Shifter's Revenge (Alpha Lineage) (13 page)

Jason finally broke his gaze and thanked the crowd. His quick retreat from the mess hall was followed by each of the other men who remained at his side. Donavan quickly went to Mr. Carmichael’s side and asked what he should do with the men in the cells.

Mr. Carmichael told him to do whatever Jason needed. Donavan nodded and followed the orders of the secretary of defense.

Mr. Carmichael came to each of them with an outreached hand. He greeted them by name and thanked them for their help. His eyes lingered on Maddox for a moment before he spoke. “Your family is very famous in social circles,” he murmured. “We might be able to use that to our advantage.”

Maddox shook his head. “I don’t do this for my family or even with my family. I am here because my
heart
wants to be here.”

Kera was glad to leave the mess hall after dinner. Gavin and Maddox had expressed enough distain for each other to worry her. She wasn’t sure all that Gavin had said to Maddox but she intended to find out. Her initial elation from him agreeing to work with her instead of going back with his father had worn off. She was nervous.

What will Jason do with my father?
Nick murmured as they walked down the hall.

Maddox squeezed her hand before he spoke.
I don’t know. I have been too far removed from the pack to judge what happens, but if I had to guess, it won’t be worse than what he put you through.

Kera shut her eyes and pulled Maddox to a stop.
How are we supposed to help here when we don’t have any idea what to do right in our own backyard?

This isn’t about what we can’t
do; it’s about what we can.
He stepped to her and pulled her into his arms.
This is what you want. I think it’s a good idea. We get away from the turmoil in the pack and do something worthwhile for a change.

Kera looked over Maddox’s shoulder and smiled at Nick.
I guess we start tomorrow.

Nick nodded and walked toward a room down the hall. He saluted her after he opened the door.

Once he was gone, Kera closed her eyes and leaned against Maddox. She relished the feeling of his arms around her. She felt safe and loved. It wasn’t a feeling she remembered being so monumental. Kera angled her head and kissed the soft skin below his ear.

His sigh made her heart quicken.
His arms tightened around her for a moment before he stepped away and pulled her with him to the room down the hall. He walked from one corner of the room to the other, examining the ceiling and the walls. Next to the speakers was a small glass bulb. He pulled a chair beneath it and stepped onto the seat so he could reach it. After waiving a hand in front of the bulb he pressed his thumb into the glass and broke it. His finger went into the ceiling and crushed whatever was behind the glass.

“What was that?” Kera asked him.

Maddox jumped down from the chair and turned to her. “Camera.”

Her jaw dropped. “They could see us? I changed in here,” she exclaimed, feeling violated all over again.

Maddox’s eyes darkened. He looked to the door and shook his head. “We need to be careful while we are here.” He moved the chair back beneath the desk and started to leave. Kera rushed behind him. “Wait here,” he told her softly.

Kera nodded and waited in the doorway while Maddox made his way down the hall. Instead of going and finding someone to punish like she expected, he knocked on Nick’s door. Nick opened the door and Maddox explained what he had found in their room.

“I didn’t hear you walking in the hall,” Nick examined the door. “Soundproofing?”

“I think so.” Maddox knocked on the door and the sound muffled like the door was padded as well. “I suggest you keep your door locked and
put something on the inside. We may have agreed to work with them, but it will be on our terms.”

Nick smiled. “Stay out of the fishbowl, huh?”

“Yeah,” Maddox chuckled. “We need to keep in mind that these people are going to be curious. Let’s keep our eyes open. Studying from afar is a two way street.”

“Should we ask for supplies?” Nick disappeared into his room and came back with a pair of black sweats. “I don’t know if you have these in your room
, but I really don’t want to wear sweats every day.”

Maddox
patted Nick on the shoulder. “Looks like we’ve been assigned a uniform,” he joked with Nick. “We’ll get what we need tomorrow. Rest tonight.”

The doors to both rooms were locked from the inside. Nick and Maddox did something to the other side so the keys couldn’t be used.
Kera watched all of this and began to wonder if the agreement she made was the right one. Should she have let Jason take the lead on this? At the time she was resolute in what she was doing. She went against his wishes and dragged Maddox and Nick into it.

