Page 4 of The Alpha’s Promise (Alpha Doms #3)
She snorted, looking over at Cody, who had crossed his arms over his massive chest, watching her with those assessing gray eyes.
Yep. Overbearing and dominant.
Her pussy clenched again. But that wasn’t right. It was Ashley who was into the authority figure type, not her. She just did bad boys. Or used to. Now she was doing suits and ties. Business owners or CPAs. Or maybe a nice lawyer. A dentist, even.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking over at Cody again. Her pussy felt hot and wet under her skirt. An image of that well-built, tattooed man pushing her over the seat of his motorcycle and spanking her ass flashed before her mind and she flushed and turned away.
His nostrils flared and he shot her a surprised look. The edges of his lips curled.
Holy hell. Did he read minds?
Ben returned to the line. “Melissa? Give the phone back to Cody.” He was a man of few words, her brother-in-law. No please or take care .
But he did take care of her, she had to admit.
His offer to buy her a house had thrilled her.
She wasn’t going to let him buy the house outright.
Just help her with a down payment. She’d get a house she could afford once he got her started.
She knew just what she wanted—a CJ Steele house.
One of the lovingly restored houses in Colorado Springs’ oldest neighborhoods.
She adored the CJ Steele company’s work and admired the hell out of Steele, the up and coming real estate mogul who had made a small fortune buying and flipping houses over the past eight years. Her dream was to be his agent.
She handed the phone back to Cody and listened to another terse exchange before he hung up.
He sent a speculative gaze in her direction. “You’ll stay here until it all blows over.”
Only because he already had her off-balance and she didn’t want him to have the upper hand, she curled her lip and looked around as if the place wasn’t up to her standards.
As if she hadn’t already been living with Jeremy, the slob of the year.
The place wasn’t bad, but it could use a good cleaning.
And it was a typical man cave. Small, basic, everything in dark colors like hunter green and navy blue.
His brows slammed down and he stalked past her. “I’m sorry it doesn’t suit you, princess. Next time I’ll make sure to rent a mansion for your sleepover.”
The word sleepover sparked a nervous flutter in her belly as it became real that she’d actually be sleeping here with this meathead.
She glanced toward the bedroom. There was only one, as far as she could see.
His place had used all the square footage on the workshop/garage—at least fifteen hundred square feet.
The inside was just a combination kitchen/living room, and a small bedroom and bathroom, as far as she could tell.
Another eight hundred square feet. And yes, the realtor in her had assessed the property and its approximate market value—about one hundred and fifty grand—the moment she’d walked in.
“May I use your phone? I have to warn Jeremy.”
His eyes narrowed. “Your boyfriend?”
“Ex.”
“Don’t you think he already knows? I’m guessing you weren’t the one who got on the wrong side of Junior Rabago.”
She pursed her lips and held out her hand. “Please? I don’t want him to come home and get shot, okay?”
Cody’s fingers flexed into a fist before they reopened and dug his phone from his pocket. “What are you doing with a guy like that, anyway?”
She frowned. Who was he to judge her taste in men? Especially when he didn’t look like the kind of guy you’d bring home to Mother, either? The fact that he was right irritated her even more. “Your phone?”
He scowled and dropped it in her palm.
She dialed Jeremy’s number, but he didn’t pick up. Of course he might be afraid to answer a number he didn’t recognize. She hit end and texted him.
Don’t go home. Mafia-looking guys at our house. ~Melissa
He didn’t answer. Was he already dead? What was the money they wanted paid by Friday?
Reluctantly, she handed the phone back and looked around the small living quarters again. How long would she be here?
“I need to get my purse and clothes at some point. Do you think those guys are gone from my place?”
Cody frowned. “There’s no way in hell you’re going near your place, not until I know it’s safe. I can pick you up a few things at Walmart or something.”
“Walmart?” She actually had no beef with Walmart, but he’d pegged her as a princess, so she was playing the part.
A tic in his jaw signaled his irritation.
He stepped toward her, and she took a step back, half thrilled, half worried she’d bitten off more than she could chew.
He gripped her upper arms. There was domination and authority in the way he held her, but his touch wasn’t rough.
In fact, the heat of his large, work-roughened palms on her skin sent flames of desire licking through her.
