Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (88 page)

“Thanks, Karen.” What a relief. Having her around would help him keep his demanding libido in check. He headed into the house, zipping up the stairs and down the hall to Biddy’s room. The door was open, so he walked in and gently laid her on the bed. Karen arrived just as he was removing her second shoe.

She set Biddy’s things on the floor beside the bed. “I’ll be back,” she whispered before she slipped out of the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a glass of water and a granola bar and set them on the bedside table.

“In case she wakes up thirsty or hungry. The last thing she’s going to want to do is hunt down food or a drink in a strange place in the middle of the night. It might be better to leave the lamp on for her along with a note.”

“You’re a good woman.” Doug said.

“I try to be.” She chuckled. “For a man who has probably had more than his fair share of practice relieving pretty girls of their clothing, you look a little lost. How about you write the note and I’ll help her out of her jacket. It won’t hurt her to sleep in her clothes tonight, and I’m sure she’ll feel better about that than wondering who got her out of them while she was sleeping.”

***

It took Biddy a few minutes to figure out where she was when she woke up. The room was filled with shadows thrown from the light on the bedside table, and it was more than a little creepy. Her throat was dry and she was grateful for the tall glass of water someone had thoughtfully left for her. She gulped more than half the contents before she remembered she needed to pee. She put the glass down and picked up the note it had been sitting on.

Hi Biddy,

You fell asleep on the way from the airport, so Karen and I put you to bed and brought your things in for you. The bathroom is to your right and at the end of the hall. Here’s a flashlight in case it’s still dark when you wake up. If you need more water or food, the kitchen is downstairs. The stairs are at the end of the hallway to your left. At the bottom, do a one-eighty and walk to the back of the house. You can’t miss it. Someone will come and wake you at seven for breakfast. I know you’ll want to sleep longer, but you’ll get over your jet-lag faster if you start into a regular schedule. We’ll see you in the morning.

Doug.

Aw, he’d even drawn a little map to help her find her way to the kitchen. She wasn’t going to need it. Even if she were starving, there was no way she was going to wander around in the middle of the night through a strange house filled with people she didn’t know. If her need to pee didn’t override her fear, she wouldn’t even brave a trip down the hall to the bathroom.

She grabbed the flashlight and padded across the room. At least she was fully dressed. Thank fuck nobody had decided to
really
put her to bed.

She eased the door open, relieved it didn’t make any noise. Yeah, she was scared of the dark and things that creak and bump in the night, so it was an even bigger relief that there had been a light on when she woke up. She pointed the flashlight down the hall towards the bathroom and focused on her mission.

By the time she returned to her bed, her heart was pounding and her knees were shaking. Her irrational fear of the dark was a closely guarded secret. There were only a handful of people outside of the band who she trusted with it. To be a grown woman who needed a nightlight for no good reason was embarrassing and made her feel vulnerable.

She checked the time. It was only three-thirty. She could still get a couple more hours sleep before it was time to get up. She thought about changing into her pyjamas. They’d be more comfortable to sleep in, but until she’d met her house-mates, she preferred the idea of being able to make a quick getaway. Damn, she was being ridiculous.

She ate the granola bar and finished the rest of the water. Doug seemed nice, and the yet-to-be-met Karen was obviously thoughtful. She lay down and closed her eyes as she wondered what the next four weeks held in store for her.

She was positive she’d only just closed her eyes when she was woken by a knock on her door. “Biddy, it’s Karen. Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

The door swung open and a pleasant looking middle-aged woman walked in. She was pleasantly plump with long salt and pepper hair. “Welcome aboard. Did you sleep okay?”

“Yes, except when I woke up thirsty and needing to pee. Thank you for the middle of the night care-package, by the way. It came in very handy.”

“I’ve seen more than a few jet-lagged volunteer arrivals in my time. If you’re quick, you’ve got time for a shower. Breakfast will be ready at seven-thirty. We’ll go over schedules and overload you with information while we eat.”

“Thanks. After all that travelling and then sleeping in my clothes, I’ll be doing everyone a favour if I wash up before I come to the table.”

