In Need Of An Alpha (Interracial Paranormal Shifter Romance) (2 page)

I kept looking to the elevator buttons. “We shouldn’t talk about this here.”

“Then talk about it with me after work.”

Was he asking me out? It sounded like that. He looked at me fiercely. He seemed so dire for me to say “Yes.” Man, this guy was intense, and I wasn’t really in the mood at the moment.

“You’re asking me out?”

“Yes, it’s either excellent timing or terrible timing. That’s up to you.”

The sadness overwhelmed me. I wasn’t in any shape to go on a date right now. The fact that I would be giving up the opportunity only made me feel worse.

“Terrible timing. I’m sorry. I can’t right now. I’ll talk to you later, Evan.”

Evan let the doors close.

Alone in the elevator, the tears began to roll down my face. I wiped them back and promised myself that I would be strong.

There was a glimmer of hope in all of it. Evan wanted me.

I just needed to keep it together long enough to fix what I’d done.

For now, I needed time alone. Time to breathe. Time away from possessive shifters.

The next morning I needed to tell Evan I was sorry.

I was sorry I couldn’t meet up with him, but I wasn’t going to apologize for his bad timing. Going to his office served another purpose, to see if the date offer was still on the table.

Dressed in a more conservative skirt, a bit longer than the last, but showing plenty of cleavage with my V-cut top, I made the long walk to Evan’s office. It wasn’t as luxurious as Mr. Lyndon’s, but it was still an office, something that some cubicle workers would kill for. Honestly, some people would kill for one. That wasn’t an exaggeration.

I was hoping that Evan wouldn’t rip me apart when I stepped into his office. Turning down a man could often backfire horribly. Actually, when didn’t it?

I expected to be told to “piss off,” but I straightened up and prepared to be seductive. Around Evan, I was likely to melt to mush before I got the chance. He always had a way of making me a hot mess.

When I stepped into his room, he bolted from his seat and closed the door behind me, towering over me.

I took a step back.

Sometimes it felt like I was the shifter with the way I picked up his scent. It got me buzzing, got me stumbling. So much for being seductive. Evan raised an eyebrow.

Even when he was mad at me, he was still hot. I got a quiver between my thighs. My naughty clit throbbed as I imagined him getting out all his frustrations on me. Yep, my sadness was over with. Probably it would be back again once Mr. Lyndon called, but for now, I could revel in Evan.

“Ready to talk?”

“Yes, sorry about yesterday. What happened to me really shook me up. I hope you understand.”

He nodded and strode over to his desk. He put his strong, powerful grip on that desk, stretching out his fingers, even his fingernails finely clipped.

My wicked imagination had those fingers rubbing back and forth, slowly swaying over me, dosing me with pleasure until I broke and begged for more.

I needed to be careful. I visited Evan for a reason, and it wasn’t for an orgasm, although that would be a nice.

Evan took control.

He put his hands on my waist. The touch set me off. The quiver hit me again, this time, a full body one, demanding me to stand at attention and avert my eyes to Evan’s. I tilted my chin up to his.

“I’m challenging him tonight.”

“What do you mean, challenge?”

And what did this have to do with me? I appreciated that he would challenge Mr. Lyndon for me, but I didn’t want him to get in trouble, and more importantly, I wanted him to bring up the date again.

“I’m challenging him to be head alpha. It’s a fight.”

“You’re going to fight Mr. Lyndon?”

Lyndon wouldn’t last a second.

“He might look weak, but he hides a lot of power. He’s an alpha, the most feared alpha in our pack. He’s held the main position for over a hundred years. It surprises me what little you know of our world sometimes.” He ran his fingers through his hair, making a slick wave that I wished I could ride.

“Let me guess, if you beat him, you’ll be the new owner of the company?” The thought got me all giddy inside. The excitement over his plan took hold.

“That’s right. The head alpha owns the I.G.T. Company.”

“What happens to Lyndon?”

“This will be a fight to the death,” he said. He saw my eyes cast downward. He tilted my chin back up, which forced me to smile once I saw his wide grin pointing my way.

“You can’t lose.”

“I’m not going to,” he said, and stopped. Some creases formed on that beautiful face. He looked like he was in pain.

I sank into that beautiful blue ocean and waited for him, but he pulled away.

His hands left my side. A deep longing rushed through me. That touch had seemed so right. Now he was gone, and I didn’t want to worry, but he might never come back again. He was confident, but I wondered just how much of that was for my sake.

He stood behind his desk again. Hands at his side, he seemed in a grim mood. Did I do that to him?

“I wanted to tell you before it happened. I thought you should know.”

There were words missing at the end of that:
in case something should happen to me.

I didn’t want to give up Evan.

“Thank you,” I said. I realized that wasn’t quite enough. “You’ll be here tomorrow?”

“If all goes well, I’ll be your new boss.”

My billionaire fantasies come true. I would report directly to Evan. My naughty sex craved the idea as the heat hit me and my clit throbbed. Talking to Evan, even if it was a serious conversation, got me nice and slick. It wasn’t appropriate timing, but my naughty parts didn’t care about timing.

Evan sat back down at his desk. He heaved a great sigh and looked away from me.

So that was it?

“What about us?” I wanted to ask, but it seemed to pale in comparison to a fight to the death.

I figured he’d given me his answer. He was no longer interested.

I couldn’t blame him. No matter what mood I was in, I should’ve at least told him “Yes.” I’d been a fool for saying no. I couldn’t hang around forever and wait for him to ask me.

Retreating, I didn’t make it to my desk before I heard the buzzing of my phone. Lyndon calling already. The buzzer kept going in jarring staccato like Lyndon was busy pounding it with his fist. There was no way for me to stop it, either. If he called me, that would be a different story, but he preferred to just buzz me and expect me to be at his beck and call, which technically, I was.