“Baby, you’ll wear what I get you, or you can trot around in your panties for all I care.” He leaned closer to her ear. “Actually, I would prefer the latter.”
She worked to swallow, heat suffusing her core. Whether it was from his touch or the suggestion of strutting around half naked in front of him, she wasn’t sure.
Cody inhaled and caught a whiff of Melissa’s arousal. In a flash, his vision domed, the beast within him roaring to the surface.
What the fuck?
He blinked and released her, stepping back, away from her sexy little body.
Yeah, she was hot—all soft curves and smooth skin with a beautiful face to match, but her personality left something to be desired.
She was clearly stuck-up. And human . That ought to be enough of a turn-off right there, not that he minded sex with a human female now and then.
It’s just that his taste—whether in she-wolf or human female—ran more toward tougher women.
The kind who liked it rough and understood the rules—that he didn’t commit or make any promises.
The sex was gratuitous, for their mutual pleasure, no strings attached.
“I can’t wear cheap, ill-fitting clothes to show houses.”
Real estate agent. It figured. He should’ve pegged her profession from the start. He had enough experience with agents. Bloodthirsty sharks, all of them.
“You won’t be showing houses. When I said you’re staying here, I meant inside this house at all times . If you think Junior Rabago won’t wait for you at work, honey, you’re not as smart as you look.”
Consternation puckered her beautiful face. “Cody, I have houses to show. I won’t go to the office, but?—”
“ No. ” He made his voice as hard and forbidding as he knew how, not that the girl seemed to respond to his alpha dominance in any way. Which was another source of irritation. For the fortieth time, he kicked himself for making a promise to Ben Stone.
But no. Even as he imagined walking away from her little drama, he knew, promise or not, he’d protect this woman with his life, even as maddening as he found her.
She didn’t deserve whatever kind of trouble was falling down around her ears.
Besides, there was something magnetic between them—some chemistry that was highly unusual between a shifter and a human. He was dying to explore it.
She lifted her chin, her big blue eyes challenging him.
“How are you going to stop me?” She sounded a little breathless, which sent a kick of lust straight to his cock.
He caught a whiff of her arousal again and was suddenly sure she had an inkling how he’d stop her, and wanted a taste of it.
Maybe there was one way she responded to alpha dominance. The best way, in his opinion.
“I’m thinking, maybe something like this.
” He brought his hands to her waist and turned her, then picked up her small, smooth hands and placed them on the wall, one at a time.
Like before, just touching her bare skin fired his inner wolf.
He stroked his palms up her arms to her shoulders, savoring her soft skin.
He slid them down her sides until he reached her hips, then he lifted one hand and brought it sharply down on her ass.
Her sharp intake of breath made his cock throb. “I think your sister warned you about me,” he rumbled in her ear, his voice deeper and more gravelly than usual.
The silly girl didn’t know wolves have excellent hearing. Walking to the other side of a room didn’t preclude him from hearing every word of their conversation.
She didn’t answer, but appeared to be frozen, listening intently, waiting. He caught no sign that he’d intimidated her. No, all he got was interest. That’s what he’d smelled when she was on the phone, too. Good, that was the way he wanted it. He’d feel like a douchebag if he genuinely scared her.
“If you try to leave here, I’ll spank you until this perfect ass is pink and your sweet little pussy is dripping wet.”
Pink stained her cheeks. Her exhale sounded shaky. She didn’t look at him, but remained in the position he’d put her, staring at the wall. The heady scent of her arousal told him he’d already achieved the second goal. And damn, he’d never wanted a human this badly before.
“Let me know if you want me to take care of that ache between your legs,” he murmured, then stepped back. His voice sounded rough and deep. “I’d be happy to fuck the princess right out of you.”
He shouldn’t have said it. Not when he’d just gotten her to warm to him.
She drew herself up, yanking her hands away from the wall and spinning on him, cheeks flushed red. “Nice. Real nice.” She lifted her chin and marched right for the front door.
“Don’t do it,” he warned.
She took a final look over her shoulder at him and threw the door wide, taking off running the minute she stepped outside.
His inner wolf took over. Before he could rein himself in, he charged after her, vision domed, the thrill of the hunt upon him. No, the thrill of mating. In a flash, he was upon her, the animal in him roaring to…
Could it be?
Mark.