“Sounds good. Head downstairs when you’re done.” Karen pointed at the note on the bedside table. “You won’t need Doug’s map. Follow your nose and the noise when you get to the bottom of the stairs and you’ll have no problem finding the kitchen. I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Karen wasn’t kidding about the noise. The kitchen sounded like it was full of boisterous teenagers. She stood in the doorway and waited. There were a number of empty spots at the table, but she didn’t want to sit down until she was invited—she didn’t want to risk the embarrassment of sitting in someone’s chair.

She’d been questioning her sanity about embarking on this whole adventure from the moment she boarded her first flight, but this was the first time she was truly tempted to turn-tail and run. She absolutely hated going into social situations where she didn’t know anyone. She was evaluating whether she was hungry enough to walk through the door when Doug caught her eye.

“Biddy, come on in.” Doug smiled and pointed to the empty chair next to him. “I saved you a seat.”

She’d been so tired the night before, she hadn’t really appreciated how gorgeous and sexy this man was. For a rock musician in a relatively successful band, she didn’t get much action. Of course with her crazy schedule, the only available cock options tended to be either groupie or roadie. She rarely found either variety more appealing than her Magic Wand.

She stomped on her libido. She was here to support a cause, not get laid.

She gave Doug a friendly smile as she sat in the chair. “I assume I have you to thank for my night in a comfortable bed instead of in the front seat of a car?”

“Yes, and you’re welcome. I did try to wake you, but you were completely out of it.”

“I usually handle jet-lag better than that, but I don’t often have multiple lay-overs.”

“Oh, you travel a lot, then?”

Shit. She needed to be more careful or she’d end up outing herself, and that would really suck. Keeping it simple and deflecting the question back was usually a good avoidance technique. “I get around, I suppose. How about you? Do you travel much?”

“Yeah, I do. Mostly for work.”

So much for steering the conversation away from careers. This was going to take some finesse. She should have expected work to be a topic of conversation and planned for it. She’d just have to wing it. “And what do you do?”

Biddy sat mesmerised as Doug told her about his job as a freelance camera operator. So many men wouldn’t hesitate to brag about their military service as a combat cameraman. Doug treated it like a career footnote instead giving it the full chapter it deserved. If he hadn’t kept reaching for the dog tags around his neck when he got to the harrowing parts, she might have been convinced his time in the military was barely a blip on his radar.

He had a quiet understated way of telling his stories and she was disappointed when he had to stop so Karen could discuss scheduling, chore rotations, and the hundred-and-one other details that kept the operation running relatively smoothly.

By the time they were finished with breakfast, Biddy was dying to go back to bed. Her brain was full and she was still exhausted.

Apparently, Karen had other plans. “I’ve buddied you up with Doug while you’re here. Since this is your first campaign, it’s safest for all concerned if you’re paired with a highly experienced volunteer. Today, he’ll give you a tour of the island. We’ll take the rest of the week to gradually ease you into the routine.”

“Go grab your gear and I’ll meet you outside in ten minutes.” Doug drained his mug and rose from the table.

By the time Biddy left the house, Doug was waiting in the truck and looking irritated. She checked her watch. Nope, even after taking the time to double check she had all her equipment, she wasn’t late. In fact, she was a good four minutes early. She studied his face as she approached the vehicle—irritated was a ridiculously sexy look on him. How was she supposed to spend the entire morning alone with him without wanting to fuck him silly?

The ride was blessedly quiet for the first few minutes and Biddy was struggling to stay awake

“Stay with me, sunshine,” Doug said as he reached over and shook her shoulder. “You keep falling asleep within minutes of me getting you into the truck. It’s becoming a bad habit, and I may develop a complex.”

Biddy gave her head a little shake and opened her window a crack. Maybe some fresh sea air would help. “Sorry. I guess I’m still pretty tired.”

“There’s a decent coffee shop not far from here. We’ll swing in and I’ll buy you a nice big jolt of caffeine.”

