Page 23 of Alpha’s Secret Baby Girl (Nightfall Island Alphas #1)

His scent overwhelmed her. He smelled of forest, of sea, of sky, campfires, fresh-cut grass, and everything good.

Logically, Gwen knew it was impossible for a man to carry all those scents at once, but somehow, Rafael did.

She buried her nose into his neck, needing more.

She filled her lungs, and the tension inside of her broke.

It wasn’t just the thrill of correctly performing the spell.

It was the apology. Hearing those words had cut down the last of those bristling defenses, and now Gwen wanted nothing more than to show him how much she forgave him.

It was all she’d needed, that acknowledgment.

Her arms tightened around him as she tilted her chin just enough so it was her lips rather than her nose pressed to his skin.

Rafael shuddered against her. His strong arms tightened, and he let out a breathy little moan.

Liquid fire settled in her pelvis, making her grow moist. Gwen kissed him again, more deliberately this time.

She nipped at the sensitive skin just below his jaw, and Rafael shuddered again.

Goddess, she loved that she could evoke this reaction from him.

Her lips moved across his Adam’s Apple, and his hands moved to cup her buttocks, squeezing them as he pulled her closer, hip to hip.

“I want…” Rafael said unsteadily. “Gwen…”

“I want Rafael,” she answered teasingly.

One of his hands left her ass and moved to her jaw.

He tilted her face toward him. The lust settled in his dark eyes took her breath away.

There were too many clothes between them.

Far, far too many clothes. She needed his skin against hers.

Needed his touch, needed to see the intensity in his eyes as he entered her.

“Hold on,” he rumbled, his hands closing around hers as she started tugging at the hem of his shirt.

He glanced around quickly, then stepped back.

The loss of his heat made her shudder, but then they began to move.

Rafael pulled her to the elevator and slammed his fist into the button to take them to the upper floor.

The elevator lurched, and Rafael pulled Gwen to him, her back to his chest, her ass nestled against his swelling cock. It pressed through their clothes against her low back, and Gwen groaned, her fingers curling into his shirt. She thrust back against him, impatient for more contact.

“Fuck, Gwen,” Rafael growled with a laugh. “Have a little patience. We’re almost at my office. Anyone can see us here.”

“So? We’re married,” she shot back, but allowed space between them. The molten fire in her blood made it difficult to think, but he was right. She didn’t want to put on a show for any hapless passers-by.

The elevator dinged open, and they stumbled from inside in a flurry of limbs.

Rafael half-carried her into his office, locking the door behind them.

Once they were inside, the fervor cooled slightly, and the question of when turned into the question of how.

Gwen turned toward her husband, letting herself soak in the sight of him.

“You are so handsome,” she breathed, letting her hands trace over his form.

He was well-built, with that sharp jaw and dark hair.

Yes, he was conventionally attractive, but that wasn’t what she loved most about him.

“You’re so kind. You care and you work hard and you’ve done so much to try to make life better for the pack, even the people who don’t matter. ”

Rafael closed his hand around hers and brought her wrist to his lips. “Everyone matters, Gwen.”

“You know what I mean.”

He kissed her again, moving slowly up to her elbow and beyond.

Shivers ran down Gwen’s spine. There was none of the same urgency she’d felt in the hall below, none of the conflicted emotion she’d dealt with the last time this need had overwhelmed her.

Her body cried out for more, but even those gentle touches were enough for her to feel the beauty of their connection.

Rafael cupped her cheek in his hand, staring intently at her.

His gaze moved slowly over her features, as though he was trying to memorize her in this moment.

Then he leaned forward and kissed her, slowly again.

Gwen accepted his pace, her head tilting back to reach him.

His arms encircled her waist, and he moved her backward toward the desk.

His motions were languid as he cleared a space on it, then undid her jeans.

Gwen reached to help him, but Rafael stopped her.

He took her hands and instead put them on her own breasts.

He kneaded them with her fingers, and the sensations were amplified.

Then he kissed the swell of her breast, just over her fingers, and his hands dropped again.

