The Alpha's Hunger (21 page)

He swallowed. “I would give my life for you, individually and as a whole,” he swore solemnly.

He sensed a ripple of approval, although still no one spoke.

“Wolves are not democratic by nature,” Stanley said, “but we are Americans, after all. Who here objects to this alpha’s rule?”

He scanned the faces. Some of the wolves looked dubious with their arms folded across their chests, but no one dissented.

“I don’t have any practice leading a pack,” he said, “but I promise to give it my best.”

Zolla lowered to one knee and bowed his head, holding his fist in his hand in the position of respect for their alpha. Mark and Stanley went down next. Shayla dropped, too, and strangely, she wore a smile almost like a proud parent might give their new graduate. One by one, the wolves dropped to the floor at his feet, showing their subservience to him.

When even Ashley copied the gesture, balanced on her crutches, a shudder ran through him—a sign of the rightness and importance of the moment.

Humbled, he mimicked the gesture, clasping his fist and bowing his head. “You honor me,” he said. “I will do my best to defend and serve you as your leader and your brother wolf.” He dropped his head back and howled in the direction of the moon.

The entire pack joined him, raising their voices to mingle with his, filling the metal building with the reverberation of their united song.

When the howls died down, he said, “I will take any old or new business in a moment, but first, I’d like to introduce you to my mate.” He reached for Ashley’s hand and helped her to her feet. “This is Ashley. She is part wolf and my salvation—the female who rescued me from my worst self. I know humans are not usually a part of these activities, and I know it’s unusual for an alpha to mate with a human, but I hope you will make her as welcome as you would a full-blooded wolf.” He hardened his gaze as he swept it across the crowd, showing them a hint of warning so they would understand he was giving them an order, not a request.

He squeezed Ashley’s hand, sensing her nervousness but knowing she would overcome any objections anyone had about her. Hell, she had won him over in about five seconds flat.

“Does anyone have business that has to be discussed tonight, or can we go straight to the food?” he asked with a grin. Wolf meetings typically included a potluck at the end, in which food was shared, along with socializing. For this meeting, he had told Stanley he’d provide the food, which he’d had catered by a local Mexican restaurant.

“Let’s eat,” someone called out.

He grinned. “All right, the food’s in my car. If a couple of you could give me a hand, I’ll get it set up.”

Ashley was already swinging her crutches toward the door. He grabbed her waist and pulled her back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To get the food.”

“How exactly were you planning on carrying it?”

She leaned the crutches against the wall. “I don’t think I need these things,” she said.

He fixed her with a stern look and pointed at the couch. “Sit down and don’t move until I come and get you or I will roast your behind.”

She looked like she was going to protest, so he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to the couch, where he deposited her.

“Stay,” he commanded.

She grinned, her blue eyes bright against flushed cheeks. “Woof.”

He winked as he headed out to the car where several people already waited to help carry in the food. They made quick work of it, bringing it in and setting it out on folding tables along the back.

Shayla appeared at his side. “It’s about time,” she said.

“What?”

“This pack has been waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and take charge for three years now,” she said, her hands on her hips.

He sucked in his breath. “I don’t know how to be like Leon,” he said, admitting his biggest concern.

She touched his arm. “You’ll be like Ben,” she said with a smile. “And that will be enough.”

“Thanks,” he said, stunned by her vote of confidence.

“Leon would be proud of you,” she said. “He always said you’d be great at whatever you decided to do.”

Ben blinked and rubbed his nose as his vision went wavy.

Shayla lifted her cheek for the Latin American kiss, then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. “I’m happy for you, Ben.” She nodded toward Ashley. “She’s obviously wonderful.”

“Thanks, Shay. I appreciate it,” he said. His chest felt so full and warm he feared it might burst.

He made his way back to Ashley, which took a while, because he had to stop to accept regards from various wolves along the way. When he reached her, he pulled her up to stand and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head.

