Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series (25 page)

Alex tried to grab her, but she pushed him down on the couch and knelt between his legs. “Alynna…I…uhhh…”

Alynna ran her tongue down the side of his hard cock, before moving her head back up to take him in her mouth. Alex let out a groan at the sensation of Alynna’s soft, wet mouth on his cock. He breathed deeply, trying to get a hold of himself. Alynna seemed to enjoy teasing him, sucking on his dick like it was a delicious treat, her mouth providing that delicious suction that only made his cock twitch and ache. He buried his hands in her hair and let himself be subjected to her torture.
 

Alynna revealed in the power she had over him, and her body was reacting deliciously to his arousal. Her nipples were pebble hard and her pussy gushed with wetness, soaking through the delicate lace of her panties.
 

Alex seemingly had enough and hauled her up so she lay sprawled on top of him and they were face to face. His eyes were like burning gold, and he captured her mouth in a fiery kiss. She moaned against his lips, parting her own to let his tongue snake inside her mouth to taste her.
 

He grabbed her legs, pulling them up, so her pussy was perfectly positioned over her cock. She sighed as he surged up into her, and she sank down on his hot, hard cock. The feeling of his member filling her up was more than satisfying. It felt so right, even though she knew the whole thing was wrong.

She let out a growl and planted her knees on either side of him, Sitting up, she grabbed his shoulders and began to grind back and forth. He let out a soft shout, his hands grabbing her hips to help her with the rhythm.
 

Alynna felt her body tense, and soon she was right at the edge of orgasm. She rocked on his lap, his cock sliding in and out of her. Sensing her tension, he snaked a hand between her legs, his fingers manipulating her clit, until she reached her climax. Her pussy tightened around his cock and he groaned as he felt himself orgasm, shooting his hot cum deep into her. He spasmed, grabbed her shoulders and roughly pulled her to his chest as he shot load after load of sperm inside her.

“Alex…” she sighed, collapsing against him. He pushed her hair aside and kissed her neck. God, he wanted to bite her and mark her as his. He bit his lip to stop himself, using every ounce of self control he had.

Alynna breathed in his scent, that familiar scent that seemed to consume her whenever he was near. She moaned in protest as he softened and slipped out of her. She felt his arms go around her, and then lift her up. She hummed against his chest, feeling drowsy, she slipped off to sleep.

***

When Alynna woke up, the sky was already light. Her hands moved across the bed and instead of a warm, hard body, she felt empty sheets.

Sighing, she rolled onto her back. She vaguely remembered the bed shifting sometime around dawn. A soft kiss on her temple and then….nothing. Alex left that morning without saying goodbye.

She grabbed one of her pillows and put it over her head. It muffled her voice as she groaned aloud in frustration.
Dear Lord, what happened?
It was like he had broken down her barriers and her need for him just took over. She wished she could talk to someone about this - was it her Lycan biology? Or, as she feared, was she continuing to fall for a man who wanted nothing to do with her?

As soon as she got up, Alynna had decided it was time to get on with her life. She had been presented to Lycan society, moved into The Enclave, and now she could move somewhat freely in the city.

She spent most of the morning sorting through her email, letters and packages. Lycans from all over the country were sending her letters and gifts, wishing her well. There were also many of them asking her out, which she wasn’t sure quite what to do. Cady and Grant had warned her, but she didn’t think they were serious. Apparently, she was the most eligible Lycan female in the world and many of her would-be suitors were not shy in making their interest known to her. She put all of them aside and decided to ask Cady or Grant the proper way to let them down.

After making herself some lunch, she worked through the files she was reading last night, taking notes and setting up her laptop on the desk she set up in the corner of her main room. She was quite surprised to find that the afternoon had gone by quickly and she had to get ready for dinner with Grant, Liam, and few of the VPs at Fenrir.

The group tonight was bigger than last night. According to Grant, they spent most of the day in meetings with Liam (Takeda had headed back to San Francisco earlier in the day), and things were going well and Fenrir was definitely going to fund some of the cancer startups Liam was working with. Alynna took a car to Fenrir and they all went to a trendy restaurant in Chelsea.
 

