Page 23 of The Alpha’s Promise (Alpha Doms #3)

The next morning, Melissa scrolled through the new house listings on the master real estate system. After another steamy round under the covers, Cody had left for work.

Ben had texted that he’d transferred fifteen thousand dollars to Cody’s account and said they’d come straight to Colorado Springs on Friday, hopefully arriving before the meet-up with Rabago, which Rabago had set for Friday evening in an abandoned lot on the edge of town.

She needed to make sure Jeremy was at that meeting too, or else Rabago would probably keep looking for him.

She had an idea about where he might be.

He had a cousin who lived in Denver. He might have gone there to lie low.

She texted him about the money and the meeting, but still hadn’t heard from him.

To distract herself while she waited for a reply, she skimmed through the new listings now.

Her focus shot to a new listing in the Old North End neighborhood.

A CJ Steele house! Excitement sped through her veins as she scanned the details.

The house was only two blocks from Cody’s place, which meant she could probably slip out and take a peek without him ever knowing she’d been gone.

Rabago wouldn’t find her, not on such a short jaunt.

Even if Cody found out, it would be worth it.

Hell, she’d welcome that kind of interaction with him after the distant cold treatment she’d received the day before.

She picked up the burner cell phone and dialed the dickwad listing realtor Brad Johnson to express her interest. He somehow managed to sound both bored and condescending, giving her the key code, but acting as if he knew the house was out of her price range.

Which it was—at least the range she felt comfortable borrowing from her brother-in-law.

Dressed in a skirt and blouse in case she ran into other realtors while she was there, she slipped on her heels and went out Cody’s back door, just in case someone was watching the house. Which was highly unlikely. If Rabago knew where she was, he’d have broken the door down already.

She walked purposefully down the sidewalk, taking long strides and enjoying the warm summer sun.

She spotted the house immediately. Like all CJ Steele homes, the yard was impeccably manicured with native trees, shrubs, and flowers, the house gleamed with cobalt blue paint, setting off the old brick.

Using the keypad on the electronic Supra lockbox, she opened it and retrieved the key.

She pushed the door open, stepped inside and smiled.

Beautiful.

Hard wood floors. Exposed brick walls. Every detail was perfect, as she knew it would be. She rounded the bend into the kitchen and stopped short with a gasp.

Cody turned from the window with a paintbrush in his hand, obviously touching up a last little bit of paint. He straightened when he saw her.

“What are you doing here?” she spluttered. Of course, he ought to be the one asking that question, but she had to say something.

He walked around to the sink and rinsed off his brush. “I could ask you the same, princess.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But it’s a CJ Steele house, and it just came on the market today. I’ve been dreaming of owning one for years, and this is my chance. I didn’t want to miss out.”

Cody hadn’t looked up from the sink, so she continued with her explanation. “Plus, it was so close. I mean, you only live a couple blocks away. I was careful. I mean, there was no one out to see me or anything.”

He finished with the brush and wiped out the sink with a rag, polishing the brushed aluminum faucet and handles before he dropped the brush and the rag onto a work tray.

“You’re in trouble, baby. That’s all I have to say.”

Her belly fluttered. Despite her protests, she actually loved their dance of dominance and submission. “Am I?”

He crossed to a window to close the blinds.

“I think punishment at the scene of the crime is most fitting.” He removed the plastic tilt wand and slapped it in his palm like an old-fashioned teacher swishing a cane.

He lifted his chin toward the polished concrete countertop. “Hands on the counter. Ass out.”

Her pussy clenched. “Cody, someone could walk in.”

“I won’t let anyone see you, I promise. I have shifter hearing.

I would notice anyone coming long before they got to the door.

But just think--there could’ve been far worse consequences to you leaving the house.

Someone could’ve seen you. Someone could have picked you up and tortured you, mutilated your body, and dumped it as a message for your ex. ”

She shuddered and glared at him for making his description so extreme.

“This consequence will be mild, in comparison.” The familiar glint of hunger showed on his face and she flushed with heat. If Cody enjoyed it, she knew she would too. After he made her suffer a little.

And suffering for Cody’s pleasure somehow didn’t bother her nearly as much as she thought it should. In fact, the idea had her nipples hard beneath her blouse, panties growing damp.

