Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (91 page)

They didn’t talk much during breakfast. They’d pretty much exhausted the small talk and it wasn’t the time or place for the important stuff. He did take a little perverse pleasure in her virgin-in-a-sex-shop expression when he’d whispered in her ear that they’d be doing a repeat of yesterday. If only that were completely true. Based on the increasingly snug fit of his jeans, his cock thought that was a fine idea.

He wasn’t particularly surprised she was late getting out to the truck. But she showed up, and if things went his way, he could have a lot of fun giving her a lesson in punctuality.

She opened the door and shoved her bags on the floor before climbing in. All without so much as a glance in his direction. As soon as she’d strapped herself in, he started the engine and backed out of the driveway. He was dying to take her for another doughnut and kiss all that powdered sugar off her face, but that would have to wait. He had a more pressing errand.

“Where are we going?”

“I need to hit the drugstore, then we’re going to finish our tour of the island.”

She didn’t say anything and he let the silence drag on.

***

Why didn’t he say anything? And what the fuck could he possibly need at the drugstore? Then she remembered him telling her they’d be repeating yesterday and the image of that thoroughly destroyed condom popped into her head.

Common sense told her to do the smart thing and walk away. Her heart told her to take all the fabulous sex she could get.

With years of potentially mediocre sex ahead of her, she would need plenty of real-life experience to draw upon when faking Oscar-worthy orgasms. Just the thought of what Doug was capable of had her tender pussy leaking like a sieve.

She should have packed more underwear.

It wasn’t long before Doug pulled over and parked in front of the pharmacy. “Stay here, I’ll just be a few minutes.”

The rebel in her wanted to argue, but she dismissed it for the ridiculousness it was. She didn’t need to add to the embarrassment of the previous night. And like Doug said, people in small communities miss nothing and talk about everything.

While her stage look was very different from how she looked in private, she still needed to be careful. It only took a sharp eye for her to be recognised and photographed.

She didn’t think a guy who wasn’t relationship material would appreciate being romantically linked to a rock musician in the tabloids. And it didn’t take much to have them fabricating the most outrageous stories. A photo taken at just the right moment could end up with headlines declaring them as good as married.

To pass the time, she pulled out her camera and took photos of the quaint old buildings lining the street. She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she didn’t notice the guy approach the truck until he banged his fists on her window and yelled obscenities.

She fumbled her camera a bit, but kept cool enough to get a few shots of him before he hid his face and ran off.

A couple of minutes later, the locks clicked and Doug climbed into the vehicle. He threw the bag with his purchase on the floor at her feet, then turned to face her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bit shaken, that’s all. I guess I didn’t fully comprehend what you guys meant about some of the locals letting their anger at us spill beyond the hunt itself.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you’d be better off waiting here and I was right in the middle of paying when that hoodlum showed up. Are you sure you’re okay? You look pretty pale.”

“I’ll be fine. Can we go?”

“Of course.”

The drive around the island was breath-taking and Doug pulled over whenever she wanted to take pictures—which was often. They finally stopped for lunch at the northern-most tip and Biddy was nervous.

“Eat first, we’ll have that talk after.”

She nodded and looked in her lunch bag. She pulled out the contents and placed them neatly on the blanket Doug had laid on the ground for their picnic.

“Okay, this has been bugging me since we first met.” Doug opened his own lunch bag and pulled out a sandwich. “Why did your parents call you Biddy? It seems a little old fashioned.”

“My parents are hard-core Irish and I have a Gaelic first name that is guaranteed to get said wrong. Biddy is a pet name, and it stuck.”

He laughed. “Well, that’s something we have in common. My parents are Scottish. My name is actually Dougal, but it’s spelled D-u-b-h-g-h-a-l-l. Doug is just easier all around.”

“Wow. That’s even worse than mine—Breed, spelled B-r-i-g-h-i-d. At least people usually mispronounce it as Bridget. I can’t even imagine the mangling your name must get.”

