Alpha On the Run: A BBW Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance (6 page)

It was hard to think with his fingers pushing inside her, stroking her so deep that she cried out and pressed her heels hard into his back. Eventually she got the words to say, “Don't you want anything for yourself?”
              “Do you have condoms?” he asked.

She closed her eyes to concentrate. “Second drawer on the bedside table.”

“Then I'll get them when I think you're good and wet,” he said, and did something with his hand that cleared all coherent thought from Anna's mind. She bucked her hips and whined, content to let him lead.

She came, grinding against his hand, eyes shut furiously hard. When she was done shaking she lay flat on the bed, feeling limp and languid. Her eyes opened to watch Joshua wipe his hand off on the sheets, then go to retrieve the condom.

He took his boxers off then and kicked them aside on the floor. He was big. She bit her lip, but curled her toes in anticipation. She wanted to feel all of that girth inside of her. Would it feel as good as it looked, or would it hurt? She was glad he took the time to make sure she was ready.

“Ready?” he asked after rolling the condom on, sitting back down on the bed.

“What position do you want me in?” she asked, then flushed at her own forwardness.

“Well. I could fulfill that promise,” he said, leaning down to cradle in her arms.

“Let me get up,” she said, then started when instead he lifted her with one arm around her shoulders and one against her thighs.
              He grinned at her. “I told you I'd pick you up from the bed, didn't I?”

Joshua set her on her feet by the wall. He didn't give her a chance to reply, instead kissing her hard again as he lifted her hips to brace her against it.

It felt amazing to be supported by his strength. Anna grabbed his upper arms and rolled her hips back to give him room to thrust, finally, inside her.

Oh, god, that felt good. She ground against him until he shifted closer. One of his hands pulled at her thigh. She let him lift it, then pulled up the other to wrap them around his waist, delighting in his ability to hold her up despite her size. Maybe she really wasn't too big for him.

She squirmed and whimpered. He stretched her as he mouthed and nipped at her neck. She felt a flash of wonderful adrenaline at his teeth so close to her throat, then confusion – it wasn't a very human thought, was it?

The whole line of thought washed away when he kissed her again, thrusting into her with a new vigor. She brought her hands up to grip at the back of his head and let all conscious thought go.

They finished there, against the wall. Joshua came first, but stayed inside her, rocking his hand against her clit, until she came a second time. Finally, with them both sated, they collapsed back into the bed.

Her mind had gone slow and hazy with the sex. As she woke again, she became aware of something new. The sense that he would always be there had solidified to a sense that he was there now. There was a presence tight against the back of her mind.

She felt at it and sensed an answering awareness.

Hi,
Joshua said.

Anna giggled, suddenly giddy.
Hi, yourself
, she said, turning to grin at him.

“Did you just talk to me in my head?” she asked.
              “Did you just answer?” he replied.

Chapter Six

Joshua never really understood what the mating bond was like from the outside, but now –

He could feel Anna with him, no matter where he went. Not just her presence, but her emotions, what she was doing, even a vague sense of what direction she was in.

After they ate, Anna showered to get as much of his scent off her as possible at his suggestion. The bond might be detectable, but everything he'd heard suggested you had to be pretty close to notice that. There was no point in being risky.

Then she went out of the cabin so they could test distance. The sense of direction and presence stayed there as far as she could go on foot in a reasonable amount of time, up to a few miles away. The speech faded out around one mile.

The strategic uses were obvious to Joshua – and why it was so important to Stephen to avoid mates working together. It would be almost effortless to plot against him with a private line of communication like that. Stephen had searched all of their belongings regularly, and didn't allow unsupervised use of the phone or any internet.

A few of Joshua's packmates used pay phones on jobs, where it was by necessity harder to keep track of them at all times. As time went on, though, it was getting harder and harder to find somewhere with a payphone.

He pushed those thoughts back. He wasn't going back to the pack, so it wouldn't matter. He was out of there, and he just might survive the trip, too.

He sat back in his chair to watch Anna. She was sorting through the notebooks on her desk. Her dark hair gleamed in the light. He watched her curvy body moving under her T-shirt and jeans with appreciation.

Joshua waited until she finished filing paper and stacking her notebooks, then got up to join her at the desk. “Hey,” he murmured into her ear. He caught her waist with both hands and buried his nose in her hair.

“Hey, yourself,” she said with a laugh. He could feel her surprised pleasure. In his mind, she was glowing with happiness. He kissed the back of her neck in appreciation. Then he kissed lower, near the edge of her T-shirt, and bit lightly.

Anna shivered under him. He felt the way his touch made her cheeks flush and her body tighten. It was very flattering to see how she reacted to him – and it doubled his pleasure. He wondered what it would be like to bury himself inside her and feel both their orgasms through the bond.

