Page 29 of Alpha’s Secret Baby Girl (Nightfall Island Alphas #1)

The first month after the destruction of the demon was tense.

Everyone kept waiting for the next attack.

At first, the longer they went without any demon sightings, the tenser everyone became.

Fights broke out, and Rafael, Michael, and Joshua were constantly having to break up the fights.

The special ops were kept on alert, running patrols and investigating any suspicious happenings.

In the second month, people began to feel a sense of hope. They hadn’t gone so long without a demon sighting since this began. People kept approaching Gwen on the street, asking if she had had any visions warning of impending danger. She answered honestly that she had not.

The third month passed. A new Elder Priest was chosen, and the pack celebrated. Gwen studied magic further and practiced her spells. She found the weak points in the old barrier and wove fresh strands of magic through it.

The fourth month passed.

Then the fifth.

Still no demons. And finally, they decided that it was safe again.

Gwen and Rafael had their second wedding and confessed the truth of their first. That caused a bit of a scandal, but the pack had already fallen in love with Lianne, so it wasn’t actually that bad.

Gwen was already getting annoyed by the comments from the older population asking, “When will you be trying for a boy?”

Rafael had made significant efforts to change the pack culture to be more tolerant, but there was still work to be done.

“That’s it,” Rafael encouraged from where he was waist-deep in the water.

The family had come out to the pond, the place where they had first been attacked.

Gwen at first wasn’t sure, but this place had been so special to Rafael, she didn’t want to let her paranoia ruin things.

Now, as she watched her husband teach their daughter how to swim, her heart swelled with delight.

“You’re doing great,” she called from where she lounged on the small beach, the sun soaking through the pale white cover-up she wore. She felt gloriously warm, her eyes half-drooped from the relaxation.

Her wolf cautiously wagged its tail. It was a strange sensation, feeling her wolf so strong.

But she had found a spell in her research that allowed her to start fighting against the damage the demons did to her growing up on the island.

The bindings on her wolf, keeping it small and weak, were gone.

It was a spell that had to be performed on one’s own body, though, so Kira and Chelsey weren’t yet able to strengthen their wolves.

Lianne was showing increasing signs of being ready to shift. They were certain it wasn’t going to be long before she could do it. Gwen was so excited for her.

“You did it!” Rafael cried, scooping Lianne out of the water as she reached him. She shrieked in delight as he spun her in a circle.

“Did you see?” Lianne shouted, twisting to look at Gwen. “I swamed!”

Gwen rolled to a sitting position and clapped. “Amazing!”

“I am amazing,” Lianne declared proudly. “Come swim with us, Mommy!”

Gwen grinned. She tossed off the cover-up, earning an appreciative grin from Rafael as his eyes roved over her bikini, and splashed into the freezing water. She yelped but didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself as Lianne immediately launched herself at her.

A few hours later, they dripped their way back to town, laughing and tired from their outing. Gwen rolled her shoulders as they reached the house. Maybe it was a mistake to go to the pond today, when she and Rafael had planned a date. She might be too tired to have a romantic evening now.

Kira was already waiting for them, her mouth drawn into an unhappy slash, though she tried to hide it as they approached.

“Joshua wants you to call him when you have a chance,” Kira told Rafael, and her scowl deepened.

Ahhh, that would do it. Gwen had to hide a sigh. Kira and Joshua had had some sort of argument that left them at odds with each other. She hoped that they would work through it soon. Since Kira was Gwen’s best friend and Joshua was Rafael’s best friend, their paths were bound to cross.

“Thanks for watching, Lianne,” Gwen told her.

Kira managed a smile at that. “Of course. I’m always happy to hang out with my favorite girl.”

Lianne was excited, too, and started telling Kira all about learning how to swim.

With her thus employed, Gwen hurried upstairs to dress for her date.

She met Rafael downstairs and they headed out.

Rafael drove them to the docks. His boat was already prepared for them, and they headed out, the wind and the sea breathing fresh life into them as they talked and laughed.

Gwen wasn’t sure where they were going, and was pleasantly surprised when they arrived at one of the smaller islands.

They docked the boat, and Rafael helped her out.

“This is beautiful,” Gwen said, admiring the sun descending over the ocean.

Rafael wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin against her shoulder. “You’re beautiful.”

Gwen leaned back against him, smiling.

He kissed her neck, causing shivers of pleasure to tingle across her skin. “You know what else you are?”

“Hmmm. Tell me.”

“Wonderful. Amazing. Smart. Funny. And so goddamn sexy it makes me cry,” he breathed against her, pressing a kiss to her neck after every sentence.

Gwen shivered and pressed back against him. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Rafael’s hands moved to her hips. “I know what I am.” He turned her toward him. The sunset cast his face in purples and golds, and he pressed a long, deep kiss to her lips. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

“Not as lucky as I am,” Gwen answered between kisses.

“I’m luckier.” He pressed his hands to his hips and pulled her back ever so slightly to smile at her. “You gave me another chance. I get to be your mate and Lianne’s father. Even though I behaved like an ass.”

Gwen cupped his cheek with her hand. “No more of that. You made a mistake. You’ve apologized, and I’ve forgiven you. Let’s not dwell on the past.”

