Curse of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle (22 page)

E
rik paced the floor
.

The porch was twenty five steps across. He knew because when books and TV weren’t enough to distract him, he’d begun pacing. And when pacing wasn’t enough he counted his steps. It made him feel like the whole thing was a bad dream and he was a kid again, counting sheep.

But then the images would sneak in anyway. Ainsley, her small softness crushed by Clive’s gigantic form. Clive wrenching the pleasure from her that should be Erik’s. That special spark she had inside growing dimmer every day she spent by his side.

A sharp scent in the air caught pulled him out of his thoughts. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or frustrated.

“Cressida?”

Instead of answering she thundered up the front steps. He winced in anticipation of the bang of the screen door.

True to form she let it slam, then looked at him hard.

“What’s the matter with you?” she asked.

Christ.

He didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe he did - but definitely not with Cressida.

All he could think of was Ainsley.

Was it done yet? Would it be easier when it was done?

“Nothing, why are you here?”

“Um, why am I usually here?” she asked with maybe a third of her usual sultriness.

He stopped short and looked at her again. Something was different about Cressida tonight.

As he left off pacing to circle her, she shrunk back a little.

What had she done this time?

The breeze changed and Erik froze.

“What the hell? Were you? Did you?...” he couldn’t even find the words to accuse her with. She smelled like Ainsley.

Suddenly he realized what was different about Cressida. She was here to
talk
.

The problem was, she was covered in Ainsley’s scent.

“I went to see Ainsley today,” Cressida said, like she had just remembered to tell him she’d borrowed a shirt or something.

He was silent, so she continued.

“I went over there to tell her to stop mind-fucking everyone and pick someone.”

That sounded pretty much like Cressida.

“Then when she looked at me, the weirdest thing happened.”

He
knew
there had been something happening when they met the last time. Too bad instead of applauding his good instincts he had to picture Ainsley getting laid by two of his friends in one day.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know what-”

“We fucked!” Cressida interrupted. “She’s fantastic, she tastes like a peach and bucks like a bronco. She’s in touch with her wolf too, even though you wouldn’t think it. Would you believe she dominated me? It was crazy hot. I only wish you could have been there. Hey, you know, it was when she smelled your cum on my ass that she finally let loose. Her boobs are the size of-”

“
Enough!”

Cressida’s eyebrows went up. She stopped speaking and waited to see what he would do.

“I don’t want to hear about it!”

“Why not?”

Because it’s not fair.

Because you don’t even like her.

Because I…

Because I love her.

Shit.

“Because Clive Warren is at her house right now.”

His words hung in the air.

“No,” Cressida breathed.

Erik didn’t reply.

“No, no, no, Erik what are you
doing?
” Cressida demanded.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I
mean?
I mean are you seriously going to let that dumb cop take what’s yours?”

Erik stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Are you fucking kidding me? I knew from that first night in her kitchen there was something crazy between you guys. And then MacGregor said something about her dad wanting her to choose you. I thought you had it in the bag, Erik, and you were just taking it slow.”

Erik didn’t know where to begin.

“What do you mean MacGregor said her dad wanted her to pick me? When did he say that?”

“It was a couple nights ago.” Cressida actually looked a little embarrassed. “He’s still kinda hot,” she added defensively.

“She told me MacGregor said she should pick Clive.”

“She lied.”

“Why would she lie?” he asked. “And why didn’t I notice?”

“Because, Einstein, she likes you,” Cressida said. “And you were half out of your mind when we found her door open that night. She could’ve told you anything.” She shook her head. “How you could be such a fantastic lay and know nothing about women is a total mystery. Now are you going to sit around playing twenty questions with me or go over there and
stop
her before it’s too late? I can’t believe you were just hanging around here
pacing.
”

“Why do you care?”

Cressida gave him one of her rare sincere smiles. Then she looked down and kicked the new pine floors he’d just installed.

