Alpha Geek (4 page)

NINE

Knox’s body was on fire. A wolf paced inside his mind, hungry for something. He inhaled and knew then what he was hungry for. The animal bonded with him. There was a strange ability to communicate. Somehow, they both wanted the same thing. Her.

He opened his eyes and followed the delicious scent of his woman. “
Mine
.”

She jumped to her feet and rushed back, away from him. He didn’t know why, but her actions excited him. “Knox?”

He tugged at the bonds and wondered why he was chained up. The last thing he remembered was standing outside the bedroom after she left. He frowned. A piece of his memory was missing.

“You smell so fucking good, Scarlett. Let me taste you,” he growled.

He growled? He’d never growled in his life. That had to be the animal in him. The wolf told him that yes, it was him giving life to new characteristics in Knox. The first was his need to mate Scarlett. The second was his desire to get her naked and under him. Next was the dominance trying to assert itself as he tugged on the chains. They squeaked as he pulled.

Her eyes widened. “Knox, stop it. You need to get checked out.”

He yanked again. His cock hurt. He wanted Scarlett so fucking bad. “You can check me out, beautiful. I’ve got something that hurts just for you, baby.”

“Really, Knox?”

He took in her sexy scent and pulled harder. The chains popped off the wall. He jumped to the middle of the bed. He’d never felt so fucking alive in his life. Everything looked better, brighter. Shit, but her smell. “Take that off or I’m ripping it off you.”

She licked her lips. The scent of her arousal drove the wolf inside him insane. “Cut it out!”

He tugged off the bandage on his arm and glanced at his hands. They slowly shifted into massive wolf paws. Holy fuck. This was better than anything he’d ever expected. Humanity had never been a question to him, but he’d known as a human, it would be impossible to get a girl like Scarlett. She was strong and he wasn’t. The fact she let him fuck her told him she didn’t care how much of a human he was, but she’d been afraid to hurt him.

“I’m so fucking hard for you, baby.”

She gulped and glanced at his rock hard erection. “Oh, boy.”

“You ready for me to fuck you into the next room, Scarlett? I know that’s exactly what you want.”

“Nick!” she screamed. “He’s up! I mean, awake.”

In ten seconds flat, the room was full of people. Nick, Zeke, and four guards rushed in.

“Whoa!” Zeke yelled. “Let me get a look at him.” He pulled out a stethoscope, flashlight, and syringe. He stepped next to Scarlett and Knox growled.

“If you value your life, move away from her,” Knox told Zeke.

Zeke frowned, glanced at Scarlett and then nodded. “All righty then.”

He walked around to the other side of the bed. “Knox, you remember me?”

He nodded. Images of college and living in a dorm with Nick and Zeke flooded his mind. Sights, sounds, and smells crowded his brain as he tried to remember their past. “Zeke Redell.”

Zeke grinned. “That’s right. I just need to listen to your heart and get some blood, my friend.”

Knox glanced at Nick. His best friend was staring at him intently. His wolf didn’t like the lion in Nick. So far, the animal hadn’t posed any issues, but Nick was still his best friend. This could be a problem.

“You have to show him you’re in control,” Nick said. “You control the wolf, not the other way around.”

“That’s right,” Zeke agreed. “Start now, or you’ll never get the animal to do what you say.”

“He doesn’t scent like a regular wolf shifter,” Nick told Zeke. “Why?”

Zeke stabbed a needle into Knox’s arm and started drawing blood. “He’s been injected with enough different drugs to mess with anyone’s scent. He’ll need a few days before you know what he will smell like.”

“How do you feel, Knox?” Nick asked, worry evident in his voice. His fear carried to Knox’s side of the room.

“I don’t know. I was in a world of pain and suddenly I had this wolf telling me to wake the fuck up.”

Zeke nodded and finished drawing blood. “That’s what I was hoping for. What else?”

“I feel like I should be jumping off the roof or running in the forest.”

“That’s the adrenaline I gave you,” Zeke said. “I needed to make sure your heart sped up so you wouldn’t go into a coma or die.”

“What else do you feel?” Scarlett asked.

Knox met her gaze and held it. “I feel like these people need to go and you need to stay.”

TEN

Scarlett could have creamed her underwear at that moment. The way Knox told her he wanted everyone gone sounded so dominant, she had a hard time keeping herself from getting wet.

“Sex really isn’t advisable at this time,” Zeke said, glancing back and forth between her and Knox. “We don’t know what else will happen with him.”

“Knox,” Nick started, “you’ve been through a lot, but you’ve also had a lot done to you. We don’t know what side effects the drugs Zeke used on you will have.”

Knox finally glanced away from her and nodded at Nick. “What do you want me to do?”

“We need to keep you under observation. I know it’s not ideal, but we have to,” Nick told him. “I can put guards on you, or you can stay here and make it easier for them and us.”

He glanced at her again. Fuck, that look of pure ownership was going straight to her dreams that night. “I’ll stay here. If she stays, too.”

She glanced at Nick. He raised a brow. Right. Okay. Hell yes, she wanted to stay, but she didn’t want to be a burden. “I’ll stay, Nick. I can guard him.”

