Page 21 of Alpha Rising (Secrets of the Northland Shifters)

If I said no, I was sure he’d want to prove me wrong. “No. It’s impossible.”

His grinned so wickedly, I couldn’t look away.

The side of his thumb found my clit and made one languid swirl. “Five.”

“You’re kidding.” He was counting it down?

He narrowed his eyes. “Shhh.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, and his gaze dropped to my mouth. He leaned in and I released my lip, only for him to bite it for himself.

“Four,” he whispered against my lips, making another delicious swirl. Already my muscles were contracting and I was getting pulled to the top of the rollercoaster.

His thumb dipped inside and dragged moisture up to my clit. He pressed in, then his circling movements sped up. “Three.”

I whimpered, knowing I was going to do whatever he demanded, whenever he demanded it.

“That’s right,” he said encouragingly. “But not yet. Not until I say.”

“Reese,” I panted. “I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. Hold it together. Two.”

While his thumb continued to work me, I felt his little finger slide lower until it touched a secret place that no man had ever explored before.

He pushed in, only a little, while making another swirl around my clit. “One.”

I may not have been a shifter myself, but I learned a valuable lesson. Nobody denied an alpha.

8

REESE

If it were up to me, I would have kept Sarah with me in that cabin forever. Ultimately, it was her growling stomach that snapped me out of my fantasies. What kind of alpha would I be if I let a member of my pack go hungry?

And that’s what I decided she’d be. I would never take a human mate—especially not now, with Sarah’s leaving a certainty—but Iwouldconsider her one of my own. Mine to care for. Mine to serve.

Having purloined the quilt and wool blanket—for both warmth and decency, in case we ran into any hikers on our way home—I carried Sarah on my back through the forest. Flip-flops weren't great footwear for the trek and besides that, she’d lost one along the way.

She clung to my shoulders and squeezed my hips with her knees.

“They’re probably really worried about me,” she said, her lips close to my ear.

“Probably. So let’s get you back to the lodge.”

We stopped beside the pile of rocks where I’d stashed my clothes. I got dressed, pulling on my jeans and the forest green Henley I’d been wearing during my meeting with Uncle Joe.

After several days either naked or in mountain lion form, it felt strange to have so many points of contact all over my body. The only one I enjoyed was Sarah’s palpable gaze.

“How do I look?” I asked.

“Sexy,” she said with a smile. “And in charge.”

The cat preened. I might have too.

“And...maybe a little smug,” she added.

I laughed, but she turned a worried glance in the general direction of the lodge and pulled the wool blanket tighter around her body. I was glad we’d brought it with us. She was way underdressed in that little red T-shirt dress.

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