Page 21 of Breaking the Alpha (Serpent’s Tongue Ink #2)

“I’d love one,” she replied, slipping away from River after a whispered reassurance and following Jocelyn to a table covered in snacks and drinks. “Thank you for putting this together for him. I know he appreciates it.”

With a quick introduction to her parents outside the shop’s back door manning the barbecue, Jocelyn handed her a glass almost overflowing. “I have an obsessive need for organization, so it’s best for everyone if I channel it into things like this instead of world domination.”

A long arm draped over Jocelyn’s shoulder and Angelina looked up to see Epson’s infamous tattoo artist appraising her.

“My hope is that if she stays busy enough planning parties for the others, she won’t notice she’s tethered herself to the ugly brother.

” He grinned at her. “So you’re the landlady. ”

“Yes. Yes, just his landlady,” she said on an exhale.

“River is renting my basement suite. It’s perfect, really.

He was looking for something small, I was looking for a trustworthy tenant.

I guess you could say the stars were aligned.

He’s an ideal renter. Very quiet, no parties.

” She looked to Jocelyn to avoid the teasing glimmer building in Birch’s eyes. “He’s told me a lot about you.”

Birch was still smirking at her like he knew something while Jocelyn excused herself and ducked out from under his arm.

He leaned against a desk, its top cleared off to make room for a colorful collection of paper plates and cups.

“Wish I could say the same.” He glanced over at River and Grey, his lips turning up at the sight of the two of them hunched over Grey’s phone.

“You’re the only woman River’s ever brought around to meet us.

Even if you are just his landlady.” As River and Grey burst out laughing at something on the screen, his hazel eyes turned to her.

“You and Jocelyn probably have a lot in common.”

“I suspect we’re both skilled at spotting good men in a sea of bad ones.”

The words were out before she could stop them and she winced. Her heart pounded as she waited for his response, but she received nothing except the lift of his brows and a smile before he excused himself to help Matthew Carter at the grill.

In that moment, she got the feeling that she’d passed some unspoken test with the father figure of the group.

It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

This was a true family, connected and looking out for each other.

Despite all the work she’d done on herself to heal from her childhood, she’d never learned how to act in situations like this, where she was—intentionally or unintentionally—being brought into the fold.

A part of her wanted them to like her, wanted them to want her to be in River’s life.

But that piece of her that knew better was still there.

It was always there to remind her just how fast people could turn on her, how painful it was to be blindsided by the very people who’d once made her feel happy.

She took a long sip of her wine and joined Jocelyn at the table, where the beautiful blonde stood arguing with her mom about how to arrange the candles on the cake.

*

River rolled his eyes as Jocelyn pinned a glowing ‘Birthday Boy’ pin to his shirt and handed him another envelope.

Reading the card, he looked over to Matthew and Janie Carter.

“Wow,” he exhaled, scanning the info packet for the expensive workout app they’d purchased for him, the download code in bright blue across the top.

“You really didn’t have to do this, but thank you.

I can’t wait to put it to use in my hotel room tomorrow night. ”

Janie shushed him from across the room, the wine in her glass sloshing. “We certainly did have to do this. You work hard to look that good. The least we could do is to make it easier when you’re on the road.”

“Mother!” Jocelyn laughed, glancing over at Angelina. “I’m sorry. She thinks River is cute.”

“You aren’t wrong, Janie.” Angelina grinned, her hand sliding across his back as Jocelyn nudged a large box with no card toward his feet.

The moment he popped open the top and saw what was inside, he burst out laughing, lifting the hand-carved purple giraffe out. “Angelina, my darling, wonderful landlady, you shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, I most definitely should have.” She wrinkled her nose at him and smiled. “Do you reluctantly appreciate it?”

Kissing her before he remembered they had an audience, he pulled back, cleared his throat, and looked at the atrocity again, barely able to contain himself when he heard Grey sputter.

“Yeah, I definitely reluctantly appreciate it with all my heart.” Examining the finish, he patted the strangely bulbous head.

“I reluctantly appreciate it so much that I hope you’ll let me keep it on your porch so it welcomes me every night. ”

He saw Birch lean in close to Jocelyn, his speech slightly slurred by the four beers he’d had. “Is it just me or does that thing look like a big, purple, glittery dick?”

Although River suspected his brother had intended to whisper it, there was a breath of silence at the exact same time he’d spoken. Grey gasped in for air, the music switched to a new song, and the Carters politely held their tongues as Birch’s question rang through the air.

While the rest of the guests lost all composure, Angelina pulled a small box from her purse and handed it to him. “And here’s your real gift.”

He opened the simple brown box to find a black leather necklace, the dual thin strands knotted around onyx beads that led to a pendant.

