A Possessive Alpha

STORY EXCERPT

“Let go, Harris. Let go!”

Ash turned his head away when Harris leaned in to kiss him. Before he used to look forward to Harris’s kisses, and even tease the man that he wanted more of them. Now, it sickened Ash to have the man’s warm lips pressing against his neck.

It seemed to bother Harris, too, but not in the same way that it bothered Ash because he let go of one of Ash’s shoulders so he could use that same bruising grip on Ash’s chin, forcing their mouths to meet as Harris used his strength to overpower Ash.

He pressed Ash into the door of the car, and Ash really started to panic when he felt Harris’s cock through his jeans, hard and pressing against Ash’s thigh. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Being forcefully kissed wasn’t exactly the more horrific thing that could happen to a person, but it was when Harris started unbuttoning Ash’s shirt that he started to get what was going to happen if he didn’t get out of here.

Harris seemed to think that if he raped Ash, then Ash would remember how in love they were supposed to be and go back to him. That wasn’t going to happen, but Ash wasn’t strong enough to get Harris off him.

“He turned his face away, breaking the kiss. “H-Harris! Stop it!”

“You’re hard. You want this,” Harris said, his voice a low rumble that used to make Ash moan.

“Not for you!” Ash snapped, because it was the truth. He wasn’t hard for Harris. He wanted to get out of here. He didn’t want to be here.

Harris growled and kissed Ash again. Ash was helpless against it.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. How was he supposed to get out of this? What the hell was he...

Ash knew what to do. He reached for Harris’s belt and began undoing it, his fingers fumbling as he worked on the button and zipper of his jeans.

Harris moaned when Ash slipped his hand inside. “Oh, baby, that’s it.”

It wasn’t hard to find his cock. It really was right there. Ash curled his fingers around the heavy organ, and then squeezed as hard as he could.

He had a pretty good grip if the scream was any indicator.

Harris let go. The pain of what Ash had done meant he probably had to. When Ash pushed him back, he fell.

That was all he needed. He ran for it, desperate to get away from the man before anything else could happen.

Ash felt like he was flying back to the truck stop. He barely felt his feet touching the ground as he ran back to the light from the truck stop, wishing he hadn’t parked so far away, but he hadn’t wanted anyone to know he’d been sleeping in his car.

Harris caught up to him quick. The man punched him in the back, and Ash went flying forward. The strike was so powerful that his feet really did leave the ground. He landed hard on the pavement. It hurt. The wind was knocked out of Ash and he honestly didn’t think he’d be able to get back up.

He tried, and that was when the pain flared, and he cried out. Tried to. Only air left his mouth, as though he’d lost his voice. Warmth spread across his back, and Ash had the horrible sensation that he was bleeding.

That couldn’t have been from a punch. There was no way.

Ash turned his head, and for the first couple of seconds, it took his brain and his eyes to agree with what he was seeing. Harris was still farther back, closer to Ash’s car. And he had a gun.

Harris wobbled to his feet, still clutching at his cock. “Ash? You all right?”

Oh God. He’d lost his mind. He was going to kill Ash, and there was nothing he could do about it because he couldn’t move, couldn’t get up, couldn’t cry for help.

Harris came closer, closer with that deadly weapon.

Then he stopped dead, his dark eyes looking above Ash and at something else, something that made his mouth drop.

A deep, sinister growl rumbled, close enough to Ash’s ear that he felt the heat from its breath.

An animal? A bear? Or a big cat of some kind?

Harris pointed his gun, but Ash was looking at him through a sort of tunnel vision. A giant paw stepped down in front of Ashe’s face, the shadow of the creature blanketing him. Ash could hardly breathe. He didn’t know whether it was from fear, or because of the bullet in his back.

The creature lunged, and Ash heard some more of the soft pops that came from the silencer that was on the gun just as the animal charged. It ran like a man, but had fur, and a bushy tail.

It wasn’t a bear. A bear didn’t look like that, didn’t have arms and legs like that. Harris screamed, and just as the black consumed him, Ash really hoped the guys in the truck stop heard that scream.

Harris was suddenly not the scariest thing in the world anymore.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Oh God,” Ash moaned. “What’s happening?”

