The Alpha by Jenika Snow

20

Evelyn

Ilay on the couch with my head on Cian’s lap, my legs stretched out on the cushions and a book in my lap. I was having a hard time concentrating on the words though, not with the way Cian was playing with my hair. He ran his thick fingers through the strands slowly.

For the second time today, I thought this was a very domestic gesture, just a couple enjoying the quiet of being together.

Hours had passed since we’d eaten breakfast, and I’d made myself busy, occupied my mind by cleaning up the kitchen, much to Cian’s disapproval. I was quickly realizing he enjoyed spoiling and lavishing attention on me. I couldn’t help but feel pleasure at how he’d get worked up over something so small as me loading the dishwasher, wanting me to rest and “he’d handle things.”

I just never had anything like this before, someone wanting to wholly take care of me. It was as strange and wondrous as it was unusual and uncomfortable. I’d always relied on myself to make sure things got done, so having someone want to take care of me… was something I’d have to get used to.

After reading the same page five times, I gave up and closed the book, letting it drop to the carpet. I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of Cian’s big fingers and blunt nails gently scraping across my scalp before he moved them through to the end of the long locks.

“Yer hair is so verra beautiful,” he murmured and brought strands to his nose, inhaling. “And smells incredible.”

I flushed at the compliment.

“Second sweetest thing I’ve ever smelled.”

I tipped my head back and looked at him. “What’s the first?”

His grin was slow and sexy. “Yer pussy, lass.”

My face felt like it was on fire, and he laughed deeply before leaning down and kissing the crown of my head. We stayed silent for another long moment as he went back to playing with my hair, but it was comfortable and not forced.

“What was it like?” I asked and tipped my head back to look at him again.

“What was what like, lass?” His voice was soft and almost lazy, as if he’d never felt so much contentment.

I didn’t think I’d ever seen him with his guard down, and although I knew without a doubt he’d be ready for action at the drop of a hat, right now the air around him was almost serene.

“Back then. What was it like… experiencing life throughout the last two and a half centuries?” I turned my attention away from him and looked at a picture that hung on the wall. It was of a man walking his dog, his back to me, his form in the distance. The dogs sat beside him as they stood in an empty field, a few sparse trees scattered around, just blotches of green and brown.

I noticed that about the pictures in this house. They all had this emptiness to them. A lone beach scene. A single house situated in the center of a lot, nothing else in sight. They were all like that, very… lonely. I wondered if they were a testament to Adryan and who he was, what he felt inside. A subconscious visual that showcased the lack in his life.

Or maybe I was just losing my mind and trying to find rationalization where there wasn’t one. Maybe the guy just liked random shit. He certainly seemed unhinged enough to do things that made zero sense.

I realized Cian hadn’t answered, and I drew my focus back to him, seeing that he still watched me. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

He smiled softly and shook his head. “There’s nothing I’d ever keep from ye.” He stared into my eyes, but I could see he was lost in thought. “Just figuring out how tae answer is all.”

I didn’t say anything, just nodded my understanding.

“It was a verra different time,” he finally said. “Harder, more violent.”

His voice didn’t change tempo or octave, but I was still able to pick up on a hard note in it, as if talking about it brought him back to that time and made him uncomfortable. I would have sat up, but he kept playing with my hair, and a part of me thought that maybe he drew a sense of calm from the mundane act.

“It was kill or be killed.” He looked at me then, his blue eyes so clear. “But do ye want tae kno’ the absolute worst thing about it all?”

I licked my lips and nodded, although I didn’t know if I really wanted to know. I held my breath as I waited for him to speak. Maybe he’d admit he killed so many people he lost count? But even if he killed hundreds upon hundreds, the truth was, it wouldn’t change how I felt about him.

I still wanted my life with his.

He slid the hand that was playing with my hair across my neck and up to cup my cheek, his thumb moving over my bottom lip. “The absolute worst part of it all was the loneliness. The emptiness of not knowing if ye were already born, if ye already lived yer life and passed on. The desperation of no’ knowing if I’d ever find ye.” He cleared his throat as emotion clogged it.