“Congratulations, alpha,” she said.

He cupped the back of her head and tipped it back to kiss her lips. “Thanks for being here with me tonight.”

She pressed her torso against his, gazing up into his eyes with a love he didn’t deserve. “Thank you for bringing me.”

* * *

Ben drove them to work together the next morning. She felt almost giddy about returning to the office as his mate, rather than just his assistant, although she shuddered to think what everyone would say about her. Obviously there would be the comments about her sleeping her way to the top. And if Ben was set on making changes, she’d be blamed for anything unpopular.

Ben hadn’t let her go in the previous day, insisting that she follow the doctor’s orders, despite the fact that the doctor didn’t know about her wolf-y healing properties. Now, all her excitement about working for Ben Stone came bubbling back, intensified rather than dimmed by the fact that they were intimate.

Ben had picked out her suit, saying he liked the way her legs looked in it. The beige, fitted ensemble featured a long, slim jacket and short, tight skirt. She’d reminded him that one of her legs was in a cast so the look wouldn’t be the same as when she’d worn it the previous week, but he’d just smacked her ass and told her to put it on.

“So, is it back to ‘Mr. Stone’ when we’re in the office?” she asked, watching his profile as he drove.

His lips curled up at the edges. “Yes.”

“Ah, and we’re also back to the monosyllabic answers?”

His eyes slid sideways and he continued to smirk, but didn’t answer.

“And the non-answers.” She leaned her head back on the seat and sighed, even as a wave of heat flushed up and down her entire body. How could she really protest when she loved the stern Mr. Stone persona?

“I suppose it’s best we keep our relationship a secret while we’re at work?” she asked.

Ben looked over, his dark-lashed green eyes boring into her with their usual intensity. “It’s not really anyone’s business,” he said.

“I know, and it probably won’t take long to come out if we’re driving in together, but it’s probably better to keep it to ourselves, don’t you think?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

She opened her mouth, then shut it, not sure how to answer.

“Is that what you want?”

She furrowed her brow. What she wanted and what she thought was best were actually two different things. Or rather, she wanted things both ways—she wanted the entire world to know that Ben had chosen her as his mate, but she always wanted to earn the respect of the people she worked with. She sighed. Why were things so complicated for women in the workplace?

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Ben shrugged. “All right. I’ll try not to rip your little skirts off while we’re at the office.”

She giggled. “Thanks, I think.”

Ben pulled into the lot and they took the elevator up together. She thought about insisting they ride separately, but Ben already looked like he wanted to carry her instead of letting her walk with the crutches, so she kept her mouth shut.

Karen was sitting at her desk when they arrived together, but if she thought it was odd, she didn’t show it.

Ben carried her bag into the office and set it down. “Need anything?”

“What?
You’re
going to get
me
coffee?”

“If you ask nicely.” He lowered his voice. “Maybe if you pull up your skirt just a little bit?”

Her face grew warm and she picked up a pen and tossed it at him. “Get out. I do the coffee running around here. Do you need some?”

He grinned. “No.” He leaned in her doorway, contemplating her for a moment.

Her body temperature rose by several degrees, warmed by his hungry look. Her mouth opened, but all thoughts and words had flown away.

Ben winked, lifting his large frame from the doorway with a grace that belied his size. He walked away, taking her breath with him.

She sat down at her desk, smiling. She loved her life.

About forty minutes later, Ben called. “Come into my office.”

She picked up her laptop but quickly realized she couldn’t carry it and use her crutches. Abandoning the laptop, she hobbled over to his office.

“Shut the door, Ashley,” he said.

She swung it shut.

“You’re too far away over there,” he said, lifting his chin in the direction of her office.

She did her best to saunter with the crutches and dropped into his lap. “Is this close enough?” she asked, pitching her voice to a low and seductive note.

“Not quite.”

She leaned over and kissed his neck. “How about this?”

“Mmm, I’m not sure.”

