Annie Nicholas: The Alpha

“Yes, Alpha.”

To hear them address him by his title hurt. What was wrong with him? Twice in one night he’d lost control.

“I’m sorry, Sam. Here, have my dinner. I’ve lost my appetite.” He stood to leave. All he wanted was solitude to pick at these new emotions tearing him apart.

The bedroom door opened, and Daedalus stepped out. A tick in his temple twitched. “Spice will be staying with us for a while. We need to play musical beds until we can figure out a better solution.”

“She can have my room.” Eric nodded to her as she leaned out of the doorway. “It’s across the hall from you. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

“Thank you.” Her soft words made his heart soar.

Spice snuggled into Eric’s pillow and tugged the blankets over her.

Her sister led a pretty nice life. Daedalus slept all day someplace in the basement so Sugar could use part of that time for herself. She worked an occasional shift in the evening at the city library, and her friends lived under her roof. No one seemed to be sponging off of her like Spice worried.

Yesterday afternoon, Katrina took her shopping and bought her some clothes, the basics: jeans, socks, underwear, sweaters, and a thicker jacket.

“I’ll pay you back as soon as I can, Katrina. It’s very thoughtful of you.” For once, when she spoke those words, she meant them.

“No need. When I came to Chicago to live with Eric, Sugar did this for me. It is like a circle. One day you will do the same for someone else.”

At a loss for words, Spice hugged her. This wasn’t a con or a handout but something a real friend did. “Thank you, and I will.” The promise rung with truth and lightened her heavy heart, but something Katrina said echoed in her head. “You came to Chicago to live with Eric ? Not Tyler?” Doubt and dread tangled themselves with her shredded confidence as she waited for the answer. If Katrina and Eric had a past, she didn’t want to complicate her life more by getting involved.

“Both. They lived together next to Sugar. It was strange to be in an apartment with only boys, so I stayed at her place a lot.” Katrina’s pager went off and she glanced at the message. “Sorry, have to go. My office needs me.”

“Sure, ah, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a Chinese interpreter and work for many of the companies in the area who deal with China. Daedalus helped me set up a small company.”

Food for thought.

Katrina owned a business and the vampire was involved. Again.

The others had been nothing but kind to her as well. Spice had questioned each one about their lives, and they shared similar stories. All struggling to get by until Daedalus came into their lives. She wondered if any of them realized how much he helped, guiding each of them on the right career path that matched their personalities. Social working vampire? She kind of hoped he would act as her compass and send her in the proper direction too. The choices she’d made sucked, and she couldn’t trust her desires anymore.

She pulled the blankets closer around her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. The soft bed squeaked a little as she rolled over. Enough thinking, she needed to sleep. Tomorrow she had a job interview at local bookstore. Sugar set it up for her.

The flannel blankets smelled like Eric. At first, she wanted to toss them in the wash but the scent offered comfort, a reminder of his gentle, contagious smile. Last night she fantasized they were his arms wrapped around her body.

He was the only one she hadn’t questioned. Whenever they got a moment alone any coherent thoughts went south, straight to her crotch. Thank goodness the last few nights he’d been out. She didn’t want to screw up her chances by crawling under his covers the first night. Impulse control worked better when the temptation wasn’t available.

At first, she thought he went to see a girlfriend and she moped around the house, but Sam cleared all that up for her today. He told her they patrolled the neighborhood, like a volunteer watch, and this week was Eric’s turn.

If he got any better she’d have to file a patent on him as the perfect man. Warm, melting-chocolate brown eyes, strong prominent cheekbones, and thick just-tumbled-out-of-bed hair inflamed her whenever she thought about him.

Like now.

Sliding her hand inside her panties, she located her throbbing clit and tried to imagine it was Eric’s fingers that massaged the spot, but she’d never been very good at pretend. He would probably be real gentle and tease the area until it made her crazy.

All she managed to do with her thoughts was get more hot and bothered. She stuck two fingers in her pussy and pumped as she reached under the tight t-shirt. Her nipples hardened at her touch, and she clenched her thighs around her hand. His fingers would be longer and thicker than hers. He wouldn’t need to stroke so hard to make her come. Breaths coming faster, she got closer to the light at the end of the tunnel but she couldn’t finish the deed. Not when the focus of her fantasy slept on the couch at the end of the hall.

The smell woke him. Creamy and sweet, the intoxication of it would have made him swoon if he wasn’t already lying down. Every woman carried their own unique scent, this one didn’t belong to Sugar or Katrina. It could only be Spice, in his room, tucked into his sheets, and on his bed.

Did she have someone in there with her making her so heated? He sat upright and yanked the blankets off. His hard-on tented the boxers he wore. Inhaling deeply, he realized no other smells joined hers, she must be alone. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the couch.

They had this floor to themselves. Daedalus had taken Sugar out for the night. They wouldn’t be home until much later.

Spice probably lay naked on his bed, touching her body, running her hands along her smooth white skin, nipples perked and ready for tasting. He stroked his cock. Nothing would please him more than to offer to help her out with those needs, but he wanted more than a quick hump. It frightened him how vulnerable she seemed. In high school, she intimidated the crap out of him. Now, he wanted to scoop her up in his arms and tell her everything would be all right, that he’d take care of her if she’d let him.

The smell faded and he slowed his stroking, she must have climaxed without him. He sighed and opened his eyes.

She leaned against the wall, watching him.

His cock went soft, and he snatched his hand out of his boxers.

“Hey there, big guy. Don’t stop on my account.”

He stared at her for a moment, unsure what she meant. She wasn’t angry? No, she still smelled turned on. His heart raced. Could he masturbate in front of her? He did a few experimental tugs but the shock of finding her in the room with him traumatized it.

“Need some help?”

His mouth went dry. Several different comeback lines twirled in his head, but he couldn’t decide what to use. “I wouldn’t mind.” He tried to make it sound sexy, but it came out more like a croak. His fantasy was turning into a nightmare.

“I’ve been thinking about you.” She stepped across the living room, then pulled her t-shirt over her head, standing in front of him with her round, firm breasts exposed. Her nipples peaked, giving them little up-turned tips. Only a tiny pair of pink panties kept her from being naked.

He loved pink.

His cock got over its issues and returned with a roaring standing ovation. It ached with lust. He took off his shorts while sitting and continued where he’d left off. Things had gone from bad to great in seconds. He would have been happy to just look at her, but then she knelt in front of him and spread his legs so she could fit in between them and rested her breasts on his thighs.