The waves sighed against the sand as their mouths met again.

Gwen’s heart beat faster as the length of her body pressed against Rafael, feeling the heat of him through their clothes.

She rocked her hips, testing, and grinned as she felt the proof of his arousal.

She slid her hands under his shirt, greedily mapping the contours of his body.

“Fuck, Gwen. You don’t know what you do to me,” he breathed as he moved his mouth to her neck.

First, Gwen could only gasp as the pleasure of his motions burst through her. Her core tightened, aching to be filled. She rocked her hips again, and when Rafael moaned, she giggled breathlessly.

“I think I have some idea what I do to you,” she purred into his ear. Her hands dropped out of his shirt to run down the curve of his ass. His muscles tightened under her touch, and she held on for dear life, bringing him closer to her.

“What do you want?” Rafael asked. His hands were all over her, greedy and impatient. She could hear the effort it took for him to hold back.

“I want you,” she breathed, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear. “Forever.”

Rafael’s answer was a low, happy growl in her ear.

He lifted her, his muscles straining as he carried her down the beach back to the boat.

There, they nearly fell into the water. Gwen laughed as she squirmed herself free from his grasp, then clutched his hand and pulled him onto the boat.

They hurried downstairs like a couple of impatient teens.

As soon as the door to the cabin shut, they were on each other.

Fire bloomed through her stomach. Rafael pressed himself up against her, pinning her to the wall. Their kisses grew more heated as he ran his hands over her torso. His fingers brushed against the underside of her breasts, eliciting a groan. He leaned over her, flicking his tongue across her lips.

Then he was gone. Gwen tried to follow him, needing more, aching to have his touch on her again. Rafael pressed one hand to her shoulder, holding her in place. His dark eyes silently warned her to stay still. Gwen, unhappy with the unspoken order but excited to know what he had planned, obeyed.

Rafael stepped back again. He swiftly removed his clothes, then returned to her. He undressed her with more care than he had given himself. His touch was reverent, as though he was unwrapping a holy relic. Gwen bit her lip, her hands resting on his shoulders as she let him do his work.

“You are so beautiful,” she murmured, gazing down at him as he pulled her pants down. “You’re like a god made flesh, Rafael Buchanan.”

He kissed the crease of her hip and chuckled. “You stole my line. You’re a goddess, Gwen. You are love and lust and beauty. I love you. I want to give you everything. Starting with the best orgasm of your life.”

He pulled her away from the wall and, still on his knees, walked her to the bed. There, he urged her to sit and spread her thighs, his hands on her knees. As she opened for him, Gwen’s heart jumped to her throat, anticipation making her skin tingle.

Rafael smirked at her as he kissed up her thigh.

He skipped over her core to her other thigh, kissing his way down as his fingers moved to her.

He pushed one finger inside of her while his thumb circled her clit.

Gwen’s fingers dug into the blankets beneath her as she gazed at her husband, her mate, and Alpha.

“Fuck me,” she ordered.

Rafael snorted into her skin. “Gwen!”

“What? I want you, Rafael. Don’t tease me,” she begged.

His dark eyes glinted as he smirked. “Ahhh, well, just for that, I’m going to have to tease. You realize that? I’m going to have to bring you to climax before I—as you so eloquently demand—fuck you.”

Gwen shivered as he kissed up her thigh again. “Maybe I did it on purpose to get you to eat me out.”

“We both know you don’t need tricks for that, love.”

Before she could argue or tease, he was pressing his face into her. His tongue flicked out, snapping across her clit. Gwen gasped, jolting, and fell back. Rafael pushed her legs further apart as he worked his magic, her clit soon throbbing with sensitivity beneath his attentions.

“Rafael,” she groaned, writhing on the bed as his mouth worked her, tongue alternatively flicking and thrusting. Her hands dug into his hair, and it took all her self-restraint not to tug on it. “Rafael, I need you.”

“Not yet,” he said. His voice rumbled into her, the vibration making her tighten even further.

Her back arched as everything inside of her tightened.

She tried to squeeze her legs together, but Rafael’s bulk between them stopped it.

It was too good, too intense as she cried out.

The first wave trembled on the edge, and her breath caught in her throat.

Heat swept through her, and everything released all at once.

Wave after wave washed over her while Rafael continued working her, eking out the orgasm.

When he was finally satisfied, he crawled up the bed, kissing and licking her skin as he moved up.

As the shockwaves wore themselves out, Gwen kissed Rafael’s shoulder and chest, letting herself come down from the pleasure.

He was still hard, having denied himself.

Panting, pleased, and utterly satisfied, Gwen stretched her arms above her head.

Rafael nuzzled her breast, and she settled closer to him again.

“That,” she said, “was amazing. We’re really good at this.”

Rafael laughed, nipping her collarbone now. “We really are. But you know what they say—things can always get better.”

He rolled her onto her back, nudging her legs apart again. This time, he sank into her with a groan, her body readily accepting him and eager for more pleasure. Gwen laughed, welcoming his closeness. Oh, yes. Things would only get better. That much, she was certain of.

*****

THE END