Curse of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle (4 page)

A
insley felt
Erik’s eyes on her as she marched away.

Who did he think he was, anyway?

Treating her like she was some little girl, all alone in Mommy and Daddy’s house, in need of protection. Ainsley Connor was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She certainly wasn’t about to start taking life advice from someone who howled at the moon in his spare time.

Still, Ainsley thought about Erik’s wide shoulders, straining the seams of his t-shirt. She fought the temptation to turn around for another look.

By the time she got across the overpass her head had cleared a little. Erik was a total hunk, but at the end of the day, he was not really her cup of tea. Her parents had been wrong.

She passed the bookstore and the yoga studio and saw that the storefront next to the train station had changed hands again. Its awkward triangular shape had hosted an endless parade of boulangeries, cheese shops and frozen yogurt parlors. It looked like it was now an independent coffee shop – that was promising. She glanced at the sign. “Edible Complex.” Ugh. Hopefully their coffee was better than their sense of humor.

Ainsley decided to risk a cup, and maybe just a little something sweet to go with it. She pushed open the door to a wave of cool air, rich with the scent of fresh coffee. Her shoulders went down an inch in relief.

A chalkboard by the counter listed the coffee choices. The pastry flavors were labeled with wax pencil on the glass of the case. Pretty decent spread. The boy at the counter swallowed when he saw her.

“Um…Hi…what can I get for you?”

He didn’t look familiar. But he was pulling that thing where he stared while she looked at the menu and then looked away when she turned to make eye contact again. Stupid Tarker’s Hollow.

“Soy latte, please.”

She turned to look around while he steamed the milk. The dim room was filled with small wooden tables and sofas. It seemed to be a popular spot for college students – a relief since they were mostly passing through, not wolves-in-residence.

A table of kids with blue and purple hair sipped tea and fussed with their laptops. An awkward couple on a vintage sofa pretended to look at their iPads while it was clear each wished it were a regular date, not a homework date. At the table by the window, a man read a book – a real book – not on some electronic device. Ainsley squinted to see what it was, but the angle was wrong.

The man holding it was hot, though. No, that wasn’t quite right, he was handsome. He was too refined to be described as hot. He was just Ainsley’s type.

“Uh, soy latte,” the kid called out, as though she weren’t the only one standing at the counter. “Anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

Ainsley’s mood for a treat was ruined. She wouldn’t want the man with the book to think she was the type of person who ate pastries in the middle of the day for no reason, even if she was never going to see him again.

She used a napkin to wipe the stray drips from the sides of the cup, then headed toward the window. If she could just grab a seat close to the book guy, she’d be able to see what he was reading.

She wiped down a table catty-corner to his and took a seat. The heavy oak chair clattered on the pine floor as she pulled it out, causing him to glance in her direction.

Ainsley took him in. Bright blue eyes in a finely chiseled face, crisp white tailored shirt, and longish blonde hair that was too well styled to be cut anywhere in Tarker’s Hollow.

She surveyed his table.

It was free of crumbs and occupied by a paper coffee cup, and a tattered copy of
War and Peace
.

She checked his hands.

No ring. Manicured nails. An understated Breitling watch peeked from his shirt cuff, not trying too hard to draw attention.

Her eyes were drawn back to
War and Peace
in wonder.

“Have you read it?” His eyes crinkled when he smiled.

Of course she had. She read it every fall. It was her dad’s favorite, and eventually hers as well, though she’d gone through a rebellious Dostoyevsky phase.

“It’s my favorite book.” That didn’t sound too desperate.

“Join me,” he said. “If the table seems clean enough.”

She studied him again, he was certainly not from Tarker’s Hollow.

He raised an eyebrow and her stomach did a little flip flop.

She grabbed her clutch and her latte and stepped to the table. He stood up immediately and pulled out her chair. She couldn’t decide if the gesture was sincere or ironic, and frankly didn’t know which she would have preferred.

“So, what brings you to Tarker’s Hollow?” It sounded like he was going through niceties by rote.

