The Alpha by Jenika Snow

28

Evelyn

After we left Adryan’s house, we’d driven for over an hour and a half to the hotel we were currently in. Cian wanted to stop at a rinky-dink little motel we passed much earlier on in the trip, but with the memories of all the shit that had happened the last time I’d been at a motel off the highway, I told him to keep going.

He’d wanted to fight me, wanting me to rest at the first place we saw, but once I explained my aversion to it, his jaw clenched, and he nodded once, not speaking again as he kept driving. But he held my hand the entire time, his grip firm as if he didn’t want to let me go.

So here we were, in a hotel so fancy I felt out of place. Hell, the bathrooms had plush, expensive-feeling robes and little bottles of shampoo and conditioner with French-sounding names I couldn't pronounce.

I thought back to when we got to the hotel and made our way out of the car, noticing Cian grabbing a large black duffel that looked heavy. I hadn’t missed the metal-on-metal clanking sound that had come from the inside of that bag and knew instantly it was weapons. Maybe it should have terrified me, but it didn’t. In fact, it made me feel safe, knowing Cian had the means to take care of us in the only way we could with the people who wanted to hurt and maim.

I was wrapped in a plush white robe as I sat in the center of a massive bed. I’d taken a shower not long ago, and my hair was damp and curling at the ends, the scent of lavender and vanilla in my nose further calming me.

Cian had gotten a first-aid kit and insisted on tending to my wounds, and although I had a messed up ankle, and my headwound would take time to heal, the rest was pretty superficial. I was sore and achy, but nothing was broken. I knew I’d be really sore over the next few days, but despite all of that, I had a euphoric feeling. Cian and I were alive, and right now we were safe. I could breathe.

“Open for me,” he said in his gruff voice that shouldn’t have turned me on after the night we’d had, but I found my body softening, becoming wet between my thighs, my nipples puckering underneath the plush robe.

I opened my mouth and took the piece of fruit he offered between his fingers. Our gazes held as I took that small red piece of strawberry from him, my lips gently brushing against his thumb and forefinger. I didn’t miss how his jaw tensed, or how his eyes subtly flashed with his desire, his nostrils flaring as if he could pick up the scent of my arousal. But he didn’t say anything about it, didn’t act on it.

And once again, despite the night we’d had and intimacy being the last thing that should’ve been on my mind, all I could think about was being with Cian. I couldn’t think of anything more freeing, nothing that would make me feel more alive, than being with the man who was irrevocably mine… the man I loved.

When he went to offer me another piece of fruit, I gently curled my fingers around his thick wrist, smiling as I shook my head. “I’m full. You took care of me completely.” I could see the way his face softened as I said those words and knew that to him, seeing me comfortable and well taken care of by his hand was a pleasure in itself. He was proud about that.

He set the tray that room service had brought over on the bedside table and moved fully back so he was resting against the headboard. And then he opened his arms, urging me without saying a word to come to him.

I eagerly moved across the bed and settled against his side, my hand on the hard, rolling plains of his abdomen, my head resting on a pectoral muscle. He enveloped me with his big, strong arms and buried his nose in my hair. I heard him inhale deeply, and closed my eyes, awareness and something deep and satisfying, warm and loving filling me.

We stayed like that for long moments, the silence a heavy, comfortable balm surrounding me. I felt drowsiness start to claim me, that cloak of sleep taking me away. I fought it, blinking rapidly because I didn’t want this moment to end, where I was wrapped in Cian’s arms and where nothing could touch us.

“I want tae take ye back tae Scotland.” His low but deeply accented voice roused me, and I blinked a few times, adjusting myself so I could tilt my head back and look into his face.

There was a softness in his eyes, and the small smile he gave me, the one that gently curved the corner of his mouth, had my heart fluttering. How could it be possible to feel something so strong for someone so soon after meeting them? I felt like I’d asked myself that so many times since Cian had come into my life.

How did I get so lucky to have a man like him by my side?

“I want tae take ye back there tae ensure yer safety.” The way he looked at me and the tone of his voice told me there was more he had to say. “And then I’m going tae come back here and help Odhran find his mate… just like he came here tae help me find ye.”

I was already shaking my head before he even finished. “We just found each other, reunited. I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want you to leave me.” He cupped my face, and it took everything in me not to close my eyes and just absorb the feeling of him holding me.

“Mo ghràidh, I don’t want tae leave ye. That’s the last thing I want.” His voice was firm, adamant.

I could tell how much he wanted me to trust and understand—to believe those words. I knew how much he needed me to.