She sank to her knees at his feet and bit his trousers at the crotch, hoping her hot, moist breath reached his cock through the fabric. “How about this?”

His manhood strained against his pants. He groaned. “That might be too close,” he said in a strangled voice. Grasping her forearms, he lifted her back onto his lap.

She faked a pout.

“Don’t worry, my little assistant. I will be demanding all kinds of service like that from you.” He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “In fact, just this morning I resolved to have you in every single room of this building. That means every floor, every cubicle, every bathroom, every conference room, maybe even the closets, too. How long do you think that will take us?”

Her pussy pulsed, already readying for his suggested activity.

“I-I’m not sure,” she managed to say.

“Well, I’d like you to calculate it, Ashley. I need a checklist to work from. On my desk by close of business, understand?”

Her pelvic floor lifted as the walls of her vagina fluttered. “Yes, sir,” she breathed.

“But right now, I had the other sort of work on my mind.”

She straightened up. “What can I do for you, Mr. Stone?” she asked, still using her sultry tone.

“Did you ever put together that report on who I need to cut from middle management?”

“Yes, sir, would you like me to go get it?”

“Please,” he said, keeping his hands on her hips as she stood. “And then come back right
here,
” he said, pulling her back to sit on his lap momentarily.

She giggled.

“Oh, I have all kinds of plans for you right here in this office,” he said wickedly. “I seem to recall you were asking whether you’d be spanked on the job?”

Her grin stretched even wider, lust flaming hotter.

He waggled his eyebrows. “You’d better dot your i’s and cross your t’s, Ms. Bell, or I’ll have you bent over this desk with your panties down before you can say ‘yes, sir,’ and you know Karen would hear everything.”

Her face grew warm, pulse racing. “I’ll be right back with that report, Mr. Stone,” she said, abandoning the crutches in favor of covering her ass and shooting him a look of pure heat over her shoulder.

* * *

Ben shifted in his seat to accommodate his hardened cock. Working with Ashley was going to make every day torturous pleasure. It seemed strange how different he felt about working at Stone that day. He was a completely different person now. He was finally not just ready, but enthusiastic to do right by his brother’s company.

Ashley returned, carrying her laptop and he realized she wasn’t using her crutches. He shouldn’t have sent her running back and forth—he should have just gone into her office, but he knew she loved the boss/assistant dynamic.

She dropped back into his lap.

He breathed in the scent of her hair and wrapped his arms around her.

She opened her laptop and he looked over her shoulder as she pulled up her report. “This is the list. I put them in order of salaries, highest to lowest, then it lists their name, title, and the reason I think they aren’t performing or should be cut.”

He scrolled through the list, skimming. It appeared she based the decisions on missed performance targets, lagging sales, over-budget spending, and turnover within their department.

“How long did it take you to put this together?”

“Well, I worked on it all last week, so about thirty hours to gather and analyze all the necessary data.”

“Okay. Send the report to Beth in human resources and ask her to make the cuts.”

Ashley tensed. “Wait—you’re just going to make the cuts? Based solely on my opinion?”

“Yes. Why shouldn’t I?”

“Well, we’re talking about people’s livelihoods here. I’m not sure I’m really qualified to make these final decisions. I was just making a recommendation for you to review and make up your own mind.”

“And I trust your recommendation. Do you need to revise it now that you know that you’re making the final call?”

She looked at him with her eyes wide, then began to scroll through her report with a frantic air. After a moment, she looked back up. “No.”

He smiled. “So you gave me your best recommendation the first time?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl.”

She flushed, looking pleased.

“Now, Ashley, we need to discuss something.”

“Yes, sir?”

“One of your most important jobs, as my assistant and as my fiancée, is to protect me from my own mistakes. So if I do something dumb like ask you to bring me a report when I ought to know that you can’t possibly bring your laptop and use your crutches, it’s your job to let me know that so I don’t feel like an ass when I figure it out for myself.”