“I could ask you the same,” she said.

“A local, eh? I’ve been here six months and haven’t seen you. I would remember.”

“I was born here, grew up here, went away to college, then to a job in New York and now I’m back here to close out my parents’ estate.”

“An economical biography. It’s nice to meet a fellow New Yorker,” he said.

“You’re from New York?”

“Not originally, no. But I teach Russian Lit at NYU. I’m at Tarker’s Hollow College on sabbatical, and doing a few lectures here and there to earn my keep.”

Ainsley pursed her lips.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“My dad was the chair of the Russian Lit department at Tarker’s Hollow.”

His eyebrows lifted.

“Michael Connor? He was a legend in the field,” he said. “He was the whole reason I came to study here. You probably know more about this book than I do. I’m Julian Magie.”

Ainsley smiled. It was gratifying to think that someone could admire her dad for something other than being the president of the furry monsters.

“Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand. “Ainsley Connor.”

“His passing was sad news for us all.”

He took her hand and looked into her eyes. She waited for something weird to happen, for her senses to heighten, for a haze to appear around him, for the roof of the coffee shop to cave in.

Nothing.

Except for his gorgeous blue eyes, which were doing a very straightforward kind of magic on her, and one corner of his mouth, delicate and sensual, which was curving upward.

Julian. The Russian Lit professor from New York.

That was more her style.

E
rik watched
until Ainsley’s small form disappeared. When she was gone from his sight, he let out a long breath.

Erik had always been popular with human women, who seemed drawn to his latent power. He found them intriguingly delicate, but it was like going through the motions compared to being with a wolf.

And of course there were plenty of female wolves in his life. As a high-ranking young male he pretty much had his pick of willing partners in town. There was even interest from nearby packs, looking to forge alliances in these troubling times.

But there was no one like Ainsley. She had the charms of a woman and the lure of a wolf, all at the same time. It was an intriguing combination.

And they had a history. Though you wouldn’t have guessed it from the way their conversation began. Or the way it ended. He wasn’t sure why she was so mad at him, but he was sorry, whatever it was.

The sweet smell of her scented lotions still hung in his nose along with the more alluring musky scent of Ainsley herself. His heart pounded as he remembered how she had drawn his alpha. Her plump lips had parted and the air vibrated with his lust. If that fence hadn’t been there he might have taken her before either of them changed their minds.

He imagined what her soft little body might feel like in his arms. He would pin her down and latch onto her neck, burying himself in her exciting smell. Would she submit to him willingly like a human? Or would she give him a little fight like a wolf?

She was a wolf, after all, even though she pretended not to be. Erik had never seen something so strange. Why would anyone not want to be a wolf?

Erik nosed the air, his own wolf searching for a last whiff.

With a sigh, he reined himself in. Ainsley was a childhood friend, and a pack VIP. And he wasn’t the kind of guy to lose his focus. Especially over a woman whose job was to choose the next alpha.

He wondered idly what it would be like to be the alpha. The business was really taking off and work required most of his time. Erik knew he should hire a site manager, but he liked to be on the job himself – making sure the work was done to his standards. Plus, his wolf felt happiest outside in the fresh air. He would never have enough time to devote to pack business.

On the other hand, having a hand in the inn and highway, he was in a unique position to help the town through some complicated transitions. They were set in their ways, but he knew the changes could be good for them. And they were a smart group – they would understand if he presented it properly.

And to do it all with delicious, high-strung, Ainsley Connor warm and waiting in his bed? He would have to be crazy to not find that part appealing.

He was sure she would choose an academic like her dad. And that was just fine.

But there was no reason he couldn’t spend some time with her. They’d been good friends as children – until middle school when she’d gotten very serious about school and hooked up with Grace Kwan-Cortez and the rest of the homework brigade.

Ainsley and Erik had been drifting slowly apart. When her dad had issued the decree that she was off limits, that sped up the process. Erik hadn’t said more than a few words to her since.

Until today.

