Once Upon a Shifter (66 page)

The three men turned and followed Daryn out the door.

Jaxon stared at us with narrowed eyes, seeming to be deep in thought, and then he just shook his head and stepped outside.

"Mena?" Alex said. "Are you going home with me?"

Taking in a deep breath, I looked up to see Phoenix's pained expression. Even though we knew this had to happen, I could tell the agony he was letting me see was as real as mine felt.

I nodded as I took Alex's hand. "Yes, let's go."

Chapter 40

Alex

The keys jingled as Alex struggled to find the right one in the darkness. Leaving the light on would have been a brilliant idea, he thought, then the right one slid home and he turned the knob, letting himself and Mena into his apartment.

The small living room and kitchen were illuminated when he flipped the switch by the door, and he instantly regretted not picking up a little before he left.

Grabbing two coffee cups and a plate with half a three-day-old sandwich on it off the counter top, he rushed to the trash can and sink to dispose of the mess.

"Sorry. I wasn't exactly expecting company."
Dear God, she's in my home!

Mena smiled. "Don't worry about it—"

Seeing a green hoodie and a pair of boxer shorts lying on the back of the recliner, he ran to grab them, but she was there, in front of him, staring up at his face like she was freaking happy to be here or something. He had to be dreaming. That couldn't be possible.

"Leave them, Alex," she whispered.

Still uncertain, he nervously glanced around, looking for more clutter to pick up. "It'll only take me a minute to tidy up. My apartment isn't that big. I don't have nearly as much space as you do. Then we can watch TV or… or something." He swallowed.

She grinned mischievously. "You want to watch TV?"

Holy shit, she was sexy when she smiled, he thought, and then gave a mental fist bump to Karma for helping him get Mena here where she belonged. She was safe here with him. He could protect her more than that damn club owner ever could. "Not particularly," he said in a husky whisper.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, what else did you have in mind?"

As his eyes fell to those plump lips, she took the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it as she waited for his answer. She'd freak out if he told her what was really on his mind, and it was probably a good idea if she kept her eyes above his belt or the bastard behind his zipper wouldn't be as modest about telling her, with the way the damn thing was straining against the denim.

Deciding it was probably best to let her decide, he gave her another option. "Are you sleepy? You must be exhausted after the day you've had."

"Nope." She shook her head. "Are you sleepy?"

"Wide awake."

"Are you hungry?"

"Famished," she said, and licked those lips. His eyes were drawn there again, and he had to fight with himself not to grab her and kiss the ever-lovin' shit out of her right then and there.

Clearing his throat, he made his feet do the near impossible—take a step back. "Really? I could fix you—"
Shit! It's been months since I've shopped for food! What the hell am I going to fix her, Ramen Noodles?

"I'm not hungry for food, Alex."

"You—you're not?" he stammered out.

She shook her head again. "Huh-uh."

"Well, uh…"

Mena wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his.

Yes, definitely a dream. And anyone stupid enough to wake me up will get a beating they'll never forget.

Taking her lead, he opened his mouth, deepening the kiss and tasting her fully. He longed to taste the rest of her, but until she gave him a hint that it was okay, he wasn't about to go there. It was still all too soon, never mind the fact that he'd wanted her since he'd first met her. Now that he knew what an ass her husband had been, he didn't have the same reservations, but the guy wasn't even cold in the ground yet. There was still some semblance of propriety to think about.

Although, propriety was the furthest thing from his mind as Mena suckled on his bottom lip, pulling it into her mouth with something that resembled desperation. A rumbling growl came from deep in his chest, and to his surprise, she answered with a growl of her own.

Her hands wandered down his back, touching and exploring his muscles. The whole time, he did his best to kiss her senseless. When they landed at his waist, her fingers toyed with the handcuffs he kept clipped there.

"Can we play?" One of her eyebrows quirked up mischievously, and his groin tightened. He could easily admit this was one of his many fantasies involving Mena.

