Page 33 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

G uarded

Asher

When I woke up the next morning, Ivy was in my bed. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew she was lying next to me because of that familiar honeysuckle scent. Early morning light came in through the window, caressing her like I craved to and making her pale skin warm and golden.

Her hair fanned across the pillow next to mine like a curtain of auburn.

Ivy’s face was turned toward mine. I wanted to reach out and trace her smooth skin.

I wanted to run my fingers over her plump lips and thread my hands through that silky hair.

But I didn’t want to disturb her. Yesterday had been hard for her, and she deserved to sleep in.

I was more than content to let her sleep.

The white comforter had slipped down over the night, giving me the perfect view of her breasts.

Ivy’s breasts were just the right size to fit in the palm of both of my hands.

It was as if they were made for me. Her nipples were two hard pink peaks that I wanted to pull into my mouth and flick my tongue against .

The slope of her hip made my mouth dry, and her smooth stomach led to her warm center that was still covered by the comforter.

As I stared at her gorgeous body, my dick hardened under the blanket. I had to bite the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t groan at the feeling of the soft blanket against my erection. How good would Ivy’s warm little hand feel around me?

At that moment, Ivy’s dark red eyelashes fluttered, she shivered slightly, and goosebumps erupted along her arm.

Afraid that she might be cold, I reached out to pull the blanket over her, but my stomach sank when I lifted my hand.

She was no longer there.

Damn it.

Ivy had never been in my bed in the first place. It had been my overactive imagination playing tricks on me again. Now that I was only staying one room away from her, my fantasies were going to be even more frequent.

I hurried through a shower, mentally going through my agenda for the day. But, like usual, my mind wandered to my favorite topic.

Maybe these vivid images of Ivy weren't just from my imagination. Seven years ago, we had spent the night together. Last night, I'd accepted the fact that we had sex because I knew that Adrian was my son. I'd known it from deep within my soul the first time I met him.

But why did I have no memories from that night? Could I really have drunk enough champagne to blackout? What I wouldn't give to get my memories from that night back. What I wouldn't give to spend the night with her again…

Stop.

I didn't have time to think about that right now.

Ivy and Adrian's safety was at risk. There were tasks that had to be completed and measures that needed to be put into place.

Ivy was right when she said we needed to learn to trust each other again.

I had betrayed her by rejecting her, and then she had kept a big secret from me for seven years.

We had both made mistakes. But I was hopeful that we could find our way back together.

That was what I wanted, and I believed she did, too. Well, I hoped.

And what better way to learn to trust each other again than to protect our child?

Quickly, I dressed in jeans and a crisp white button-down shirt. Last night, while the staff had gotten this room ready for me, I went back to my penthouse and packed a bag with essentials. In my closet, I'd seen something of Ivy's that I needed to return to her, and I put that in my bag, too.

I put on a gold watch and slipped into my black oxfords. After I put my laptop in my briefcase, I left my room. Despite my fantasy, the sun had not actually risen yet. It was only five-thirty in the morning.

I paused when I was outside Ivy’s hotel room door, staring at it for a moment, wondering if she was dreaming of me.

I shook my head, chastising myself. I didn’t have any time for this. There were a million things I needed to accomplish before the sun rose.

Last night, I instructed my Beta to bring in an outside team of guards from a nearby pack that we were aligned with.

While the internal investigations were being conducted on my team, these guards would provide twenty-four-hour security for Adrian, Ivy, and the hotel.

In the conference room, there was a triple shot of espresso waiting for me in a small ceramic cup with steam still rising out of it, just like I had requested.

I made a mental note to make sure there was a nice bonus on all the hotel staff’s paychecks.

When Beta Flynn arrived, I had him bring in the guards in teams of ten, and I debriefed them, then sent them to their posts. Once they were gone, I asked Flynn if he could handle all the daily pack business since I’d be needed here, and he assured me he could.