He eased her jeans and panties down together, helping her loop one foot then the other out of them.

With one motion, he lifted her onto the desk and nudged her legs open with his knees.

Then he removed her shirt and bra and looked down at her.

Gwen had always found it strange that the woman ended up naked while the man was fully clothed in the books and movies.

She’d thought it put the woman in a vulnerable position, bared to him and the audience while the man got to keep his clothes on.

In this moment, she didn’t feel vulnerable.

She felt powerful. The way Rafael’s breathing hitched sent a spiral of pleasure through her.

She had this power over him, one that drove him speechless.

His hands lingered over her skin, touching her lightly as though he was waiting for permission to do more.

Gwen leaned forward and tugged the hem of his shirt.

Rafael let her undress him without a word, still gazing at her as though she were a goddess.

His nude body was so beautiful it could make her weep. Gwen sighed in delight as she let her hands roam over his form, enjoying the softness and warmth of his skin.

Rafael bent his head toward her. Their mouths met, and his tongue pressed into her.

Her hand dropped to his erect cock, and Rafael pushed two fingers into her, his thumb circling her clit.

She was already wet, lubricating his touch.

A jolt went through her as his thumb brushed over her swollen clit.

Gwen moaned into his mouth, her hand moving softly, stroking him.

“Fuck, Gwen,” he groaned. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Gwen would disagree with that statement.

She felt his breathing hitch as she moved her hand, saw the way his eyes grew heavier with pleasure and satisfaction.

If anything, he couldn’t see what he did to her.

She wanted him to know. Wanted him to feel her pleasure the same way she did.

Her hips rocked toward his hand, pushing his fingers deeper.

It took her a ridiculously short time for her thighs to start trembling.

Rafael let out a heavy grunt, and then he pulled his hand away.

His clean hand fisted in her hair, pulling her closer to him.

The slight sting along her scalp made Gwen gasp, but then Rafael was inside of her.

He moved with such delicious precision that she gasped.

Her fingers dug into his back. The desk creaked with their movements.

“You’re fucking me on your desk,” she gasped out as the first rolls of pleasure washed from her core down her legs.

Rafael’s rhythm stuttered. “Wh—” He didn’t seem to have the brainpower to finish the question.

“Don’t you remember? When we were talking about me moving to the mainland to go to college, I said if I did, you could fuck me on your desk.” Gwen tangled her fingers through his hair, bringing him closer so she could lick the hollow of her throat. “You said it sounded unsanitary.”

“I was young and stupid.”

Gwen laughed, then gave out a cry as his hips rocked into her again.

The sensations of him inside of her, filling her, send bolts of pleasure straight through her.

Soon, all she could do was answer his passion with her own, words utterly forgotten.

The tightness filled her, and her head fell back as her orgasm pulsed through her.

She cried out, jerking her hips, wanting to feel her lover finish inside of her.

Rafael grunted, his hips stuttering. He released a long groan and pulled her closer, thrusting deep inside of her twice before he grew still.

They clung to each other, skin stuck together in sweat, the smell of their sex in the air. Gwen panted for breath, loving the feeling of him so close.

She didn’t think she had ever been this happy before.

***

She was woken by a banging noise. Gwen jerked, falling off the narrow couch. The blankets twisted around her as she scrambled to reorient herself. Right. They were still in Rafael’s office. After the desk, they had made love on the couch and fell asleep with their arms wrapped around one another.

Another bang made her flinch. Rafael was on his feet, already pulling his jeans back on.

Gwen scrambled to dress when the screaming started.

A shudder ran down her spine as she stumbled to the window, her shirt clutched in one hand.

A bluish light filtered from above, and at first, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing.

Then the sharp lines of the magical barrier came into focus, just in time for them to fail altogether.

The air left Gwen’s lungs. The barrier was down. The town was unprotected.

“Lianne,” she gasped.

Rafael tore away. Gwen dropped her shirt, not bothering to put it on as she chased after him. She searched inside herself, looking for her wolf. She could run faster as a wolf, couldn’t she? But the wolf was nowhere to be found, locked away as panic filled her mind.