“Because, you’re my friend. Besides,” she teased, “you might let me fuck her again one day. Clive will lock that shit down.”

Erik growled.

“Now move, Erik. Can you imagine Clive as alpha? We’d all be fucked.”

Erik stripped down in record time. His body expanded into wolf form. His muscles bunched and he leapt.

His head was finally clear.

Things were so much simpler when he was a wolf.

A
insley marched
upstairs like she was headed to face a firing squad.

Her mind kept jumping and it was hard to focus on anything. Clive followed, two steps behind her.

The stairs felt too steep.

She remembered pouring a plastic pitcher of water down them when she was a toddler and then trying to clean up the mess before her mom found it. Her mom had walked in to find Ainsley trying to drink the water off the floor at the bottom of the steps.

The hallway felt dark and too narrow.

She remembered standing in it, trying to spy on Santa Claus on so many Christmas Eves, but hearing her parents downstairs instead. Her dad would call up, “Ainsley, is that you?” and she would dash back to her room.

Her room.

Right in front of them.

She turned to catch Clive leering. He looked up to her eyes and smiled, unashamed.

“This is my room – want to hang out while I freshen up?”

“Sure,” he looked disappointed, like he’d expected her to hop right into bed.

Ainsley hurried into the hallway and found her way to her parents’ master bathroom.

She looked in the mirror. Regular old Ainsley Connor stared back.

Why was she so special? She didn’t feel special.

Stick to the plan, Ainsley. You’ve got this.

Was it even going to work? Could she draw his alpha?

And if she did, could she manage not to be irrevocably bound to him?

Terror struck her as she contemplated what it would be like to really be stuck here with him. Was she willing to risk that?

She thought about the town and the scores of men and women who had raised and protected her. She thought of wild Cressida, and sweet Mr. MacGregor, and Carol.

She thought of Erik Jensen.

The truth was, if she had to get stuck here with someone she would want it to be Erik. She wished he wasn’t so mad at her.

Frustrated, she met her own eyes in the mirror.

Ainsley Connor, snap out of it. You have a job to do.

She splashed a little water on her face, applied lip gloss, spritzed perfume in her hair and even removed her high heeled shoes.

Finally, she couldn’t think of anything else to do. She gave herself a smile in the mirror, took a deep breath, and headed back to her room.

When she walked in, Clive was lying on the bed, completely naked. His head rested back on his arms and he held her in his icy blue gaze.

Ainsley caught her breath.

He was stunning, so large and so attractive that he almost looked like a comic book character. He had impossibly wide shoulders, enormous biceps, and just a smattering of blonde hair on the wide planes of his chest.

He reminded her of Aqua Man.

That thought made her want to giggle. But she realized, almost too late, that he might not like for her to giggle when he was naked.

She quickly changed gears, and as a result she greeted him very solemnly.

“Hello Clive.”

“Come here.”

She stepped over to the bed and hovered by the frame, unsure whether to get in or not.

He reached over and tugged her wrist and she found herself tumbling almost on top of him.

She gasped. Fear and excitement mixed in her chest. Timidly, she placed on hand on his chest. It looked like a doll’s hand on his massive torso.

“I like your dress,” he laughed. “It will look even better on the floor.”

Before she knew what to do, he had reached behind her to unzip her.

It felt wrong. She sat up quickly.

“Clive, I know we both have an idea of where this night will go, but I don’t feel ready yet.”

A look of alarm crossed his handsome features.

“Ainsley, you’ve done this before, right?”

Of course she hadn’t…OH. She looked at her hands.

“You mean have sex?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, I have had sex before.”

“Oh, that’s good!” He looked relieved and disappointed at the same time.

She tried not to notice his expressions, and plowed on.

“But I’ve never drawn an alpha before. The whole wolf thing is new to me. And you’re new to me too.”

“But not really,” he said, stroking her arm. “We knew each other all our lives until you moved away.”