After my Beta left the conference room, I called Cooper and asked him to take over day-to-day operations for now. I told him that I’d handle the Alpha king project presentation tomorrow. For the next two hours, I finished all of my tasks—business and pack-related—and it was time for breakfast.

I rode the elevator down to the formal dining room, my stomach knotting with worry.

Before I left Ivy's room last night, we agreed that we'd meet here for breakfast, where she was going to officially introduce me to Adrian as his father.

Of course, I was excited, but I was also extremely nervous.

Adrian and I got along great, but would he still be ecstatic to spend time with me when he knew I was his father who hadn't been a part of his life for six years?

Ivy and Adrian were waiting for me outside the dining room.

Ivy looked beautiful just like always, in jeans and a lavender blouse.

Her hair was pulled back with a pale yellow clip.

But the bags under her eyes made my heart pang.

She had a tight grip on Adrian’s shoulder.

Our son—which was still a crazy thing to even think—was more subdued than usual.

The carefree sparkle in his eye was gone, and that crushed me.

But my spirits lifted slightly when his face broke into a grin when he spotted me.

“Asher!” he said and hugged me around my legs. “My mom said she has something important to tell me. Do you know what it is?”

My heart skipped a beat. “I do.”

Ivy gave me a small smile, and I returned it. The electric current between us hadn’t lessened from last night. If anything, it had only increased.

She nodded at my four guards, who were inconspicuously stationed at each exit. “That was fast. Thank you,” she muttered under her breath. Then she turned to Adrian. “Sweetie, Asher and I have something very important to tell you.”

Immediately, our son’s expression became guarded. It made my stomach stiffen to see him react like that. My fingers clenched into fists, and I had the strong urge to go to the pack prison and punish Riggs for making my son less trusting of the world around him.

Ivy and I kneeled in front of him, and she glanced around to make sure we were alone. The hallway was empty, and my guards weren’t within hearing distance.

“This is good news, honey,” Ivy said and swallowed nervously. “Asher is your father.”

A few moments passed as Adrian processed this news. My heart slammed against my ribs as I waited for his reaction.

Then, my son’s eyes widened with happiness, and a large grin bloomed across his face. He leaped forward and wrapped his arms around me. I threw my arms around him, squeezing his little body. Relief and joy flowed through me. Both emotions were so powerful that they made my head spin.

“I pretty much knew when you said you liked key lime pie, too,” Asher said when he pulled away but still kept his arms wrapped around my shoulders. “I just had this feeling.”

“I had a feeling when I first met you, too,” I said and pulled him in for another hug.

“Can I…” Adrian hid his face in my chest, but I could still hear him. “Can I call you dad?”

My heart burst with joy. “Of course you can. I would love nothing more.”

I squeezed him even tighter to me. We stood there for an endless moment, neither one of us wanting to move. I glanced over at Ivy. There was a small smile on her face, and one tear rolled down her cheek. When she caught me looking, she quickly wiped it away.

In the dining room, the three of us met Damian and Mason for breakfast. Last night, Ivy told me that her brother and father already knew that Adrian was my son. I didn’t like the fact that they had known Adrian was my son before me, but it was something I had to accept.

At the table, which was covered in a white cloth, Mason and I shook hands.

There was a tense moment between Damian and me as we eyed each other.

But then he stood, and we exchanged a quick handshake, our grips stronger than necessary.

I didn’t think that we would ever be true friends, but both of us cared about Ivy and Adrian, and that was enough for me.

After a quick breakfast, the five of us went back upstairs. Adrian stayed in his room with Mason and Ivy, while Damian, and I worked on finishing the project proposal for the Alpha king in Ivy's room. We kept the connecting door open because Ivy and I wanted to be able to keep an eye on our son.

We fine-tuned our project proposal with the help of our teams on a video conference call.

As we worked, Ivy and I found little innocent ways to touch each other.

I would rest my hand on the small of her back for a moment.

Once, she laid her hand on my arm. Each of these small touches seared my skin like a brand .

