The Alpha's Choice (16 page)

The men laughed and pushed and shoved each
other in playful camaraderie as they gathered their scattered
belongings, tossing them about as each found their own. Only a few
bothered redressing and those only in their jeans and shoes.

Embarrassed to be caught peeping, Kat pulled
the towel over her face and pretended sleep as they drew nearer the
house. Sheltered from the breeze, the lounge was tucked back in the
darkest corner of the patio and her towel covering was a dark navy
blue. With any luck, they'd never know she was there.

"That was ass crackin' fun!" Kat didn't
recognize the voice.

"What the hell does that mean?" She thought
that might be Tanner; young, dark haired with a ready smile.

"Bend over and I'll show ya."

"Sorry, my ass is spoken for. Sweet Rhonda
awaits." Hopefully Tanner.

"Don't know what the girl sees in you,
Tanner."

"That's because I keep my drawers on whenever
you're around. Wouldn't want to cause you any whatchamacallit,
penis envy." Definitely Tanner.

"Anyone know what room Becky's in?" said
another unknown voice.

"I do and if I find you anywhere near it,
you'll be changing your name to Dick-less." That was Rawley of the
silky smooth voice. That voice alone could bring a woman to the
edge. Add it to that god-like body and… well… Becky was a lucky
woman!

"I thought Dickless was his name."

"Nah. You're thinking of Dickhead."

"Asshole."

"That's his middle name."

All this was interspersed with good natured
laughter and Kat locked her lips between her teeth to hold back the
giggles. These alpha wolvers were nothing more than overgrown boys.
She'd heard the same type of conversations in the hall by the boy's
locker room after a game. Kat's internal merriment was cut short by
her sharp intake of breath when another voice spoke.

"Time to put the beast to bed, boys, and
there'll be no knocking on doors unless an invitation has already
been issued. No invitation? You'll have to make do with a cold
shower or your five fingered friend."

There were more comments and laughter, but
Kat was no longer paying attention. Charles was standing at the
foot of her lounge. She could feel the residual power emanating
from him and goosebumps arose on her skin.

Moisture gathered between her legs and she
tried to think of snakes and spiders and circus clowns, any creepy
thing that would take her mind away from the thoughts that were
buzzing through her head. She willed the group to pass her by
unnoticed.

They did, all but Charles. He stood there at
the foot of her lounge, his power curling up and around her like
smoke from a candle, until the back door closed and the voices
receded into the depths of the house.

"You were eavesdropping, Katarina, and
eavesdropping is not nice. Eavesdropping makes you a very naughty
little girl."

Kat could hear a sternness in his voice that
she hadn't heard before. Was he angry? She didn't think so, but she
left the cover over her face and squinched her eyes shut. If she
didn't move and kept her breathing even, she could sometimes fool
Grams into thinking she was really asleep instead of listening to
the television though the paper thin walls.

Her ploy was ruined by her startled squeak
when Charles whispered through the towel by her ear. She hadn't
heard him move.

"And naughty little girls need to be
punished."

He pulled the towel down enough to see her
wide open eyes. "I knew you were awake. I could smell your
arousal."

He could smell that? Oh, shit! Kat sat up
straight and the towel fell to her lap. "Could they?"

Charles stood over her, dressed only in his
jeans. His grin was evil. "Probably. Would you like me to call them
back and ask?"

"No!"

He nodded. "Now, why were you out here
eavesdropping in the middle of the night instead of upstairs in
your bed where you should be?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping," she said
indignantly and immediately recanted. "Well I was, but that wasn't
why I was out here." It wasn't as if she'd overheard any wolver
secrets. "I just wanted to see… the wolvers come home," she added
quickly.

Charles shook his head sadly. "And now you've
lied. That'll earn you another punishment I'm afraid." He peeled
the towel from her body and stood looking down at her.

Kat pulled her knees up closer to her chest
and wrapped her arms around her legs to keep them there. "That's
not fair," she pouted, refusing to look up at the broad, muscled
chest looming over her.