"Only if I'm the one doing the cuffing," he muttered between kisses, allowing himself to taste the sensitive skin on her neck. Jesus, she tasted like heaven.

"Can I do it later?" she asked breathily.

"Hell, yeah." Scooping her up in his arms, Alex stalked to the bedroom, taking that as the all clear. Tossing her on the bed, he managed some semblance of control as he unclipped his cuffs, sidearm and shield, laying them all on the nightstand. "Get naked." The words came out gritty with lust.

She eagerly complied, shucking her shirt and bra, before squirming out of her jeans. Watching her body writhe and undulate with the machinations of stripping snapped his tenuous hold on sanity.

He launched himself at her, manhandling Mena the way he wanted her until her wrists were cuffed together, looped through a bar on his headboard. Feeling her soft skin under his was like caressing heaven. He could do it all damn day.

"Okay?" He tested her restraints, and the unadulterated lust shining from her eyes accompanied by her slight nod made him practically weep with joy.

For all their talk, chicks didn't normally dig this, not that he'd had time to bring many home. They always joked about the cuffs, but as soon as things got serious, all bets were off.

Mena lay there, willing, eager, and writhing with desire, so he set out to please her. His goal for the night: to make Mena scream his name.

Standing at the foot of the bed, Alex slowly stripped, watching her. Naked. Writhing on his bed.

His erection bounced against his belly, throbbing with need, but he clamped a fist around it, and told it to chill out. It wasn't his turn yet.

Slowly, Alex crawled over Mena's body, blanketing her warmth with his. She pressed up against him, until he took one of her pert nipples in his mouth, and she arched up, gasping. The handcuffs rattled as she tried to get out, but her moans told him not to stop. As he brought one nipple to a stiff peak, he played with the other one, twisting it almost to the point of pain. Her moans of encouragement only spurred him on.

She tasted like the wilderness, like camping in the Alabama forests on his rare weekends off—fresh, earthy, and with a faint touch of musk that sent him reeling. As his other hand travelled her body, Alex realized that this one time with Mena would never be enough.

His mouth trailed lower, leaving her breasts alone for now, until his tongue dipped into her navel and swirled around before continuing on its travels. He looked up to see her watching him, the look in her eyes akin to wonder as he did his damnedest to evoke the same sense of pleasure from her that he was getting from this.

When he reached her slick sex, she cried out right before his lips latched onto the little bundle of nerves and sucked. Her back arched on the bed as she dug her heels into it, and he wrapped his strong arms around her hips to hold her still until he was finished.

She was stronger than she looked though, and she ground her pelvis against his chin. He continued to suck, not giving her the pleasure of gentler movements. He wanted her to know of his need for her, needed her to know what she did to him, how she made him feel so good while at the same time breaking his heart by not telling him the truth. The thought crossed his mind to deny her orgasm until she told him what she was hiding, so he went with it, knowing it was probably going to be more torture for him than her.

"Please, Alex," she whimpered. Yeah, he was a goner.

Lifting his mouth, Alex laid a wet kiss on her thigh. "Talk to me, Mena. Tell me something."

"What?" she breathed at him, her voice ragged.

"What don't I know about Marc's death?"

She sat up, as much as she could with her hands cuffed above her head and looked at him, outrage etched on her features.

"You are kidding, right?"

One long swipe of his tongue up her folds had her head thrown back, before he resumed kissing her inner thigh. "I know there's something you're not telling me." Kissing his way back up to her navel, he ignored her protests, as he left the apex of her thighs, lonely and needy. She squirmed under him, rubbing her skin against his, in an attempt at luring him back where she wanted him. It was working. The sheen of sweat on her skin slicked against his deliciously, and made him want to plunge himself inside her.

But he refrained. Barely.

Taking a nipple between his teeth, Alex rolled it around, listening to the hisses and moans coming from Mena. The cuffs rattled where she was straining against them, and he chuckled around his mouthful.