He lifted it out, examining the contrast of the deep green gemstone against the bloodred that ran through it.

The leather strands were woven tightly around the stone, perfect replicas of the Bowen knots inked on his skin.

“Jesus,” he breathed. “You made this, didn’t you?”

She nodded as she took it from him and undid the clasp, securing it around his neck.

“It’s bloodstone. Some people claim it boosts intuition and strength, others say it repels negative energy and contains protective properties.

” Her fingers grazed the stone. “I placed the order for the stone the day we met, so I think it was meant for you.”

Taking her hand and ignoring the R-rated jokes flying through the room, he led her to the back of the shop to the mirror.

The stone sat between his collarbone, just above the neckline of his shirt.

The green was so dark it appeared almost black, blending seamlessly into the leather knots and onyx beads and drawing his eye to the rich red embedded in it. “I love this.”

Her arms wrapped around him from behind and she rose onto her toes, pressing her lips against his ear. “I think now might be the time to say I’d like you to fuck me hard and fuck me now, River. Happy birthday.”

The drive home was silent. Almost tense.

They were walking a thin line into relationship territory and the knowledge hung over both of them like a dark cloud.

If he had his way, Angelina would be on his arm and in his bed every day and night.

But he still felt that push from her, that invisible hand ensuring they didn’t fall over the edge.

The reminder of how fleeting these Saturday nights were with her had him reaching for her hand and he held it until they reached her home. She led him up the stairs without a word then turned and pressed him against the wall.

She trailed her lips along his jaw until they met his and he groaned, all thoughts of her distance forgotten.

One hand slid up her back and tangled in her hair.

What began as gentle turned hungry in a heartbeat, his tongue moving with hers until she broke the kiss, breathless as he pushed her shirt up and over her head.

Then his lips were on hers again while his hand cupped her breast, his thumb grazing her nipple as she rocked her hips against his hardened length.

He loved how in tune she was with her own desires, how she didn’t wait for him to take the lead every time.

She hooked her fingers in his collar and tugged gently.

Releasing her, he grabbed the back of his shirt, pulled it off without hesitation, and dragged her onto the bed.

She straddled his hips and skimmed her fingers along the banner tattooed from shoulder to shoulder, wrapping around a stylized, four-looped Bowen knot in the center of his chest. The words Swan Song were written in an intentionally broken script along the ribbon. “Did your brother do this?”

He grasped her hips to steady her as he sat up to capture her lips again. “Yeah. Birch is insanely talented, and I don’t want to think about him when I’ve got a beautiful woman grinding against me.”

“Noted.” Her breath hitched as he ducked his head and swirled his tongue around her nipple. When he grazed her with his teeth, she whimpered and arched into him, clutching his shoulders as his hips found their rhythm under her.

He made no move to undress her further as his hands and his tongue sought out the spots that drove her wild without hesitation.

His fingers skimmed the sensitive inside of her arms while his tongue flicked against her earlobe.

His breathing was hot and heavy as he palmed her breast, his hands rough and demanding when he began whispering in her ear.

“Holy fuck, Angel,” he hissed as she moved her hips in sync with his.

“You turn me on so fucking much. Watching you walk around in that dress all night and not being able to touch you was fucking excruciating.” His tongue lapped at her throat and he cupped her breast, running his thumb over the peak.

“I’ve been rock-fucking-hard for hours.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but he gripped her hair and tilted her head back, dragging his teeth against her skin and pulling nothing more coherent than a moan from her.

“No talking,” he snarled, grabbing her hips and thrusting inside her. “If you talk, I’m gonna come just hearing that voice of yours. And there’s no way in hell that’s happening before you do.”

She dug her nails into his shoulder, her body tensing as he fucked her fast and rough and continued to growl in her ear.

“One of these nights, I’m going to pay you back for what you did to me that night in the hotel.

I’m going to bring you to the edge over and over until you’re begging me for release.

” His teeth were back on her skin, the nipping and scratching alternating with swipes of his hot tongue.

“But tonight, I want it hard.” He grasped the back of her head to bring her in for a toe-curling kiss.

“I want it loud.” He increased his speed as he felt the first flutters of her orgasm. “And I want it now.”

His words pushed her over and she buried her head in his neck with a moan as she came. He wrapped his arms around her, cocooning her while her body trembled and shook until she came down from the high and snuggled in tight to him while his hips continued to move against her.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he groaned, his hold on her tightening moments before his own release hit him.

Every muscle in his body tensed as he rode it out, his gasped breathing slowly leveling out to match hers.

He lay back, bringing her with him and skimming his hand through her hair.

“River?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re staying here tonight, right?”

Tightening his hold on her, he kissed the top of her head. “If I had my way, I’d be staying here every night, Angel. Now go to sleep.”