There was a thin patch of dark blond curls at
the center of his chest that formed a winged vee over his pectoral
muscles and if she looked at it, her eyes would be forced to follow
the long tail of the vee down the center of his body to disappear
into the waistband of his jeans. She licked her lips before she
complained.

"You can't punish people for breaking the
rules when you haven't told them what the rules are. You have to
tell me what the rules are first."

"Where would be the fun in that?"

Kat's head snapped up to find Charles smiling
with mischief. He held out his hand to her and waited patiently
until she took it.

"Let the punishment begin," he said as he
pulled her to her feet. He looked her up and down, taking in every
inch of her, slowly.

Kat wasn't sure where this was going. Charles
was still talking about punishment and yet the look he was giving
her was anything but punishing. She watched and waited, goosebumps
rising on her arms, this time not from the chill in the air, but
from the heat of his gaze.

"You're going to run."

Run? She remembered what he said about her
refusal to run and his refusal to chase. "So you're just playing
the Big Bad, right?"

"The Big Bad?"

"Yeah. The Big Bad Wolf. This is a game,
right? Not a real punishment."

"We'll have to see, won't we?" He grinned
evilly. "Your punishment is to run to the barn."

Kat looked out to where he pointed. She could
barely see the darkened outline of the barn. It wasn't too far,
about two hundred yards. She was in good shape. She could make that
easily.

Charles wasn't finished. "You'll have four
stops along the way; the woodpile from the dead tree, the pear
tree, the big rock half exposed, and the bucket Buddy left out by
the drive. Those will be your safe zones." He pointed in the
direction of each as he spoke.

Two hundred yards just became five hundred.
It wasn't a straight line to the barn, but a zigzag pattern. She
could easily see the outline of the woodpile. It was huge. There
were several trees clustered together with their buds just
beginning to pop. How the hell was she supposed to figure out which
one was the pear? Beyond that she could see nothing. His pointing
only gave her a vague placement for the rock and the bucket.

"If I catch you before you reach your safe
zone, you forfeit a piece of clothing."

"That's not fair!" She complained and she
shivered, more at the thought of running naked than the cool night
air. What if someone should see them? "You can run faster than me
and I'm wearing sandals. I can't run in these."

He looked down at her feet. "You're right.
I'm not wearing shoes. Take yours off. We want this to be fair."
The grin Charles gave her told her he wanted this to be anything
but fair.

Kat kicked her sandals off and giving it one
last try, she ran her fingers over his chest. "Can't we just go
inside and…?"

"Where would be the punishment in that?" He
sighed. "Tell you what, I'll give you a head start. Ready, set,
go!"

Startled, Kat stumbled as she took off, but
she gained her footing quickly and ran for all she was worth toward
the jumbled pile of wood, the remains of a dying maple tree. The
ground over which she ran had been turned and tilled and freshly
seeded with grass. It was soft beneath her feet.

She could see the outline of each piece of
wood and was only about ten feet away when she was grabbed about
the waist and spun in a circle, her feet in the air. She squealed
in the delightful fear she used to feel when she was a little girl
and her father chased her around the house as a growling bear.

Charles set her on her feet and looked her up
and down slowly. Kat stood still, arms to her side, awaiting his
choice of forfeiture.

"Turn around and take off the shorts," he
ordered, surprising her.

"I thought you were going to…"

"Ah, ah," he admonished her with a shaking
index finger and then stirred the air with the same finger to
indicate she was to turn. "No talking during punishment." He paused
for a moment and when she didn't move he added, "I'm waiting."

Kat slowly undid the button and inched the
zipper down. The shorts, cut down from an old pair of jeans, were
tight she had to shimmy her hips to get them down. She bent to pull
them off her feet and shivered a little as the cold night air hit
her nylon clad bottom. Without looking back, she held the shorts
out to him.

"We'll leave them right here on the wood
pile," he told her and before she could straighten, his hand was on
her back holding her in place. "Let me see that little wiggle
again."