“I can hear the wheels turning in your head.” Maddox pulled his hand from the wall and walked over to her. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m worried your father was right.” She told him honestly. “I just was so angry when he spoke for me that I went up there just to stick it to him.”

Maddox tilted his head for a moment before a huge smile spread across his lips. “He is rather irritating isn’t he?”

Kera laughed. “Why yes Maddox, I hadn’t wondered where you got your bossiness from.”

“Yes,” he murmured. He reached out and pushed her hair behind her ears. He stepped closer to her and lowered his head to her neck and bit the soft skin close to her shoulder.

Kera gasped. Her hands flew to his arms for support. Her legs went liquid and chills skirted up and down her spine. As she shivered against him, Maddox licked each indention his teeth left on her skin.

“I want to touch you,” he whispered in her ear. “May I?”

Kera swallowed and turned her head to look him in the eye. “You don’t have to ask.” Her pulse was loud enough to cloud her thoughts. Her feet left the ground and suddenly she was in Maddox’s arms. He brought her into the bathroom and sat her on the counter.

His broad shoulders took up most of the doorway to the shower as he leaned in and turned on the water. He tossed his shirt to the corner of the room before he turned back to her. His eyes were reflective in the light. Kera reacted by urging Fang to come forward. She felt her eyes adjust to the light. Maddox paused for a moment when he noticed, his warm palms cupped her cheeks as he tilted her head so he could see straight to her soul.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered reverently. His lips came down on hers gently.

Kera sucked in a shocked breath at the intensity that poured through her. The magick she felt when their skin touched was magnified with their animals so close to the surface.
Her hands reached for him. His bare chest was smooth and the muscles beneath were strong and so hard. He was perfectly formed. Kera ran her hands across the expanse of his chest until she reached the button of his jeans.

Maddox pulled back and searched her eyes.

“Please,” Kera begged, “don’t stop.”

His hands left her face and trailed down her arms. He pulled her hands away from his waist and positioned them above her head. When he released her, he went for the hem of her shirt. The fabric was pulled up slowly. His eyes never left hers. Chills replaced the fabric of her shirt as he pulled it up and over her head. The shirt landed by his.

Kera closed her eyes when he leaned down and kissed the column of her throat. He continued down her neck, to her chest and ended between her breasts. His warm palms covered her back as he worked the clasp of her bra loose. He pulled the straps down her arms and let the garment tumble to the floor. His warm breath pushed against one breast as his hand covered the other. Her body trembled as he took her nipple into his mouth and lavished it with his tongue.

She shamelessly arched her back. Her hands flew to his dark hair and her fingers wound between the strands to lock him there. “Maddox,” she said breathlessly.

His free arm came around her back and pulled her close as he sucked against her. His hand on her breast molded her and moved to her ribs, then to her stomach. He pulled her off the counter so she was standing before him and dropped to his knees. The moist air seemed even more stifling when he tugged her zipper down and then pushed the coarse material down her hips.

Kera rested her hands on his shoulders. He pulled up one leg at a time and stripped her of the rest of her clothing. She stood naked before him.

When he stood, he quickly stepped out of his pants and pulled her into the shower with him. The warm water pelted her skin like electric currents to her nervous system. She felt his eyes on her skin like a physical touch.

He found the liquid soap and poured it into his hands. His eyes shot up to hers, “I want to build on our memories together with better ones,” he murmured. He lathered the soap in hands and smeared the bubbles across her shoulders and down her arms. He stepped out of the water and herded her to the back of the shower. He began washing every inch of her with just the slick soap between them.

Kera felt like a lightning bolt. Every caress was pushing her over the edge. Her fingers itched to touch every inch of him. In her dreams she was much more forward with this man. She imagined tasting every inch of him. His body was different than what she had come up with in her mind. The one time they had made love happened so quickly she had focused on sensation. Her mind was clouded then. There was nothing between them now. There was no room for anyone else in this moment.