“But it’s no’ safe for ye here, and I will no’ put yer life in jeopardy.” He rested his head back on the wall, his eyes focusing on something straight ahead. “No’ having ye by my side, even if I kno’ ye’re safe, even if I kno’ I’m coming back tae ye, it’s like somebody ripping out my heart.” He looked over at me, his head moving slowly. “Dramatic, I kno’, but the truth nonetheless.”

“I’m not leaving your side. I’ll stay here with you. I’ll help you.” The smile he gave me was soft, respectful, as if he was proud I was willing to step up. But I could also see the disapproval on his face, the denial that he would not allow me to do that. “Please,” I whispered. “I don’t want to be left alone. I don't want that for you either. I don’t want to be without you.”

Once again I was struck with the monumental feeling of how true and right those words felt. “I'm not leaving you,” I said again, harder, firmer this time. “You’re mine as I’m yours, so this is my fight too.” I rose slightly and rolled my shoulders back. “I’ll stand by your side to take down the people who are hurting what is now a part of my life.” I stared deeply, sincerely into his eyes, hoping he felt my words. “Odhran protected me with his life, and I’ll fight for him too.”

Cian reached out and smoothed a finger along my cheek, his smile warm and… proud.

“God, how did I survive without ye?”

My heart jumped in my chest. “You’ll never have to know what that’s like again, because you’re mine, and I’m yours.”

“Forever.”

I nodded at the fierce words that came from him, and whispered, “Forever.”

“Ye’ll never be without me. Never.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, his mouth firm but soft.

I could tell the kiss was to seal that promise and not to start something more heated. That was clear by the tightness in his body as he attempted to control himself and pull away.

But didn’t he know I needed him right now?

I let my eyes close and slid my hand up his bare chest, feeling the ripples of muscles, his unrestrained strength. I tipped my head to the side and parted my lips to allow his tongue to slip inside.

He groaned once but ripped away from me, resting his head on the wall once more and closing his eyes. His breathing was a little faster, his chest muscles hard and clenching, the tightness in his body an aphrodisiac that made me want him even more.

I found it insanely attractive that he tried so hard to be gentle with me, that he tried to control himself.

Didn’t he know I wanted that feral part?

I looked at the hand that wasn’t curled around my hip, his fingers clenched tightly around the duvet on the bed, his knuckles white.

“We’ll stay here until ye’re healed enough tae travel, but then I’ll take ye back tae my home where ye’ll be protected.” He sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth, and when he opened his eyes, I saw how blown his pupils were. “Tae Scotland, where my clan can protect ye.”

He tried to deny this moment, but I knew if I looked down, I’d see a massive erection.

“Cian,” I whispered, not hiding the arousal-laced note in my voice.

“Evie, lass—” I silenced him by dipping my tongue farther into his mouth. “Ye’re healing.” His words were vibrations against my lips, but I didn’t allow him to stop this. I didn’t want him to.

“You’re not going to deny me, are you?” I knew it was wrong to ask him that, putting him in the situation if he didn’t want to. But I know he wants this, wants me. Hewas trying to be gentle with me, because he thought I was too hurt.

And although my body ached fiercely, all I could think about was being with Cian and solidifying that we were actually here together. That we were alive. And I couldn’t think of a better way to make that a reality than being with him in the most intimate, physical way that people who cared about each other shared.

“I’d never deny ye anything, lass, but I donna want tae hurt ye.”

I pulled back so I could look into his eyes when I heard the concern in his voice. I couldn’t help but give him a soft smile. He was always looking out for me, protecting me, and I knew it was this inherent, ingrained strength inside him.

It didn’t matter if we’d only known each other for an hour. I knew this man would have my back and my best interest always at heart. It would always be his priority. And I knew now as I looked into his blue eyes, as I felt his warmth surrounding me, seeping into me, that I would be there for him as well.

I’d never had a family, not a true one. It had always just been Darragh and me, but now she had started her life, found her other half, and would be creating a future with him. They’d create their own family, and that's what I wanted too. With Cian.

I sat back a little bit more and went for the tie of my robe, never breaking eye contact as I undid it and let the two halves of the plush material slip off my shoulders to pool around my waist. My pulse picked up, and my breathing came a little bit faster.

And all the while, Cian was still as stone in front of me, his face showing all his desire until it was like a physical touch. I didn’t miss how he lowered his gaze along my exposed breasts, or how he looked down across my waist, over my tucked-in hips, and settled between my thighs.

