Page 22 of The Bookseller and the Alpha
While I’d dealt with Beast, Caly had curled herself tightly against me. At some point the ties holding the robe closed had come undone and only the cotton of my shirt covered her torso. Her nipples were hard and warm against my chest.
She wants you, Beast muttered.
Shut up, I told him as the exquisite sensation made my cock jerk. There was only so much torture I could take. I gritted my teeth.
I thought about the attack in her apartment last night. I thought about how she must have felt when the intruder stood over her. How afraid she must have been when I wasn’t there to protect her. I had failed her once already. I would not fail her again. “Let me see your stitches,” I said.
Chapter 26
Calypso
There’s something wrong with me, I thought as I looked at Luc. His head was dipped down to mine, his lips close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my hair. His gaze was on my forehead, and his eyes were back to their usual dark chocolate brown. I knew I should be worried that his eye colour kept changing. That he might be unstable, unable to control his Shifter, but my thoughts were languid and light, lacking urgency. Those things didn’t matter now. What mattered was that I was wearing Luc’s clothes, sitting half in his lap, his strong arms around me, feeling his erection against my thigh. My breasts were mashed against his solid chest where I could feel his pulse beating steadily. He was close enough that if I tipped my head forwards, I could lick his skin if I wanted. And, yes, I wanted. Oh, how I wanted. Later I’d worry about the powers that I’d have to learn to control. I should be thinking about the dishes I’d levitated in the kitchen. I should be worried about what it meant. How I could be manifesting power now. But his proximity had short-circuited my brain and the only thing I could think about was how his skin would taste. How his chest would feel if I pulled up his shirt. How I could get even closer.His scent swirled in the air, a heady combination of coffee and soap. I wanted to breathe him in. Feast on him.
“Let me see your stitches,” Luc said, and one large hand came up under my chin and titled my head upwards. With his other hand he began gently probing at the edges of the clear tape the doctor had put over the wound. His fingers were feather-light, like they’d been when he’d run his hands up and down my back. It had felt so good… too good. I hadn’t wanted him to stop. I’d wanted to arch against him. My distress, my confusion about what had happened in the kitchen had melted and softened as Luc had stroked me, till the anxiety had faded. Now my body was alive and strong. Powerful. And needy. A rush of desire pebbled my nipples and sent a bold of heat straight to my core.
I could feel his erection… his very large erection… against my thigh. I had thought he had wanted me gone. But he’d sounded genuinely surprised after I’d bitched at him about being an imposition. And his voice had been full of concern when he’d called my name. He’d tied me in such a knot that I’d whirled on him, angrier than I’d ever been in my life. He made me so fucking confused. And then he’d… lunged… faster than a human could move, using his Shifter speed. Snatching me up so that the pieces of pottery didn’t hurt my bare feet when the mug and plate shattered into pieces on the tiled floor. Items that I’d been controlling. Me. The dud who’d failed her Magic Tests. Oh sure I could activate the wards my sister set on the shop and if I focused I could just barely float a coffee cup a couple of inches. But this? I’d never done anything like this, without conscious thought.
And then he’d whisked me over to his couch and held me gently, his warm fingers trailing gently up and down my back.
So, yeah, my head was reeling. Not just from the shock that I’d used power, but from him. I was in his arms. And it felt… right. It was what I’d always wanted. To be sheltered. Protected.Cared for. A small distant part of my brain tried to hold on to rational thought, telling me to hold up. I knew I was projecting. He was an Alpha, which meant that he was driven by his DNA to protect. I knew that. He was just doing what came naturally to him. Sam had explained it. Luc’s protective drive was off the charts. He was protecting me. But right now, in this moment, my heart didn’t care that it wasn’t personal to him. It was personal to me. And at least some of what was happening between us was more than that. He had excellent control. But his cock was like an iron bar against my leg. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
I wasn’t blind enough to believe that it was anything more than physical attraction. He was an Alpha. Their sexual needs were high. He clearly lived here alone and if he had a mate he wouldn’t be capable of showing any interest in me. Shifters didn’t have affairs. Their body chemistry didn’t allow for it. Once they were mated, their mate was their total focus. So the hard bar against my leg was indisputable proof that he was single. And he was interested. In me. I couldn’t be his mate, but maybe I could have him for just a little while. I couldn’t keep him, but I could pretend, just for a little while, that it was real. And when it ended, I’d cherish the memories of being loved by an Alpha. Surely I deserved that.
I bit my lip. His eyes dropped to it, just for a moment, before he looked away. In an instant of blinding clarity, I understood that he was trying to ignore his own desire, ridden by his protective instincts. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to ravage me. But it was just my luck. I’d found myself a hero, right when I wanted a villain. Never mind. I knew what to do.