My breath caught. I didn’t know what to say to that. It was so profound that I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. So I said nothing at all, not wanting to ruin the moment. I just adjusted myself so I was closer to him, reached out, and smoothed my thumb along his bottom lip. When he parted for me, the air left him slowly, bathing the pad of my digit in warm humidity. I let myself push it in, and he groaned again, immediately lapping at my skin before gently biting it.

Things were heavy and solemn, melancholy. But in a matter of seconds, that vanished, and in its place was intense heat, a fire that was threatening to burn both of us alive.

“My Evie,” he groaned, and I removed my thumb from his mouth, bringing it to my lips and dragging my tongue across it, tasting the combination of both of us.

His flavor was like spicy honey, sweetness that hit me right in the back of the throat. “No one’s ever called me Evie except you.” I wasn’t sure why I told him that, but it seemed profound, as if no one dared to say it, because Cian was the lone person meant to give me the nickname.

“Come here, my female.”

I smiled slowly, knowing it probably looked seductive. He breathed out harshly when I shook my head and reached down for his jeans, never breaking eye contact as I popped the button and pulled the zipper down.

I could feel how hard he was as his cock brushed against my hand, a massively thick length trying to tear free from the denim of his pant leg. My inner muscles clenched, and I grew even wetter.

“Right now it’s about you,” I whispered and opened the two halves of his jeans, seeing the swatch of his golden abdomen, the tightness in definition of his muscles. He had a dark trail of short hair that went right to his cock. I looked down and let my finger trail across that path until I got to the root of his shaft. His cock visibly jerked, and I felt my throat tighten, my mouth watering for what I was about to do.

“Lass,” he groaned, and when I looked up at him, I could see he was starting to lose control, his wolf rising.

It was amazing to see how his body physically changed, how it grew bigger, his shoulders becoming broader, his muscles more defined. His eyes flashed blue, glowing as he watched me intently, his canines lengthening right before my eyes. It was a visual aphrodisiac, one I had never envisioned or thought could be insanely hot until I met him.

“This is for you,” I said again, emphasizing as I reached down and pulled out the heavy rope of his cock. I knew he’d try to reciprocate, knew he’d rather give me pleasure instead of receive it. But ever since tasting him the night before, I’d been thinking about sucking him off, continuing what I’d started before he stopped me.

I shifted down on the couch and more firmly between his legs. He had one knee bent, a foot on the cushion, his other resting on the floor. I stroked from base to tip, adding pressure when I got down to the root and squeezing up all the way to the top. Pre-cum was already a constant at the crown, and my mouth watered more.

“Fair warning,” I said in a teasing voice, although I was pretty nervous. “I’ve never done this before.” His answer was a growl of approval and his hand tightening in my hair. “So if I’m bad at it…”

He groaned and shook his head. “No’ possible.” His voice was a husky tenor. “Ye haven’t even put yer mouth on me yet, and already I’m about tae come.”

I shivered, his words making me feel so empowered, so beautiful. While keeping my gaze locked with his, I lowered my head and sucked the bulbous crown of his cock deep into my mouth.

His chest started pumping up and down, the material of his gray T-shirt stretched over the width of his chest and broad shoulders. I slid one hand up, feeling the ridges of his abdomen, and moved my fingers over the hard, dime-sized, copper-colored nipples I could feel underneath his shirt.

I kept moving up until he wrapped his fingers around my wrist, stopping me for a second before he pulled my fingers toward his face. He sucked my index finger into the warm, wet recesses of his mouth, moving his tongue along the pad, gently nipping at the flesh.

I was totally winging it with this blowjob, but whatever I was doing was doing its job, because I could feel how tight his body was coiled and heard him scratching at the back of the couch, his nails digging into the fabric as if he was holding on, trying to stabilize himself.

“Ahhh, lass.” He jerked his head back, his eyes closing, his neck muscles straining. He bared his teeth, his jaw clenched so tightly. “I’m no’ going tae last.”

That only had me hollowing out my cheeks even more and twisting my wrist as I pumped my palm up and down his dick. I was sure to anyone other than my mate I would’ve seemed grossly novice at this, but I felt a surge of power because I knew I could quite literally bring Cian to his knees.

