Falling for an Alpha (6 page)

“I’ll
keep my eye on them,” said Gabriel, moving his chair closer to the two boys.
“Okay, whose turn is it? And remember, I’m watching you.”

Both
boys broke out in giggles and Conrad nudged Alex. Luc put a leash on Willow and
signaled for her to walk with him around the side of the house.

“Let’s
go for a walk down the street. I could do with some exercise,” he said. “Sadie’s
filled me in on what’s happening with your diabetes and your sight. So how are
you doing?”

“I
guess I have moments where I think I can handle whatever’s coming my way. Other
times I panic.”

“Nothing wrong with that.
I’m sure
Sadie’s told you all about me.”

“She
said you were injured in a bomb attack while you deployed, and lost your
sight.”

“I
didn’t think I could carry on living. She probably didn’t tell you I tried to
kill myself.”

Amber
looked at him, surprised by what he’d just told her because he seemed so “together”.

“I
wasn’t very good at it.
Took an overdose of Vitamin C pills
that my sister had slipped into the medicine cabinet, thinking that one day I
might pick up the wrong pills by mistake.”

Amber
didn’t know whether she should laugh or not, but then Luc burst out laughing
and she relaxed a little more.

“You
want to give walking with Willow a try?” asked Luc.

“Don’t
you need him?”

“I
have one fairly good eye since I had my surgery and I can follow both of you,
so I’ll be perfectly okay.”

Luc
handed her the harness.
 
“I won’t lie,
Amber, it’s going to take some getting used to.”

She
looked at him. His blindness had been sudden, which had to be even worse than
hers—no time to prepare. No wonder he’d wanted to end his life.

“
Katey
can work with you to find the ideal dog. She’s
training a couple of buff-colored labs right now so one of them might be a good
match for you. And she also works with my old army buddy Jake, so between the
two of them you’ll be okay.”

“Good
thing I like dogs,” said Amber.

Willow
stopped at the curb and waited for a car to pass before leading them across the
street.

“How
about family?” asked
Luc.

“My
parents live close by and so do two of my brothers.”

“And
Sadie tells me you’ve signed up for Perfect Pairing. That’s going to be
important. Without
Katey
, I wouldn’t have had the
courage to have the operation that restored some of the sight in my right eye.
She saved my life. And I got to see Alex, which was such a blessing.”

“He’s
really cute.”

“Yeah,
I know a parent always thinks their kid is beautiful, but he’s an angel, well,
most of the time. So where are you and Gabriel going on your first date?”

Amber
shrugged her shoulders, realizing Luc might not have seen her.

“I’m
not sure. I think I’d like to see all the beauty in the mountains and lakes
before it’s too late.”

“Yeah,
I wish I’d done that. You know what you need to do?”

“What?”

“Go
camping.
Mountains, lakes, a chance for the two of you to get
to know one another.”

“I
love camping but I’m not sure Gabriel does.”

“He
looks like the sort of guy who’s made for the outdoors.”

They
turned the corner and Amber smiled when she saw Alex riding on Gabriel’s
shoulders while he pushed Conrad in his wheelchair.

“Hi
guys” said Gabriel. “We’re heading to the park if you want to join us.”

****

Camping.

 
Gabriel loved the outdoors. He’d gone camping almost
every weekend when he was a teenager growing up in Montana. However, two things
were different now. One, he was part wolf. Two, he was going to have Amber with
him, who he found very attractive. They were going camping for a long weekend
over the Memorial Day holiday. What would happen if he shifted while they were
together?

His
phone rang and he saw that the caller ID was Sadie Sutton.

“Morning,
Sadie.”

“You
ready to pick up Amber?”

“I
am, but what if I do something stupid like change into a wolf?”

“Then
you’re in the perfect spot.”

“Sadie,
I’m concerned about this.”

“Shifting
into a wolf in the cinema or while dining out would be a lot worse.”

“I
know, but what if she sees me?”

“Gabriel,
I told you I’m going to find Mavis. I’ll force her to undo the spell and you’ll
be back to normal. Amber doesn’t have to know about this. Now, you’re going
camping and both of you are going to have a good time. And I want to see lots
of photos when you get back.”

“But…”

“Enjoy.”

He
smiled. Sadie was a like a dear old aunt. And she was right, he was
overthinking this. He’d done that since he was a kid and sometimes it landed
him in lots of trouble.

Okay.
Tents,
check. Sleeping
bags,
check. Bug spray—damn, he’d forgotten that.
Cooking stove,
check.
Drinking water, check.
Amber had told
him she’d bring along all the food for their three-day trip because she knew
what diabetic foods to choose for herself. She was in good hands with him being
a paramedic, or at least he hoped she thought so.

He’d
take along his cell phone but he doubted it would pick up a signal in the part
of the canyon they were heading for. Gabriel took a deep breath. He’d be fine.
If he felt like he was shifting, and he was getting pretty good at recognizing
that weird feeling now, he’d excuse himself.

After
shutting the truck’s cargo door, he walked around to the driver’s door and got
in.
 
He’d need to call the drugstore to
pick up the bug spray, just in case Amber didn’t have any. If he was any judge,
mosquitoes would be in full force in the canyon, especially after dusk.

He
headed down the road and turned into the strip mall housing the drugstore. He
went inside, waved to one of the guys he recognized from the gym, and headed
down to Aisle 4. He put two containers into his cart and then decided to get a
couple of six-packs of soda. But wait, Amber would need diet soda. He placed a
six-pack of diet lemon soda on top, and as he headed to check out, the family
planning section almost called his name.