“Yeah. Fortunately, my parents took pity on me and wrote Doug as my usual name on the admission forms when I started kindergarten. I shudder to think what my school life would have been like if they hadn’t. Of course, I always knew when I was in deep shit from my mother. Hearing my full name in that thick Scottish brogue still sends a chill down my spine.”

Biddy giggled. She knew only too well what it meant when your full name got trotted out by a parent.

It wasn’t long before they finished their lunch. Doug swallowed his last bite of cookie and started packing everything away. “Wait here.”

How many variations on what had to be his favourite phrase did that man have in his arsenal? She was getting pretty fucking sick of being told to stay put, so she stood up and walked towards the edge of the cliff.

“Biddy!” She froze at the panic in Doug’s voice and turned to see him racing towards her. “Come back this way, the rock there is unstable.”

She took a better look at the cliff and turned back towards sturdy ground. The instant he reached her, Doug wrapped her tightly in his arms. “You scared the living fuck out of me, woman.” He gave her a quick squeeze, then guided her back to where they were parked. He opened the passenger door, lifted her onto the seat and grabbed a fistful of her hair. The pull at her scalp sent inappropriate tingles straight to her clit.

“That’s twice today you’ve defied me. The first was only a minor irritation, but this time you put yourself in danger and I can’t let that slide. We are here to observe. Our role is strictly non-confrontational. However, we are still at risk, and like it or not, I’m the one responsible for your safety. I need to trust you to take me seriously when I give you and order.”

Shit, he was mad. She’d meant to poke a little, not completely piss him off. “I’m sorry.”

“You might think you are now, but you’ll have no doubt by the time I’m done.” He let go of her hair and lifted her off the seat. After he set her down, he turned her to face the truck.

“Jeans and underwear to your ankles.” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. And it made her pussy clench. Probably not the effect he was shooting for.

She didn’t hesitate. Her nimble fingers made short work of the fastenings, and she had her bottoms dropped within seconds of his demand.

Whatever it was he had in mind, she hoped he’d take advantage of her wet, aching pussy when he was done. She wondered what he was doing behind her, but she chose to ignore the urge to peer over her shoulder.

He lifted her up and positioned her so she was bent over the seat of the truck, then brought her hands around to the small of her back and secured them with his belt. He leaned over her back and growled in her ear. “Five for being late, ten for disobeying me and it’s doubled to ensure you’ve learned your lesson. Thirty in total.”

He stood up and she immediately missed his warmth. Then his words sunk in.
Thirty? Thirty what?

The blow stung at first, but a warm glow spread across her bare ass and just the right movements would send her into orbit. She tilted her hips forward and as she tried to press her clit against the edge of the seat, Doug grabbed her hips and pulled her back a little. With her hands fastened behind her back, her legs tangled in her clothing and dangling in mid-air, there was nothing she could do to help herself.

He slid the tip of his finger inside her slick entrance and chuckled. “I think you like that a little too much for my purposes, but I’ll file it away for future reference. I think we’ll see whether harder and faster works better.”

Aw hell, now the only thing on her mind was how badly she wanted Doug to fuck her senseless.

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll get there if that’s what you really want, but we need to deal with your behaviour first.”

If she didn’t have band mates who were actively involved in BDSM, she’d have considered herself certifiable for letting this guy restrain and hit her like this. Maybe she was nuts. They were alone. He could do absolutely anything he wanted and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it. The thought was sobering.

“I can give you two choices. We do this back at REN House where there will be people around, or you trust me not to harm you, we finish this here and it’s over. Either way, you’re getting a spanking.”

Fuck. Talk about having to pick the lesser of two evils. Well, it wasn’t really a choice. She valued her privacy and there was no way she was going to purposely do anything that could put her on the front page of the tabloids.

At least here was secluded. REN House was more of a risk. It would be one thing for a volunteer to recognise her and sell audio recordings of her screaming in ecstasy. Boots was bold enough to handle that. But, if those recordings were of her getting an ass-paddling? It didn’t bear thinking about.