Her bare feet cut on the sidewalk outside, small stones embedding themselves into her skin. Rafael’s wolf form disappeared ahead of her.

When she reached the house, she could hear his howls of grief, and she knew. The demon got what it came for.

Lianne was dead.

Her strength failed her, and she stumbled, collapsing to the sidewalk. The pain was there, but distant as her heart broke open. She could feel it bleeding out inside of her and was glad because this meant she was going to die, too.

The demon’s shadowy form emerged in front of her.

It was no longer faceless; it looked like Randall Buchanan, and it laughed at her.

Its laughter filled her ears. The buildings around her crumbled.

The pack raced for the demon, then turned and attacked each other instead.

And it stood there, staring down at her, laughing until her ears bled.

***

“Gwen!” Rafaeal’s voice cut through the noise.

Gwen jerked, gasping, and nearly rolled off the couch. Rafael’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back, close to his naked body. His warmth pressed into her back, but there was no restfulness in him now. The vision pressed in on her mind, so powerful and vivid it felt like a memory.

“Are you okay?” Rafael adjusted their positions so she was lying on the couch while he climbed over her and knelt beside her.

A migraine burst behind her eyes, and she groaned, clamping her hands over her face.

“Gwen.” Rafael cupped her face. “Gwen, stay with me. What do I need to do? Do you need the doctor?”

“No,” Gwen murmured. She let her hands fall as the headache faded. She was left feeling shaky and exhausted, but was it the migraine or the vision? “It was a vision.”

Rafael’s eyes burned with fear. True fear, the sort she had never seen in him before. “What did you see?”

She couldn’t tell him the truth. Not in this moment. She didn’t have the words to describe it. Didn’t have the strength. “Just… the same,” she whispered. “It was the same as every time before.”

***

Kira stared at Gwen in horror as she finished telling her the details of the vision she’d had. “And you haven’t told Rafael?”

Gwen wrapped her arms around herself. “No. Not yet. I… I couldn’t. I tried to, after I’d calmed down. But there’s nothing he can do. This is about us witches. We have to figure out how to fix this.” Her lips trembled as she hunched inward. “I just don’t know how.”

“You need to tell Rafael.”

She couldn’t argue with that, even though she wanted to. The thought of telling Rafael somehow made it feel all the more real. “I think I made a mistake by staying here. I should have insisted that I leave.”

“Lianne was in danger, and this is the safest spot for her, with the barrier,” Kira offered gently.

A shudder ran down Gwen’s spine. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m the reason the barrier is going to come down.

Maybe that’s why the witches’ stuff was locked away, because the use of magic will weaken the barrier.

Or maybe the demon sees me as a threat. Lianne hasn’t shown any sign of magic.

Why would it go after her except as a way to come after me?

” Her words fell more rapidly as the fears welled up through her mind.

“I came and I have magic, and it saw me as a threat, so it attacked even more. It’s targeting the town because of me. I have to—”

“Stop.” Kira grabbed Gwen’s shoulders and shook her head. “You’re panicking. You have to tell Rafael. He deserves to know.”

Gwen nodded once, but she knew in her heart she wouldn’t be able to do it.

They discussed possibilities, and Kira promised to read more about the barrier and to find a way to check it for weaknesses.

Gwen made her way back home in a daze. She didn’t want to put Rafael at risk.

She didn’t want to be the downfall of the pack he’d worked so hard to protect, to improve.

And she didn’t want to be the reason her daughter was killed.

The demon is after me. That’s why it stood over me and laughed in the vision, she thought.

An idea formed in the back of her mind, the first tendrils of a plan that might protect the town. She shuddered at it, but if it would stop the demon…

When she arrived at the house, she found Rafael and Lianne having cooked dinner.

Rafael gave her a worried look, and she smiled back at him, wanting to reassure him.

Right now, all she cared about was being with her husband and daughter.

Whatever tomorrow brought, tonight would be good. She would make sure of it.