Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply (21 page)

Eric sighed. “Sometimes. But you must feel that way sometimes too.”

“I do.” A pack was a lot of work, and so were the businesses they ran. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if she were free to do her own thing. But then she'd be working for others, and she really did love being in charge.

He studied her as a couple of solar lamps cast a soft glow over them and the water, and she couldn't think of a more perfect setting.

“Just think,” Eric said, “if you and I could simply see each other like this. You wouldn't be worried about an alpha male taking over the pack, and I wouldn't be worried about how you'd view me because of it.”

She let out her breath on a heavy sigh, knowing this discussion was important, but wanting to have a romantic night. “You're a leader at heart. Every time I see the way you act and react to situations, I know you are. Even tonight with something as simple as picking up balls for the kids' birthday party. I think part of the reason they loved them so much is not because of the toy, but because you picked it out for them. They loved you when you were playing tag with them at the social gathering. You have a real knack with kids of all ages.” And with her.

“True, I do seem to have leadership ability and I won't deny it. But when I returned with my brothers to the Silver pack, I realized being a follower wasn't so bad.”

“Even if you're not the leader of a wolf pack, you still tell park visitors what to do. When you go to rescue people or find them, you take charge.”

He smiled. “When I met you, I realized how much more there is to life than leading a pack. I like the way you run your pack. You do a great job with it. You really don't need a mate to help.”

“You're right. But I would want my mate to be just as active in running things as I am. If you had a say in the way things are accomplished with the pack, you might want them done differently.”

“If I can see something might be better by doing it a different way, I'd certainly mention it. That's how Darien and Lelandi run the Silver pack. I think pack members are happiest when they have some say. I don't have any trouble with listening to others, taking orders, or taking charge if necessary.”

“What if…” Pepper said, moving closer so she was sitting beside Eric, her leg brushing against his. The intensity of his gaze deepened, a small smile playing on his lips. “I had my heart set on something and you didn't agree.”

He pondered this as they finished their glasses of champagne and set them aside.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, settling her against his hot body, his skin smooth, his muscles powerful. “It depends on what you had your heart set on. If it endangered you?” He shook his head.

That's what she wanted to hear. That he wouldn't be a beta follower and just let her have her way because she was used to it. That he would want to ensure it was the best thing for her and the pack.

She slid her hand over his thigh. “If you're interested—”

“Oh yeah.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then each cheek. “I'm way more than interested. But I want to make it clear that what exists between us has nothing to do with your pack.”

Because he didn't want her to think he was anything like Waldron.

Eric leaned down to kiss her mouth, his hands cradling her face as she hungrily gave in to the kiss. This was so right, so good. She'd missed being thought of in a sexier, more intimate way. Eric made her feel alive, sexy, and much more like a she-wolf who had appeal, not based on the land she owned and the pack she ran, but for herself.

His mouth was on hers, the champagne flavoring his tongue and lips, his sexy scent reaching her over the warm, bubbling water. She stroked his arms, loving the feel of his mouth against hers, hot and hungry. Just like hers was, unable to get enough, not wanting to give this up, wanting to kiss him until the sun rose in the morning.

He pulled her bathing suit straps off her shoulders, lowering her top until her breasts were exposed, making her feel decadently wicked. Her breasts ached for his touch, her nipples sensitive and aroused. He leaned down and kissed her breasts almost reverently before he began to nuzzle his cheek against one rigid tip, and she wanted to cry out in pure ecstasy. She loved the way Eric took charge of the seduction, not waiting for her to initiate anything. She put her hand on his thigh, telling him she was ready for this. She did appreciate that he was willing to let her decide how far to take this.

He licked the nipple he had nuzzled, then latched on and sucked and licked it tenderly, hotly, rousingly. She felt as though she was melting into the hot water as Eric began to lick the other nipple. He took it in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it, making her tingle all over. He moved to kiss her mouth again, his fingers stroking her nipples as she ran her hand over his briefs, his arousal full blown. She loved feeling him like that, knowing that she had done this to him, that he seemed to love her touching him as much as she loved him touching her. As soon as she began to rub his erection, he paused in kissing her. She pulled down his waistband, wanting to see his gorgeous cock, and it sprang free in the water. He was already large, but the water made his erection appear even larger.

