?

  He didn’t feel like he could wait another day, maybe not even another hour. But he had to find a way to wait, to let her come to him. He didn’t want to come on too strong, not when he had already sensed the fear in her. And it wasn’t like there was any rush. He was immortal, and hopefully, soon enough, she would be too, and they could spend eternity together. But it was still going to be hard. His whole body craved her, his soul craved her. Staying away from Laila was going to be the hardest thing he had ever had to do.

  It occurred to Cedric, as the thoughts and images of Laila tumbled through his mind, that he was no further forward with finding out what had happened earlier that evening. He hadn’t even mentioned Fabian or the car or any of it. Although he had wanted to spend time with Laila and start getting to know her, he had planned on getting some information about it all from her tonight too, but when he had been with her, it had been the furthest thing from his mind.

  He had just wanted to get to know her, to hold her, to love her. He hadn’t wanted the evening to be spoiled by thinking about Fabian and what might have happened. But he hadn’t given up on getting to the bottom of the situation or getting Fabian away from Greer either. It was just one more thing he would have to be patient in his approach to, and he thought that would be a whole lot easier than being patient with Laila.

  She was meant to be his, dammit. She was his. He had given himself over to her completely when he had made love to her, and she had done the same. She had opened not just her legs to him, but her heart and her soul too. He knew it. She knew it. This was torture.

  He started to think about Cassie’s plan to organize a dinner party for herself, Stuart, Laila, and him. Once he had gone to Laila’s place tonight, he knew the plan would be off. It had been Cassie’s way of introducing him and Laila and that was done; she wouldn’t need to be involved. He thought about maybe calling her in the morning and asking her to go ahead with it anyway, but he dismissed the idea.

  It would look like he was coming on too strong. He had just convinced himself to give Laila the space she needed to see for herself that he was her destiny. And he really didn’t want Cassie to end up caught up in the middle of the waiting time. Not when she had to work with Laila.

  I’m just going to have to find something to do to take my mind off Laila, Cedric thought to himself. So, Fabian, you had better watch your back, because if I can’t have her, then I’m coming for you.

  12

  Laila walked out of the school and began heading for home. Today hadn’t been too bad for a Monday. She had expected her students to come in riled up from the weekend, but it had been like any other day and she realized their over-excitement last Monday had been more about getting a new teacher than leftover exuberance from the weekend. It made her feel good to know the children had been looking forward to seeing her so badly.

  As she walked, Laila became aware of a car slowing down behind her and pulling up to the curb. She turned around when she heard the zipping sound of a window going down. Alan leaned across the passenger seat.

  “Fabian would like to speak to you,” he said.

  “No threats this time?” Laila asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Just following orders, ma’am,” he shrugged. “But nope, not this time.”

  Laila knew she would get in the car. Enough time had passed for the DNA test results to come back, and in the odd few moments over the last couple of days when her head wasn’t full of Cedric, she had thought of the results and what they would mean for her either way. Still, despite her eagerness for the results, part of her wondered if this was really a good idea, and if she was honest, she was curious what would happen if she refused to get in the car.

  “What happens if I refuse to come with you?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  “Then you’ll always wonder if Fabian is your father or not, I would assume,” Alan replied with another shrug.

  Laila wondered if that was really true, or if Alan would be sent back with instructions to bring her to the castle, whatever it took. She got into the car, not ready to call Fabian’s bluff. She didn’t know what would be worse—Alan’s
words being true and her spending the rest of her life not knowing whether or not Fabian was her father, or suspecting it wasn’t true and spending the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting to be forced into the car at gunpoint again.

  Alan waited until Laila was settled in the car, her seat belt fastened, and then he pulled away and turned the car around, heading for the castle.

  The last time I came here, I saw Cedric afterwards. And then I had the most amazing sex of my life, she thought to herself. Her mind lingered on that night. She could remember it so vividly that she could almost feel Cedric’s touch on her now, and just thinking about him made her core come alive. She shifted in her seat, aware that she was becoming turned on and trying to take some of the pressure off her clit. It didn’t work. The movement just made the tingling all the more delicious. She could feel her cheeks turning pink.

  “Are you alright?” Alan asked, meeting her eye in the rearview mirror.

  “Yes, why?” she said, feeling embarrassed, like she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t. She felt the hotness in her cheeks escalating, shame as well as desire deepening the color.

  “No reason,” Alan said. “You’re just shuffling about back there. I thought maybe you were planning on making a break for it.”

  Laila forced herself to smile.

  “Nope. I just had a cramp in my calf. It’s gone now,” she lied.

  It seemed to satisfy Alan and he turned his attention back to the road ahead of him. Laila glanced out of the window, trying not to think about Cedric. She had been trying not to think about Cedric since last Wednesday. It hadn’t worked then and it didn’t work now.

  The castle came into view ahead of her, and she knew that while she couldn’t put Cedric out of her mind completely, she needed to focus on Fabian now and what he said to her. Whichever way the results of the DNA test went, she wanted a clear head when she heard them.