His hands were still busy, one near my forehead, which surprisingly didn’t hurt, the other still cradling the back of myneck, his thumb stroking me gently. My own arms had tucked themselves around his body, without my conscious control. Gently, I started pulling both arms back toward myself, trailing my fingertips against the smooth fabric of his shirt as I did so. I heard the breath hitch in his throat, and the muscles in his abdomen shivered in response, but his hands kept gently working.
I needed to make him lose control. Grabbing his head with both hands, I brought his lips down to mine. They were warm and firm against my own, slightly open, and my tongue darted in, flicking his. He tasted like he smelled, coffee and spice and all things nice. The hand on the back of my neck tightened and the other one moved to my back, pulling me closer. Oh yes. His lips fused to mine and our tongues danced, breath mingling. One of us groaned and I squirmed until I was astride his lap, the weight of his erection pressing against the shorts he’d lent me, already damp.
Keeping one hand fisted in his hair, I let the other one drop to his shirt, fumbling with the buttons. I wanted… no Ineeded… to feel his skin against mine. Unbidden, my hips had started to rock against his, in a mindless, urgent dance. I was burning up from the inside. Pressure was building in my core and I panted against his mouth. We’d barely started and I could feel an orgasm building. This was… wonderful, overwhelming, insane. I was almost mindless with need. My fingers wouldn’t work on the buttons and I moaned against Luc’s mouth.
He snarled, then ripped his shirt off, buttons pinging on the floor as he tossed it aside. Then his hands moved swiftly to my waist, untying the cord from the dressing gown that had already slipped mostly off my shoulders, and with a twist of his wrist, he’d pulled the gown fully off me. My heart was pounding, breath coming in gasps that he swallowed with his kiss. I couldn’t get enough air.
His chest was perfection, sculpted abs and a light dusting of dark curls. I put my palms against his skin. Beneath my fingers a muscle jumped. He was hot, so hot. I had a flash of how it would feel to have that heat buried inside me and I moaned again, as I wriggled in his lap, tormenting him a little. I had never wanted anything so much as I wanted Luc inside me. Grinding my hips against his, I leant forward to take one of his nipples into my mouth. I bit on it gently. His taste filled my mouth. He groaned and his hips bucked against me. He wanted me and I knew it. I smiled against his skin. “Shall I do that again?”
His voice was deep and thick. “Sweetheart, you can do anything you want…. Just don’t stop.”
Oh, I wasn’t going to stop. Not until I got what I wanted.
My lips and hands traced the muscles of his chest. Beneath my fingers, his pulse stuttered. I licked his collarbone, then moved higher, as my fingers continued to trace circles around his nipples. My breasts were heavy, the nipples aching. I shivered as a bolt of lust shot straight to my core when I pressed the sensitive nubs against his hard muscles and the fabric of his t-shirt rasped against them.
Oh. My. Gods. I gasped. If I could bottle this sensation, I’d be the richest woman alive. I repeated the motion, chasing the rush, pressing my breasts harder against his body, hard enough to feel a gentle pinch of pain, but it melted almost immediately into pleasure. Luc’s hips bucked beneath me. His arms were around my waist, fingers kneading my butt. I sat up just enough that I could get a better look at him. He had thrown his head back, baring his neck. Muscles corded in his arms, but his hands on my body were gentle. He was still in control.
It wasn’t enough. I wanted to break that iron will. Make him abandon his good intentions. I wanted him… wild.
I moved my hips in a slow circle, grinding my clit against his rigid cock straining against his pants. The shorts were a soaked mess. Luc’s fingers dug harder into my flesh. I welcomed the pressure. My eyes dropped back to his chest. A light sweat had broken out on his skin, and I leaned forward to lick it off. My eyes almost rolled back in my head at the taste. A little salty, a little tangy. I could absolutely eat him up. My lips moved upward. I remembered my dream. I had bitten his neck. It wasn’t something I’d ever been tempted to do before, but I wanted to do it for real. As I kissed my way up his shoulder, towards his neck, my hair fell out of the messy bun I’d tied it into after my shower, and it tumbled over my shoulders and onto Luc’s chest.
He shifted slightly underneath me, his hands moving from my butt. For a moment I mourned the loss, then his hands tangled in my hair, tugging slightly at my scalp. My insides turned to jelly. My clit throbbed.
“Caly.” Luc’s voice penetrated my lust-addled brain. “Caly, look at me.” Very gently, he pulled me up to a sitting position. I moved my hands to the waistband of his pants.
One hand gently cupped my chin, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. His eyes blazed like the finest topaz jewels. Good. I had wanted him to lose control and I was about to get my wish. He looked at me like he had been starving in the desert and I was an all-you-can-eat buffet. The intensity was a little scary. But also as hot as fuck.
Chapter 27
Luc
My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing ragged. This was exquisite torture and I could feel my resolve crumbling. All my good intentions burned away. Her hair draping on my chest had been the most erotic sensation I’d ever experienced. Almost of their own volition my hands had reached out to take fistfuls of the dark, satiny threads. I tugged and was rewarded by a bewitching moan.