I was currently sitting on my legs, my bottom resting on the heels of my feet, my thighs closed, so I knew all he could see was the trimmed dark curls that covered the most intimate part of me. I felt bold in this moment as I braced my hands on my legs and slowly started to part my thighs, showing him that I was already dripping wet, my arousal a glossy sheen on my inner thighs.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and stared at the obscene way I now sat. His eyes latched onto my pussy. His nostrils flared as he inhaled, and I knew he could smell me, could smell the sweet yet slightly musky scent of my desire for him.

“So wet for me already, my female.” He didn’t look away from my pussy, so I grew even bolder and spread my legs wider, feeling my outer lips part so he could see how very pink I was on the inside, so he could see my pussy hole. He cursed in Gaelic, and I knew it was something bad and filthy, erotic, because he was having one hell of a time keeping it together.

He was so close to snapping, his jaw tight, his eyes flashing with his inner animal that turned me on immeasurably. It would only take me pushing him a little bit more, showing him how much I needed this, before he gave me what I wanted.

“Cian,” I whisper-moaned his name and moved my hands up my belly, over my ribs, and cupped my breasts. I could see his eyes flash with desire, but I could also see the concern on his face as he saw the bruising, as he took in the little cuts that lined my body. “I’m fine,” I reassured him as I massaged the globes. “I’m more than okay, now that we are together.”

He was close to giving me what I wanted. I could see that on his face, in the way he clenched his jaw, at the fact that his body was growing slightly bigger right before my eyes. But I also knew my well-being was his priority. So I had to be firm with him, even if I liked it the other way around.

“I’m not leaving you,” I said again, feeling like I needed to emphasize that I wasn’t going to let him take me to Scotland if he wasn’t staying. We would do this together, fight whatever we had to… together.

I could see that the concerned-mate part of him wanted to shut this down, to argue his point that he wanted me safe above all else, but I stopped him from saying anything by reaching out and curling my fingers around the waistband of his sweats, my nails lightly scratching over his smooth, warm flesh. I never thought a man could look so sexy in a pair of lounge pants.

I curled my fingers around the material without pulling them down, just letting my gaze roam over the slabs of muscles of his abdomen, along his defined pectorals, up his thickly corded neck, and stared into his blue eyes. He looked so tense, as if he wanted to throw me down on the bed and rut between my thighs like the feral animal he really was. But I also knew that I wanted this, that I needed to be the one to take the lead. At least in this instance.

I was more than happy to let my alpha be just that, and in fact I preferred him to take control. But after almost losing him, almost losing myself, I needed to feel like I had some part of my life in control. So while I held his gaze with mine, I worked his pants down and off his body.

Once the material was free of his thick length, his cock sprang back against his belly, slapping his firm, muscular skin once before settling against his abdomen, the crown of his dick exceeding his belly button, the slit at the tip already glossy with his pre-cum.

His erection was magnificent, with a thick vein that ran the entire underside of his cock, a sight that caused my pussy to clench hard and drip more wetness, preparing itself for all that massive cock to be wedged inside me. I remembered the feeling of how much he stretched and filled me, and how I’d been sore the next day because I still felt him deep in my body.

I curled my fingers around the base of his dick, my fingers unable to touch because of his size. I brought my hand up, squeezing as I went, being rewarded with a pearl of pre-cum at the tip.

My mouth watered at the sight of that crystalline drop, visual proof of how much he wanted me. I didn’t stop myself from leaning down and taking the crown into my mouth and curling my lips around the bulbous tip to suck gently, teasingly. He rewarded me with a husky growl and slid his hand into the heavy mass of my damp hair. His fingernails scraped against my scalp, and I felt that pain make way for pleasure right down to my pussy.

My inner muscles clenched, my clit throbbing in time with my heartbeat.

I hummed in pleasure and approval, feeling my pussy get embarrassingly wet, my juices dripping down my inner thighs. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a wet spot on the sheets beneath me. That aroused me even more, and I clenched my thighs together, feeling the way the skin of my inner legs was slippery from how much I wanted Cian… how much I wanted to be fucked by him.

I closed my eyes and lost myself in the feeling of him, in how my mouth was stretched wide around his girth, in how my jaw ached as I kept sinking down on his cock. His crown hit the back of my throat, and I gagged, saliva slipping out the corners of my mouth because I refused to back off him. I refused to stop this. Instead I tried to relax my throat, wanting to take him as far and as deep as I could.

“So good,” he groaned. “So fooking good.” He started lifting his hips up in time with my bobbing head, fucking me slow and easy. I could tell he was holding back. I found it even more attractive that he was trying so damn hard to keep his control.