Cody’s big hand clapped down on her ass and stayed there. He squeezed.

Her breath left her throat in a rush.

Both his palms spanned her bare thighs and slid upward, dragging her skirt with them.

Her pussy clenched, heat flooding her pelvis and running down her legs.

When he had her skirt hiked up over her waist, he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and dragged them down to her ankles.

“You’re going to hold still for me this time, baby.” Even though the words sounded rough, his voice caressed her body, the heat in them smoldering, leaving her scorched and raw.

She wanted him. She wanted this, as crazy as that was. She needed it, craved it.

She leaned on her forearms and pushed her ass out for him.

The wand made a hiss as it sliced through the air. When it struck her bare flesh, she screamed. The thin line of impact burned like fire.

Cody swung it again and it struck just below the first line. She let out a whimper.

“You’ve been bad , baby.” Cody’s deepened voice seemed to reach right into her. The words dripped with suggestion. “Arch your back, show me that ass.”

Whap. Another line of fire. She danced on her feet.

“Spread your legs apart. Farther.” His voice came low and close this time.

She widened her stance.

He applied the crop-like implement one more time.

When she opened her eyes—she didn’t remember closing them—her breath was still coming in ragged pants.

She felt the touch of something cold and hard between her legs and started. Cody had threaded the wand through them and he rubbed her wet pussy with it. “You love my punishments.” There was an accusation in his voice and she knew they were talking about yesterday’s conversation.

“Yes.” No point in lying. She needed something from him now—desperately.

He wrapped his fingers in her hair and tugged her head back. The wand continued to stroke slowly over her clit. “You don’t like obeying, though.”

The scent of Melissa’s arousal filled the room, sending tingles all over Cody’s flesh, making his cock thicken in his jeans.

“If you were my mate, I’d follow that spanking up with a long, hard punishment fuck.”

Her eyes dilated. She moistened her lips and the sight of her tongue nearly drove him wild. “What’s that?”

He leaned down and nipped her earlobe. “That’s where I fuck you until you scream your release and then I turn you over and fuck your ass until you forget your name.”

She wobbled on her feet. “Cody,” she whispered hoarsely, “my legs won’t hold me up.”

He couldn’t help it—he was back in explicit crude mode. “Maybe because you belong on your knees.”

He expected to see irritation or disgust on her face, but she held his eyes and lowered to her knees. He sucked in a shocked breath. Her fingers unfastened the button of his jeans and urged the zipper down until his cock sprang free.

She wasted no time fisting the base of his cock and taking it into her mouth.

He shuddered with pleasure.

She sucked hard and bobbed her head on and off fast. Then she slowly, deliberately, took him all the way to the back of her throat and out again.

His thighs shook. “That’s it, baby. Show me how sorry you are.”

She came off and licked a long line from his balls to the head of his cock, then around the rim.

He twined his fingers in her hair and pushed her forward.

Her eyes widened in surprise, so he stopped short of hitting the back of her throat. Gripping her head with both his hands, he held it still and pumped his length into her mouth, using her like a fuck hole.

She liked that. He caught another waft of her beautiful musk.

He closed his eyes, his control slipping. Her fingernails dug into his thighs.

“I’m going to come,” he warned before he came like a space shuttle hurtling to the moon.

She kept her lips closed around his cock, took his seed and swallowed it down.

Damn.

“Melissa, that was incredible.”

She came off and bit his thigh.

His vision domed immediately, teeth dropped. Female wolves bit and scratched during sex and it fully activated the beast within him.

To keep from marking her, he whirled and walked several steps away, shoving his cock back in his jeans and zipping them.

When he turned, Melissa looked lost on her knees alone and he felt like an asshole. He strode over, picked her up by the armpits and tossed her over his shoulder, yanking her skirt back down and picking up her panties from the floor.

“It’s time for your ass-fucking.”

“Cody.” She sounded slightly alarmed. “Please.”

He shoved her panties in his pocket, picked up the work tray and marched out the front door, locking it behind him.

“Cody, put me down! This is unseemly. Please don’t carry me like this.”

Hearing her desperation, he dropped her to her feet, then swung her back up in a cradle position. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Better?”

She hesitated, then nestled her head onto his shoulder, against his neck in a move that turned his insides to liquid. “Yes.”