“I’ll need full access to him the entire time,” Zeke said excitedly. “This is the biggest breakthrough I’ve had since I started messing around with shifter genome.”

“Are you all right to stay here?” Nick asked her. She saw the way he stared at her. He was worried about her safety. He shouldn’t be. If only she had explained to Nick how much she’d been fighting her attraction to Knox. Maybe then he’d understand why it nearly killed her to see him bleeding to death.

“I’m fine,” she declared. “There’s still the threat of the men who came earlier to the party. We have no idea what they wanted or why they were here.”

“You’re right.” Nick turned to the other guards. “I want you and the others to circulate and keep an eye on the area. I’m not sure what’s going on, but this doesn’t feel right to me.”

It didn’t feel right to her, either.

“I just need a few minutes with Knox. I have some questions to ask him,” Zeke said, rushing over to his briefcase and pulling out a pad and pen.

She motioned for Nick to follow her outside. They walked down the hallway, a few levels down to the ground floor, and to the farthest side of the house, away from extra ears.

“What do you think?” she asked him. She wanted to believe Knox was going to be okay, but she’d scented the same thing Nick had. He didn’t smell like a regular shifter. That meant they had no idea what they were dealing with.

“I don’t know. At first, I thought Zeke could help him heal, keep him alive.” He turned to face her. “Did you see what I saw up there?” Those chains were high-capacity and bolted. Not just that, his physique. He’s clearly bigger and strong. Really fucking strong.”

She nodded. She shouldn’t feel so excited about all the stuff Nick was saying, but she was. This was Knox. For so damn long, she’d worried about him breaking and now he was probably the strongest shifter she’d ever seen.

“The glow of his animal was off, too.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“His eyes. Did you see them?”

Dammit. She missed something? She’d been so involved with how domineering his look was, she hadn’t paid attention to his animal’s glow. “No. What did you see?”

“A wolf’s glow is usually yellow. His glow was blue.”

That was unusual, seeing as his eyes were brown to begin with. “I don’t understand.”

“A blue glow isn’t common in land shifters. They’re air shifters.”

She bit her lip. “But remember how Zeke said he used all kinds of shifters? What if this is the one trait he picked up from an air shifter?”

Nick rubbed his jaw. “It’s possible.”

She opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, handed one to Nick and opened the other. After a few gulps, she sat on one of the bar stools by the kitchen counter.

“Nick, what else is worrying you?”

“Tonight’s event was guarded because he had so many influential people here. In order to get in, everyone had to have an invitation.”

Shit. “So you mean to tell me those guys were possibly with someone?”

“Yes. The fact they used hunter’s block tells me they knew other shifters would be here.” Nick gulped down the water in his bottle and set the empty plastic on the counter. “There’s something we aren’t seeing or don’t know.”

“We’ll need to question him. Find out what he remembers.” She cleared her throat. “I can do that. I can talk to him. Perhaps if I ask casually, he’ll give me more information.”

Nick sighed. “I know you’re a grown woman and used to being in dangerous situations,” he said, “but I don’t think you should get involved with him.”

“Nick—” she growled.

“I mean for right now, Scarlett. I wasn’t telling you what to do. I just want to know what we’re dealing with here. If he goes berserk and tries to kill one of us, I won’t have him near you. Do you understand?”

What he said made sense, but in her heart, she knew Knox would never hurt her. Her lioness would put her life in his hands. “I’m an adult with special ops training.”

“Give it a few days. Don’t do anything drastic,” Nick told her. “Keep it in your pants. Wait until all the drugs work themselves out of his system and we see if there are any side effects to him being turned into an alpha versus being a naturally born one.”

She gave a sharp nod. “Fine. But only because I want what’s best for him.”

Nick pulled her into a hug. “I know you do. If this works out, maybe you’ll stop denying what you feel.”

She reeled back and blinked at him. “How did you know?”

Nick grinned. “I’m your brother. Besides, the only reason I asked him to get you a job with him was because the first time you were in the same room when he came to dinner, you made it damn uncomfortable to sit there while you were thinking whatever it was you were thinking.”

She laughed and slapped him on the arm. “Nick! You’re not supposed to notice that stuff.”

“Too fucking bad. I barely touched my food that night.”

She shook her head and pulled away from him. “I’ll try to keep my hormones under control.”

He gave a soft sigh. “Please do.”

ELEVEN

Scarlett carried a plate of food to Knox’s room. She figured with all the crazy shifter stuff happening to his body, he was probably starving. The moment she walked in, he jumped up and marched toward her. He took the tray out of her hands and curled a hand around her neck, pulled her to him, and kissed her until she couldn’t remember her name.

The kiss was hot, hungry, and possessive. He growled as he took her lips, pressed his body into hers and squished her between the dresser and his hardness. At first, she’d been stunned, but her lioness reveled in the touch and she quickly pushed back, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and rubbing with his.

Her pussy slickened. She wanted so much more than they could have at that moment. Nick’s words came crashing back to her like a bucket of cold water.