“Fair warning, lass… I’m going tae come.”

I knew what he was saying, why he was making sure to tell me. But I had no intention of stopping. I wanted him to come in my mouth. I wanted to swallow it, to have his seed nourish me. God, I was getting so turned on even thinking about taking all his cum.

I hummed my approval and renewed my efforts, taking in as much as I could, feeling the tip hit the back of my throat, swallowing around the bulbous head. I jerked off what I couldn’t reach, moving my hand up and down from base to where my lips engulfed him.

He had his hand in my hair, his fingers tight in the stands, the pain leading the way to more pleasure, tears pricking my eyes. But it felt good, and I moaned around him, telling him with just that sound that I wanted more.

Cian started lifting his hips in time with me going down on him, thrusting his cock into me, not allowing me to set the pace. I braced my hands on his thighs as I worked my tongue and mouth over him, gently scraping my teeth along the flared head after I realized he enjoyed that.

Our eyes locked, and I felt his cock kick in my mouth again, tasted even more pre-cum. I started drooling, saliva slipping out the corners of my mouth from trying to take all of his dick, from swallowing it and moaning around it. But I didn’t care, wasn’t embarrassed, and the growls coming from him, the way he reached out and rubbed that saliva into my skin, told me it turned him on too.

I knew he was close by the rapid intake and exhale of his breathing, and the excitement to bring him off fueled me on. I slid my hand between us and cupped his heavy sac, rolling his balls in my palm until he barked out and gave me what I was working hard for. All that cum.

I greedily swallowed every thick rope that he shot into my mouth and down my throat, hungry for so much, the salty, slightly dark and spicy flavor of him the most addicting thing I’d ever tasted.

Cian orgasmed so hard, and there was so much that I couldn’t swallow it fast enough, dribbles of his cum slipping out the corners of my mouth with the excess saliva already pooled there. And when he made a deep grunt, I snapped my gaze up to his and saw that he watched me intently, the glow from his eyes like neon spotlights and trained right on me.

He watched me the entire time he came, and when he was done and his cock grew semihard in my mouth, I pulled back. My lips felt swollen, bruised. He ran his thumb over the bottom swell, then along the corner, collecting a droplet of his semen and pushing it back into my mouth, making me take every last drop.

“I donna want ye wasting any of that.” His voice was low and deep, husky and satiated.

I sucked at the pad of his thumb, drawing my tongue around it, my body on fire. But this wasn’t about me finding pleasure. I’d wanted to give it. And then before I knew what he was doing, Cian gripped my waist, hauled me up his body, and started going after my leggings.

“Cian,” I gasped when I heard the soft material tear, his hands and claws rending it from my body. “I only have so many clothes.” Who was I kidding? I didn’t give a shit about the clothes, not when he groaned deeply when I was totally bare from the waist down.

“Fook the clothes, Evie. I’ll buy ye so many ye’ll never have tae wear the same thing twice.” He situated me so I was literally sitting on his face, my knees braced on the couch right above his broad shoulders.

“Cian—” My question, even if I’d been able to properly form one, died in my throat when his big hands cupped my ass, his fingers squeezing against the flesh, jerking me forward even more.

And then he licked me from pussy hole to clit, sucking that bundle into his mouth until my head fell back on its own, and I closed my eyes as a harsh moan spilled from me. He worked me over like he was starving and between my legs was the greatest meal he’d ever had.

The wet, slurping sounds he made were an auditory pleasure in itself. I was soaked, my pussy so wet I was no doubt dripping all over his face, my arousal covering his cheeks and lips.

“That's it,” he growled in that sexy Scottish brogue. “Give me all that honey.” The vibrations in his voice speared into my clit, and I moaned shamelessly as I started rocking my hips back and forth on his face, grinding my pussy on his lips, needing his mouth to devour me.

He growled, and I loved when he made that sound. He kept one hand on my ass and worked the other between my pussy and his face to place his palm right over my mound and gently push me back. Then he used his thumb and index finger to spread my lips, exposing my clit, the little bundle engorged from my arousal, my wetness glistening on the pink flesh obscenely on display.