Ainsley thought about that.

It was true, although they hadn’t spent any time together since they were kids. She thought about the rope tree and the creek.

And Erik.

“We weren’t close though, were we?” she asked instead.

He shook his head and let his hand graze her breast instead of her arm. His heart sped and she could feel the warmth of his skin through her dress.

“What are you doing?”

“Ainsley, we’re going to be mated. Forever. You’re mine now. Just let go, enjoy it. I’m planning to enjoy it a lot.”

“We are going to be mated,” she agreed. “Why don’t you tell me about your life? It will be my life too, right? You can touch me while you tell me if you want,” she added.

He looked a little annoyed, but the invitation to touch placated him.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, letting his hand curve around her left breast.

“Where do you live?” Ainsley asked, trying to concentrate.

“I live in my Dad’s old house, on Drexel,” he glanced up to answer, then went back to her breast. He cupped it, as though he was weighing it, like a steak, then slid his thumb over her nipple.

It felt nice but Ainsley tried not to react to his touch. It was good to get him talking.

Outside, the rain finally began to fall.

“How did you decide to become a police officer?”

“I dunno’, my Dad, I guess.”

“Did he encourage you?”

“Nope, not really. But I liked the way he was. He worked hard and everyone respected him. And the uniforms are top notch.”

“You look really handsome in yours,” she admitted.

He smiled and leaned his head against her belly. His hand moved from her breast down to her hip.

Ainsley tried to keep her cool as he mouthed her stomach. She was not a thin woman, but she could tell by the way he was nuzzling and nipping that he was satisfied.

“Was your dad glad you became a policeman?”

He groaned into her and then pulled back.

“Yes.”

They stared each other down. Thunder crashed outside. Ainsley broke the silence.

“What do you do in your time off?”

“I go to bars and, um, meet women. Or watch TV or listen to the radio on my back porch.”

“Do you ever go on vacation?”

“Sure.”

“Where do you go?”

“Down the shore. Rent a place with a few guys.”

“What do you do?”

“Swim, go to bars, meet women.”

“What else should I know about you?”

He blinked at her.

“Nothing,” he finally said.

“Do you want to know anything about me?”

“I’m gonna’ find out everything about you, Ainsley, I promise. Right now the only thing I want to know about you is how to get your clothes off.”

Ainsley laughed nervously. There was sweetness in his forthright approach. But it was intimidating to be in a small room with a gigantic guy who seemed like he was getting impatient.

“Okay, Clive, I’m not sure, but I think we need to draw your alpha before we, um, do it.”

“Oh, how do you do that?”

“I don’t know, but did you notice at the college that when we looked at each other there was a connection and something happened?”

“Yes,” he smiled.

“Well, I think that was the beginning of it.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know. I guess we could start by just looking into each other’s eyes?”

He sat up and looked at her. They were so close she felt almost cross-eyed.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe we should stand,” Ainsley suggested.

Clive shrugged. The mattress groaned heavily as he launched himself to his feet.

Ainsley joined him and looked into his eyes again. She thought about how handsome he was and how nice it was that he was the sheriff of the town she had grown up in.

He looked back at her with barely restrained lust. His blue eyes were almost hypnotic.

Suddenly there was a shimmer around his hair.

Her heart leapt, but as soon as she looked at it, it disappeared.

“Hey!” he said.

“Let’s do it again.”

Clive fixed her with a steamy look, this time he took her in his arms. She looked back hopefully and again there was a faint glimmer.

Suddenly, Ainsley’s skin was humming with electricity. This was different than any other time, but still weirdly familiar. Maybe it was working?

“Why are you doing this?”

The voice wasn’t Clive’s.

A
insley’s head whipped around
.

“Brian.”

He was standing in the room with them. His face was perfect. He had a backpack on his back. Ainsley began to tremble.

“What?” Clive asked.

“You’re making a mistake,” Brian said.

