The Alpha's Hunger (12 page)

“I don’t know—away from here! What do you care? I’ll be at the meetup.”

His need to protect her made his teeth sharpen in his mouth and a growl to erupt from his throat.

She froze, her shoulders hunching in a slight cower, but her voice came out strong and brave. “So I’m still your prisoner, huh?”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “You’re still my prisoner.” He pushed her over the hood of the car and began to rain smacks down on her wriggling ass, hard and fast.

“Ben!” she shrieked, the panic of public humiliation evident in the pitch of her voice.

“Don’t even think about going anywhere without me,” he growled. He continued spanking, not because he thought she deserved punishment, but just to assert his dominance. He didn’t expect to earn her submission, though. Hell, he was probably forever sealing the end of their relationship, which should be what he wanted. Except… there was no way he could let her go.

“Okay, stop!” she yelled, turning to look over her shoulder at him. Her face held a mixture of emotions—her eyes dark and glassy, her teeth bared, her brows down low in anger.

“You can’t leave,” he growled. “It’s not safe.”

She didn’t answer, so he delivered several more hard slaps.

“Ashley? Do you understand?”

“Yes,
sir,
” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

He turned her around and placed his shoulder into the fold of her hips to toss her over his back, inadvertently lifting her skirt up. When he reached to pull it down, he brushed across her panties and found them soaked. Even when she was pissed at him, her body said yes. His cock went rock hard. How could he doubt she was his mate? Their chemistry was off the charts.

She smacked his back with her palm. “Put me down, you big jerk. I’ve had enough of your Neanderthal ways. I’ve had enough of you.”

“I’m sure you have,” he said, carrying her into the garage and opening the door to the house. “Unfortunately, you have no choice but to put up with me for one more day.” He plopped her on the sofa. “Do I need to find the duct tape?”

She surged to her feet, a wild look of defiance on her face. “Yes!”

He hid a surprised smile.
Yes?
What did that mean? Wicked thoughts crept into his brain. “Okay,” he said and tugged her back up to stand. Whirling her around, he pinned her wrists behind her back. He used them to force her to the end of the sofa, where he pushed her down over the padded arm.

“You need to be restrained, Ashley?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly.

Her breathing came in audible gasps.

He leaned his body over hers, his erection pressing into her soft ass. “Do you like being my prisoner?” he murmured in her ear.

She didn’t answer, but her hips pushed backward, the heat of her flesh searing against his straining cock. With a great effort of will, he wrenched his hips safely away from hers. He could not claim her. He shouldn’t be doing this—not after he’d just told her they couldn’t have a relationship. But the intoxicating scent of her wet pussy had sent reason flying.

Keeping her wrists pinned with one hand, he used the other to lift her skirt and tug down her panties. Her cheeks were reddened from the spanking he’d just given her, and she clenched them now, as if to ward off further spanks.

He tested to be sure he was reading her correctly. “Spread your legs, Ashley.”

Her feet slid apart.

His cock surged against his zipper, painfully hard.

He brought his hand up between her legs, slapping her pussy.

She shrieked, trying to lift her torso, but he didn’t allow it. He noted she did not close her legs.

He slapped her again, her natural lubricant coating his fingers. He spanked her little pussy over and over again until she began to whimper and plead. “Please… Ben… please.”

“Please what?”

“I—please… fuck me.”

He was unprepared for his body’s reaction to that request. His skin flushed and prickled, canines lengthened, vision changed.

Do. Not. Mark her.

He forced himself to inhale several times through his nose, the effort to stay in control overwhelming. When his vision dulled again, he nudged her feet even wider. Using the pad of his middle finger, he stroked along her dewy slit, gliding between her inner lips, gathering moisture, and dragging it up to her clit.

She gave a wavering moan.

He flicked her responsive little button and her knees buckled, her feet sliding out from under her. The sofa bore her weight and he pressed her pinned wrists down, holding her in place as he continued to torture her most sensitive organ.

Her moans grew louder, a needy, desperate pitch taking over.

He slid two fingers inside her.

She mewled, arching against the hold he had on her wrists.