She focused on his hands. He brushed the soap over her breasts and down her stomach. He leaned down and kissed her softly before he continued to her hips and down the outside of
her legs. His mouth left hers so he could lean down to reach her calves with his soapy hands. Kera rested her hands on his shoulders again to keep herself upright. He washed her feet and Kera clinched her jaw against a laugh that tried to ruin the moment with its presence.

Like he knew what she was doing, Maddox ran his fingers across the bottom of her foot. Her body tensed and a giggle escaped her lips. “That’s a beautiful sound,” he whispered and did it again.

“Stop,” she begged.

Maddox looked up at her, “that’s not what you said a minute ago,” he teased her.

Kera narrowed her eyes at him, “Just wait until it’s your turn,” she threatened.

His smile widened, but his eyebrows rose. “I get a turn?”

Kera bit her lower lip and nodded. “I want to learn everything about you. I need to know you inside and out. I get a turn.”

His smile faltered for a moment. “Am I moving too fast for you?”

She shook her head. “You asked me if I wanted to leave you,” she said slowly, “I don’t. I want every part of you so bad it hurts. I think you could crush me if this falls apart. I’m scared of this hold you have on me but I won’t run from it again. When you said you would fight for me I wondered what I could do to fight for you. There isn’t much I have to offer, but everything I have I give to you. I know you said that the mating bond didn’t work but I don’t think I could love you any more than I do now.”

He rested his forehead on her stomach. His hands moved up to her hips and his fingers dug into the soft skin there. “You said love wasn’t enough,” he murmured roughly.

Kera closed her eyes. Her hands went to his slick hair and her fingers threaded through the strands. “I saw how you were with Nick. He left Jason to follow you. You are an Alpha and I think I’m starting to understand what that means. You protect people but you also lead. I want you to lead me Maddox.”

She felt him stand before she opened h
er eyes. He was looking down at her. His height forced her to angle her head higher to watch his face. When he spoke she listened, his words washed over her. “I could never be your Alpha, Kera.” He pulled her into the warm spray of the water and started to rinse her with the palms of his hands. “You weren’t meant to be led.” His hands trailed down her stomach and ventured further. His arm steadied her when her legs threatened to fall out from under her. He pressed his fingers into her.

She felt her body stretch to accommodate him. She didn’t understand what he meant but she knew that his actions caused her mind to blank and her body to take over. She rolled her hips against his hand. Her arms tightened around his neck. He was in control and she wouldn’t want it any other way. He pulled his fingers from her and pushed them back in. Her gasp echoed around the bathroom. The water that beat across her shoulders and back stared to cool but her body heated to the boiling point.

“You can have your turn later,” he growled as his fingers left her. He pulled her legs around his waist and pressed her back against the cool tile.

“Yes,” Kera moaned.

Maddox reached between them and guided himself at her entrance. “Look at me, love.” He ordered breathlessly.

Kera forced her eyes open. When she did, he rewarded her by pushing into her. Her mouth fell open as he filled her completely. His eyes pierced her. Again they asked for more than she had to give. She sucked in a breath as he pulled out of her and pushed back in. The first time was painful in the beginning. Now he filled her with pleasure that threatened to destroy her. Her body arched into his. Her hips rolled against him, seeking a deeper experience. The noises that slipped from her mouth were uncontrollable.

Maddox kept her from falling by holding on to her hips. His strength gave him the ability to move how he wanted without worrying about her slipping from his grasp. Every time he entered her, a pressure built. There was one spot inside of her that he reached, stretched and stroked to the point a keening sound started coming from her lips. Her nails bit into his skin. Her legs shook violently against his hips as they tensed and trembled against the on slot of his sex.

“Look at me, baby,” he whispered through a clinched jaw.

Kera hadn’t realized she closed her eyes. When she met his stare, he filled her again over and over. His pace quickened and she lost her breath. Her body was on the verge of something she couldn’t understand. Her dreams had been pleasant. Her first time with Maddox had been incredible. Before she could continue her thought process, the pressure coiled inside of her seemed to unravel and release something into her blood. The fire inside of her spread from her toes to the top of her head. Her eyes were open but she could no longer see. She couldn’t hear anything except for the fire burning through her system.