“Have to get these off,” he snapped, and he yanked on Ash’s underwear. It actually ripped off. It ripped off and it was such a turn on that Ash almost couldn’t move. It wasn’t like he was wearing an old pair, and with the elastic in the waist, they really shouldn’t have ripped at all.

“Sorry. Gonna have to get used to my strength again.”

He never seemed to say anything that made any sense. Ash didn’t understand. All he knew was that he was naked, the cooler air of the room kissing his skin, balancing out the heat from this strong man’s body.

And Ash couldn’t get enough of his touch, so it was good that he was naked. It was allowed him to get at more skin. He needed to touch more of this man’s skin, and it was working out nicely because he was taking off the rest of his clothes. His jeans, his shirt, he either kicked them off or threw them away, revealing his amazing body beneath.

And Ash sighed as he reached his hands out to touch. The man above him, he was beautiful when his eyes closed, as if Ash’s touch was doing something to him, something primal and sexual that Ash couldn’t even comprehend.

“That’s it, touch me,” he moaned.

Ash did. As he touched the man, something inside him seemed to wake up. It was that animal need he felt. It was like it had always been there, but now it was really alive and roaring with desire.

The man’s eyes changed. From dark to gold, and then to a bright red, before going back to dark. This man wasn’t human. Ash was still neck deep in his lust that this man could secretly be a unicorn and it wouldn’t make a difference to him. Just so long as he could get more of this feeling, then everything was going to be all right.

Then he was being kissed again, and he wasn’t neck deep in that lust, he was drowning in it. The man’s wet tongue was in his mouth, licking him deep, as though his tongue was introducing itself to Ash’s tongue. He could hardly keep up before the man above him pulled away and got out of bed.

Ash moaned and reached for him. He wanted him back. He needed more.

“I’m coming, sweetheart. Don’t you worry. Fuck!” Said the man as he rifled through the drawer of the nightstand. He pulled something out. A small white bottle. It could’ve been hand lotion or sun screen for all Ash knew. The only thing he cared about was what it was going to be used for. Honestly, what else was it going to be used for? Especially when his gorgeous sex dream come to life came back to bed, and still had that same predatory look on his face.

It was better than porn. The most erotic thing Ash had ever seen in his life.

“I really hope you’re not a serial killer,” Ash said, his words shocking the man enough that he stopped, his mouth quirking, and his head tilting just a little to the side.

Almost like a canine.

“Because you could pretty much do whatever you wanted with me right now and I’d probably think it was the best thing in the whole world.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Yes, right now, that’s probably true. It’ll stay that way for a little while, but just stick with me, and I promise it will be better.”

Ash looked down, watched with a barely contained eagerness as the man squirted the lotion into his hands, wet his fingers, and then lifted one of Ash’s ankles onto his shoulder before circling that wet, slick finger around his asshole.

Ash sucked back a deep breath. For a few long seconds, he could hardly breathe. That was nothing compared to the way his neutrons fired up and exploded when the man pushed one finger inside.

“Oh God. H-how are…how are you doing that?”

“It’s normal, trust me,” he replied.

“I do…I just, oh fuck, I don’t even know your name yet.” It made no sense to trust a man whose name he didn’t know, so why was he so eager to trust this man here?

The man abruptly stopped, and he stared down at Ash with those wide open, red eyes. He actually kissed Ash’s leg. It was kind of sweet. No one had ever done that before while he’d been in this position.

“Dakota. That’s my name.”

Ash let out a long exhale he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in. It was strange, but in a good way. He liked knowing this man’s name. He liked it when Dakota touched him, how safe he felt in this bed with him.

Everything else could wait. Ash needed to get off again.

He squeezed his asshole around the finger that was still inside him, thrusting against it, pulling it deeper inside him. “More. Give me more, Dakota.”

That flash in Dakota’s eyes seemed to get so much brighter. There was something about him, about the way he looked at Ash that made him want to go wild. He felt wild. He felt like he was coming apart at the seems, and it was a good feeling to have.

“I’ll give you so much more than you could ever want,” Dakota said with a pleasant rumble to his voice.

That rumble, almost a growl, sounded like he’d heard it before.

An Alpha Husband

STORY EXCERPT

Ash didn’t want to admit it, but he had been a little nervous about people looking at him funny for marrying another man. Dallas and Austin were pretty progressive, which was partly why Ash had wanted to go to Dallas when he’d fled Harris, but sometimes Ash had to be careful who saw him holding another man’s hand.

