Page 11 of The Alpha’s Hunger (Alpha Doms #1)

11

By some miracle, the police seemed satisfied with the story Mark laid out for them. It didn’t hurt that Sandoval was a known drug lord, and the DEA was thrilled to have him out of the picture. Ben feared it put him on their watch list as a contact, but since he had nothing to do with drugs or drug running, he hoped it would come to nothing.

He drove Ashley to her home. “Stay there, I will help you out,” he said when she started to open the car door.

She ignored him and pushed the door open as he walked around, hopping on one foot as she pulled her crutches from the back seat.

“I said stay,” he said, taking them from her hands.

“Woof,” she said.

His heart lurched, remembering their first few days together, the way she had had lit his darkness, her smile quickly becoming something to look forward to, her presence steadying him.

He picked her up, carrying her inside. “It is my job to take care of you, little girl, and I expect your cooperation.”

“I have to learn to walk with these things some time,” she said.

“Not when I’m around,” he said firmly. “And if you need a reminder of how it feels to be over my lap, I won’t hesitate to give you one.”

Ashley squirmed and her body heated in his arms. The idea of spanking her suddenly appealed, not because he wanted to teach her a lesson, but because he knew it turned her on.

He swung the door shut behind him and carried her to her bedroom where he laid her on her bed.

“So is that how it’s going to be with you?” she demanded.

“What?”

“It’s your way or I get spanked?”

He smiled, arranging pillows underneath the knee of her wounded leg. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“So what happens when I’m mad at you? I think you deserve a spanking for biting me and then just leaving.”

He grinned and walked around to stand beside the bed, presenting his ass toward her. “Go ahead.”

She gave him a smack. “Ow,” she said, shaking her hand out as if it hurt.

He laughed.

“No, really, this isn’t fair. What does a she-wolf do to punish her mate?”

He sat down beside her, brushing a strand of her mahogany hair out of her face. “All you have to do is cry,” he said softly. “The smell of your tears will bring me to my knees.”

She studied him, as if trying to see if he was teasing or not. “So, if I want to end a spanking, all I have to do is cry?” she asked. “Why didn’t I try that last time?”

He stroked her cheek. “I don’t know if I would end it, but it would be very difficult for me. Bear that in mind when you’re naughty, little lady.”

“Is that why you seemed so troubled last time?”

He nodded. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said seriously. “It kills me to see you cry.”

Her lips curved into a sultry smile. “I don’t know… I think there were a few times you kinda liked the spanking thing,” she said.

He pounced over her, claiming her mouth as one hand worked the buttons on her blouse. “I think that was you,” he said between kisses.

“Maybe we should try it out to see,” she said, biting down on his lip.

The animal in him jerked with pleasure at the pain. He growled and yanked open her blouse, popping the rest of the buttons.

“That’s two blouses you have destroyed,” she complained, although her smile was feral.

“I think the blood had already ruined both before I got to them,” he said. His eyes landed on the ugly slashes on the front of her shoulder and he swallowed. He ran a finger over them, surprised the wounds were already closed. They appeared to be two weeks old, not roughly thirty-six hours.

“Didn’t Zolla tell you?” she asked. “He thinks I have wolf blood in me and that’s why they healed so fast.”

A ripple of recognition went through his body. Yes. It made sense she had wolf blood. Why else would he be so drawn to her? He lowered his head and kissed the marks reverentially. “My little wolfling,” he murmured. “How can this be?”

“I think it was my grandfather—my dad never knew his father and my grandmother would never say who he was.”

“Your dad never shifted?”

“I really don’t think so. But he was always very protective of his girls, like you are,” she said, touching his face.

He leaned over and kissed her, doing his best to caress her with his lips, instead of attacking. He’d never been one to ‘make love’—it wasn’t something wolves did, but for her, for his Ashley, he would try. He slipped her bra down over her shoulders, kissing along her collarbone. Her scent filled his nostrils, intoxicating him. Sliding his body over hers, he ran his thumb lightly over her pebbled nipple, kissing down her throat. She wove her fingers into his hair and arched against his touch. Her skin was impossibly soft, her body so slender and lithe beneath him.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely.

“You’re a fucking God,” she answered.

He chuckled. “Language, sweetheart,” he warned, flicking his tongue in her ear and nibbling on her lobe. He had her bra off and her skirt up, his index finger stroking along the dampened silk gusset of her panties.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she dared, lifting her chin like an insolent child.

He chuckled and sat back, straddling her, and made a show of rolling up his sleeves. “You are determined to have your bottom warmed by me tonight, aren’t you?”

Her eyes darkened and she squirmed underneath him. The scent of her arousal reached his nose like nectar.

He pinned her wrists to the bed beside her head. “Where do you think you’re going?” he drawled.

She giggled.

He looked into her eyes and lifted his weight off her just enough to roll her to her belly. “Pull down your panties, Ashley,” he murmured, releasing her wrists and climbing off her.

