Page 12 of The Alpha’s Promise (Alpha Doms #3)
Cody let Mark Ruhl, the burly DEA agent from Denver, into his place that evening.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it sooner, we had a big bust go down last night and it took all day to wrap up the paperwork.” He shook Cody’s hand and stepped inside. “Hi, you must be Melissa.” He shook her hand, as well. “We met at Ben and Ashley’s wedding but you probably don’t?—”
“I remember you,” she chirped, flashing that megawatt smile that made his insides rattle.
Cody’s fingers closed into fists at his sides. She’d better not remember him with any particular fondness or he’d… He closed his eyes and attempted to rein in the snarling beast within.
She’s not your mate.
Except that assertion only made him want to smash the friendly DEA agent’s face even more. His inner wolf raged to mark her, not paying any attention to the fact that Cody didn’t even like the girl, and would never in a million years mate a human.
“Can I get you a beer?”
“Sure. Okay if I sit?” Mark headed to the sofa and Melissa trailed behind, too close for his sanity.
He walked to the refrigerator to get three Budweiser bottles out.
Maybe he should just have sex with her and get her out of his system.
The chemistry was there, whether they liked each other or not.
Her body responded every time he touched her, almost like she couldn’t help herself.
Maybe that was why she’d cried the night before after he’d pleasured her. She hadn’t wanted to give him that.
That idea made him gnash his teeth and want to put his fist through a wall. He would never force himself on a female and the idea that she hadn’t enjoyed what he’d done—But no. There was no mistaking her satisfaction. Why had she cried then?
His reaction to the scent of her tears had been instantaneous, almost a physical pain.
It provoked twin, seemingly opposing physiological responses in him.
Hyper focus—his body alert, ready to shift to protect her from whatever danger, but also a calm, as if to enable him to properly soothe her.
He tried to remember if he’d ever felt that with a female before.
Had one ever cried near him? He feared this reaction was also particular to a mate.
He flipped the caps off the beers and carried them by their necks to the sofa.
Melissa turned up her nose and refused it.
“Sorry, I don’t have any microbrews for you, princess.”
She rolled her eyes, blushing as if it embarrassed her to be called out in front of Mark. That only made him want to stuff the wolf headfirst down his toilet.
Mark was in the middle of telling Melissa something—probably something he should’ve been listening to. “The dispensary where Jeremy works got knocked over a few nights ago. Jeremy was the one who reported it to the police.”
Melissa nodded, as if she already knew this information.
“I’m guessing that he robbed it himself, or was in on the deal and that’s why Rabago is after him.”
Melissa paled.
“Do you know anything about it?”
She blinked rapidly, like she was holding back tears. “No,” she said, her voice wobbly. “I think you must be right. He came home that night and told me about the holdup. I thought he’d seemed excited and had written it off to the adrenaline of the drama, but this makes more sense.”
Mark nodded. “Who do you think he’d be working with?”
She swallowed, then shook her head. “I don’t know. Could be any one of his buddies. They’re all shit-for-brains.”
Cody didn’t mind her bitterness toward Jeremy, but what bothered him was how much emotion the fuck-up elicited from her. Why was that? Did she still care about him, despite it all?
“And you haven’t heard from Jeremy since yesterday? When did you see him last?”
“When I left for work in the morning.”
“Did he go to work that day?”
“I don’t know.” She brushed a strand of her auburn hair from her face. The haunted dullness in her eyes made him want to wring her bastard ex-boyfriend’s neck.
“And you’ve tried to contact him?”
“Yes, I texted him and warned him not to come home. He never responded.”
“Well, I’d like to get my hands on him before Rabago does.
We could offer him protection in exchange for testimony against the kingpin.
Barring that, Ben has offered to pay Rabago whatever it is Jeremy owes him in order to get you free and clear of the threat.
That’s my second choice, though. I’d rather get this asshole off the streets. ”
Melissa’s head wobbled as she nodded. “I don’t want Ben to have to pay off Jeremy’s debt, either.”
“So what happens if Rabago finds Jeremy first?” Cody asked.
Personally, he preferred the second option.
The sooner Melissa was out of the line of fire, the better.