He mostly worried his wolf would try to come out with how nervous he was.

Turned out he didn’t have to worry about that at all. Everything went fine. No one sneered at him, and people smiled. A few people looked twice, but that was just curiosity.

Then he was officially married and signing his name, and he was giddy as all hell on the ride back home. He laughed as he leaned over the seat of the truck and kissed at Dakota’s throat.

Dakota snorted and laughed, pushing him back. “I need to see the road.”

“I need to kiss you!” Ash said, leaning in and kissing him again.

Dakota allowed it, but Ash couldn’t get at his mouth. He supposed one of them needed to be responsible. The windows were down, and the sun was out. It was a warm day, and things were absolutely beautiful. Perfect day to get married. And now he was.

A month ago, he never would’ve thought he’d be here. He never would’ve thought Harris would be just a bad memory and he’d be with the real love of his life.

Ash looped his arm through Dakota’s, leaning against his side.

“You should be wearing your seatbelt,” Dakota said, though there was a smile in his voice.

“I will, in a minute,” Ash said, stroking Dakota’s arm. “Can I take your last name?”

Dakota tensed, taking his eyes off the road for a split second to look at him before he returned his gaze to where it needed to be. “You want to do that? We can hyphenate them, you know.”

“I know, but Grantz-Brant doesn’t sound good. I think I’d rather be a Brant.”

Not for the first time, Ash felt that sense of warmth and affection pulsing from the other man. Apparently this was also part of being a wolf. Or a mated wolf, at least, the ability to use increasing body heat, heart rate, and breathing to detect emotions. The emotion Ash was feeling right now was love. A lot of it.

And he returned that with everything he had. “I love you. I want to take your name.”

“You can have it,” Dakota said, choking the words. “You can…”

He trailed off. At first Ash thought it was because he didn’t know what else to say, but then he slammed his foot down on the brakes.

“Gah!”

Dakota shot his arm out, catching Ash before his head slammed through the windshield. It was a testament to the powerful strength in his one arm that it was enough to keep Ash from cracking his head open.

When the truck stopped and Ash was no longer in danger of slamming head first into thick glass, his heart thudded in his throat.

“Fuck, Dakota, what happened?” he asked, annoyed and startled, and a little scared for whatever it was that had made Dakota do that.

Dakota stared at him, eyes wide before he put both hands on Ash’s shoulders. “Shit, I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean…fuck, stay here.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Ash called as Dakota left the truck.

“Stay there!”

Dakota ran so quickly into the woods that he forgot to put the truck in park. Or what a terrible idea it was to be stopped in the middle of the highway, even a two-lane highway that was currently empty.

Didn’t matter. Ash got into the driver’s seat before the truck could start rolling. He pulled over to the side of the road and put the emergency lights on then waited.

Everything inside him itched to go after the man, to find out what was going on. It was the human side of his mind that kept him from getting out of the truck.

At least, that was what he thought. Dakota had told him part of his new instinct would be to obey his mate, but this was different. Dakota had also told Ash there might be dangerous people out there, people who liked hunting down and hurting werewolves. It was part of the reason Dakota refused to keep a pack. He said too many shifters in one place would draw attention to himself and any pack he happened to be in. That was dangerous. So if Dakota ever told Ash to do something, it wasn’t because he was trying to boss Ash around but because it was in his best interest to do it. His safety might depend on it.

And since Ash wanted to have a nice long marriage with the man, with neither of them getting hurt or killed, he figured it was the best idea to stay right where he was and not go anywhere.

It wasn’t normal for someone to just stop a truck like that in the middle of the highway and go running off, right? This had to mean something was up. Dakota was checking on something important.

But what if he was in danger?

If he was in danger, then it was just another reason for Ash to sit still. He didn’t know anything about being a shifter yet, and if he went out there when Dakota told him to stay put, he might end up putting the man in even more danger than what might already be out there.

Right. He wasn’t going to move. He wasn’t.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You set this up for us for when we would come back?”

Dakota nodded, and Ash couldn’t tell if it was the dark pink light of the room, but he was fairly sure Dakota blushed with embarrassment, especially when he looked away.

Then Dakota’s expression changed, and he sighed.

“Fuck. Left the wine downstairs.”