Alynna did her best to try to seem interested in what was going on, but all the business speak went over her head. She sat beside Liam, who included her in their conversations as much as he could, explaining details here and there.
 

Finally, it was time to call it a night. Grant said he had to head back to Fenrir, so Liam graciously offered to bring Alynna home. She gave her brother a smirk as he waved goodbye to them.

“Shall we?” Liam asked as he opened the door to his rented town car.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping inside, sliding over the plush leather seating to give room for Liam.

The door closed and the driver started the engine. Liam gave the driver directions, then he put up the privacy window.

They settled in and the car started to move.

“I—”

“What—”

They both said at the same time.

“Go ahead,” he said.
 

“No, it’s ok, what did you want to ask?” she said.

“I hope you don’t mind my asking, but it’s ok if you don’t…answer I mean,” he said. He reached over and slipped her hand into his.

“No, I mean…what is it?” Liam’s hand was warm against hers, and his scent, that of lemons and limes, filled her nostrils. It was pleasant scent for sure, though aside from warm fuzzy feelings, it did nothing else for her. Unlike… “Please, go ahead and ask,” she said, interrupting her own thoughts.

“Well, your mother…I mean the only thing I know about her is from the invitation that was sent from your clan. She was your father’s True Mate? And she was a human?”

She nodded. “Yes. I didn’t know about him until a few weeks ago. She passed on when I was 16.”
 

“Oh I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “What happened?”

She shrugged. “Cancer. Stage 4. Nothing we could do about it.”

“Oh, my father too,” he said, his eyes suddenly turning sad.

“Really?” she asked.
 

He nodded. “Stage 4 stomach cancer. The doctor gave him 6 months, but it was more like 6 weeks.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, gripping his hand. “That’s awful. You weren’t prepared, were you?”

Liam shook his head. “No, it was very sudden. He was fit as fiddle, and then it was like when he got the news…he lost his will to live.”

“I’m terribly sorry,” she repeated. “Is that why you’re trying to get funding for all these cancer startups?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “That’s part of the reason. Also, I wanted to do my own thing. Sure, I could work for the family food business, but well…that’s kind of my mom and dad’s thing. They grew my grandfather’s grocery business into one of the biggest restaurant supply companies in California. My mom still runs the day-to-day things. But, I kind of wanted to strike out on my own, you know?”

“Believe it or not, I do.”

“Really?” he asked. “What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know…I mean, I have ideas,” she bit her lip. “I hate having to shut down my Uncle Gus’ agency, but like you said…that was his thing.”

 
“Whatever you decide to do. I know you’ll be great!”

Before Alynna could reply, the car stopped. “Thanks…well, looks like we’re here.”

“Yes we are. I had a great time, as always,” he gave her a boyish smile.

Alynna thought for a moment, then leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Me too,” she said before stepping out of the car. She quickly ran to the entrance of the Enclave, but before she went through the door, she looked over her shoulder. Liam’s car remained in the driveway, the windows down. He was grinning at her, touching his cheek where she kissed him. She gave him a playful wave and walked into the door.

When she was clear of the doormen at the front door and in the elevator, she breathed out a sigh of relief and allowed herself a smile. A rush of excitement ran through her and she let that little bit of happiness flow through her.
 

It didn’t last though, and she felt the wind rush out of her when she turned the corner to her apartment door and saw who was standing there, looking devastatingly handsome and sexy. Her heart melted.

“Alex,” she said breathlessly.

***

“Did you enjoy your trip to New York?” Alynna asked, as she took a sip of wine. The week passed quickly and most nights she would have dinner with Liam and Grant, then Liam would take her home. Finally, on his last night, Alynn and Liam finally found time to have dinner alone.
 

“I did, very much,” Liam replied as he put his knife and fork to the side of his plate. One of the waiters quickly rushed forward to get the used dishes.

“Dessert and coffee, Mr. Henney?” the eager young man asked.
 

“Yes please, thank you,” he said politely. “And please do tell Chef Durand that the meal was absolutely exquisite.”