Kat giggled and wiggled and when she heard
him hum in appreciation, she wiggled again.

"Ready, set, go!" he said in the middle of
her wiggle.

Startled again, Kat ran for the cluster of
trees, laughing now. Her legs were freer without the tight shorts,
and she thought she might have a chance. The tilled earth turned to
scratchy weed that prickled her feet, but she ignored it and
sprinted on, reached the half dozen trees and grabbed the first
branch she came to.

"That's a plum," Charles said behind her and
she jumped. She hadn't heard him running.

She turned to him and huffed, "How was I
supposed to know which one…"

The wagging finger was back. "That's twice.
Don't make me warn you again. I think I'll take those panties
now."

As before, she kept her back to him as she
removed her panties, feeling more vulnerable and yet somehow
aroused by being fully clothed on top and fully exposed at her
bottom. She bent at the waist to untangle the panties from her
feet, knowing she was exposing her cheeks to his view.

"This is very… weird," she was about to say,
but gave a sharp shriek instead when Charles slapped her ass with
his hand. It was hard enough to sting, but not to hurt. She brought
her hand around to cover the spot.

"No talking and no touching. Turn around." He
took her panties from her and hung them on the tip of the branch, a
bright pink blossom on an otherwise bare tree.

Kat snapped her hand away and did as she was
told, stamping her feet a little to take away the sting. She
huffed, but didn't speak. She did, however, clamp her thighs
together when she felt a growing wetness between them. Charles
snickered and Kat felt herself flush red.

"I think my kitten likes to play." He ran his
finger down her narrow landing strip of curls and laughed when she
squeaked when his finger breached the barrier of her closed legs.
"Yeah, she likes to play."

She relaxed her legs as he found her sweet
spot and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensations. That was when he
cracked her other cheek.

"To the boulder. Ready, set, go!"

"No!" she moaned. She was dazed enough that
Charles had to turn her around and give her a bit of a push in the
direction he pointed. The prickly grass turned to harsher growth
and she found herself hopping on one foot and then the other as the
stubble poked her feet. The daze was gone and the embarrassment of
her bared behind bouncing with each hop slowed her further and she
wasn't even close to the barely visible rock when Charles caught up
with her. The stubble didn't seem to bother him.

She shrugged out of her tee and tossed it at
his head, laughing when he had to pause to peel it off. Sprinting
for the rock, her fists in the air in a silent cheer, Kat wasn't
prepared to be swept off her feet and roughly tossed over his
shoulder in a fireman's carry. She kicked her feet and tried to
pound him on the back to protest the unfairness of it as he plopped
her onto the wide boulder that arose a mere foot and a half from
the ground. How in hell was she supposed to see that? To avoid
another swat, she held her complaint and instead, put her hands on
her hips and stuck out her tongue. Charles only laughed harder,
damn him.

"You learn quickly, kitten, but you're
ruining my fun."

Kat clamped her lips together to prevent a
retort.

He positioned her up on the rock, facing him.
This put her bottom half on display before him. She closed her eyes
and her thighs.

"Open them," he ordered.

She wasn't sure if he meant her thighs or
eyes, so she opened both just enough to claim she had obeyed. But
her eyes went wide and her bottom clenched when he ran his finger
along her slit and up her belly.

"Since you gave your shirt up freely, there's
only one bit left. Take it off slowly so I can enjoy it."

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that
at least one of them was enjoying this, but she kept the thought to
herself and admitted, if only to herself, that she was enjoying
this erotic game, too.

She inched her bra straps off her shoulders
and watched his face, enjoying the hunger she saw there. In the
darkness, his eyes glittered with it and she heard him release a
ragged sigh, but all expression was gone by the time the bra was
off. He simply stared.

She stood there, hands on her hips, eyes wide
open and staring out over his head. She was cold now and she tried
not to show it, but her teeth chattered a little. That seemed to
bring Charles back from wherever his mind had wandered. He
smiled.