Alpha Doms Box Set: 9 Delicious Stories + 10 Sexy Heroes = 19 Reasons to Indulge (41 page)

Suddenly, I recognized the coiled tension in
my groin. I jerked the front of my polo shirt down further,
spinning away from Callie’s prying eyes.

One of her small hands brushed down my
bicep, resting at my elbow. She leaned around me, peering up at my
face. “You okay?”

That simple touch further ignited my drive,
rousing my wolf, turning him into a hungry predator…or, a horny one
at the least.

I quickly nodded my head, not wanting to
worry her. “Of course, I am, sweetie. I’m just hungry.” I reached
back and threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her up against
my side. “Let’s go eat.”

Jay held the door open for us, falling in on
the other side of Callie as we walked.

“
Um, not that I’m trying to
be picky since you’re paying, but, it’s been a long day. I’d really
rather go home, change into comfy clothes and crack open a bottle
of cheap wine with some pizza.” She fidgeted, even as she kept pace
with us. Our alpha pheromones had other pedestrians going around
us. “If you two want to go out still, I completely understand. And,
by all means, go. I’m just not really up for it tonight and
wouldn’t want to ruin your evening.”

“
Pizza and cheap wine it
is.” Jay threaded his fingers through Callie’s. At the corner, he
lifted her hand with his and kissed her fingers.

She gave him a shy smile. “You two spoil me.
I swear you’ve ruined me for any other man.”

“
Good.” I couldn’t keep the
growl out of my voice. I hated the idea of any other man touching
what was ours.

Her expression was a cross between a pout
and an angry snarl. She feigned upset. “You’ve made me an eternal
spinster. How is that good?” She jutted her elbow into my side
teasingly.

“
You’ll always have us to
keep your company.”

Her laugh was sweet music to my ears. “Sorry
boys. You’re great companions, but a girl has other needs if you
catch my drift.”

Jay and I caught each other’s eye. We issued
a simultaneous, “We do.”

“
Good, then you’ll
understand when I kick you out tonight.”

My wolf lunged for my surface as my groin
twisted tight.

Jay and I halted in the middle of the
street, each of us fighting to turn Callie our way. We settled in
front of her, firm scowls in place. My wolf ambitiously fought his
way to my surface, anxiously refusing to settle as we scrutinized
our mate.

Callie blushed, averting her gaze. She
sucked her lower lip between her teeth, plumping her top one out
further. I had the urge to nip and nibble on her upper lip.

Shit.
This was getting harder and harder every day it
seemed.

A small chuckle erupted from her. “I was
joking. Jesus, boys.”

Her scent said she wasn’t, but we wouldn’t
call her out on it.

Jay, the more forward of us, sidled up to
Callie. Her breath hitched as he brushed his cheek against hers.
“You ever have a need in that department, you let me know. I’m more
than happy to help, Callie Cat.” He winked as he drew back.

Callie’s pulse sprinted. She tried to stifle
her reaction by taking a deep, steadying breath. It didn’t fool us
though. “I’d rather not complete the entire gold digger
application. I think mooching off of you for food and shelter is
enough. I don’t need to add O’s to the list.”

Callie met my gaze, a stiff, yet wistful
smile on her lips.

“
You’re not mooching if we
offer.” I wanted to reassure her.

Her features turned down as Jay moved,
tugging her the rest of the way across the street when a car
impatiently honked. When we reached the other side, Callie jerked
free of him, crossing her arms over her chest. She turned on the
alpha. Her tone was softer than her expression. “You could have
told me to walk. You didn’t have to drag me.”

Jay scrubbed his hands through his hair. His
muscles flexed beneath his suit. I could tell by the faint glitter
in his eyes that his wolf was close to breaking free. He closed his
eyes and expelled a breath. When he focused on Callie again, her
features had relaxed slightly after witnessing his tension. “Sorry,
Cal.”

All the fight fled her. She looped an arm
through Jay’s, ambling over to me to do the same. “Seems like we’ve
all had a rough day. So, I say we go home, order pizza, crack open
a bottle of wine for me and a few beers for you two. We can kick
back in our most disgusting sweats, the ones that are amazingly
comfortable, yet not fit for public viewing, and watch some cheesy
crime shows. I’d like to put my vote in early.” She was
beaming.