She said she wanted coffee. There was no reason he couldn’t take his lunch over and join her. They’d have a cup and sort out their misunderstanding. It would be good to catch up, and maybe he could talk to her a little more about the coming changes in town. No matter who she chose as a mate, her opinion about the inn and the highway would be influential.

With a spring in his step, he grabbed his messenger bag and called to Carl that he was heading out. His foreman gave a mock salute, and Erik took off at a comfortable jog. A city woman might drink her coffee fast.

In moments he stood in front of Edible Complex. He took a second to run his fingers through his unruly black hair. He’d probably made it worse, but he wasn’t supposed to be here to impress her.

As he reached for the door he saw her.

She was sitting with a man. He was the opposite of Erik: slight build, blonde hair, fancy clothes, and a little smirk of a smile.

Ainsley was leaning forward in her chair. She was looking at the man like he was wrapped up in a pretty box with a ribbon on top.

Erik’s chest ached like he had been punched. He spun away from the door before she could see him and picked up his jog.

A
insley took
another sip of her coffee. It wasn’t as bad as she had feared.

“So how’s the estate going?” Julian asked.

“It’s going fine. Slowly. I’m hitting a wall about my dad’s books.”

“What kind of a wall?” He leaned forward with interest.

“He collected rare books. But he kept them with the rest of his books. Some of the books I know are valuable. But I’m having a hard time with the rest. I hate to ship them out and trust it to a book dealer, but I guess I’ll have to.”

“Rare books are a hobby of mine. I would be glad to lend a hand.”

“Really?”

“It would be my pleasure. When can I stop by?”

“Today?”

Julian laughed at her eagerness.

“I’m giving a talk at the college tonight which I’m supposed to be preparing for now.” He smiled at her conspiratorially.

“Oh, I see.”

“Say, why don’t you come to the talk this evening? It’s open to the public but I’m told that very few people ever attend.”

“I’ll see how the day goes, I have so much to do,” she said lightly, knowing she needed to spend her time getting the house ready but wishing she could spend more time with this man who seemed to share her interests.

His hand shot across the table to grasp her wrist.

“You’ll come. Give me your phone.”

Ainsley was surprised to find herself slipping her phone out of her bag and handing it over.

She immediately experienced the usual dread that overcame her whenever she let the phone out of her possession. But she played it as cool as she could, and studied his smooth expression instead of craning her neck to see what he was doing.

“The talk is in your calendar and my number is in your contacts,” he said, handing it back.

“Then I guess I’ll see you tonight,” Ainsley said, gathering her latte and clutch.

“It’s a date.”

Ainsley stifled a grin and fled the coffee shop.

Outside, the afternoon sun shone overhead and it took a minute to adjust to the glare and the hot, thick air.

Did that just happen? Had she really met someone interesting in Tarker’s Hollow?

As the sun warmed her hair and shoulders, she allowed herself to picture him without the beautiful white shirt. How did a college professor have the money to dress like that anyway? Maybe he had family money.

It had been a long time, maybe forever, since she had thought about a guy in such an appraising way. He seemed too good to be true. And he was even from New York. Maybe they could see each other after this whole nasty Tarker’s Hollow business was behind her.

There was something dreadful about taking a risk with someone she might let herself care about.

But she certainly didn’t want anything to do with the slobbering wolf guys in town. She shivered at the thought of dating a dog of a man who would let himself be changed into a big matted thing every month. Half of them probably had fleas.

Julian Magie was certainly not a wolf.

He was different from the one-note New York business types too – a reader of Russian lit. He was smart, and passionate about something she loved.

And somehow, although she found him attractive, it wasn’t a helpless crazy attraction like she’d felt for Erik Jensen earlier. Maybe that would help her keep her wolf in check.

Plus, he could help her sort through her dad’s books. She felt a weight lift from her chest at the mere thought of it. Getting through the books meant getting out of Tarker’s Hollow before the full moon.

Ainsley considered her options thoughtfully and made the decision to surrender an evening working on the house in order to explore the option of a mutually beneficial relationship with Julian Magie.