He
stood frozen. They’d only just met, this was basically their first date, but
damn, if she felt like he did when he saw her…

Gabriel
hurried down the aisle, picked up a box of condoms, threw them into the cart,
and hurried toward the cashier before he overthought yet another thing in his
life.

****

Amber
paced up and down. Had she packed enough food for them? Gabriel was a big,
muscular guy who probably had a hearty appetite.
 
She opened the pantry and pulled out another
box of chips and cookies that she kept on hand for her parents or brothers when
they dropped by. And yes, a couple of times they’d been a temptation to her as
well. A truck pulled up on the gravel driveway outside the kitchen window. Gabriel
was here.

She
took a deep breath, anxious not so much about going away with him for three
days, but the fact that she would be camping with a guy who was so drop-dead
gorgeous.

The
doorbell rang. She ran her hands through her hair, hoping it looked half
decent. Another thing she’d not be able to do when…
No, don’t think about that now.

She
opened the door and swallowed. Today Gabriel wore a white T-shirt that pulled
over his muscular
chest,
and black shorts which showed
off his tanned, muscular leg. Her pussy actually did a flip.

“You
all set?” he asked.

“Sure
am.”

“You
want me to help you with those bags and the cooler?”

“
Great,
and I’ll just make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.
I’ll meet you by the truck.”

Amber
grabbed her purse and the last of the paper grocery sacks and headed out to find
Gabriel putting the cooler in the back next to the tents. When they’d gone
camping as kids they had an RV to sleep in. Shit, she was really doing this
whole outdoor thing.

He
took the bags from her, closed the back of the truck,
then
he ran around to the side and opened the door for her. She climbed up and then Gabriel
got in, turned on the ignition, and the air conditioning kissed her cheeks.

“Okay,
let’s be on our way, and hopefully we’ll miss any traffic jams.”

“So
you’re an expert camper?” asked Amber.

He
glanced at her. Whenever he looked at her it made her legs tingle.

“I
wouldn’t say
expert
, but I’ve done it
enough times to know what I’m doing. I thought of the ideal spot to pitch the
tents. We could even move to other sites for the other two nights. I’ll leave
that up to you.”

“I
think it’s going to be exciting. I mean, being out enjoying nature, away from
everything.”

“Tomorrow,
you might have a different opinion about that.” He turned and smiled again.

“Outdoor
cooking’s going to be fun. I even brought along some marshmallows to make
S’mores. And don’t
worry,
the ones for you won’t be
made from diabetic chocolate.”

“That
might be good for me. I have to get back to working out more often.”

“You
look just fine to me.”
Better
than fine
.

Gabriel
turned off the main road and headed down a road that looked like it was leading
straight through a mountain.

“Is
it okay if I wind down the window so I can hear nature?” asked Amber.

“Sure,
let me turn off the air conditioning.”

Amber
pressed the button until her window was down halfway.

She
rested her head against the side of the truck’s interior, glancing out at the
river that now followed the bend of the road.
So beautiful,
with the water slowly cascading over the jagged rocks.
A pang of panic
and regret washed over her—regret over the fact that she hadn’t done this all
her life, looked closer at the beauty and splendor of the world around her. A
tear splashed onto her cheek. She hoped that Gabriel hadn’t seen it but guessed
he must have when he reached across and squeezed her hand.

“It’s
going to be okay, Amber. Believe me, it is.”

She
turned to him with more tears streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry,” she
said.

“For what?”

“We’re
only an hour into our camping weekend and I’m already ruining it with my
stupidity.”

He
pulled the truck over and turned off the ignition. He swung around in his seat
and looked her in the eye. “One thing you’re not is stupid. I’d be acting the
same way. About ninety-nine percent of the people I know would, too.”

Before
she knew it he was reaching over and pulling her into his body, wrapping his
big, muscular arms around her. He smelled of aftershave and something she
couldn’t quite detect, almost a musky odor that made her want him. She actually
wanted to tear off her clothes and force him to make love to her. A man had
never made her feel quite like this before.

He
rubbed his hand up and down her back, making her pussy pull, and her panties
grow damp.
 
They had the whole weekend to
get through, just the two of them in the middle of nowhere. If he didn’t want
the same thing she did, which was for the two of them to have wild sex under
the stars, then she hoped the lakes and streams were still ice cold because she
was going to have to jump into lots of them to cool her libido.

“Hey,
you want to take off your shoes and we’ll walk through the stream over there?”

He
pulled away. She had a little more than taking off their shoes in mind, but at
least it was a start.

Chapter Seven

Suggesting
she do something she could get lost in wasn’t the only reason he’d thought
about walking in the stream. He needed to cool down. Well, not just his feet,
but his whole body. His erection still hadn’t subsided, but thank God he’d
opted to wear his loose-fitting shorts for the journey. His balls felt heavy,
achy almost, as they walked along in the cool, crystal-blue water.
 
Holding her had been a spur-of-the-moment
decision,
the one time in his life he hadn’t overthought
something. Then he’d regretted doing it, not because he didn’t want to hold
her, but having her body so close and taking in her scent had upped his desire
for her.

Being
part wolf was killing him. He watched as she maneuvered her way over the rocks.
If she didn’t want him as much as he wanted her, the next three days were going
to be sheer hell for him. He might have to go somewhere private and jerk-off.