I slid my hands along his abdomen, his muscles clenching under my fingertips. The sucking sounds of me giving him head filled the room in an erotic cacophony that couldn’t be ignored. He still held on to the blankets beneath him, as if they were the only thing keeping him from clutching me to him fiercely. But I wanted him to touch me so badly that I was rolling my hips as I ached between my thighs, hoping he’d just snap and take what he wanted.

As if he read my thoughts, he groaned again, deep, guttural. “If I touch ye while ye have my cock shoved down yer throat, I’ll come in a matter of seconds.”

I moaned at how arousing his words were, and when I moaned again, longer this time, the vibrations from my voice had his cock kicking against my tongue, more pre-cum coating the muscle in salty masculinity.

In the next second he gripped my arms and gently pulled me away, his chest pumping up and down hard as if he’d just run a marathon. His expression was so fierce I shivered, his lips parted, the flash of his straight white teeth and elongated canines having me moan out his name shamelessly.

“I need you.” My voice was a husky whisper, as if I was too out of it to think clearly. Which was exactly the case.

Before I could stop myself or think about how bold I was being, I rose up onto my knees and swung my leg over him, straddling his waist. I felt his hard cock jerk between my legs, the heavy length pressing against my folds. We both sucked in a sharp breath at the contact, and I closed my eyes, letting my head tip back slightly on my neck as I closed my eyes and sank down fully against him.

The heavy weight of his erection slipped through my folds, my wetness making everything so slick that he slid against my pussy effortlessly. I started moving my hips back and forth, rocking over him and gasping at the sensation as the base of his erection bumped against my clit every time I rolled my hips forward.

I didn’t bother holding in the sounds that spilled from me. They were feminine and sexual, being brought forth from something deep inside me, a part of me that bloomed and opened up only for Cian.

“That's it,” he murmured, and I forced my eyes open and lifted my head so I could look at his face. His gaze was locked on mine, this rapturous expression covering his face as he kept lifting his hips up every time I pressed down against him. “I want tae see ye come like this. I want ye tae come all over my cock without me even being inside of ye, lass.”

His words were sharp and strong, like gasoline being poured over a fire and instantly igniting the flames.

I felt his hands slide up the curves of my waist, but I didn't break eye contact with him. He moved his fingers over my ribs and cupped my breasts. I wasn’t overly endowed on top, but he made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Cian’s hands were so large that he dwarfed my breasts as he molded those calloused palms and fingers against me, as he pulled and plucked at my nipples until I cried out from the pleasure. I was going to come like this, I could feel it, taste that pleasure on the tip of my tongue, an intoxicating sensation.

I let my hands rest behind me on his muscular thighs, felt his flesh clench from that small touch, heard his groan because it turned him on as well. My mate was receptive to me, to the lightest touches I gave him. And God was that a heady, powerful feeling.

“Keep going, baby,” he purred in approval. “Rock those hips over me as you seek yer pleasure. Rub that pussy all over my cock.” I kept rolling my hips, his words making the ecstasy even more intense. “Fook,” he growled. “Yer soaking my dick, yer pussy cream all over my length.” He gave my nipples one last tweak before sliding his hands down to grip my waist. “Ye’re drenching me, baby, and hell, it’s hot as fook.”

I was grinding myself against his cock harder now, feeling my orgasm so close to the surface. The slippery sounds of me working my pussy over him were dirty in the best kind of way.

“Put me inside of ye, lass.” Cian wasn’t the type to beg, but right now, in this moment, he most certainly pleaded with me. Then again, I didn’t miss the thinly veiled dominant demand.

I rose up on my knees and gripped the heavy length of him. He tipped his head back but still kept eye contact with me, the muscles in his neck straining, his teeth gritted. All from me holding his cock in my hand.

“Yeah,” he groaned when I tightened my fingers. “That’s it. Go on, lass. Put me inside yer tight little pussy.”

I angled the tip of his shaft right up with my soaked hole, my juices sliding down his length obscenely, causing both of us to groan at the erotic feeling and the knowledge of how dirty this actually was. And then I sank down on him in one hard, fluid motion, taking him sinfully into my body, feeling that ever-present burn and stretch as his thickness tunneled into my tight pussy.

And when I sat fully on him, my inner muscles tightening and spasming around him at how deliciously full I felt, I let out a long, low moan.

“Ride me and come all over my cock.”

I gasped at his filthy words. And then I did exactly what he wanted.

I braced my hands on his pectoral muscles, feeling how hard they were, like granite under my fingertips. I started rising and falling on him, my pussy suctioning against the hard length of him, my juices making an obscene sound as I bounced on his dick.