She began to stroke him, and he shook his head. “You first.” He pulled her bathing suit down in the silky water. He stroked between her legs, touching her most erotic spot, giving her the ride of her life, and making her reach for the sliver of a moon. The stars twinkled in the midnight-blue sky like tiny candles, perfect for a night like this. She knew beyond a doubt she didn't want to give him up for anything.

She practically climbed onto his lap, wanting to howl at the moon when she felt the orgasm coming. “Harder,” she whispered against his whiskery cheek, and he obliged, stroking her tenderly, faster, harder, until she hit the pinnacle and cried out into the night.

She felt boneless, afraid she couldn't do him justice. She began to stroke him, but instead of melting under her touch like she did his, he tensed with the pleasure and caressed her breasts, making her want to take him to bed with her and never let him go. “Would it be too impulsive of us,” she said breathlessly, “to go for a full mating?”

His mouth curved up appreciably. “I love you.” And Eric meant it with all his heart.

“Let's take this inside.”

He helped her out of the tub. What a hell of a wonderful way to begin a mated relationship.

“I never thought I'd be saying this to another mate, but I love you, Eric. You complete me, make me feel alive again,” she said. Before she could grab a towel, he wrapped one around her and pulled her into his arms for a warm embrace and kissed her again.

“You mean everything in the world to me.”

Then he released her long enough to wrap a towel around his waist. As she grabbed her bathing suit and snagged his briefs, he grabbed the champagne glasses and empty bottle. She left the wet clothes in the laundry room off the kitchen while he dumped the champagne bottle in the trash and set the glasses on the kitchen counter.

As soon as she came out of the laundry room, still wearing the towel, he stalked toward her. She smiled, tilting her head to the side a little in question, right before he scooped her into his arms, whipped around, and carried her to the bedroom. “Guest room or—”

“Master bedroom. We're going to be coleaders of the pack now, right?” She lifted one beautiful brow and he smiled.

“I never thought I'd be coleading a pack. But with you, it feels just right.”

“I should have warned you… I didn't have any children with Harold. I might not be able to have them. And you're so good with children—”

He realized then that might have been another reason for her reluctance to have another mate: the worry that she couldn't have offspring. “A pack always has children of varying ages. Either my birth pack, or yours. I love kids, it's true, but I work with them on the job and with the packs. I won't feel I'm missing out if I don't have a couple of rug rats to call my very own.”

He set her on her feet next to the bed. He knew it would take time to get used to each other leading the pack, but loving her—no difficulty at all. “I love everything about you, Pepper Grayling. You can't imagine all the dreams I've had about you, but believe me, dreams just don't hack it.”

She laughed. “Even if we continue to call it the Grayling pack, in honor of my parents and my father's father and grandfather before them?”

“Yes. And I will even be a Grayling if you wish it.”

She gave him a heartfelt hug, which made his cock swell even more as her lithe body pressed against it. “I would love it. But I want you to truly colead with me. If you can think of a better way to do something, please share it.”

“And if I sound too bossy, just tell me.”

“It's a deal.”

They climbed into bed and she pressed her body against his, and he loved how wickedly sexy she felt as she moved against him.

Pepper was amazed how intensely she wanted Eric, needed him, needed this—his tenderness, his passion, the raw and sensual smell of him, the feel of his hand exploring her body, the feel of his skin and muscles beneath her fingertips. Exploring. Enjoying. Energizing.

Kissing him, she felt her concentration on his masculine lips slipping as he pressed his rigid erection against her mound, not entering her, but rubbing against her in a way that said he wanted in.

His gaze on her was just as hot as the rest of him. Searing into her soul, claiming her for his own. As she claimed him.