"Talk to me, Mena, and I'll give you what you want."

"This isn't fair," she growled at him, before wrapping her legs around his waist. She futilely rubbed against him, a maddening torture for Alex. It was getting harder and harder to resist this. He regretted his decision immensely, but now that he'd started, he had to follow through. Mena dug her heels into his backside, arching her back.

Slipping a finger inside her, Alex purposefully avoided the spot that would make her fly apart, instead focusing on drawing out her wetness, making her crazy enough to talk. His other hand kneaded her breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers.

"Okay!"

He let go of her nipple with a wet plopping noise and looked at her.

"Just get back down there, and I'll talk," she gasped at him.

He laughed as he made his way back down her body, eager to watch her fly apart and ready to hear what she had to say.

Suckling the bundle of nerves back between his teeth, he marveled again at how she tasted, before muttering between his lips, "Talk."

"Marcwasawerewolf," flew out of her mouth in a breathless rush, right before he began fluttering his tongue across her bud. He watched her face, enraptured, as her eyes rolled back and her mouth formed an 'o' of silent ecstasy, before she let out an inhuman moan, bordering on a growl.

This had been a mistake. Alex couldn't comprehend the words she'd said, so intent on Mena's face and her orgasm, that he'd nearly combusted.
Fuck it! She couldn't have possibly said what I heard. Either that, or she is delirious with desire.
Without a second thought, he reached over to his nightstand, ripped the foil packet with his teeth and rolled the condom on.

Sliding into her, Alex groaned and stilled himself while she stretched to fit him. He could still feel the aftershocks of Mena's first orgasm as her muscles rippled around him, sealing him in.

Oh, Christ, this was going to go quick.

Alex took a deep breath and moved inside her. She was doing her damnedest to unravel him at the seams with the noises she was making and rolling her hips in time to his.

The thing was, they fit together so well. He sat back on his heels, where he could see her face better, her head still thrown back, as she grunted and whimpered with his thrusts. Lifting a leg, Alex rested her foot on his shoulder and kissed the smooth curve of her instep.

Was there any part of this woman that wasn't sexy?

As if she could read his thoughts, he felt her tighten around him. Impossibly, Alex hardened further, in preparation for his climax. Impulsively, he nipped at the inside of Mena's foot with his teeth, and that sent her spiraling.

She plummeted over the edge, screaming his name, her core clamping down on him like a vice, and that was all it took to send Alex hurtling into the abyss after her. He thrust twice more, reluctant to leave the confines of her sweet sex, before leaning forward, undoing the handcuffs and collapsing next to her in a breathless heap.

Chapter 41

Phoenix

His mood was in the pisser.

Nobody. He didn't want to talk to or see anyone. Especially that damn detective. He wasn't positive he wouldn't rip the guy's arms off and beat him with them if he saw him right now.

On top of getting absolutely no sleep, he'd had to suffer through a massive wave of electrifying ecstasy, no doubt brought on by that fucking wolf and her boy-toy.

Jacking off to fix the issue wasn't going to happen, but he was pleased when it hadn't lasted more than thirty minutes, without any assistance on his part.

There was no way the wolf could be pleased with that.

A light tapping on the chamber door brought him out of thoughts of how poorly a lover the cop might be, and inhaling let him know Lea was the person on the other side of the steel.

"Enter," he said.

The door opened and Lea stepped inside, her head hung low and anxiety pouring out in droves from beneath her thick lashes.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the constant fidgeting of her fingers as she began with her index fingers and moved in a fluid motion, popping each appendage with her thumbs until she reached the pinkies, before starting the process all over again.

"Lea?" he said as he rose from his seat to go to her.

She stilled just before he reached her, and he froze, not quite sure how to comfort his assistant. She was clearly overwhelmed, confused or frightened, none of which he was designed to understand, much less reverse.

"Has someone hurt you, Lea?"

She shook her head, but still refused to look him in the eye.