To Catch His Mate (Crescent Moon Series Book 5) (5 page)

She looked at him now, wariness in her gaze. He was struck by how vulnerable she appeared. Before Alyssa he’d always been with tougher, more experienced females. She was softer and sweeter than anyone he’d known. He hated that he’d put that look in her eyes. “No.”

The sense of finality in the one word slammed into him. She didn’t give him an excuse or reason—not that it wasn’t obvious—just a no. Well, he wasn’t giving up. He’d committed a cardinal sin as far as shifters were concerned by not defending his would-be mate but that didn’t mean he was walking away.

Especially not when he saw her gaze dip to his lips for the briefest moment. Hunger flared bright in her eyes before she glanced away, refusing to look at him.

As an alpha, he knew when to retreat and regroup so he stood and nudged the bag closer to her side of the table. “They’re probably still warm.”

He’d be back tomorrow morning and every morning after until he convinced her to go for a run with him, or out to breakfast. Whatever. Something to just spend time with her. Today wasn’t that day though. He could see it in the firm set of her jaw. It was hard to leave, but it was his only option without risking alienating her further.

“Thanks for the coffee and muffins,” she murmured, clearly not going to walk him out.

Not that he blamed her. At the sliding glass door, he paused. “You were wrong before. I did make a couple promises to you that I intend to keep.”

When her brow furrowed, he resisted the urge to cover the distance between them and smooth out the frown lines.

“I promised to make you come all over my tongue and fingers and to give you so much pleasure you’ll crave me when I’m not with you.”

“Reece,” she gasped out, nearly knocking her drink over. Her tone was a mix of shock and a little arousal. The first real show of emotion since he’d arrived. Her cheeks flushed and that was definitely desire that sparked in her bright gaze.

The sight made him instantly hard, but he didn’t say anything, just left through the open door. He hoped that gave her something to think about. God knew he’d certainly be thinking about it.

* * *

“Thanks,” Alyssa said as Charlie slid her a bottle of water across the high-top table. She was already edgy enough, especially since Reece had walked into the bar twenty minutes ago. She didn’t need any alcohol to rattle her brain. And with her shifter metabolism it would take a lot to get her even buzzed right now.

“You’re still thinking about him,” Charlie said with a grin, her voice low enough that no one else would be able to hear them. Not above the chatter of voices and music pumping through the speakers in the martini bar. Red and purple-hued overhead lights illuminated their table and the whole bar area they were in, giving everything a soft glow.

“So?” No need to deny it. Not when all she’d been able to think about today was Reece O’Shea, sexy alpha with a dirty mouth and sculpted body. Well, what she’d seen of it, but it was clear the male was built. Most shifter males were.

Charlie lifted a shoulder. “Hey, I’m impressed with the guy.”

“You said he was a dick.”

“He was a dick, but he also stormed into another alpha’s territory to see you. You said yourself he wasn’t lying about what you’d overheard. The fact that he was willing to face Grant’s wrath just to see you is impressive.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Alphas could sometimes cover their scents depending on how powerful they were so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he’d lied and just covered his scent. But deep down she believed Reece. Which just confused her more. She’d never expected him to come after her and now that he was here, she felt all sorts of mixed up. She’d put him into this box in her mind, convinced herself he was one thing. Now…ugh, maybe she did need a drink.

“No maybe about it. Grant said Reece wasn’t lying and he’d be able to tell.”

“Oh, are we talking about your alpha?” A woman named Lauren asked as she slid onto one of the empty barstools, a new martini in hand. Petite with honey brown hair and big brown eyes, the jaguar shifter had mated Max McCray, the Kincaid pack’s second-in-command a little over a year ago.

Alyssa had met Lauren and her cousin Ella for the first time last night and they were both incredibly sweet. “He’s not
my
alpha.”

“Oh, he’s most definitely yours,” Charlie said. “He’s been watching you for the last twenty minutes as if he could do very, very wicked things to you.”

Charlie and Lauren dissolved into giggles and Alyssa wondered just how much they’d had to drink. They’d all arrived at the Sunset Martini Bar a couple hours ago and while she’d been drinking mostly water in between dancing, the other two had been working on vodka martinis. With the exception of last night, it had been over a year since she’d been able to go out and enjoy herself like this. At home she worked a lot and while she loved her job she’d always found it hard to cut loose.

That had a lot to do with being the alpha’s daughter. Everyone was always worried about keeping an eye on her, as if she was completely helpless. Or needed to be protected. She ran all the finances for the pack and did most of the scheduling for, well, everything pack related. She was basically an accountant/shifter party planner for the Clare pack. Right now she liked being basically anonymous.

Tingles traced up her spine, and even before she turned around she knew Reece was moving her way. That shouldn’t excite her so much, but after his visit this morning he was all she’d been able to think about. Obsess about. Her nipples beaded tightly against her bra as his earthy, masculine scent grew stronger, invading all her senses.

Damn that male.

She turned to see where he was right as his heavy hand landed on her shoulder. When their gazes clashed she felt the heat of his dark stare all the way to her toes.

“Dance with me?” he asked quietly.

Before she could even formulate a response, her traitorous body was already moving into action, sliding off the stool and taking the hand he offered. Yeah, she wanted to press up against him, to feel his big arms wrap around her and hold her close. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings, the plush chairs set up in intimate groupings for people to talk and relax, another set of high-top tables before they reached a small but packed dance floor.

A smooth Latin jazz beat started as Reece pulled her into his arms. One hand slid to the small of her back as one grasped her hip. Not tight, but with enough pressure that she felt the possessiveness of his hold.

