Page 35 of Next Door Midlife Alpha
Stacey braced herself against him, tipping forward slightly in the soft sand as she spread her palms against his chest and up to his shoulders. There was a strength in him that took her breath away, something she’d always thought she could only find in herself. Her palms pivoted and ran down his biceps, feeling the determination with which he held her. She made her way around to his back, making long strokes along either side of his spine.
Dylan pulled back just enough to break their kiss, but she could still feel his breath on her skin. He tipped his head slightly toward the darkest spot under the trees. “I think there’s a blanket in the lighthouse.”
At her nod, Dylan took her hand and led her tothe door at the base of the building, not wanting to leave her for even that short moment. He let go as he swiftly unlocked the door and ducked inside, but he reemerged a moment later emptyhanded.
“Couldn’t find it?”
He grinned, a mischievous spark in his eyes even in the dim light. “I changed my mind.” Dylan grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. The door slammed shut behind them as he turned and ran up the stairs.
“Dylan!” she shrieked, laughing. The dark, shadowy world of the lighthouse interior spun around her, but it made her no less giddy than being with Dylan already did.
They emerged on the landing, and Dylan swung her forward, sliding her body firmly down his as he put her on her feet. They were dizzy and breathless, and she didn’t want that feeling to end. Maybe it never would as long as they were together, and she was determined to find out. Her body buzzed with a fresh flush of desire as she kicked off her shoes and pulled at his shirt. She shrugged aside the material of her blouse as he peeled it from her shoulders and dropped heady kisses there. As she reached for his fly, Stacey could tell he was already hard for her. She impatiently pushed aside whatever bits of clothingcame between them, desperate to have her mate all to herself.
Up there, at the top of the lighthouse, they were exposed to the world, yet no one could see them. They were on display only for each other, and she marveled at the remarkable hand that fate had dealt her. She admired those wide shoulders and his arms, strong from so many years of hard work. His torso displayed his chiseled muscles, and a thin line of dark hair led down to his solid erection just above his powerful thighs, sending a whole new wave of heat through Stacey’s core.
Dylan took her in his arms and guided her to the floor with him. She straddled him, bending forward to kiss him. She rocked her hips, taking pleasure in the smoothness of his shaft as it pulsed in her hand, his obvious need for her already pushing her excitement higher. She held him between their bodies, gliding her hand slowly up and down his length, feeling greedy but not interested in stopping until she could no longer stand not having him inside her.
She lifted her hips and guided his cock inside her, slowly sliding downward, and it felt like coming home. She rocked again, not wanting to let go of him for even a moment.
Dylan pulled her shoulders down and took herbreast into his mouth, his body pushing all the right buttons. He licked and sucked, his tongue making heated miracles against her sensitive skin. Her nipples became hard buds at his touch, sending even more waves of excitement through her body.
As his hands skimmed her bare skin, capturing her, holding her, making her feel like a goddess, Stacey felt the heat that’d been building inside her coalesce in her core. Her heart thundered, drowning out all sound except their desperate breaths. The bottoms of her feet pinched, curling her toes. Spasms started in her calves and worked their way up until her thighs quivered. She pressed her hands hard against the floor on either side of his head as her body ratcheted up the final few notches, and she cried out as she lost control, her body shaking and shivering around him.
Dylan wrapped his arms tightly around her as he rolled over, taking her with him. He lifted her hips off the floor as he wrapped her legs around his waist. Stacey watched with pleasure as his torso undulated, his hardness thrusting into her. His thumb made small, slow circles against her most sensitive spot, spinning her up all over again. Her thighs gripped him, and she panted as she felt his girth expanding.He drove it home, his hands hard on her hips, his face a picture of pure rapture.
As they caught their breath, Dylan pulled her into his arms. They watched the slow rotation of the light far above their heads, a beacon as bright as their love.
EPILOGUE
Stacey squeezed Dylan’s hand.“You doing okay?”
He looked down at her and smiled. The horizon was quickly eclipsing the sun, casting the last rays of golden light upon them as they stood behind the Brigham clanhouse. It warmed his skin and brought amber flecks into those dark eyes that she’d come to love so much. “I’m fine. It’s just a little odd not to be in charge right now. This feels like it’s supposed to be my job, not that Dad isn’t qualified.”
“You men are all the same,” Barbara teased as she came up on Dylan’s other side and elbowed her son gently. “You always think you have to be the one to do it all, to make everything happen. You’d think after so many years of living around me, you’d havefigured out that we’re more of a team than that. Anyway, I think your father is thrilled to be doing this.”
Stacey glanced toward the retired Alpha, who stood watching the horizon. He was silent and stoic, as he’d always been. She couldn’t see any excitement there, or any other emotion for that matter, but she trusted Barbara on the subject.
Dylan wrapped one arm around his mother in a quick hug. “I know, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Stacey and Dylan took their places, standing just behind Paul. She smiled over her shoulder at her mother, who stood with the children a few feet away. Vivian waved at her, Elijah grinned as he watched everything, and Carol gave her a wink.
Paul took a step forward and lit the pyre of wood that’d been carefully laid. When it had caught, he lifted his arms. “Brighams!”
“Brigham!” came the resounding cry from the circle of shifters that’d formed around the fire.
“We gather here to welcome a new member to the fold, to bestow her with all the benefits of becoming a Brigham. Though it’s always a special occasion to welcome a new mate into the clan, it is far more rare that this is the mate of our own Alpha.I’m honored to have the privilege of guiding this night on behalf of my son, Dylan.”
Stacey tried to focus on her breath. She and Dylan had talked of this night for some time. Though she was Dylan’s mate regardless of any formal ritual, this night would make her officially part of the clan. They’d decided that the children would wait until they were older and could make their own decisions about what they wanted for their lives, although they were close enough to the family that they still had the privilege of coming to watch.
Despite all the preparations, Stacey still found her body jangling with nerves.
Since this was more than a simple initiation ceremony, Paul turned his back to the fire to face them. “Dylan Brigham, are you prepared to receive Stacey, to offer her the protection of the Brigham clan and to request that protection in return, to keep her as your own? Do you vow your loyalty to her?”
It seemed that any of Dylan’s unease about letting someone else lead the night had dissipated. His gaze was soft, but he held Stacey’s hands firmly in his own. He wrapped her in his love with no more than the touch of his hands, and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I do so vow.”
“Stacey Williams.”
Her heart zipped up into her throat as Paul intoned her name. She listened to Paul’s words as he repeated the questions that had just been asked of Dylan, but the words weren’t what truly mattered. It was how she felt, and that was something she was willing to testify to again and again. She loved Dylan with the entirety of her heart. If they were to die and come back to Earth as entirely new people, she would find him again. They were bound together with a depth and firmness that she’d never understood before. Her only regret was that she’d had to wait this long to discover it. “I do so vow.”