“We’ll get it later,” Ash said, sitting up quickly, looking at his mate, and really hoping Dakota wouldn’t be leaving the room right now.

It felt as though if Dakota so much as opened the door to let the white and yellow light of the hall inside, this strange, amazingly wonderful spell that Dakota had cast on them would be ruined.

“You sure?” Dakota asked.

Ash shrugged. “I mean it’s not like we’ll be doing much drinking while we’re busy with each other.”

Now he was the one who felt warm and embarrassed. Dakota grinned back at him, and he pulled off his shirt and came to the bed.

* * * *

Dakota had wanted this to be perfect when they’d returned to the house. He wished he hadn’t smelled those bodies in the barn. Someone else would have eventually found them without his interference, and the only thing he wanted to think about was this man right here.

His mate, his husband.

He and Francis hadn’t even married. They had both been shifters. The mating had been enough.

Dakota wanted to share something with Ash that he hadn’t ever shared with anyone else, and this was the perfect way to do it.

And now his mate was looking like a total sex kitten as Dakota crawled onto the bed and over his body. He grinned down at his lover. He couldn’t help but be giddy as he leaned over Ash.

And the way Ash smiled up at him was completely, and totally, perfect. He was the most wonderful thing Dakota had ever seen.

The alpha wolf in Dakota’s head wanted to take him, hard and rough, but while hard and rough could be fun, this was their wedding night, and something a little more romantic seemed appropriate.

Which was why he’d snuck those candles and that old scarf into the room before they’d left for the courthouse.

Ash’s hands were small on Dakota’s shoulders, but they were strong as he kneaded the muscle, as he slid them down Dakota’s arms, feeling his muscles and pushing so much need and pleasure into Dakota’s body before he could even have the chance to touch anything sensitive.

Dakota groaned when Ash finally did touch something sensitive. Ash was feeling playful. Dakota could tell when the man’s hand rubbed against his still clothed cock.

“I love you,” Ash said.

Dakota kissed him with a soft moan, thrusting his cock into Ash’s hand.

Ash closed his eyes, as he always did, and kissed Dakota back, pressing his lips against Dakota’s, tilting his head to the side slightly and opening his mouth just enough to give Dakota the proper hint.

Dakota didn’t take that hint. He pulled back, and then he leaned down again and put his mouth on Ash’s rosy nipples.

Ash puffed for breath. His slim fingers threaded through Dakota’s black hair. Dakota waited for it, his favorite part, and then it came.

As Dakota licked and sucked on Ash’s nipples, Ash’s fingers tightened in Dakota’s hair.

The best part of that was the care Ash took with what he did. He didn’t grip too hard, careful of his new strength.

Dakota had told Ash time and time again how his strength wouldn’t be able to compete with Dakota’s, how he could grip Dakota’s hair as tight as he liked and not have to worry about hurting him.

But still, Ash was careful. It was as if he didn’t trust his new strength to not hurt Dakota.

Sometimes this was frustrating since Dakota didn’t mind a little pain with his pleasure. Other times, it was adorable the way Ash continued to think of him, even when there was nothing to be worried about.

Dakota turned his attention to Ash’s other nipple. He flicked his tongue across it then circled it before he pressed biting kisses to the rest of Ash’s chest.

Dakota was vaguely aware of the way Ash’s hand continued to move, his arm bobbing up and down as he stroked his cock while Dakota pleasured him.

But that was for Dakota to do, and it was amazing how the alpha inside him could get jealous of something so simple as his own mate touching himself.

“That’s mine,” Dakota said, his voice coming out as a harsh growl, harsher than he thought it would be. Yes, the alpha inside him was definitely getting a little impatient.

But Dakota sensed no fear in Ash as his body responded. There was no hesitation as Ash pulled his cock away, continuing to stare at Dakota as he waited for him to do something, anything.

And Dakota did. He pressed three kisses to Ash’s scorching, smooth skin on the way down to his cock. Dakota took extra pleasure in playing around in the area where Ash’s hair formed a thin trail that led to his cock.

Ash puffed and panted for breath, propping himself up on one elbow as he looked down at what Dakota was doing. His entire body was flushed. Beautiful.

“D-Dakota, not that I’m not liking this or anything...but, fuck, do you think maybe you could stop teasing me now?”

Dakota chuckled, and he decided now was a good time to put his lover out of his misery.