I couldn’t contain my
amusement. “
CSI Miami
?”

Her smile reached her eyes. Any lingering
frustration from her day dissipated. “You know me so well.”

“
How could we not? You’ve
forced us to watch every episode at least a hundred times.” Jay
rolled his eyes.

“
And you’ve enjoyed every
single one.”

“
I don’t know about Eddie,
but I enjoyed your enthusiasm over the show, not the show
itself.”

Callie cut her eyes at Jay, her lips pursing
as she studied him. “Liar.”

He smirked, egging her on. “Maybe.”

She withdrew her arm from his and smacked
his chest. “Asshole.” She grinned at him, pressing closer to me. “I
know who my cuddle buddy will be tonight.”

Jay’s smirk disappeared. His nostrils flared
and a low, tight snarl vibrated through the air.

I couldn’t help but snicker knowing my
reaction would have been exactly the same. We were accepting, but
that didn’t mean we weren’t jealous if she gave one of us more
attention than the other.

That only encouraged Callie. Her eyes lit
up. She puckered her lips, watching Jay as we strolled down the
street.

He’d shoved his hands into his pockets. His
features were tense, his lips turned down.

I bent into Callie. “You should probably
relieve him of his misery sooner rather than later.”

She was beautiful as she met my gaze. She
nodded her head once in agreement. She released me. I immediately
felt cold and anxious. My wolf clawed at my insides. I’d had him on
a very tight, short leash for the past ten years.

Callie cuddled against Jay. His muscles
instantly relaxed at her touch. “Sorry, Jay-Jay.” If she only knew
what that nickname really did to Jay. “You can join the canoodle
party.”

My friend turned on the charm. “What man can
say no to holding those curves all night?”

Callie scrunched her nose. “Apparently a lot
of men.”

“
Idiots,” Jay bluntly
proclaimed. He wrapped an arm around her. As he leaned in to kiss
her head, he met my gaze.

I knew the look in his eyes, all too well.
It was the same look I had on my face every morning when I looked
in the mirror: one of hunger, an insatiable sexual hunger. It was
hell sleeping a door away from your mate. Many nights I’d lay
awake, tossing and turning as I listened to her deep breathing
through the wall. I wanted to crawl into bed with her more times
than I could count. I came close to losing it a few nights. Luckily
Jay had been there to stop me from making a big mistake, the same
way I’d stopped him on occasion. Our defenses were low though. We
were both near the end of our rope. And when we finally reached the
end, poor, innocent Callie wouldn’t know what hit her…

—

Chapter Five

CALLIE

The second we got home, I made a beeline for
the bathroom. Summer was hell on a big girl, especially a big girl
in formal layers for extensive interviews that got her nowhere. A
waterfall between the thighs and breasts was a given, and no amount
of deodorant stopped your pits from feeling like a swamp. Make-up
caked, hair frizzed, and sweat stuck to your flesh like glue,
creating a solid layer of yuck that collected more airborne dirt
and grime with every step you took.

A shower was a must before I could relax
around the guys, especially with their enhanced senses. Sweat
doesn’t smell pretty.

My mind easily wandered as I stood beneath
the showerhead. Cool water sprayed across my generous curves,
delivering much needed relief.

Another downside to living with two
paranormals? You couldn’t whip out a vibe and relieve the tension
anytime you pleased. And after the day I’d had, I wanted to; damn
did I want to.

I’d filled out two separate applications,
completed three online assessments, passed a background check and
suffered through two rushed phone interviews before driving down
for an in-person interview today. The fact that they had the balls
to tell me mid-discussion that they didn’t believe I would be a
good fit crushed me. Worse, they implied it was because of my
size.

I’d applied for a position with a local bail
bonds agency. It was one of the largest in town. It wasn’t quite
detective work, but it was close enough. I was beyond excited that
they called me back.

In truth, I never expected the hiring
process to be so in-depth; that’s certainly not what they depicted
on TV, but I didn’t care because I wanted the position.