He pumped his fingers in and out. It only took a few strokes before she cried out, her muscles gripping his fingers, squeezing in a rhythmic pulse.

“Ben,” she choked and the sound of his name on her lips nearly turned him savage.

Somehow, he managed to ease his fingers out without pouncing on her and making her forever his. He slapped her pussy one more time as he backed away. The change was still upon him—his entire body shook with the effort to keep it back. He needed to shift and run—to get release this pent-up frustration.

“Promise me you’ll stay put,” he said, his voice still rough.

She said nothing.

He slapped her bare ass and she yelped. “I promise!”

He released her wrists and pulled her panties up, then turned her to face him and pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, twisting as her eyes widened. “You’re killing me,” he muttered, even though he knew he was the one doing the killing. He’d been the king of mixed signals, dragging her, and her heart—if she cared for him, and he desperately hoped she did—through the wringer.

* * *

After pinching her nipple, Ben walked toward the bedroom, yanking off his t-shirt. He was the picture of masculine power, his lean muscles of his naked torso rippling with movement. She’d seen the bulge of his erection, and yet, once again, he hadn’t claimed her. Despite her orgasm moments ago, her body thought only of being under him, his huge cock penetrating her, making her scream as he took her roughly.

She hardly knew what to think about where they stood. After licking her wounds in the car, she knew she had no reason to be upset. He’d never made her any promises. She was disappointed and hurt, and didn’t like feeling like she’d been dumped, but she was still certain that Ben Stone felt something for her. Maybe it was just physical attraction, maybe it was something more.

All she knew was he made her feel desirable and sexy. He made her feel other things she’d never felt before. Crazy things—like she would willingly let him string her wrists from the ceiling and whip her with his belt again if that turned him on. Because in retrospect, it sure as hell turned her on. She squeezed her bottom, feeling the sting that still lingered from his spanking. She adored his dominance, found his power intoxicating. The thought of him punishing her again made her cream her panties. She didn’t understand it, but she definitely wanted more.

She should have pressed him more about why he couldn’t be with her. She’d been afraid of what answer he might give and had chosen to take personal offense rather than keep a cool head and just try to understand him. Now her mind had conjured a million possibilities. Maybe humans and shifters literally couldn’t mate. Or maybe it was against their rules to be with a human.

Except Zolla had said something about Ben marking her, which implied that they could take human lovers. What did marking her mean?

She heard the bedroom door bump and the largest black wolf she’d ever seen came trotting out. She drew a breath and held it, her skin prickling. Even knowing it was Ben, she still found the beast terrifying. He stood higher than her waist, with thick black fur and huge jowls. He trotted toward the rear of the house, where a doggy door had been installed. Before he left, he turned to look at her, as if in warning.

“I know, I know. I’m staying right here.”

The wolf’s jaws opened, revealing a row of vicious teeth, but she could have sworn he was smiling at her. It reminded her of her first day working for him and she smiled back, despite her pride. The wolf lowered himself to squeeze through the door, which was too small for him, and ran out.

She curled up the sofa and buried herself in the book she’d found on Zolla’s shelf. At first she didn’t think she’d be able to concentrate, but her mind was so thrilled with a distraction—any distraction from her worry over Melissa and her situation with Ben—that she found herself swept away to an alien planet.

She didn’t re-emerge for a couple hours, when her stomach started growling. She padded to the front door and opened it, looking around for Ben. The wolf was sitting on the front steps. He turned and bared his teeth at her.

She froze, her body having an autonomic reaction to the danger an enormous, snarling wolf presented. Reason took over, and she forced herself to step out and sit down on the step beside him.

Ben got up, shoving his nose under her thigh, as if to make her stand, too. When she didn’t, she saw teeth again. He bit the fabric of her skirt and tugged, making a growling sound. Refusing to be cowed by him, as terrifying as he may be, she rubbed his head. “Okay, okay, I’ll go back in. But I’m hungry. Aren’t you?”

He leaned his body against her legs, pressing her forward and through the door.

She laughed. “All right, I’m in. You want me to see if there’s any food here?”

The wolf looked toward the kitchen.

“Okay. Let’s see what your friend Zolla keeps in his cupboards.”

She walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, which only contained a few take-out containers, beer, and condiments. She opened the cabinets. He had plenty of non-perishables: cans of soup, beans, macaroni and cheese packages. She pulled out a couple of cans of chili. “You probably want meat, right?”

She searched the drawer for a can opener and, finding one, opened the can.

She wondered if Ben would shift back. In a way, it was easier with him in wolf form. She wouldn’t be offended by his lack of conversation. And it was hard to be mad at a wolf.

She dumped the chili into two bowls and heated it up in the microwave. “I’m actually a good cook, not that you’ll be able to tell from this meal. Maybe someday you’ll let me cook for you. What was up with neither you nor Karen eating my banana bread? That was downright rude.”

The wolf’s mouth opened again and she thought he was laughing at her.

“What? It was. What’s up with you and Karen, anyway?”

When the wolf actually rolled his eyes, she chuckled. “No? Nothing?”

He stepped around her and she instinctively backed away, then gave a nervous laugh. The kitchen seemed tiny with his huge four-legged body taking up space. “It’s hard not to be intimidated by you,” she said. Forcing herself to conquer her fear, she stepped forward and held out her hand for him to sniff.

She thought he might be laughing at her again. She buried both hands in his fur, rubbing his soft ears and the thick fur at the scruff of his neck. “You sure are beautiful.”

He held still for it, but she couldn’t tell whether he liked it or not. Maybe being pet like a dog was beneath a werewolf.

The microwave beeped and she took their bowls out, setting his on the floor at his feet. “Sorry if that’s not how you eat. I’m new at this.”

It seemed fine, because he cleaned his bowl in about one minute flat. She’d only taken a few bites in the time it took him to eat. “Do you want more?”

He gave a little chuff, which she took to be affirmative, so she opened another can of chili and heated it up for him. She stared at his huge form as he ate. He was as tall as a Great Dane—the kind of dog you make jokes about riding like a horse.

If they had children together, they could ride him.
Sheesh, where did that thought come from? They weren’t having children together. They weren’t even dating. They got each other off and that was the end of it.

* * *

Though he hated being indoors when in wolf form, he hung around with Ashley that afternoon.

He had run to Ashley’s place when he first went out and sniffed around. People had definitely been there. He made a note of the scents. Even if they managed to get her sister back, he didn’t think Ashley would be safe. Not until they figured out who was behind all this. But where could she and her sister go? And who would watch over them? It could take weeks or even months for this plot to unravel.

He actually thought Zolla’s place was as safe as any, and he did trust the wolf.

Ashley read for a while, but as dusk came on, she grew restless, pacing about the room.

“Do you think they ever had any intention of returning Melissa?” she asked him.

He figured it was rhetorical, since he couldn’t speak. He preferred it that way, anyway.

She looked at him, a pinched look tightening her face. “I kind of don’t. They weren’t wearing any masks or anything. Which means, either they’re really stupid and they don’t care if we can identify them, or they planned to kill us both.”

He had arrived at the same conclusion, which was why he wasn’t letting Ashley out of his sight.

She paced some more. “I probably should’ve just called the police when I got the first message.”

He glared at her.

“No?” Her shoulders sagged. “I guess not. You can’t really have police poking in your business, but I’m starting to think… Well, we’re sort of outnumbered. Even if you are a wolf who doesn’t mind bullet holes. I mean, Melissa and I aren’t bulletproof.” A darker shadow crossed her face. “If Melissa’s still alive.”

He trotted over and put his muzzle against her leg in a show of protection and comfort.

She rubbed his head. Sinking down on the sofa, she took his face between her hands, rubbing his ears. “I’m scared, Ben,” she whispered, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes.

He licked her hand. To hell with this. He wasn’t going to let her grow more and more frightened as they holed up here for another six hours. He trotted toward the bedroom, shifting as he walked. When he turned to shut the door, he saw Ashley craning her neck to watch him, getting an eyeful of his naked form, and damn if he didn’t still have a raging erection for her. Her mouth opened when their eyes caught, and he gave her a half-grin, watching as her eyes widened and a blush spread across her cheeks.