She surrendered to him, something she'd never done with anyone in her life. It felt good to roll over on her back and soak in the feel of Eric's touch, to focus on the way his tongue caressed her taut nipples.

His tongue was touching the tip of hers, teasing and solicitous. She matched his actions, move for move. She knew this was right—the passion between them igniting every time they kissed. She knew that's what she'd been missing before.

He rubbed his wickedly intriguing scent over her body as she moved against him, doing the same with her scent on him—claiming the wolf as her own. His mouth covered hers, kissing her, alternating between soft and hard.

He moved his scorching mouth over her cheek, down her throat, lower still over her collarbone in a sweet slide. His fingers glided down her body, garnering most of her attention as he worked his way down her abdomen.

Her hands swept over his taut muscles and smooth skin as he touched her sweet spot, rubbed, stroked, and made her groan with escalating need.

He plunged a finger between her parted legs, made her wetter, needier, and she begged for more.

“I need…you,” Eric said, barely breathing out the words.

Her blood raced through her veins as his strokes brought her closer to the sun's hottest flames. She was near the peak when he drew her over, sending her heart soaring, his name on her lips.

“Ready?” he asked. One last chance for waiting on a mating, but she was ready for this, wanting it, feeling as though if she didn't, she would wake him in the middle of the night and mate him anyway. She wasn't changing her mind about this.

“Yes.” The word was said with such need, he gave her a wicked smile back.

He pushed in, slowly at first. She was so tight, and he wanted this with her, the mating, a companion for life, his partner. Life was too short, and he wasn't about to waste it in waiting.

His pulse and hers were pounding hard. He began to thrust deep inside her, loving her silky, warm body wrapped around his cock, the way her inner muscles clenched him tightly in her grasp.

It was more than sex between
lupus garous
; it was a lifetime promise to be lovers, friends, and companions. She overwhelmed his senses, tilted his world on edge, made him aware of nothing around him but her. He hadn't believed he'd ever find a woman to love again.

Her body moved against his as if they'd already had a lifetime together, in perfect sync, knowing how to push this to the edge and back. She bent her knees, giving him deeper access. He took advantage of her offering, thrusting home until he felt the end coming. He nipped at her chin and her lips, and sank his length deep between her legs until he released on a groan.

“Hot damn, woman,” he said, rolling over onto his back and pulling her on top of him.

She smiled and snuggled against him. “This. Was. Perfect.”

“Don't get too settled in,” he warned. “I've got lots more where that came from.”

“Bragging or—”

“Promising.”

“Good. Wonderful. I will hold you to it.”

He was sleepy and normally would have just dropped off for a bit before he ravaged the she-wolf again, but he began to think of everything he needed to talk to Pepper about—his deceased mate, his father. A mate should know those things.

“I love you,” he said, wanting her to know it with all his heart.

“Eric”—she sighed his name against his chest—“you have made me so happy and gone way beyond any expectations I had. I love you for that and everything else about you.”

“I had no doubt you would be perfect.”

She laughed. “No one is perfect.”

“In bed? Hell yeah you are.”

“Hmmm, you are too.”

She was truly a wonder, and he felt he was one lucky wolf to have run into her in the park that one day, even if he was injured for having done so.

“This is truly a wondrous way to end the day.”

“This is only the beginning.” He snuggled with her, her soft curvy body fitting just right against him as the night cooled down. This couldn't get any better.

But they still needed to deal with Waldron. The bastard might think Eric was as easy to kill as Harold had been. If Waldron truly believed that, Eric would set him straight in a heartbeat.

Early the next morning, Pepper stirred in Eric's arms and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and kissed her right back.

“We need to check out the area, get some breakfast, and go to work. Ready to run as a wolf?”

“Hmmm, do you always wake up thinking about work? I had other notions in mind.”

“Ha! You are a wild man. Other notions? We made love four times last night. Which I loved.” She nipped his chin, then slid out of his arms while he watched her leave the bed and shift.