After lunch, we had finished with our proposal.

“Our teams did such a good job. We’re going to win,” I said to Ivy and Damian, who nodded in agreement.

I grinned, and without thinking, I pulled Ivy into a hug. With her soft body pressed against mine, I inhaled her sweet scent, forgetting every reason why we needed to take things slow.

Ivy was the first to step away, taking my heart with her. Damian just rolled his eyes.

After lunch, we moved into Adrian’s room. While he worked on his school packet, Ivy, Damian, Mason, and I gathered around the table in the corner of the room.

I placed my palms flat on the table and looked at Mason, then at Damian. “Ivy told you both that we are almost sure that her mother is behind Adrian’s attempted kidnapping.”

Mason nodded and shook his head in disgust. “I knew she wasn't a good person, but what kind of psycho does that to her own grandson?”

Ivy’s expression darkened, and my hands clenched into fists.

“And she paid Riggs to cut your brakes,” Damian added.

“Right,” I said. “Why don't we use all of our connections to figure out where Evelyn could be and who she is working with. I’m conducting an internal investigation into my staff to make sure she isn't working with one of them.”

Damian nodded. “Smart.”

“Let's get to work,” Ivy said and pulled out her cell phone.

“Another dead end,” Ivy said after she hung up the phone around four hours later.

“Me too,” I said and scrubbed a hand down my face.

“Mom? Dad? I'm hungry,” Adrian said from the corner of his room where Mason had set up a racing track for him.

My stomach swooped with happiness at hearing Adrian calling me dad. Hearing him say that would never get old.

I turned to him with a smile. “We'll get something to eat in just a minute, buddy.” Then, I looked back at Ivy, Damian, and Mason. “Let's keep making calls and sending emails,” I said. “We can get our teams on this, too.”

“We won't leave any stone unturned until we find her,” Mason promised.

Damian and Mason got up from the table. I laid a hand on Ivy's arm before she could stand.

“What do you say we take up Adrian to the rooftop pool?” I suggested. “We could get room service up there and go swimming. It might be a nice break for him since it isn't safe to take him to the diner.”

Ivy's face brightened at the idea, and she nodded.

An hour later, the three of us were sitting around a picnic table on the rooftop.

Our plates were filled with cheeseburgers, fries, coleslaw, and watermelon.

Our son had a large piece of watermelon in his hands, and the red juice was dripping down his face.

Ivy and I laughed at the sight. When I took a napkin to wipe off his face, Ivy's expression grew warm.

When we were done eating, the three of us jumped into the giant pool.

It was the perfect temperature for swimming.

As the sun set, we played every game that Adrian could think of and some that he seemed to make up on the spot.

It was an amazing night and a nice break from all the stress of this past week.

At one point, Ivy got out of the pool to jump back in—this was for a game where Adrian was judging who had the best dive between his mother and me.

My hands shook as I stared at Ivy climbing up the pool ladder.

She was wearing a sky blue one-piece that perfectly matched the color of her eyes.

As the water dripped down her body, my eyes scanned every inch of her beautiful skin.

With the golden sun setting behind her and her hair slicked back, I was rendered speechless for a few moments.

When she caught me staring, Ivy winked before she dove back into the pool.

As the night wore on, our mating bond pulsed with urgency.

By the time that we tucked Adrian into bed, read him a story, and gently closed the door to his room, the bond was thrumming between us, pulling me toward Ivy.

My wolf was going crazy in my head, too.

But I fought both things as I turned to Ivy to say goodnight .

But my goodbye stuck in my throat. Her honeysuckle scent mixed with the vanilla-scented body wash she had used during her quick shower.

Ivy's blue eyes darkened with desire as she searched my face.

“Do you want to stay for a glass of wine?” she murmured, her eyes on my lips.

Remember what she said last night. We needed to learn to trust each other again.

I needed to stay strong for both of us.

“Of course,” I answered, throwing all of my self-control out the window.