Then he could be done with all this mess.
Except that didn’t feel right, either. He wasn’t done exploring this physical attraction he had for her.
Yeah, he just needed to fuck her and get it out of his system.
“Then Jeremy’s probably a dead man. But they’ll want the money back before they kill him, so keeping Melissa safely off the grid would be even more important.
If they catch Jeremy, they’re going to torture him and they definitely would dangle the threat of Melissa’s death over his head to get him to sing. ”
Melissa had gone pale. “You need to find Jeremy before he does, then.” She stared at her hands, and some itchy instinct told him she might know where to find the guy.
“Right,” Mark agreed.
“If Ben paid Rabago off, who would broker that deal?” he asked.
Mark’s lips tightened to a thin line. “I don’t know. It can’t be me or anyone on my team. Ben would kill me if I let Melissa do it, although she’s the most likely candidate.”
“I’d kill you first,” Cody muttered, drawing a raised brow from Melissa. “I could do it.”
Mark tapped the tips of his fingers together, his elbows resting on his knees. “You’re willing?”
“Yeah.”
“You’d be my first choice, too. Mainly because I’d want it to be a wolf and I know you could handle yourself if something went wrong. Like I say, I’d rather we not go that route, though.”
“Any idea where the stolen money might be?” Cody asked Melissa.
She shook her head. “None. We were hardly speaking the last few months and we never were that close.”
His lip curled, but he bit back any questions about why she was living with some asshole she never liked. He’d save those for another time.
“You’re okay keeping her here?” Mark asked. “If not, I can take her up to Denver and provide protection.”
He bristled, even though his brain said he was way better off having her off his hands. “She’ll stay here,” he snapped.
Melissa frowned.
“I can provide adequate protection.”
Mark turned a curious gaze on him. “I wasn’t questioning your ability to provide protection,” the agent said mildly.
“Right.” He knew he sounded surly, but couldn’t help himself. Everything seemed to piss him off when it came to Melissa.
“Well, locals are on the lookout for Jeremy. I’ll send them over to Melissa’s place to see if they can pick up Rabago or his guys for breaking and entering. That doesn’t mean it’s safe to return home, though,” Mark warned Melissa.
She scowled, but nodded.
Mark stood up and he and Melissa both followed suit, shaking hands with him again and seeing him out.
When he left, Cody blew out his breath and put his hands on his hips. This whole thing was a cluster fuck.
Melissa watched Cody pace around his small living room. A muscle jumped in his jaw, his brows were down low. Even though she hadn’t been the one to call in the favor, regret speared her for getting him involved.
“I don’t want you to bring that money to Rabago,” she spoke from the couch.
He whirled and glared at her. “Why not?”
“You shouldn’t have to risk your life like that. This isn’t your mess and you’ve already done enough to help me. I should bring it.”
“Like hell,” he growled.
“I’m sorry Ben dragged you into this. You don’t even know me and it’s not your stupid drama. I know this is more than you bargained for.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is it? I gave Stone an alpha’s promise to protect you. That means my life for yours. So yeah. I already signed up for this.” He continued to pace, his hands on his hips, nostrils flaring in anger.
She stood up and blocked his path. “What are you so pissed off about, then?”
He cursed and jabbed his fingers through his hair, sending it off in different directions. Holding up a finger, he said, “One, I can’t figure out why you were with this douche in the first place.”
She recoiled, bitterness filling her mouth.
“Yeah, well, neither can I, okay?” Her voice had risen in pitch.
“I have terrible taste in men, a problem which I soon plan to remedy.” She threw a dark look his way, but flinched when he seemed to read her mind—that he was one of the men she planned to avoid.
He stepped up to her, toe to toe, glaring down. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She flushed but didn’t back down. “It just means I’m done with losers. I’m going to find someone honorable. And stable. And normal.”
And boring.
The muscle in Cody’s jaw jumped again.
She folded her arms across her chest defiantly. “You said one. Was there more?” She didn’t know why she was goading him, why she needed to have this fight, but she did.
“Yeah, there’s more.” He stopped pacing and lifted his hand to gesticulate, but then seemed to stop himself. “Never mind,” he growled.