How glorious would it be if I could just rip that phone off my desk? I thought about it constantly.

There were still bills to pay, debts to settle, and a future to be bought. I couldn't afford to rip out that phone. At least, not yet. One day, that phone would be mine, and I would hang it from my apartment window from its cord, its insides spilling out onto the street.

Mr. Lyndon sternly waited behind his desk, still stuck to the seat like it had absorbed him. This was the big bad alpha that had ruled the company and the pack for over a hundred years? His eyes lingered down to my longer skirt. Those dull brown eyes flashed crimson again, and I understood how dangerous he was. This man hid power like Evan said.

The energy that emanated from him not only made my skin crawl, but applied a flu-like pressure over my temples. The crimson pulled away as he leaned back in the seat and breathed a long, raspy sigh.

“Come in.”

He wasn’t happy with my change of dress. It was another act of defiance.

I took a step inside. The door began to shut behind me, but when I didn’t hear it shut, I turned back around, and there was Evan, my protector, standing behind me. His presence seemed to fill the room. It all looked a lot brighter and happier with him around.

Heat rushing to my cheeks, I peered up at Evan, wondering what he was doing there and hoping that he wouldn’t do anything foolish. Don’t get me wrong, I was very happy to see him, but I feared that he might schedule the duel for an earlier time. Like now. With me standing between them.

“I need to take Amber,” he said. Not a question. A demand.

Lyndon craned his neck. He twitched. Before he could answer, Evan took my hand, wrapping his fingers around my palm and grasping it tight. The touch sucked all mental focus out of me. He pulled me toward him and away from that monster.

I was powerless to fight it. Evan’s hand on mine? It seemed impossible, too good to be true, but then I remembered that he just wanted me for something work related. This wasn’t romantic. I appreciated him helping me escape Lyndon, but this shouldn’t be confused with anything erotic. An act of kindness isn’t an act of intimacy.

With Evan, I craved intimacy. I acted so weak, like a hopeless girl around him, that sometimes I wanted to scream at myself, “Stop being so pathetic.”

Taken away from Lyndon and through the rows of cubicles, it was all a blur, my focus all on Evan’s massive form parting the way. No one came between us as we headed away from the cubicles and into the hall. They didn’t try. He had this stern, sharp focus to him that meant business.

He pushed open a door to our right and led me inside to a conference room. He shut the door behind us. The round table with its many leather seats were all empty.

“What do you need me for?”

There must have been a reason for him to act so brashly. He remained blocking the door, his eyes honing in on me, keeping me trapped in place. A flash of fiery gold burned around his pupils. His lip began to curve into a wicked, tempting smile that would have any girl bending their knees.

Did I do something wrong? Mess something up?

I really didn’t care too much. Adrenaline went into overdrive. Nerves fired. The heat consumed me. I braced myself to drop to a wet, horny mess on the floor, but hoped that Evan would catch me before that happened.

If I did something wrong, I wouldn’t mind a little punishment. Evan could punish me all he wanted. Maybe spankings were in order.

“I need you. I need all of you,” he said. Possessive, like I’d broken off his leash and he was getting ready to drag me back home, he sternly snatched me by the waist and pressed me against his chest.

A little yelp escaped from me, but then I was sucked free of all air, my lips parting a little, enough for me to graze them with my tongue to get them juicy but not to look like I was begging, either.

Oh, who was I kidding? I was begging. My pussy throbbed. It ached. I was swollen, tender, and craving his touch to go deeper.

He gave me just enough time to ask, “Here?” but before he could answer, he dove in and drove his lips on mine, opening them wide and letting him in to his prize. His tongue touched mine and a bolt of arousal shot from my lips all the way down to my sex. My hands gripped for anything and found fistfuls of his shirt.

Clinging to him, I was powerless against his tongue stroking mine. Each stroke played out in my sex. My naughty, unbridled clit throbbed to the same beat.

Evan pulled his tongue away. Gasping, my fingers letting go, I couldn’t get far before he snapped me back up by handfuls of my ass. He pressed me against him. The full, thick bar of his cock, so hot it could brand me, pressed against my stomach.

I let out another weak whimper. His fingers took me by the chin and pulled me against his lips. As he ravished me again, I frantically grasped for a handful of his suit to keep me stable.

Rubbing his thick thumb over my jawline, he kept my eyes pointed to his “I need to fuck you right now” stare.

“So beautiful,” he said, stroking me slowly. “Do you know how many times I’ve seen you and wanted to do this? When you came into my office to apologize, it took every ounce of willpower not to bend you over my desk and fuck you right there.”

My thighs slowly ground together. It released some of that built-up tension in me, but I was wound tight, nervous bundles wrapping themselves around my stomach to my chest. There was some release. My slick, swollen pussy loved the rubbing, but it needed so much more.

I wanted to ask him, “Is that what you plan to do now?”

My eyes darted to the door.

What was I thinking? He wasn’t going to fuck me here. He couldn’t.

We could lose our jobs.

It would be every naughty fantasy come to life if he did that. But he wouldn’t—

“You’re going on the desk, Amber.”

Evan lifted me up with ease. Holding underneath my ass, those great paws of his were able to take up a lot of floor space. He had plenty to hold onto. I wrapped my legs around him. Shoving away chairs, he lowered me onto the table.

I reached back up for him. He took me by the back of the neck and ravaged me with his forceful tongue, not the only forceful thing of his now, his hands reached for my shoulders and explored.

He threw my shirt off my shoulders. His kissing moved away from my lips and onto a more vulnerable area, my neck, a weak spot of mine. Sucking gently and grazing his tongue across my collar, he worshipped me with that tongue.