“Are you done?” he asked.

“Mm, no, but I could take a break,” she said.

“Good.” He nosed her hair aside so he could kiss her jawline from behind. She straightened, pushing her back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her happily. His hands found their way under her shirt. He stroked over her bra with his thumb and found a nipple in the plentiful flesh.

She tensed and laughed with pleasure. It was a beautiful, rich sound.

“You are so gorgeous, Anna,” he breathed. She laughed again. He frowned, feeling her disbelief.  “You really are,” he said firmly, and resolved to show her. It might take a while to make her believe it. He would have to show her a lot of times.

He pulled Anna's shirt up and then unfastened her bra. It was a pretty thing, made of purple silk with flowers embroidered on it. Not anywhere near as pretty as its owner, though. He kissed her back beneath where the strap had been, then nuzzled the red marks it had left. She shivered. Joshua felt how tender the flesh was where the straps cut into her skin. He licked across the marks on her back, then up over her shoulder. Joshua heard the bra hit the floor after she slipped her arms out of the straps.

“You could go naked,” he teased. “No more red marks on my beautiful mate.” He loved the way embarrassed pleasure flooded her mind when he called her beautiful.

“Oh!” she groaned. “No, I don’t think so. Not with breasts this size. They jiggle too much.”

He grinned at the corresponding mental images. “Doesn’t sound so bad.”

Anna swatted at his arm with a laugh. “You only think that because you don’t know what it feels like.”

“You could show me?” he said brightly.

She turned in his arms and smiled. “Maybe later. Now it’s your turn to show off. Shirt on the floor. I want to see you.”

He could feel her anticipation. He took his shirt off quickly, then let his jeans hit the floor. The admiration he felt from her made him want to preen, or maybe go find an excuse to lift something heavy over his head. But there were better uses for his time.

“And way better uses for your body,” Anna said. She kissed him on the lips.

Joshua groaned against her.
I'm glad you think so
, he thought.

Hey, we can talk while we kiss. Great use for the bond,
she answered him.

They took a moment to explore that pleasure, but eventually they had to break off for a moment to breathe.

He wondered again what sex would feel like now that they were bonded. Anna laughed under him, and he realized she was wondering the same thing.

He backed off slightly to see her blush. “Let's find out,” she said.

They half fell across the couch in a tangle of limbs. Joshua kissed down Anna's collar bone and unfastened her pants. Unfortunately, then he had to get up so she could kick them off.

She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down. “Hurry up,” she said.

“Impatient?” he asked, grinning.

His arousal doubled in a flood of emotion from the bond. He bent over her, panting. “Good reason to be,” he said, and kissed her again.

“Good, you felt that,” Anna said.

She gasped when Joshua's hand found its way between her legs. She pulled her knees up to give him better access. They rearranged themselves on the couch, with Anna leaning against the cushions, legs spread wide. Joshua knelt between her legs. He put one hand on her head, half to support her and half for an excuse to feel her lush hair.

He played his fingers across her labia and rubbed at her clit. Then he pressed harder when Anna's hips bucked up. He tried to remember what sent the strongest pulses across his mind. If everything went well – and God, he hoped everything would go well – he would have a long time to learn what she liked.

For now, her urgency infected him. She was very wet, and he didn't need to spend more time getting ready. “Let me get a condom,” he said, reluctantly getting up.

“Mm, okay,” Anna said, equally reluctant. She sprawled sidewise on the couch. Naked, sexy, and waiting for him. It was all the incentive he needed to hurry.

He saw her watching him on his way, and brought his hand up. He licked her juices off his hand and relished her smell and taste. He felt Anna take a sharp breath in at the sight. Their emotions were almost one. He couldn't wait to see what more was like.

Joshua sat back on the couch and rolled the condom on. Anna twitched against him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It feels weird.” She smiled a little. “I've never felt that before.”

“What part?” he asked, leaning down to crawl over her.

“I felt you putting the condom on. The cold. And the squeeze – oh!” she said when he kissed her neck again.

She was completely distracted. Joshua grinned. He pulled her hips up and thrust into her quickly. Anna groaned and clutched him to her. Her eyes closed. He watched her eyelashes flutter and her face tense with pleasure. Seeing her was almost as good as the feel of her clenched tightly around him.

He thrust into her over and over. He relished the feel of her skin against his and the way her hips bucked up into him. Her pleasure boiled over in his mind, and he knew she shared his as well. It was better than he could have imagined. Every thrust into her, and every stroke across her skin, brought him pleasure two times – his at the giving, and hers at the receiving.

