N. Walters - Alexandra's Legacy

“It is…” She licked her lips and shrugged. “Arousing. It’s very arousing to watch other people engaging in sexual acts.”

Joshua wanted to howl. He wanted to back Alex into a deserted alleyway, strip off her pants and drive into her until they both yelled their release. His cock was as hard as steel and his balls hung heavy and low. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on taking one slow breath at a time.

He couldn’t take her. Not here. Not now.

First of all, it wasn’t safe, and her safety came above all else. Secondly, he’d promised himself he would wait until they arrived at Wolf Creek. He wanted to mate with her, but he wanted it done in a way so none could contest his claim.

The only way to gain control was to ignore her. Keeping his hand linked to hers, he led her further away from the heart of the city.

They’d left the downtown section of Chicago behind, taking the train and then a bus before finally hitting the pavement once again. But unlike her neighborhood, this area was a little more prosperous. Not by much, but enough to mark it as more upscale. Urban renewal was obviously in full swing here. Many of the buildings that housed people and businesses showed signs of being rehabbed. The folks who lived here had made an attempt to spruce them up with paint and tubs of flowers. Graffiti was nowhere to be seen and there was an air of hope surrounding the neighborhood. It was actually quite pretty.

Alex wanted to talk about what had happened back in the club, but sensed that Joshua did not. The warm lover who’d danced with her, grinding his cock against her sex, was gone, replaced by the steely eyed warrior. She sensed he was disconcerted by his lack of control. She was oddly pleased. At least she wasn’t alone in how she was feeling.

The cool air of the night helped somewhat, but her body still burned with an inner fire that only he could sate. Her breasts felt heavy and tight and her nipples pushed against the cups of her bra with each step until she wanted to scream. She tried desperately to ignore the throbbing ache between her thighs. She knew this wasn’t normal, but part of the change in her body chemistry as she went into heat . She despised that word, hated feeling so out of control of her body and emotions.

Alex still wasn’t comfortable thinking about herself in that way, but there was no disputing the facts. She wanted sex, and not just any kind of sex. She wanted hard, heavy, sweaty sex. And she wanted it with Joshua.

They’d been walking about an hour, up one street and down another, when Joshua finally spoke again. “Almost there.”

Alex still had no idea where there was and didn’t care. It was late and she was tired, as well as horny, but at least her headache had subsided slightly. She knew they’d been walking in circles again as Joshua kept checking to make sure they weren’t being followed.

Right now all she wanted was a hot shower, something to eat and a clean bed to fall into, and not necessarily in that order. The food could wait. As long as she got the shower and the bed she’d be a happy woman. Some of her sexual desire had dimmed, overcome by sheer exhaustion, which was just as well with Joshua acting so distant and withdrawn.

The motel was nothing special, but Alex guessed that’s what made it a good place to stop. It had nothing to distinguish it from the dozens like it that filled the city. It was a midrange establishment, not the type that charged by the hour, but certainly nothing like the posh hotels that dotted the prosperous downtown core.

She knew that most of the rooms were accessed from inside the main building while down one side there were several ground-floor rooms where the only point of entry was from the outside. There were also a few parking spaces to allow a patron to park their vehicle in front of their motel room door. Alex was willing to bet the room Joshua got for them would be one of the ones on the outside, probably close to the end, keeping them isolated from most of the other rooms and allowing them a quick getaway down the back alley if necessary.

Joshua’s pace quickened as they darted across the street. Traffic was slower here, but there were still vehicles on the road even at this time of night. The city never truly slept.

“Wait here.” Here was a shadowy corner just beside the entrance. She stood as still as possible, barely resisting the urge to shift her weight from one foot to the other. Her eyes were half-closed before she even realized it and she jerked herself awake. She forced herself to concentrate on her surroundings, watching for anyone who looked suspicious. Besides herself that is.

Joshua was back fairly quickly, keycard in hand. “This way.” She fell into step beside him again and mentally patted herself on the back as he led the way to the last door on the bottom floor.

“What’s so funny?”

She hadn’t realized that she had a smile on her face. She was more tired than she thought. “Nothing. It’s just that I knew this was the room you’d get for us.”

“You did, did you?” He inserted the card in the lock and pushed the door open.

The air was stale, but not musty, for which Alex gave thanks. “It’s the farthest away from the others and no one can access it from inside the motel. This is the only entry and we can also make a quick getaway from here if we need to and disappear in the alleyway behind all the buildings that line this street.”

Joshua entered the room, pulling the drapes closed over the window before flicking on the light switch. He ushered her inside, shutting and locking the door behind them. The room was not inspiring, but at least it appeared clean.

One large bed dominated the space. It had a faded brown chenille bedspread tossed across it and two lumpy-looking pillows in dull white pillowcases. A small round table sat in front of the window with two hard wooden chairs flanking it. The drapes were the same unfortunate color as the bedspread. The carpet was dark brown with flecks of other colors in it. Alex couldn’t really tell if some of the colors were meant to be there or if they were permanent stains.

There was no dresser, but an open closet exposed a bare rod for hanging clothing and two built-in drawers. It didn’t really matter, she supposed, as neither of them had any clothing with them. At least she had some money, thanks to her father.

Speaking of which. “How much do I owe you for my share of the room?”

Joshua, who’d just finished checking out the bathroom, glared at her. “I am not taking money from you.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” His voice was incredulous.

Alex shrugged. “It only seems fair since we’re both sharing it.”

Ignoring her, he stalked back to the window, pulled the corner of the drape back and peered out into the night. “I’m going to get us something to eat. You like pizza?”

Obviously this conversation was over as far as he was concerned. She’d bring it up again later. “Yes, I like pizza. As long as it doesn’t have onions or anchovies or anything yucky.” She shuddered.

He twitched the drape back in place, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Got it. Nothing yucky.” The grin faded, his mouth once again becoming grim. “You should be safe while I’m gone. The pizza place is only a couple buildings down. I’ll be back quick as I can. In the meantime, keep your gun handy and shoot if anyone besides me comes to the door.”

He came toward her, wrapping his large hands over her shoulders. “I mean it, Alex. You shoot anyone who tries to get in here.”

“Okay.”

His dark brown eyes stared at her until he was satisfied with whatever he saw in her face. “Okay.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze before heading to the door. “Lock it behind me.”