“What the hell?” She was totally game for dragging everything out onto the table. “If you don’t want me here, you shouldn’t have told Mark I should stay with you. And by the way, one of you should have asked me what I prefer, don’t you think?”
“What do you prefer, princess?” His words came out icy this time, instead of red hot and she registered the change with a bit of shock.
Where was all this venom coming from? He pointed to the door.
“You prefer Mark to be your protector? Is that it? It’s okay for Ben to drag him into it, but not me?
I guess he’s got more of the knight in shining armor thing going with that suit and badge, doesn’t he? ”
She jerked as if he’d struck her, and understanding finally dawned. She’d offended his pride. Going soft and swearing he misunderstood wasn’t going to put out this fire. She strode over to him and jabbed his chest with a finger.
“Fuck, no.”
He glowered down at her, waiting.
It was hard to say more. They were always at odds with each other. She didn’t like to give him an inch. But she didn’t like him pissed off either. “You’re the only knight in shining armor around here that I see.”
He looked wary, like he thought she was blowing smoke up his ass.
“Mark’s just doing his job. You’re the one who offered me pack protection. If you weren’t always such a smug, cocky bastard, I might have shown a little more gratitude.”
The corners of his mouth twitched.
Her heart jumped around in her chest while she watched his gaze turn from scalding to smoldering—with a different kind of heat.
“I don’t need your thanks,” he muttered and reached for her nape, yanking her in to claim her mouth, just as he’d done in the middle of the mall.
She closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, which was no less violent or consuming than the last one.
One of his hands slid down her back and gripped her ass, squeezing and pulling her hips against him. He wedged one leg between her thighs, and her hips rocked down to rub her clit against it.
She moaned.
“That’s it, baby, keep up that sexy moaning.” He bit her ear, teeth grazed her jaw before he returned to fuck her mouth with his tongue.
She rolled her pelvis up and down on his thigh, the stimulation against her clit driving her mad.
He lowered and curled his forearm under her ass, lifting her easily to straddle his waist. She looped her arms around his neck, lips still twisting over his in a desperate dance.
She knew it was a bad idea. She didn’t want to get into a relationship with another bad boy like Cody.
But since the moment he’d first grabbed her in her bedroom closet, she’d been fighting the attraction.
Maybe if she just let things ride, the tension would ease between them.
It didn’t mean she had to be in a relationship with him.
Cody lifted her higher and bit her breast. She shrieked. “Shirt off, Melissa.”
Not a request. A command.
Could she handle this guy? He wasn’t all human. Maybe the wolf part would be too much.
“ Now ,” he gritted. “Or I’ll tear it off.”
She yanked the t-shirt off and threw it on the floor. Cody backed her against the wall and pinned her. He yanked down her bra.
“Ow,” she protested when the strap dug into her shoulder. “What the fuck, Cody?”
Cody froze, panting, his eyes glinting ice blue. After a moment, the color faded to slate. He eased his grip and she slid down the wall to her feet.
Regret washed over his features. He cupped her face and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Fuck, Melissa. I’m sorry. You’re going to get hurt with me.”
The dire prediction echoed the conclusion she’d already drawn, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.
Her clit throbbed in rhythm with her pounding heart. The bra hung half off her, one strap still clinging to her shoulder. She hadn’t wanted him to stop.
He stroked his hand up and down the side of her neck, following it to the slope of her shoulder.
“Baby… I can’t—” He blinked. “I shouldn’t…
” He shook his head. “Humans are too fragile for wolves. Believe me, there’s nothing I want to do more than part those sexy thighs and fuck the ever-loving attitude out of you, but—” He leaned close and inhaled against her neck.
“Your scent drives me fucking crazy and I just might lose control and bite you and neither one of us wants that.”
She worked to swallow around the knot in her throat. “Right,” she whispered hoarsely, although she wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. Obviously, mating her would be a big mistake.
Okay, fine. She agreed.
She shoved at his chest and he stepped back. “It’s late. I’m going to bed,” she mumbled.
He didn’t answer, which was probably just as well. They really didn’t have much else to say to each other, did they?