To Catch His Mate (Crescent Moon Series Book 5) (6 page)

His gaze went molten hot as he nodded. The walk down to the beach was quiet, not too many people out this time of morning. Not with the chilly breeze coming up off the water. It didn’t bother her though, not with her shifter blood. The weather was a lot different than where they lived too, so she was wearing a light sweater and jeans. She left her shoes by the end of the wooden walkway and dug her feet into the sand as they made their way down to the shoreline.

“If you want to shift, Grant said this stretch of beach is private,” Reece said before taking a sip of his coffee.

“I’d rather just talk.” She was to the point where her wolf trusted him enough to shift and be vulnerable, but she’d gone running with Charlie last night and was feeling pretty settled. Probably had something to do with being in Reece’s presence because her shifter side had definitely forgiven him by now. She had too, but it was one thing to let go and another to truly trust that he’d support her no matter what. That was something she’d only know when and if he showed her.

“Good.” He clasped her hand and linked his fingers through hers.

The sweet action took her off guard, but she liked it. “Can I ask you something personal?” It wasn’t her business but it was something she needed to know.

“Yes.”

She kept her gaze ahead, focused on the stretch of white sand and washed up seashells. “I don’t have a lot of experience with pack life other than my own and…” This was a little awkward. Now that she’d started she wondered if she should even ask. “My father has never slept with any of the females in our pack. I assume he, well, finds…companionship elsewhere, but he doesn’t sleep around.” She knew it was partially because he’d been so broken when her mother died, but also because it could lead to a power imbalance.

“You didn’t actually ask a question but I think I know what you’re asking. Since I became alpha, I haven’t slept with any females in my pack for probably the same reason as your father. There would be too much inter-pack fighting or a pack member could feel as if they had to sleep with me because of my position.”

She was silent, digesting his words. It was something she wanted to know because if he had slept around and they mated, she would want to know who in the pack might have a grudge against her.

“I did sleep with some females in the pack before I became alpha,” he continued. “But those have moved onto other packs since I took over.”

She shouldn’t feel relief at that, but experienced it all the same. “Was it hard taking over?” She’d only ever known her father as an alpha so wasn’t sure what it would be like during a transition. And Reece was young for an alpha. Not that his age mattered. Power pulsed around him as if it were a tangible thing.

He paused and she liked that he took his time answering. “It was exhausting in the beginning. For about the first two months I was challenged almost every other day for authority. At first I simply dominated the other males in fights but didn’t make my wins overkill. After two months…” He shrugged, trailing off.

He didn’t need to finish though. She understood completely. He got tired of the challenges so he wiped the floor with those who continued to push him. Shifters, especially males, seemed to only respect physical strength. It was something that annoyed her about her species, but it was just the way things were.

“When I went to see your father I met a female named Ember,” he continued. “Who is she to…you?”

Alyssa snorted. Ember had it bad for Alyssa’s dad, but both of them were too cowardly to do anything about it. “She’s one of my dearest friends but I think you really wanted to ask who she is to my father. If he can ever get his head out of his butt, he’ll mate Ember.”

Reece laughed, the rumbling sound soothing to every bit of her.

“I love your laugh,” she said.

She felt him look at her, but she didn’t meet his gaze, just kept their steady pace along the sand. Grant was right, this stretch was incredibly private and quiet. Seagulls and the crash of waves were the only sounds.

“I saw you, you know. Before I asked you and your father to my territory.”

Now she glanced over at him. “You did?”

His dark eyes met hers. “I saw you shopping over in Waterstone. You had a couple bodyguards with you.”

She hadn’t seen him because Reece was the type of man she’d remember—the type any woman would remember. She wondered why he hadn’t said anything before. “Oh… Did you know who I was then?”

He gave a small shake of his head. “No, but I wanted to know you. I would have talked to you too, but the males with you kept you pretty close. So I might have done a little research on you.”

She raised her eyebrows.

To her surprise, his cheeks flushed. “I snapped a photo of you and had one of my guys see what he could find. And…I might have followed you and your guards to Clare territory. When I realized what territory you were going into it wasn’t hard to find out who you were after that.”

“So you pretty much stalked me?” Her mouth curved up as warmth invaded her. Maybe she should be freaked out but she wasn’t.

He lifted a shoulder, completely unapologetic. “I wanted to talk to you. Full disclosure, I approached your father once I knew who you were. I asked him to visit my territory and to bring you. I made my intentions clear from the start. He came up with the arranged mating thing.” His lips twisted in annoyance. “But I didn’t stop him because the thought of waking up to you every day…” When he trailed off she realized he was nervous.

The thought of big, bad alpha Reece actually unsure of himself seemed wrong somehow. He might have screwed up before, but he’d been nothing but real with her since arriving in Orange Beach.

When he started to glance away, she stopped in her tracks and grabbed his shirt, tugging him down to her.

That was all it took. He slanted his mouth over hers, taking and claiming her lips with a fervent urgency. One hand slid around her waist, pulling her close and the other cupped the back of her head in a hard, dominating grip.

Reece was consumed with the need to claim Alyssa even if it was way too soon, at least for her. He knew what he wanted, what his wolf wanted, and he wasn’t going to question the pull he felt for her.

But she’d been softening toward him the last four days. This morning when she’d given him that blinding smile he swore his heart had skipped a beat. Everything about this female called to him so that when he was with her all he could think was;
mine
.

She
was
his.

Right now he wanted to make good on one of those promises he’d made her. Using his shifter senses, he knew they were completely alone on the beach.