Ainsley tried to force herself to breathe.

“What’s wrong?” Clive asked again.

Ainsley let go of Clive to turn to Brian.

Clive spun her around and tried to take her in his arms again. He searched her eyes in confusion. Some sort of understanding dawned in him.

“If you’re worried about getting pregnant, Ainsley, I can just cum on your tits,” Clive offered.

“Please don’t do this,” Brian implored.

“I know what I’m doing,” Ainsley replied, “Clive will protect the town, he already does, in a way.”

“Of course I will. What are you talking about?” Clive asked.

He couldn’t see the other person in the room with them.

“Clive Warren is the one that killed me,” Brian said simply.

“That’s not true,” Ainsley breathed.

“He did this to me!” Brian shouted.

Lightening flashed, illuminating Brian in pale blue light. Suddenly, his face was gored. His clothes were ripped. Blood covered him.

“No,” Ainsley cried, tearing her eyes away from Brian.

“Ainsley,” Clive said. “What the hell is going on?”

She met his eyes, searching. There was no way that could be true. Was there?

“Clive,” she asked, deciding to lay it all on the table. “Did you kill Brian Swinton?”

“What?” Clive asked.

“Did you kill Brian Swinton?”

“That math club kid from high school? I told him to stay away from you. He didn’t listen.” Ansley could see the anger building. Hear his heart hammering. “I followed you guys into the woods. It pissed me off to see you with him. He wasn’t like us. He wasn’t a wolf. He wasn’t anything. He was weak. I stopped you from making a big mistake, Ainsley. It took you too long to get around to thanking me. Better late than never.”

Ainsley was speechless.

“Now, I know you say we need to make a connection, but I have a feeling that if we just get down to business it’ll work itself out.”

He moved as if to take her in his arms.

Ainsley sidestepped him.

“You’re not going to be alpha, Clive.” Her voice was flat, emotionless. “Get out.”

Clive froze. Then anger transformed his face. His livid expression twisted and distorted his handsome features until Ainsley would hardly have recognized him.

“You don’t tell me what to do, you fat little cunt,” he spat. “I
will
be alpha. I gave you plenty of chances to do this the easy way.”

In an instant Ainsley realized her mistake. Terror set into her bones. She was about to be attacked and raped by a guy the size of a giant. And there was no one to witness it but a ghost.

Desperately, she looked around the room. There was a window out onto the front porch roof. There was the door behind her. He would grab her before she could reach either.

She wished she had a weapon. In
True Romance
Patricia Arquette’s character fought off a guy by bludgeoning him with a toilet tank cover. But the bath was down the hall.

Clive took a step toward her and she backed into her dresser, knocking over a softball trophy from high school. Without thinking, she grabbed the trophy behind her back and waited.

When Clive took his next step, she hurled the trophy at him for all she was worth.

It hit him hard. Ainsley was grateful for a good pitching arm for the first time in ten years. Clive stepped back and she could see blood welling from a jagged cut across his face.

Then his eyes flashed yellow.

Clive was going to change.

He was going to tear her apart, just like he did to Brian.

This asshole had ruined her life, wrecked her relationship with her parents, killed someone she cared about, and now he was about to rape and murder her - all to feed his mindless ambition. And there was nothing she could do.

No.

No, there
was
something she could do.

She could shift. She could fight.

Frantically, she tried to remember how she’d felt when she almost shifted with Julian. What had she done to start it?

She hadn’t done anything. She had just been so furious, nothing could have stopped her.

But something did.

Clive took another step and she knew she had only seconds.

Ainsley ripped the words from her memory.

“Subsisto lupo mutatis!” she heard herself scream.

A wave of unwholesome blue light blasted from her fingertips, coiled around Clive and slammed him to the floor.

She had time to take in his shocked expression before bolting out the door and down the stairs.

“You
bitch
!” she heard him bellow as she flew through the kitchen toward the back door. “What did you do to me?”