Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
He moves his arm around. It looks a little stiff, but the bandage holds. “Not bad. Thanks. I need to get dressed.”
“S—sure. I could use a shower.”
I don’t think I can handle him getting fully naked while I’m in the same room. Too much. I hurry up into the bathroom and close the door behind me before I see more than I’m ready for.
The hot water is nice. Really nice in spite of the less than amazing pressure and the questionable dark spots in the corners of the tile. My own dings and scrapes sting a little, but it’s hardly worth noticing. Not compared to Alpha’s bullet wound.
Wrinkling my nose, I put my dirty pajamas back on afterwards. They smell like smoke and are covered in all sorts of things I don’t want to examine, but they’re all I’ve got. Literally. Everything else is gone.
Crap. What do I do?
When I come back out, the lights are off and Alpha’s sprawled out on the floor with one of the pillows and the questionable looking floral bedcover that was over the real blanket. He looks ridiculously uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I’ve got a queen size bed all to myself. Everything looks clean at least, and the sheets feel nice after what’s been one of the roughest nights of my life.
I close my eyes.
And in spite of being more exhausted than I can ever remember, I lie there awake.
I’ve lost everything. All I’ve got left is in the bag by the door, and I can’t bring myself to go retrieve my childhood stuffed animal in front of Alpha.
Oh my God, I almost died today.
We all could have. The sounds of bullets and knives hitting flesh fill my head, making me wish all I had to think about was a dirty dream.
The corners of my eyes sting as tears well out. My face goes tight as I try to keep my sobs quiet. It’s not a full-fledged panic attack, at least not yet, and I try to pick out things in the room to ground me.
Light from the parking lot peeks through the blinds, letting me count them one by one. Muffled voices come from the next room, but I can’t make out what the guys are talking about. I even try to remember every feature of Alpha’s exposed skin while I was bandaging him, but it’s not working. My breath hitches.
The blanket is ripped away and the bed sinks right before a huge, muscular arm comes around me, yanking me close. My back presses up against Alpha’s powerful chest, and the backs of my thighs against the fronts of his as he pulls me in to be his little spoon. He tucks us back in, and his warmth seeps through the thin material of my pajamas, burning hot like a furnace.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, shocked. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Go to sleep,” he grunts.
I should probably try to escape, but moving his arm is like trying to bend a steel bar. And I’ll admit I’m not trying very hard, because for the first time in days, I feel safe. Warm. I should hate this man. He broke into my house and stole my life. He also saved my life and took a bullet for me. They all did, even Blade.
His warmth chases the waking nightmares, leaving me drained, exhausted and warm. My eyelids slip shut, and I give up trying to pull away. I’ll deal with it in the morning. I even snuggle into him as his breathing slows and turns into soft snores, telling myself he won’t notice.
At least that makes one of us.
11
ALPHA
There are worse ways to wake up before the sun comes up than with a nice, plump ass snuggled right up against my rock hard cock. The hair tickling my nose has a smoky scent to it. A little unusual, but nothing that turns me off, especially when I slide my hand up her side and the warm weight of her soft breast fills my palm. I find her nipple and play with it, just nudging it with my finger to feel it stiffen up.
She moans and turns over. Warning bells should be going off, because I’ve never been much of a cuddler, but this feels good. Right. Our lips meet, and she opens for me, arching her back as my tongue slides into her mouth.
Fuck, she’s a hot little thing, running her hands up my back as I edge on top and between her legs. They part, welcoming me. I feel a little worse for wear, but maybe last night was just more energetic than I remember. Sharp nails dig into my shoulder blades, and I roll my hips, grinding my cock against her, feeling the wet heat of her pussy even through my boxers and her pajamas. If she ended up in my bed last night, why are we even fucking wearing clothes?