Sweat lined my hairline and slid down my temples, and he growled low at the sight. I knew it turned him on to see me like this, to see my body this way. And then with a great surge, he was lifting his upper body so our sweat-slicked chests were pressed together. I felt his tongue on the side of my face as he licked a trail up my cheek and to my forehead, lapping up the beads of sweat and humming in pleasure.

“So fooking sweet.”

He slid his hand around my nape and swept up the heavy fall of my hair to grab the strands. Cian jerked my head back and to the side, exposing the long line of my throat before he latched his mouth onto the mating mark he’d given me.

Every time I slammed down on him, he lifted his hips up, driving himself even harder into me, the pain and pleasure mixing as one. His hand tightened around the strands of my hair, his mouth and tongue, teeth nipping at my neck. I was so close, my orgasm right there at the surface.

My clit rubbed along the length of him as he tunneled back into my pussy, the slippery, almost sloppy sounds of us fucking filling the hotel room and driving my lust higher. My breasts bounced, my nipples hard as they scraped along his sweat-slickened chest. We both panted and groaned, moaned and made the most erotic noises as we fucked.

And that's what this felt like. Fucking.

It wasn’t just being with my mate. It wasn’t just making love. It was hard and fast fucking as we came together after almost losing each other. It was rough and raw, fierce and primal. It was the pleasure and pain of being alive and knowing that at any moment that could change, that the world could open up, and we’d never be the same.

My life wasn’t the same because of Cian. And it was the greatest feeling in the world.

“Come for me,” he growled and used his hand in my hair to jerk my head toward him, his lips crashing against mine, his tongue sliding deep between my lips. I sucked on his tongue, moaning at his flavor, at how wet the kiss was, how fast and hard he thrust up into me with his cock.

I slammed my pussy down hard, grinding myself against him, letting my clit rub along the root of his shaft while he was deep in my body. I keened at how painful and pleasure-filled it was.

“Come for me,” he said, harsher, more demanding and dominant.

And I did. I came hard and long, letting my head fall back as my pussy spasmed and milked his cock.

My eyes were closed, my hearing going in and out as the ecstasy stole reality from me. I was aware of his gruff shout, felt his erection thicken in me as he came, the hot, thick jets of his cum bathing my insides and washing into my womb.

The sensation and knowledge that he marked me as his like I was his property shouldn’t have turned me on. But it did and caused another orgasm to explode within me. All I could do was hold on as I rode it out.

Cian’s orgasm seemed to go on forever, so strong and powerful that even though he was buried in my body, I felt his seed slip out of my pussy, the copious amounts of that hot, thick cum sliding out from where our bodies were connected to cover my inner thighs.He grunted and growled, keeping my body clutched tightly to his. I’d been vaguely aware that I was scratching his back, holding on as my nails dug into his skin, as my pleasure took me higher than I ever imagined.

And when he gave one final shudder, his big body shaking as he let off a long exhale, his tongue swiping over the mating mark once more in a slow, languid motion, only then did I finally suck in a great lungful of air. I relaxed fully against him, my arms wrapped around his shoulders, his wound around mine.

I felt so small against him as I wrapped my legs around his waist, keeping us as close as possible, because it was unbearable to think of him moving away, of us being separated.

I didn’t know how long we sat there, his cock still semihard in me, our frantic breathing tapering off to something even and identical, but when we finally did separate, he gave a disgruntled sound, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I let my body fall back on the bed, and a euphoric feeling washed through me. I was sore but in the best possible way. He moved close to me and slipped his hand between my thighs as he held my gaze with his. His expression was so serious as he gathered his cum and smoothed his fingers around my pussy hole, along my lips, over my inner thighs, even up along my belly, his index finger swirling a circle around my navel.

“I like knowing my cum is covering yer skin, that ye smell like me.” His voice dropped lower as he gruffly said, “Because ye are mine, Evie. Ye’re mine, and I’ll take down anyone who thinks differently.”

My breath hitched at the truth in his words.

“I want my marks all over ye, baby. All over this pretty skin until there’s no doubt in yer mind—”

“There’s no doubt,” I said before he was finished. “I am yours.” I spread my thighs wider and gave him better access, wanting the physical proof of what we shared drying on my flesh. He hummed in approval and then leaned down and kissed me, his lips firm but pillow-soft as he kept stroking me between my thighs and slipped his tongue into my mouth.

He gathered me into his arms once more and buried his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. This was my truth and reality now. This was what I’d always been after for my happily ever after.

“Mine,” he grumbled out.

I shivered and whispered, “Yours.”