She pulled away from the kiss, gasping for air and met his gaze. She saw the blue glow in his eyes now. The rumble in his chest made her belly quiver and her legs shake. Fucking hell, he was sex on a stick. If he’d been hot as fuck as a geeky human, as an alpha shifter, he was making her pussy catch fire, and he hadn’t even touched it yet.

“No, but I will.”

She blinked. “Will what?”

“Touch it. Soon. Very fucking soon, sweetheart.”

Holy crap. He’d read her mind. Shifters didn’t do that until they were mated. How was that possible? He only grinned and pressed another kiss on her lips before stepping back.

“Are you hungry?”

He turned and slid a hot glance down her body. “Starved.”

She would never survive the night if this kept up. “I meant for food.”

Zeke was writing furiously on a desk and table. She ignored him and took the tray to the bedside table. “Eat.”

“You and Nick shouldn’t worry,” Knox said. “I’m fine.”

She pressed her lips together. “I’m sure you are, but Nick is concerned for your health.”

He cut up the steak she’d made him and ate faster than anyone she knew. “I’d never hurt you. He should know that. You know that.”

“What?” She frowned. “Why would you say that?”

“Nick told you he worried I’d hurt you. I’d never touch you in any way other than to make you come.”

Ah, fuck. This man was going to need a muzzle. How was she going to keep her girl parts dry if he continued to remind her about making her wet?

“You heard us?”

He nodded, ate the last of his food and drank the water bottle. “Every word.”

She gasped. “But we were on the other side of the house. On the first level. Nobody, shifter or human, could hear that.”

He winked at her. “I’m no ordinary shifter, sweetheart.”

Something else to consider. “What will we do about your work?”

“I have an office here we can work from. I can access all my files and keep clients informed via email.”

She moved the tray back to the dresser. “Zeke?”

Zeke turned to her as if he’d just noticed her there. “What?”

“Do you still need him?”

Zeke shot to his feet. “No. I’m going back to the lab. Gotta check out his blood and make notes on his file.” He packed up his stuff and walked to the bedroom door. “Let me know the moment anything changes.”

She nodded.

“I’ll be back tomorrow for more blood and more questions,” he said and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

She turned to face Knox and gasped when she realized he was a foot in front of her. “How the hell did you move so quickly and quietly?”

He gave her a wicked grin. “Stealth.”

Dick. “All right, you need to get some rest.”

He raised a hand to her face. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

She laughed. “Oh, yeah? What’s that? Because I don’t have a fucking clue.”

His lips lifted. “You don’t want to want me, but you do.”

If only that were her only problem. “You’ve been through some serious shit, Knox. We have to make sure you’re okay.”

“When I prove I’m fine, you won’t stop yourself any longer and will follow your animal,” he demanded.

She cocked her head. “You got real bossy all of a sudden.”

He pulled her into his arms. She probably could have pushed away easily, but she needed this. Needed him. She wanted badly to hold him, just hold him. And tell herself everything was going to be fine. “I’m more than bossy, love.”

She knew that. He displayed alpha traits left and right. She ran her nails into his hair. It’d gotten longer since his change. Gone was the impeccable haircut he usually kept. In fact, all his features had changed. The soft, smooth face had transformed into something harder, rougher. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

He stroked his fingers over her cheek as if feeling it for the first time. “Your skin’s so smooth. I love it.”

“Thank you, Knox. You need rest.”

He sighed. “Maybe. The wolf has gone quiet.”

“Knox―”

He kissed her. This time slowly, savoring. Their lips brushed repeatedly. Then he slid his tongue over her lips, pushing into her mouth and curling over hers. The kiss was more exploratory than demanding. He searched for her weak spots and once he found them, he used them to his advantage. Every moan and whimper was followed by a second and a third. It was as if he were learning Scarlett.

Her legs were ready to buckle when he finally broke their kiss. She imagined dragging him to the bed and begging him to make her his next meal.

“If you don’t want us to go any further, you have to go,” he said. “Your scent is killing me. It’s making it damn hard to control myself,” he snarled. “All I can think about is fucking outside, in nature, naked. I want you slick and wet, under me, when I make you mine.” He inhaled her scent and his glowing gaze made her press her legs together. “I’m going to have you. Outside. Naked. Screaming my name.”

She gulped and hurried to the door. “Call me if you need me. I’ll be in the room two doors down.”

She didn’t bother waiting for him to reply. Instead, she shut the door behind her and ran for her room. Nick had been right. They had to keep their hands away from each other until they knew if anything else was going on with Knox. As it was, she knew nobody who could read minds or hear conversations at the distance he had.

Hopefully, they’d be able to focus on his work while Nick tried to find out more about the people who attacked him. Knowing those assholes were out there and could do that to anyone made her want to rip someone’s face off.

Nick would find them. That’s what he did best. She went into her room and stripped, rushing in to take a quick shower. After her shower, she changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top from the clothes she’d tossed into her overnight bag when she got the call from Nick.

Sleep was harder to come by. Her lioness kept reminding her that Knox was hers. And that none of her previous arguments were valid any longer. He was now a shifter. The last thing she had to worry about was breaking him in bed. Oh, good god. Why did she go there?