Fresh tears gathered. I blew out a deep
breath, rushing to rinse my hair and get out. The last thing I
wanted to do was cry again. I felt stupid crying period. Clearly
I’d put too much into this single potential employer to be reacting
like this.

It was infuriating though. I had all the
qualifications they requested and then some. The position would
have been a flex one, meaning half the time I’d be behind a desk
and half the time I’d be hunting down jumpers.

I jerked the handle, turning off the water.
Anger burned through my veins, only to be quickly dowsed by
embarrassment. I could never tell the guys what happened.

I yanked a towel off the rack and wrapped my
hair in it. I grabbed a second and covered as much of myself as
possible with it. A sliver of my wide hips jutted beyond where the
edges attempted to meet, causing a gap that revealed a thin,
vertical line of my right hip and thigh. I didn’t bother using
another towel for modesty. My goodies, fat rolls and stretch marks
were covered, and they’d seen my thunder thighs a thousand times.
One thing you learned in the South: comfort is worth more than
modesty. I had no problem daunting short shorts, flaunting every
imperfection on my legs, or sleeveless tops, allowing my meat flaps
to, well, flap, during summer. I was too hot to care.

The guys were great about keeping the
temperature low during the hot months so skimpy outfits weren’t a
necessity for me. Quite the opposite was the case at times…like
now.

Cold air kissed my skin, causing a shiver to
shoot down my spine. I quickly dropped my clothes in the hamper and
skittered across the hall to my room.

A whistle echoed down the hall as I reached
my room. Jay wagged his brows, grinning mischievously at me. He had
no shame.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind
me. Like I said, they were overly generous boys. They didn’t judge
me the way everyone else did. It was a nice little boost to my
self-esteem on occasion, but I was depressed after my interview
today. I didn’t hate my body; I’d accepted my curves for what they
were a few years ago: permanent. But there would always be days
when I wished I was smaller.

I dressed as quickly as possible, needing
the protection from the frigid temperatures. Sometimes I wondered
if they turned down the air so I would request one of them to be my
human heater. I swore, they were never cold. They walked around in
athletic shorts, no socks and no shirt most of the time.

I pulled on cotton grey, hipster panties and
a matching t-shirt bra. Next I slid into thick, dark grey capri
leggings. Almost immediately, I tugged on a pair of cushioned black
socks. I didn’t care how ridiculous I looked. Comfort and warmth
were key.

A quick search turned up a pale grey, long
sleeve t-shirt that was worn-out just enough to be comfy and cozy.
The collar was extra wide, causing it to slip off one shoulder,
exposing my upper body a bit. It allowed just enough of a breeze to
touch me to keep me from overheating after a while.

Carrying the towels back to the bathroom, I
hung them up to dry. I spritzed conditioning serum on my easily
frizzed hair and ran a brush through my locks before joining the
guys in the living room. Just as always, they were both in athletic
shorts and nothing else. They each owned one side of the couch,
forcing me to take the center position. I didn’t mind. Eventually,
I always ended up sprawled out, taking up real estate from both of
them.

“
Pizza should be here in
thirty,” Eddie said.

“
Wine is chilling in the
fridge,” Jay added. “And season eight is in the DVD player. We were
just waiting on you.”

Eddie stretched his arm across the back of
the couch, offering himself as a cuddle partner.

“
You guys totally spoil me.
You’re the best friends a girl could ask for.” I crossed my legs
Indian-style and wrapped my arms around myself, waiting for my
temperature to come up a few degrees.

—

Chapter Six

JAY

It was hell sitting beside your mate,
knowing you couldn’t act on a single one of your instinctual urges.
If Callie only knew what exposing the cartilage between her neck
and shoulder did to us.

Eddie emitted a low growl.

Gaze falling, I found I’d shoved her hair
back and was delicately stroking her neck and shoulder. She hadn’t
protested my move.

Halting my soothing motion, I closed my
eyes, clenching my jaw, highlighting the fact that my gums ached.
My wolf was dangerously close to gaining control. He bunted his
head repeatedly, fighting to break free. This was a struggle, an
assault I’d experienced nearly every day of the past decade of my
life.