She hesitated.

He waited.

Turning her head to look at him, she lifted her ass in the air and reached down with both hands, sliding her panties down to her thighs.

“Good girl.” He grabbed the pillow from the bed. “Lift your hips again,” he commanded, and slid the pillow under her pelvis when she complied. He ran his hand over her naked curves, doing his best to ignore the cast on her leg that screamed for him to treat her as fragile. He focused instead on her gorgeous ass, lifted and presented for his chastisement and his cock pushed painfully against his pants.

He brought his palm down, watching her cheek flatten and spring back. He slapped the other side, waiting for the red prints of his fingers to stand out against her milky skin. She wiggled her ass for more. He bit back a groan. Knowing she craved his dominance sent a shot of pure lust rocketing through his body. Wolves were born to dominate, at least alpha wolves were. Having a female who offered herself up the way Ashley did fed some inner source of virile power.

“I think I may have to give you regular spankings,” he said, slapping one side of her ass, then the other. “I can’t have you acting out just to earn a punishment.”

She moaned wantonly.

He picked up the pace, spanking a little harder as he focused on slapping the low middle of her cheeks, just above her sweet little pussy.

“Oh!” she gasped.

“I expect your instant obedience and complete respect, or you’ll be spending all your time in the corner with your panties down and a bright red bottom on display.”

Ashley made a keening sound, as if she was about to come. He wondered if he could bring her to climax just through spanking. He picked up the intensity a little more, still spanking right over her sex.

Her fingers closed on the sheets, and she lifted her head, giving a throaty cry over and over again. “Rub your clit, Ashley,” he commanded, his voice thick.

She didn’t seem to understand at first, but he didn’t pause the spanking, still paddling her with a steady beat. After a moment, she reached a hand down between her pelvis and the pillows and immediately came undone. Her bottom clenched up, legs straightening as she arched.

He slid his own hand beneath her and shoved her hand aside, vibrating the pad of his finger over her sensitive nub.

She vocalized her release with a louder cry of pleasure, humping his hand as she came. Nothing could be more satisfying than pleasing his female.

“Beautiful girl,” he murmured. He caressed her heated cheeks, then slid his fingers between her legs and stroked her swollen, wet pussy.

He’d had her from behind the first time. This time he wanted to see her face. He shucked his clothes and grabbed a condom from his wallet. Rolling her over to her back, he pulled out the pillow and climbed over her.

She took the condom from his hand, ripping open the foil wrapper and rolling the rubber on his cock. He positioned himself directly above her honeyed slit, her heat pulsing against his sensitive organ. She rocked her hips and reached down to guide him in.

He pushed slowly, relishing the moment of entry and the dizzying effect of the walls of her vagina hugging his manhood like a glove. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and he stopped, giving her a chance to grow accustomed to his size. After a beat, she began to move, lifting her hips to take him deeper.

“That’s it, baby,” he murmured, ignoring his body’s desire to celebrate their union and pound into her without mercy.

She arched, making sweet little moans each time he stroked into her. She lifted her legs in the air and wrapped her ankles behind his back, using them to pull him even deeper, hoisting her pelvis up to meet him.

“Oh, God,” he groaned. “I won’t make it long at this rate.”

Ashley closed her eyes, her hair spread out on the pillow as her head slid up and down with the force of his thrusts. She clutched at his arms, dug her fingernails deep into his flesh, and thrust even harder to meet him. “Give it to me.”

“What? Oh, gawd …” He slammed into her, losing all ability to regulate his need. Using one hand on her shoulder to pin her in place, he thrust over and over until lights exploded before his eyes and he came, shouting her name.

Even if her bed were on fire, Ashley couldn’t have moved. Every muscle had gone limp in the wake of her orgasm. Her pussy still throbbed from Ben’s invasion, stretched wide and punished with his rough lovemaking. Even her insides felt pounded, but she adored the sensation, wished to savor the sensation of being so well-used, so very much his.

He eased out of her and settled at her side, pulling her against him. “Are you okay?”

“Mmm,” was all she could manage to say.

“How’s your leg? Did I hurt you?”

“Shh,” she said, touching his lips. “I’m fine. I’m better than fine; I’m wonderful.”

“I love you,” he said.

She stopped breathing.

He looked uncertain. “It probably seems way too soon to say something like that, but it’s true. Wolves are different. We know our mates from almost the moment we meet them.”

She traced the line of his brow. “Does that mean it’s fate? Or destiny? I mean, do you think you have only one mate?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose so. I mean, not all wolves mate for life, but most do. It would have to be pretty bad to call it quits.” He frowned, looking lost in thought.

“What?”

He swallowed. “I was just thinking about my mom.”

“You think she chose death rather than divorce your dad?”

He nodded. “Divorce would never have been an option with my father. He would’ve hunted her to the ends of the earth. She was more of a possession than a partner. We all were.”