He yawned. “I'm going to have to sleep during my lunch hour. All right. I'm coming.” He climbed out of bed and shifted too, then she tore off for the wolf door, and he raced after her. She slid on the tile floor, trying to make the corner, and he wanted to laugh. But he slid on the same corner and grinned at her as she gave him a fun-loving wolf smile, then dove through the door. He chased her for a good quarter of an hour, and then she chased him. It sure shook off some of the grogginess of sleep, better than a stiff cup of coffee. He could do this for hours with her.

Every moment spent with her clinched his belief that she was the right one for him, and he really longed for a couple of days enjoying each other when nothing else could intrude.

* * *

Pepper had planned to be more serious: get the job done, have breakfast, and then get to work. Yet, she loved this aspect of their mated relationship. It had made the routine more of an adventure. She could definitely get used to the added benefit of having the wolfish hunk for her mate.

Her heart skittered when he was hunting her. She hadn't had anyone chase her in years. Even when she was little, she was the alpha, so she often did the hunting. She enjoyed pursuing another alpha. As she chased him, his tail straight out behind him waved at her like a flag saying, “Catch me if you can.” She loved how fast he ran, but then slowed a bit so she could catch up to him, and then raced off again. He had longer legs, but she was a good sprinter. He had such a devilish look in his eyes, enjoying teasing her, loving being both the hunter and the hunted. This was just too much fun.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a wolf headed straight for Eric's right flank, like an arrow ready to slam into him. Eric had seen the big gray male—not Waldron, but one of his pack—and quickly turned to fight him. Pepper worried there were more of them out there this morning.

Eric whipped around so fast, he caught the wolf off-guard, when the wolf probably thought he was about to do that to Eric. The wolf yipped and fled. Eric could have run after him, but he didn't. He stayed with Pepper.

She was furious with Waldron and his pack. These were her woods. Waldron and his wolves were encroaching on her lands, and she wouldn't allow it. She couldn't, or it would be tantamount to saying she didn't have control over them. Yes, she owned the property rights, but wolves needed more than that. They needed to know they owned the territory.

Pepper flew past Eric in wolf-hunting mode with one large, gray wolf on the menu.

Eric was astonished at her tenacity, though he understood why she was chasing after the wolf. It was her property and she wanted to make it clear no wolf would attack her, her pack, or her guests and get away with it. He wondered if this wolf had anything to do with the one he'd taken down in the park.

For a fraction of a moment, he had waited to pursue the wolf. But now he could hunt it without reservation.

He bolted after her, fearing the wolf could be leading them into an ambush, and he didn't want Pepper injured.

She was so incredibly fast, she managed to bite the wolf's tail. The wolf yelped and sprang forward with a renewed burst of energy. He leaped over a fallen tree, but as soon as Pepper had cleared it and Eric reached it, he smelled fresh wolf scents. One was Waldron's. Eric barked at Pepper to get her to stop.

She immediately did, but she looked like she hadn't wanted to for anything. She was panting, watchful, sniffing the air. For the longest time, she stood watching the retreating wolf race through the forest until he disappeared from sight.

Eric joined her and nuzzled her face, encouraging her to return with him. She growled a little, but then with reluctance, she finally went with him. After loping together for a little bit, she continued to search for any other signs of Waldron or his wolves. Her scent said she was angry, and she was no longer playing. Eric hated Waldron for making her feel her lands weren't safe for her or her people. He assumed that's just why the wolf did it too. Or payback. Or both.

When they didn't find any more scents and no other wolves lurking about, they returned to her house. Once inside, she shifted right away and scowled at Eric. He thought she was mad the wolf had tried to attack him, but he wasn't expecting her to be angry with him.

“Why didn't you go after the wolf?”

Eric shifted, and instead of going on the defensive, he pulled her naked body into his arms, held her close, and kissed her forehead. “I thought he might lead us into an ambush. I didn't want to leave you alone if the wolf's intent was to draw me away from you so Waldron could hassle you.”

Pepper was so tense in his arms that he began caressing her silky back, wanting her to realize they really could do this. They might think differently about how to deal with situations that arose, but they could work things out for the best. “Did you smell Waldron and some of his other wolves by that fallen tree?” he asked.