“Sound great.”

“You know, I feel at a disadvantage. I droned on and on about my work, but I still don’t know what you do for a living.”

She should have known he wouldn’t let it go. She was exhausted, but at least she still had enough brain function to keep her from revealing too much. “I’m a session musician.” Not the whole truth, but not a lie. She’d done plenty of studio work before joining Tainted Pearl, and she still did the occasional gig when her schedule allowed.

“Really? What instrument?”

“Stand up bass.” Sometimes.

“That, I’d never have guessed. What kind of music do you play?”

“I’m a musician—I play whatever will pay the bills. Chamber music, jazz, blues, I’m not fussy. Well, I might be a little fussy. I avoid playing that twentieth-century atonal shit. So, maybe I should rephrase that. I’ll play whatever pays the bills provided I can hum it.”

“Fair enough.” Doug downshifted and pulled into the parking lot of a rickety little shack that looked like it should have been condemned in the previous century. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but their coffee is the best on the island and they have wicked doughnuts.” He shut off the engine and by the time Biddy had undone her seat belt, he was opening her door.

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow as she climbed out of the vehicle. “We just had breakfast.”

“Trust me, you do not want to pass up any opportunity for the best doughnuts you will ever eat.”

“Okay. But just one,” Biddy said as they approached the cafe.

It wasn’t until they’d walked in and she saw the glass display case that she understood the reason for his uncontrollable laughter.

It held dozens of the biggest doughnuts she’d ever seen. They looked to be about the size of the wheels on a little red wagon. She was beginning to suspect Doug’s value system was based solely on size, and when he said best doughnuts, he really meant biggest. She had a feeling she might be carrying a bucket of coffee back to the car along with the gigantic doughnut. It was a good thing sex was off the menu because if size mattered, she didn’t stand a chance.

***

He was an idiot and he was going to pay dearly for this later. The stop for coffee hadn’t been optional—Biddy had been losing her battle against sleep and needed a big hit of caffeine right away. The doughnut was a mistake.

She’d taken her first bite before they’d even left the cafe and by the time they’d reached the truck, his self-control was shot. He leaned down and kissed the powdered sugar off her lips.

His cock had been hard from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her at the airport, and it showed no signs of calming down.

He could have taken one of the other girls to bed and fucked her into oblivion, but in the end, the idea didn’t sit well with him. Yeah, he screwed volunteers all the time. There had been no shortage of enthusiastic no-strings fuck-buddies over the years, but he was always faithful until they parted company. He hadn’t hooked up with anyone since he’d arrived, and if he’d taken a fuck-buddy last night, he could kiss his chances with Biddy goodbye. Clearly he was not a decent man.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Doug’s brain was screaming at him to stop kissing her immediately, but his lips were clearly brain-deaf. He wanted to grab her ass and grind his cock against her, and if they didn’t both have their hands full of coffee and doughnut, he would have done exactly that. Instead, he teased at her lips, nipping and licking until they were no traces of sugar left.

By the time he pulled away, his heart was pounding and his dick was so swollen, he was tempted to drop everything and drag her into the back of the truck and screw her until neither of them could see straight. If the speed of the pulse in her neck and the deep flush of her skin were any indication, she’d have been good with that plan. Still, he should try and act civilised—even if he wasn’t feeling it.

“Biddy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken advantage.”

“No, it’s fine. Really. It’s actually been a long time, and I’d kind of forgotten what it felt like.”

He knew he shouldn’t ask, but his brain appeared to no longer have control of anything. “How long?”

She looked at the ground and mumbled, “About two years.”

The woman was fucking killing him. If she hadn’t been kissed in two years, she probably hadn’t been fucked, either. That sweet little pussy of hers just got a whole lot tighter, and he’d be on a one-way bullet train to hell if acted on any one of the many very bad things he wanted to do to her.

He put his coffee and doughnut on the roof of the truck, fished the keys from the pocket of his uncomfortably tight jeans and unlocked the door. “We should get going. Small communities are all-seeing and have big mouths.”