Page 9 of The Alpha Option
Her taste flooded in, and his ability to think rushed out. Her lips were soft and smooth against his, not sticky with flavoured gloss that interfered with her taste.
He curled his hands into fists and rested them on her hips because his first instinct was to shove one hand into her hair and pull so he could totally consume her mouth. His other hand could then effortlessly slide underneath the sweater she wore until the weight of her breast filled his palm.
If he’d had any doubts, they were now eradicated. This was his mate, and no matter how impossible the next days were going to be, he didn’t give a shit. Knowing she was his was enough. Convincing her of that fact wasn’t going to be a hardship, but a privilege.
Cassidy jerked his shirt out of the way and pressed her cool palms to the heat of his belly. He gasped, stealing the air from her lips. He kissed her harder, leaning into her, somehow keeping his hands to himself.
“Jace,” she murmured. “Touch me.”
Thank God.
He slid one hand to her lower back and the other into her hair, tugging her head back and kissing his way over the line of her jaw and down her throat. He breathed deep, a ripple shaking his entire body as her scent flooded him. The hand at her back kept them sealed together, and his thick hardness pressed against the softness of her belly.
God, he ached. Craved to pick her up and take her against the wall. Or maybe find enough finesse to search the upper rooms and see if one still had a working bed.
The front door squeaked open. Cassidy stilled and then jerked her hands out from under his shirt. He let her go as she stepped away, her hands flying up to her heated cheeks.
Jace casually tucked his shirt back in as he twisted and pretended to examine the kitchen cabinets. “They probably only need a paint job.”
Cassidy was still breathing heavily. She blinked hard before clueing in and nodding. “Sounds good. Paint and some cleaning. Yes, I think that’s all this room needs.”
She turned, all businesslike, toward where Stephanie and Blue stood in the living room.
Stephanie triumphantly held up a giant Post-it notepad. “Look. We can do some master planning. I’m excited.”
Good. They’d managed to get away without the friend figuring out he and Cassidy had just been lip-locked.
One glance at Blue said Jace wasn’t going to be nearly so lucky on that front.
His cousin outright grinned as he marched forward and put his armload of business supplies on the lone table in the room. “Making a list of tasks sounds like a great idea. Cassidy, I was telling Stephanie I’m a woodworker. Any renovations or furniture you need for the lodge, that’s something I can help with.”
“Good to know. It looks as if we need to make a master list, yes?” Cassidy whirled, turning her back on Jace as she marched over and snatched up a notepad and a pen. “Let’s get going.”
“I know the place, so I can guide you around,” Blue offered. “Jace will take notes for us.”
Such a jerk. One of Jace’s least favourite things. “Let me take care of that.”
Which meant he spent the next hour wandering after the trio of Blue, Stephanie, and Cassidy. Working really hard not to trip when it was all he could do to keep his eyes off Cassidy’s ass and not to replay their first kiss over and over.
They’d just stepped out of the third small cabin when Cassidy gestured to the Adirondack deck chairs on the front porch. “Let’s sit. I have some questions.”
Stephanie dropped into the first available spot and pulled a water bottle from her oversized purse. “How come it looks as if no one’s stayed here for a long time?”
“That’s what I want to know. Because I assumed, from the way Rachel spoke in her videos, that Timberwolf Lodge had been a viable resort for many years. What happened?” Cassidy focused directly on Jace as she asked.
That damn guilt struck again. Still, he wasn’t about to admit it had been years since he’d stepped foot on the place. “Her husband died. You said she mentioned that in the video before she set up the lottery.”
Cassidy dipped her chin slowly. “Are you telling me no one has stayed here since he passed?”
“Other than the moose?” Stephanie said dryly. She snickered when Blue stiffened. “Okay, I know it’s not nice to call people names even when they’re not around, but it fits. He’s so big, and he lumbers. Don’t you agree?”
“No argument from me,” Blue said. “But to answer the other part of your question, Cassidy, it happened slowly. The lodge had a lot of repeat customers from previous years, and they all came out the year after Jim died. But Auntie Rachel’s heart wasn’t in it anymore, so the experience wasn’t the same. They eventually stopped coming.”
“That’s sad. Not only for her but for the people who used to vacation here.” Cassidy’s gaze drifted over the landscape and the cabins. Drifted over the lodge itself, which once had been a landmark of holiday happiness, yet it was now faded to a ghost of its former self. “I’ll admit this entire project is more work than I thought it would be. Fortunately, the bones are there. It’s got some charm.”
“Maybe Blue and Jace know the people who used to come on the regular,” Stephanie suggested. “We can get part of the place up and running then invite them back. A warm audience is always easier than starting from nothing.”
It was a brilliant idea except for one thing. All those repeat visitors would be shifters, and right now Jace wasn’t sure how to deal withthatentire situation.