“Yes.” She relaxed a little.

“I think they intended to ambush me like his cousin did your mate. Except you were the one chasing their wolf down—”

“We both were.”

“Only because I didn't want you embroiled in a fight by yourself.”

She relaxed against him even more then, and he thought how wonderful she felt pressed against him, wrapped in his arms. “I'm not a beta wolf when it comes to fighting other wolves. I do consider every scenario before I rush into a situation like this,” Eric said.

“I'm sorry, Eric. It's going to take time for me to get used to the way you do things so we can lead the pack as more of a unified force.”

He was still stroking her soft, naked skin, loving the feel of her and wanting to return to bed with her. “Do you know who the wolf was?”

“Yes. They call him Turbo because he's so fast.”

“Hell, you were just as fast. I need to pay Waldron a visit. CJ and Trevor are still trying to track him down. I thought the bastard was supposed to be so alpha, but he sends his teens to do his dirty work, and now this.”

She took a deep breath. “I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be. I've dealt with his kind more than once over the years. There's no dealing with them in a conciliatory manner. They're hardheaded and insist they have their way.”

“Other than the attempted wolf attack, I really had a great time this morning.”

“Before we got up or after we took our run?”

She laughed. “All of it.”

“The best part is it's only the beginning.” Though he knew the only way to really concentrate on their new life together was to take care of Waldron and his pack. All he cared to think about for now was being with his mate, and no one would ruin that for them.

She pulled him through the house to the master bath. “Want to take a quick shower?”

“Hell yeah.” He smiled, loving his wickedly sexy mate.

As soon as they were in the shower, the warm water sluicing over them, he began soaping her up and rubbing all the right spots to make her feel like she was going to heaven and wouldn't return in a million years.

“Good?” he whispered against her ear.

“Oh yeah,” she mouthed against his shoulder as he stroked her nub, his other hand sliding down her back as she ran soap over his torso. He was already fully aroused. She loved the way he turned her on and more than satisfied her need for sexual fulfilment.

His fingers deftly stroking her, she gave in to the state of bliss, soaking up the raw passion until she was ready to burst. She knew she'd been missing something in her life. She just hadn't realized it could be this powerfully good. She slid her hands down his wet back, caught up in the rapture of the moment. The climax hit, and she cried out his name, grateful they had agreed to mate. She never thought she'd experience sex, not like this. Once wouldn't be enough.

He moved her hand down to stroke him, and she encircled her fingers around his velvety hardness. He was already primed from bringing her to completion, their pheromones sending their senses reeling, but her stroking him was sending him over the edge. When he began to tense, to thrust harder into her hand, he was ready to come. But then he did the unexpected—he lifted her so her back was against the wall, her legs around his hips, and he penetrated her wet sheath. He drove into her hard, with passion and resolution, mouth nuzzling her face and kissing her before he thrust his tongue into her mouth.

And then he groaned with release, filling her with his warmth and love. For a long time, he just held her close like that. Then he kissed her again, a sweet and searing kiss, and she kissed him back with just as much eagerness.

Then he sighed. “Better finish this so we can get a bite to eat and then head out.”

She moaned softly. “I think we need to schedule a week off so we can enjoy each other without interruption.”

“Absolutely my thought too.”

They soaped each other up again, and she was glad she had a tankless hot water heater so they could linger a while longer while sudsing each other up. They massaged each other's scalps, and she felt like she could melt into the tile floor. Sliding her soapy hands all over his body proved a tactile delight, but more so when he was soaping up her breasts, her nipples, and between her legs. Though judging by his arousal, he was enjoying this a hell of a lot too. Then they rinsed each other off in a playful way. When they were through, they dried each other off and it was time to dress, then fix a quick breakfast. She really wanted to go to bed with him, cuddle, and maybe do this again. But it would have to wait.

As for Turbo's attack on Eric, she already had some concerns about her coleader mate that she wanted to address.