The heat, the sun and the quiet turned the morning into a haze. He was only aware of the sweat on his skin and the sound of Anna's breaths and the movements of their bodies together. The sunlight gave her skin golden and bronze highlights. It set off the black of her hair beautifully. He almost couldn’t believe he could touch her. But he could and, in fact, he was.

Joshua kissed her shoulder and nibbled. When she groaned he bit down. The pinprick of pain broke the haze.

Suddenly time moved again, and they were desperate to finish. Joshua thrust into her and grabbed her hips. He sucked at the bite on her shoulder and licked. Her hands found purchase in his short hair and tugged to pull him closer to her.

They came together in a wash of pleasure that made Joshua's vision go blurry. Even after he finished Anna continued to gasp and twitch for several moments. Her aftershocks rippled across the bond and made him shudder. He kissed her throat until she calmed.

They lay together in the heat. Moving seemed like a great effort. Soon they would have to clean up.

Joshua could stand to be trapped in a cabin with her. Everything would be fine. Somehow.

That afternoon, Anna made an unfortunate discovery.

“I think I might need to go into town.” She faced away from him and stared determinedly at the vegetables she was chopping.

Joshua resisted the urge to growl. The emotional intimacy that came with the bond had a side effect. The thought of getting her killed had gone from merely guilt-inducing to a threat of total despair. “Why?”

“I checked the car's gas tank when I was coming in. I was meaning to get gas all this week, and then I ended up tearing my way back here – I have just enough to get into the closest town one way. Not even enough to drive out of the area if anything happens.”

“Nothing's going to happen if we don't get their attention,” Joshua said, unhappy.

“You don't
know
that.” She turned, gesturing harshly with the knife. Then she realized what she was doing and put it down rapidly. “Look, it's not just a matter of the pack. It's the middle of the summer in the middle of nowhere. Forest fires happen. Injuries happen. Landslides and flooding happen in this area, too. You're a city boy, so let me tell you, it is completely irresponsible to sit here with no way to get
out
of here in a hurry if we need to. How sure are we that they'll notice me? I'd be spending maybe ten minutes out of the car at the gas station.”

“Shouldn't you have extra gas here?” he asked.

Anna sighed. “I'm counting that in. One of the containers was knocked over by an animal, and the other was already half empty. Believe me, I won't let it go this long again.”

He wanted to tell her no, you aren't going, nothing is so bad as getting taken by Stephen. He wanted to offer to take her place and go instead.

Unfortunately, the latter suggestion was pure stupidity. They might or might not notice that Anna was his mate. They
knew
his scent and would be looking for him. Even if he wasn't caught, they might pick up his scent at the gas station later.

And she wasn't actually asking for his permission. She didn't need it.

“All right,” he said heavily. He breathed out and clenched the table top with his hands. “Let's get ready. The sooner you go, the sooner it's over with.”

Anna looked relieved. “It's really not far, it's a twenty minute drive to the gas station. I should be back in less than an hour. Let me grab my keys.”             

Joshua shook his head. “There are a few things you should do. Do you have a knife anywhere, something you could use?”

“I can't fight,” Anna said. “Don't know how. But I have a pocket knife.”

“Using a knife isn't really complicated. I'd tell you not to, since an inexperienced person using a weapon is just giving their attacker one, but you can't disarm a werewolf anyway. What you want to do with a knife is get a grip on the handle and stab, not slash.” He waited expectantly until she took out the knife. He took it from her then, flipped it open and placed her hand on it. “Thumb like this, so it's harder to knock out of your hand.”

The knife itself was okay. Not a fast draw, but it was meant to cut things, not people. At least the point was sharp.

“Stabbing, not slashing,” Anna repeated. She thrust it experimentally. He corrected her, and she tried again with more enthusiasm. “Why?”

He smiled at the quick improvement. “Organ damage. Slashing's shallow, so any serious damage is going to happen days later from infection. Stabbing, you have a chance of a disabling injury. But your main goal is just getting them to back up so you can run.”

“Got it.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you for this. I know I’m just a civilian, and I don’t know how to handle myself, but – you trust me to take care of myself. That’s important.”

“You’re an adult, Anna,” Joshua said quietly. “And you’re my mate. You would be an alpha if you were a wolf. You lack training, but that’s not your fault.”

She put the knife away. “What else were you thinking?”

“That you shouldn't look like the woman they saw. Don't want to encourage them to check you out.”

“Won't they smell me anyway?” Anna asked.

“They'll have to get closer if your skin's covered.” He almost started going through her clothes. Then he remembered that she might not agree her territory was his now, just because they were mates. She was human. “Do you have a hat, maybe? One big enough to stuff your hair into?