“I will, Mr. Henney,” the waited nodded and took the plates away.

“Thank you again, for dinner,” Alynna said. “This was excellent. I can’t believe you convinced the chef to give us a private room!” She looked around at richly decorated private dining room at Le Petite Lapin, one of the hottest and trendiest restaurants in Manhattan. The room wasn’t big, it could probably sit 8 people comfortably, but tonight it was only set for two. In the corner was a settee and coffee table, set next to a fireplace.

“Oh, Henri is friend of mine,” Liam replied. “He started out in San Francisco, you know. We used to supply him with the best ingredients for his restaurant.”

As if on cue, the chef himself, Henri Durand, came in brandishing two dishes with his special dessert and the waiter followed behind with a carafe of coffee and two cups. They set the dishes on a small settee to the side and the couple moved towards the small alcove. Henri greeted Liam with a flourish and showered Alynna with complements before he excused himself to give them some time alone.

“Oh wow,” Alynna moaned as she put a spoonful of pot de creme into her mouth. “This…this is amazing!”

“Better than sex,” Liam quipped.

“What?” Alynna nearly choked on the thick chocolate pudding in her mouth.

“
Mieux Que Le Sexe,
that’s what Henri called it,” Liam said, taking a mouthful himself. “Very apt.”

She gave him a nervous smile. “Right.” A stab of guilt surged through her.
What the hell am I doing?
 

Alynna wasn’t the type of girl who went on dinner dates with one man and had sex with another when she came home. Sure, it was mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex. She figured whatever this thing she had with Alex would burn out soon. But try as she might, her body longed for him, wanted him. He showed up at her door every night that week (or one time, he was sitting on her couch when she got home and she didn’t know how he got in). She tried to talk to him, preparing a speech in her head everyday, just in case he came back (and he did, every night), but when she opened her mouth to speak, his lips stopped her and they just fell into bed (and her couch, shower, kitchen table, the rug a couple of times.) And every morning, he would leave at dawn.
 

And poor Liam, sitting beside her without a clue as to what was going on. And Alex? Maybe she did feel a little guilty, but she didn’t know what the heck they were doing anyway.

“Penny for your thoughts?” It was Liam who spoke first.

“Uhm…sorry…just you know…I have a lot on my mind.”

“No worries,” he put down his coffee cup and took her hands into his. They had grown comfortable over the past week, but their contact never went past hand holding or a kiss on the cheek goodnight. “Is it about your plans for the future.”

“Partly,” she didn’t want to lie. “I think I know what I want to do.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“Well…I don’t want to jinx it, but I’ll let you know as soon as it takes shape, ok?”

He nodded. “Whatever you decide, I’m sure it will be good.”

“Thanks!” she blushed at his complement.

“No, thank you. Also, I wanted to tell you, I’ve had a good time this week,” Liam leaned over and Alynna froze. His breathe was warm, his pleasant, citrusy scent enveloping her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the touch of his lips on her, but instead, his mouth landed on her cheek.
 

She sighed as he pulled away from her. He gave her a small smile and did that adorable thing where he rubbed that back of his head with his palm.
 

“Liam,” she began, but he spoke first.

“No, wait…I mean, may I say something?” She nodded and let him continue. “I think you’re an amazing person, incredibly funny, whip smart, witty, and gorgeous. And I like you. A lot.” He paused, touching her cheek with a finger. “But I can’t help but get this feeling that you don’t feel the same way.”

“No, Liam, I like you too!” she protested.

“There’s a but in there somewhere.”

“But,” she sighed. “Yes, there’s a but.”

“I know. I mean, I can feel it. That you’re not here with me, right now. It’s like…I know this sounds corny, but your heart isn’t here.”

Her jaw dropped at his perceptiveness. “No! I mean…yes, I don’t like you in that way…not yet, maybe I will?”

He gave a small laugh. “Wow, thanks.”

“I’m so sorry,” she turned away from him, hiding her face in her hands. “I tried. I wanted to like you in that way…to maybe fall in love with you. It could be so easy and simple.”