And God… his face was glossy from my pussy juices, his lips pink and swollen from eating me out. It was one of the most attractive things I’d ever seen.

“Oh. Yeah.” He leaned in and flicked his tongue over my clit over and over again in fast succession. My body shook as the air left me violently. “So damn sweet. So fooking mine.” He sucked the pearl into his mouth, keeping me spread, eating me out until I felt my clit become even more swollen as my orgasm started to climb.

“Come for me, baby. Let me swallow all that cum from this sweet pussy.” He growled against my soaked flesh and slid two thick fingers into my body, pulling a harsh cry of ecstasy from me. He attacked my pussy, licking, sucking, and nipping, his filthy words sending me over the edge. I exploded for him, not caring that I was grinding my cunt on his face, that the wet, embarrassing sounds of him slurping up my juices echoed in the living room.

It all turned me on even more.

The orgasm went on and on, and the whole time, Cian kept sucking at my pussy lips and clit, drawing out my pleasure. I tangled my hands in my hair and pulled at the strands, and I rolled my hips over him until finally the pleasure started to wane and I could breathe again.

I could barely hold myself up at that point, but thankfully Cian adjusted me so I was resting on his chest, his thickly corded arm wrapped around me tightly, his face buried in the crook of my neck as he slowly, gently licked at the mating mark.

“Mine,” he said with so much emotion in that one word I felt my heart palpate. “I canna wait tae truly start our lives together, lass.” I rested my head on his chest, my cheek right over his heart. “I’ve been waiting for ye my entire life.”

Me too. God… me too.

* * *

I had this bad feeling,this tightness in my gut, like a premonition of something horrible about to happen.

It was hours after Cian and I had found release with each other, and although it had been another outlet for us to be close, a part of me had still felt that darkness of all the things that could—and probably would—happen before we got to that happily ever after.

And God, I really wanted that.

Cian had kept reassuring me that things would be okay, that nothing bad would happen, and I wanted to believe himdesperately, but there were just too many unknown variables at play.

“Lass,” he said low enough only I heard, because Odhran was just in the other room. “I can see how worried ye are.” He cupped my cheeks and pulled me close to give me a soft kiss.

I stared into his blue eyes, the setting sun casting golden light across his face and giving the irises a green tint. His darker-blond hair was slightly disheveled, the few strands that fell across his forehead giving him an almost roguish appearance.

“I just can’t help but feel like something horrible is going to happen.”

He pulled me into a warm, tight embrace, and I sank against him. I rested my head on the center of his chest, my body so much smaller than his that he cocooned me completely.

“I wish I could tell ye that everything will be okay, but I will never lie tae you. Ye’ll always hear the truth from me, lass.” I pulled back and tipped my head up so I could look at him. “But it’s normal for ye tae feel like this. After all the shite that happened, it’s the natural feeling that things will no’ be right.”

“I know,” I said softly. “But you promise you’ll be okay, or at least promise you’ll try to be okay?”

“I have ye in my life now. Recklessness is no’ something I’ll ever chance.”

He leaned down, and I rose up on my toes to meet him halfway for the kiss. It was gentle, a slow burn instead of a raging wildfire. It was perfect and sad, maddening and obsessive.

My back was to the living room entryway, so I didn’t see Odhran enter, but I sensed him, felt the heavy, sorrow-filled presence that surrounded him like a cloak, like a shadow or pouring rain cloud.

“It’s time,” Odhran said.

Although Cian didn’t look at him, his eyes locked on mine, he did give a short nod in agreement.

He leaned down again to kiss me before lowering his face to the hollow of my neck, where his mark was, kissing the spot gently. I was coming to realize he loved that spot. And I did too.

“Just remember the house is protected,” he said and pulled back, his hand on my waist, his fingers tight against my skin as if he was afraid I’d vanish. “Odhran will be here tae protect ye. I trust him no’ only with my life, but most of all with yers.”

Although I didn’t know Odhran, not really, and we’d only said a handful of words since our first encounter, I could feel the loyalty he had for Cian, as if he wore it as a badge of honor.

“I’ll return tae ye faster than ye realize.”

I hoped that was true. I really did, because we deserved to find that happily ever after.