“What happened between your dad and that guy today?”

Ben’s face turned stony, as if the memory of her kidnapping angered him.

She stroked his cheek.

“Sandoval led a rival pack to my father’s in Caracas. He was a drug lord—filthy rich—and growing more and more powerful every day. My father felt the threat of a takeover and he summoned me back to Caracas to stand beside him in a fight. Leon had moved to the States and made a success for himself, so he wasn’t expected back. The idea was always that I would inherit leadership of my father’s pack, so it made sense for me to go, but I ignored the summons.

“There were threats—Sandoval issued a challenge, which my father ignored. When I didn’t show up, my father took a coward’s way out and planned Sandoval’s murder. He planted a bomb in his limo, only it exploded with his wife and daughters inside.

“Realizing the shit was going to hit the fan, my father called me back again, desperate this time. I made myself unavailable—I just didn’t answer his calls or messages. Leon went instead, and Sandoval killed them both.” Ben’s mouth twisted into a bitter expression.

“Ben,” she said, “their deaths are not your fault or responsibility. You chose not to engage in a fight that wasn’t yours and lacked honor. Your brother made a different choice, which was his right. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Yes, it did,” Ben said, the anger in his face causing her to stiffen. “If I had gone, Leon never would’ve had to make the choice.”

“That’s not true. He could’ve made the same decision as you did. And if you’d gone, he still might have chosen to go. He was his own man—you didn’t force him into anything.”

Ben’s eyes reddened and he fell onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

“Ben, we’re each in charge of our own destiny. You’re an alpha. A man who follows his own guidance and chooses his own path. You made the right choice. And if you hadn’t… then you might not be here today and we never would’ve met.”

Ben rolled back to face her, smothering her with a kiss. “You are my destiny,” he said, sounding choked. “After Leon—” He broke off and swallowed. “I couldn’t take it that I had lived and he hadn’t. He was the better man. He had a wife and children, a successful company, a pack that depended on his leadership. I had nothing—I was nothing. I would’ve given anything to trade with him—to give my life so that he could’ve stayed.” A tear escaped one of Ben’s eyes and rolled down his nose. “But maybe—maybe you’re right. Maybe I had a destiny that I just couldn’t see at the time.” He swiped at the moisture on his cheek. “A future with you.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yes. Your future holds all kinds of successes too.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re so precious to me, it hurts.”

She blinked up at him, her chest swelling. “So back to this mating for life thing. Are you really my fiancé now, or was that just something you told the doctor to get him to let you into my hospital room?”

Ben grinned. “I’m whatever you want to call me. We don’t need human names for relationships. As far as wolves are concerned, I marked you, and you’re mine.”

She smirked. “Are you calling me a possession?”

He tickled her, causing her to squeal and press her elbows to her ribs in a fruitless attempt to protect herself. “I’m saying you can’t get rid of me now. If you need a ring on your finger to believe that, I’ll buy you the biggest diamond on earth, but you’d better prepare yourself—I’m not leaving.”

“Do you mean prepare my house or my life?” she teased.

“Hmm, that’s a good question. Shall I move in here with you, or do you want to move in with me?”

Her heart double-pumped. He meant it—he really wanted them to move in together. “Well… your place is probably a lot nicer,” she said.

He smiled. “Actually, it’s not. It’s just a stupid apartment with the very basics in furniture.”

She cocked her head. Why was a multi-millionaire living with the just basics? “Were you punishing yourself?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t feel comfortable spending Leon’s money.”

“Didn’t Leon’s wife inherit his money?”

“Yes, I mean my salary from Stone.”

“That’s not Leon’s money, that’s your salary, for working, dummy.”

“Uh oh,” Ben said, rolling her to her belly and pinning her down with a hand in the middle of her upper back. He delivered a flurry of stinging swats to her still-sore bottom, making her tummy flip like a pancake.

God, she loved his dominance.

“Rule number one, little wolfling. Never call me names.” He landed another five spanks, which left her moaning. “You may call me sir, or master, or Mr. Stone .”

The word master made her pussy clench. She would love to serve Ben Stone as his own personal sex slave.

He climbed over her. “Spread your legs,” he murmured in her ear.

She opened her thighs and his cock dived straight back into her pussy, without any guidance.

She sucked in her breath at the sting.

“Are you sore, sweet girl?” he asked.

She hesitated. It hurt, but she wanted him to go on. “No.”

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back, growling in her ear, “Was that a lie?”

Her pussy gushed. “Please don’t stop,” she breathed.

He chuckled. “I might do this all night long if you’re not careful.”

Her muscles clamped down on his cock in a mini-orgasm. “I won’t stop you,” she gasped when she could breathe again.

“Let’s find a new place to live, together,” he said as he glided in and out of her.

Bliss swept over her in waves, long before he slid his hand under her and diddled her clit to set off another earth-shattering orgasm.