There was still a risk he meant to do her bodily harm, but she didn’t honestly think a wildlife protection campaign was a particularly hospitable environment for predators.

“Here and now.”

“Alright, then.” He held her hands firmly at the base of her spine and set her ass on fire. She could hardly catch her breath, let alone think by the time he’d finished.

“Slate’s clean and for a few days, anyway, I think your ass should help you remember to do as you’re told. You were a good girl for taking your spanking so well, so I think you deserve a little reward.”

***

Why did she have to be so fucking perfect? Doug forced himself to concentrate on the road ahead. He’d got totally distracted and wound up tongue-fucking Biddy into oblivion. He’d have liked to let his cock have a turn in that delectable pussy as well, but for once his common sense prevailed and insisted he give her body a little respite.

Besides, he’d already taken a bit of a risk. He’d picked that spot on purpose because it was one of the more private places on the island, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be others showing up with the same idea. He may be a kinky bastard who liked fucking in the great outdoors, but he wasn’t an exhibitionist.

She was awfully quiet, and if he didn’t keep catching her squirming from the corner of his eye, he might have thought she was asleep. He turned the truck into the next lay-by and shut off the engine. He reached over and lightly stroked her thigh. “You okay?”

“It’s nothing a little time won’t take care of.”

He unfastened his seat belt and turned towards her. “You know, we never did have that talk and we should get it done before we go back.”

“Fine.” She avoided his gaze, instead turning her head towards her side window.

“I need you to look at me, sunshine.”

He waited until she brought her head back around to face him before he continued. “Look, I know you were embarrassed about last night and I need you to understand, we did nothing to be embarrassed about. Yes, there most certainly are volunteers who were fully aware of what went on in my room, but nobody cares. You were so busy having a good time, you were oblivious all the others who were having just as good a time.”

She gave her head a small shake. “Bullshit.”

“Sex is rampant among the volunteers, especially when there’s a whale kill. All that adrenaline makes people particularly horny.”

“I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea about me.
You
know I hadn’t been with anyone in two years, but to everyone else, it looks like I’ll fall into bed with the first guy I lay eyes on. I wouldn’t care if they thought that about me if it were true—but it’s not.”

“No, it’s not. And that’s why part of me was reluctant to get involved with you. Wherever I go, I’m inclined to get down and dirty with the first woman to get me all hot and bothered. I don’t fuck anyone else. However, I have no problem walking away when my assignment is done. That’s common knowledge and I didn’t want a nice girl like you getting tarred with my brush.

“But
, I’m nobody’s dirty little secret, so if we’re going to continue fucking each other, we won’t be sneaking around and pretending to the outside world it isn’t happening. I’ll kiss you anywhere I please, regardless of who’s around, and we sure as fuck won’t be leaving each other’s bed under cover of darkness. The choice is yours, and whatever you decide is fine by me.”

Biddy flopped her head back against the seat and let out a long sigh.

“Everything is so tangled and confused, I don’t know what I want. Not really. Physically, it’s a slam-dunk. It’s the other stuff I’m not so sure of. You don’t want to be anyone’s dirty little secret, but that’s what my entire sex-life has been based on. While I’ve always been really picky about who I fuck, I’ve never been with any one partner for more than a couple of days. It’s only ever been on the down-low, and never overnight. My life-style isn’t particularly conducive to a regular fuck-buddy, and the truth is, I’ve never met anyone interesting enough to bother putting that to the test. My whole reason for being here was to do what I can to help save these whales. So this whole fuck-buddy thing is uncharted territory for me and I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of adventure.”

There was no way he was going to give up fucking the tightest piece of ass he’d had in ages over something he could be flexible on. “How about a compromise. I stay hands-off when we’re out in public, but at REN House, I have free rein.”

“We don’t sleep together and you’ve got a deal.”

“How are we supposed to have morning sex if we don’t sleep together?”

“You’re a smart guy, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

Damn, she was cheeky and he liked it. A lot. He waggled his eyebrows and grinned at her. “You can count on it.”