When she slid her fingers up his chest and clutched onto his shoulders, a growl tore from his throat. He loved the feel of her touching him, loved the taste of her. Now he wanted to taste more of her.

He clutched her ass, smiled against her mouth at her little yelp when he hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around him without pause. He could feel her heart rate kick up as she held onto him.

Breathing hard, she pulled back to look at him. Her jet black hair was tousled around her face, her blue eyes bright. “What are you doing?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Her answer was instant, her voice breathless.

He glanced up and down the beach, saw no one. He’d have scented someone anyway, but the visual confirmed they were alone. Holding her tightly, he hurried up the sloping sand, using his supernatural speed to cover the distance quickly.

As he reached the top of a dune, he saw that it dipped down into another miniature valley. Oh yeah, the foliage and dunes created more than enough shelter. Before he’d taken a step down the dune, Alyssa nipped at his jaw, her teeth scraping against him before she followed it up with a string of kisses.

His erection pressed against his jeans, but he focused on Alyssa and her hot mouth as she continued a teasing trail down his neck. He wanted to feel her coming against his mouth and fingers.

“Alyssa,” he murmured, collapsing against the sand with her on top of him.

She straddled him, scraping her teeth against his neck again. He rolled his hips once, then grabbed hers and flipped their bodies. It was impossible to give up control.

Eyes wide, she looked up at him as he settled on top of her. Her wolf flickered in her bright eyes for a moment and her pulse point was going wild.

“I want to see you,” he murmured, inhaling deeply. The scent of her desire was intoxicating. No wonder mated males went all primal and possessive over their females. He never wanted her to have this reaction for anyone else. Only him.

She nodded, her breathing erratic.

He slid his hands to her waist and pushed up the hem of her sweater. The material was soft and light, but nothing was as smooth as her skin. Before he’d pushed it up higher than her stomach, she grasped the hem and tugged it off her.

There was a hungry gleam in her gaze, even if he could sense her nervousness. Not that she had anything to be nervous about.

The lacy purple bra she wore didn’t hide much of anything. Reaching behind her, he unclasped it and when her hands went to cover herself, he grasped her wrists, held them still.

“Don’t hide from me.” Not ever. This female brought out every possessive and protective instinct he had.

Swallowing hard, she nodded. It made him wonder how much experience she had or if maybe it was because they were semi-exposed outside. But shifters usually didn’t care about that. Hell, maybe it was just because it was him. “You want to stop, we stop. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Knowing that she trusted him in this soothed all his ragged edges. Most of them. He was still keyed up, ready to bring her to a toe-numbing climax. He finished pulling her bra free and his cock kicked against his pants again as her breasts were completely revealed. Full, a little more than a handful, and tipped with light brown nipples, she was utter perfection.

Reece told himself to slow down, but he couldn’t help himself. His head dipped and he sucked one hard bud into his mouth.

“Reece!” She arched into him, her fingers sliding in his hair as he stroked his tongue over her tight nipple.

She started grinding against him as he kissed and teased her. God, she was so reactive and they’d barely gotten started. When her hands moved from his shoulders down to his chest, he pulled back.

He could feel the intent in her movements. Right now he couldn’t afford for her to touch his cock. Not if he wanted to be able to think. And he refused to take her for the first time in the sand at the beach. He wanted to bring her pleasure, but actually sinking inside her, feeling her tight body…no, that was something for when they were alone. Because he wanted to savor her for hours.

“This is just about you right now,” he murmured, dropping a kiss to her lips. He gently tugged on the bottom one as her fingers dug into his chest muscles. When they finally made it to a bedroom, or a better flat surface than this, and he had all the time in the world, he was going to give her as much foreplay as she could stand. Because just her touching him now was making him crazy and he still had all his clothes on.

She made a protesting sound when he drew away, but when he nipped at her jaw, she settled down. As her body fully relaxed, he slid a palm down her flat stomach, unfastened the button of her jeans.

She practically melted under him, tightening her hold as he slid a hand down the front of her panties. More than anything he wanted to strip her bare but if she was completely naked in front of him, he wasn’t sure how his wolf would react. He was barely hanging on as it was.

Make her come, bring her pleasure
, he ordered himself. This was all about Alyssa.

“Reece,” she gasped out when he rubbed his middle finger over her clit. Even without delving any farther between her folds, he felt her slickness.

It was all for him. That knowledge pierced through him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her claws flicking out just the slightest bit. He scented his own blood as she broke skin.

He welcomed the spark of pain, loved that he was pushing her to the edge so fast. “I want to feel you come,” he murmured, kissing along the smooth column of her neck. He increased his stroking against her swollen clit, rubbing her in a steady rhythm.

With each caress, the more out of control her movements became. When he raked his canines against her pulse point, she took him by surprise. Crying out his name, she jerked against his hand before he’d even penetrated her.

“Reece,” she moaned his name like a prayer as her orgasm rocked through her.

He kept teasing her until she made a mild protesting sound and released his shoulders. Withdrawing his hand, he licked the finger he’d been stroking her with.

Her cheeks went crimson as she watched him. Another blast of her lust rolled over him as he looked at her. In that moment he realized he’d never felt more content. His dick ached and he wanted inside her like he wanted his next breath, but he simply liked being with her.

Her lips were slightly swollen and her blue eyes were bright with satisfaction. He’d done that, put that look on her face. She almost looked as if she were coming out of a daze.

Unable to keep his mouth off her, he skated his lips over hers. “Thank you.”