Swaying to the music, she linked her fingers behind his neck. It was a good thing she hadn’t been drinking because looking into his mesmerizing gaze, she felt lightheaded as it was.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, his gaze never leaving hers.

She was pretty much powerless to look away. Not that she wanted to. Being in his arms had a rightness to it, as much as it annoyed her. “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.”

In dark jeans and a soft, dark gray sweater, he looked delicious. Of course he looked delicious no matter what. His lips quirked up slightly. “Thanks. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

She blinked at the admission, unsure how to respond.

Those wicked lips curved up again. “You want to know what I’ve been thinking about?”

“No.”
Yes.
She cleared her throat, desperately needing to change the subject. “How’s your pack doing without you?”

“They’re fine. What about yours? I know they depend on you for a lot.”

The fact that he knew that meant a lot. “I brought my laptop with me.” She’d gotten a lot of emails—some under the guise of random questions even though she knew they’d been checking in on her for her father, but most of the stuff she did was easy enough to do online.

“Will you go running with me tonight?”

“Ah, no.” Because she didn’t trust herself to get naked with the male. Weak? Yep. And she had no problem admitting it. Plus she was a little nervous. The whole nude thing wasn’t a big deal to the majority of shifters and for the most part, not to her either. But she’d never slept with a male before so getting naked with a male she wanted to have sex with was a lot different than just getting naked with packmates before a run. And going running with a shifter not part of her pack implied a certain amount of trust. You were at your most vulnerable during the change from human to wolf. They weren’t there in the trust department yet. Maybe they’d never be.

He’d totally changed everything by showing up here. Knowing that he’d been lying to Ben soothed her hurt feelings but still, he was an alpha. She needed a male to be proud of her, to want to tell everyone that yeah, this is
my
female. Not just make an excuse for why he was mating her.

And that was the crux of it. His confession had pissed her wolf off way more than her human side. Wolves were very primal and he’d offended her, simple as that. She figured she’d be able to get past it, but not tonight.

A hint of frustration edged into his expression, highlighting the hard planes of his face. “You want to.”

She wanted to trace her fingers over those lips. It was the only soft part about him. Finding her voice, she nodded. “I do.”

“So why not come with me?” His voice dropped an octave and was it just her imagination, or did he put extra emphasis on the word
come
?

She couldn’t very well say,
“Because if I see you naked I’ll reveal myself to be weak, weak, weak—and jump your bones.”
So she did the mature thing and shrugged.

His grip on her tightened and he pulled her closer so that her breasts pressed completely against him. She was wearing a sweater dress and high-heel boots. The boots gave her a few extra inches so she fit against him perfectly. She’d had way too many fantasies about what it would feel like to be pressed against him, skin to skin. The last time they’d kissed had been in his living room and she’d been ready to find out then.

Until he’d pulled back. She’d straddled him, had been grinding against him and he’d put the brakes on. The most insecure part of her wondered why but she’d been too afraid to ask. She’d worried she wouldn’t like the answer. “So how long are you here?”

“As long as it takes to convince you to come back with me.”

Shock rippled through her. “You can’t…”

“I can’t what?”

“Nothing.” She glanced away from him.

“I don’t like the scent of other males on you,” he murmured, drawing her attention back to him.

She was surprised when his wolf flickered in his gaze for just a moment. That loss of control wasn’t like him, at least not the male she’d gotten to know. “I haven’t been with any other males—not that it’s your business.”

Was that relief in his expression? “You danced with some tonight.” Not a question or an accusation. But he sounded agitated and his wolf showed again.

“So?”

“So, I don’t like it.”

She noticed he wasn’t telling her not to dance with anyone else, just making a statement. The truth was, she wouldn’t like the scent of another female on him either. Even the thought of it had her wolf clawing, ready to break free. Sometimes her animal side made her crazy. “I won’t dance with anyone else tonight.” The words were out of her mouth before she could analyze them or even think about stopping herself.

His eyebrows raised then something that looked a lot like triumph flickered in his dark eyes before it disappeared. As the song started to end, he cupped the side of her face with his big hand, his palm rough and callused. “You sure you don’t want to run with me tonight?”

“I’m sure.”
Liar, liar
, her inner voice shouted. She needed more time to think and when she was around him that seemed a difficult feat.

He didn’t respond, just pulled her tighter to him in a completely dominant, possessive move as a new song started to play. She’d planned to make her way back to her friends after their dance but it seemed he wasn’t content to let her go. Which was fine with her. She didn’t want to let go of him either.

Chapter Five

Four days later

Alyssa’s heart rate kicked up at the sound of a knock on the front door. It was Reece, no doubt. He’d been meeting her every morning and bringing her a cappuccino and breakfast the past few days like clockwork. He kept asking her to go for a run with him and she’d kept turning him down.

Her wolf, and okay her human side, wanted him to work for it a little. Work for her. Because there was no denying she wanted him. She wasn’t certain she wanted to be an alpha’s mate, but she wasn’t going to ignore the attraction between them. She’d forgiven him for what he’d said but there was still a lot to consider if she started a relationship with him.

When she opened the door, sure enough Reece stood there with two to-go cups and a brown bag of blueberry muffins, if she scented right. She couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread across her face if she’d wanted to. Seeing him in the morning was the right way to start any day. It touched her that he was trying to make amends without being pushy. Instead he was courting her, the way shifters tended to do when they wanted to mate.

“Morning,” he murmured. His gaze dipped to her mouth, hunger flaring bright, as he handed her a cup.

“Morning yourself,” she said, taking the bag from him. She set it on the entryway table before stepping out into the hallway with him. She pulled the door shut behind her. Charlie was still sleeping, and anyway and Alyssa wanted some alone time with him. “Feel like taking a walk on the beach?”