Alpha's to Mate: 3 Book Shifter Romance Bundle

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

When Tarsha woke up, she forgot where she was for just a moment. She was wrapped in the warmth and scent of the man lying beside her and it was glorious. She fought hard against the urge to open her eyes. All she wanted was to stay in the sweet state of denial that she had allowed herself to get lost in.

Once she opened her eyes, she had to face the true reality of her life and the new sadness that came with it. There, in that bed with her eyes closed, she was just a woman who had spent the night making love to a man.

She did not have to be more. She could hide in the simple truth of that.

It did not take her long, though, to realize that she was not the only one who was awake. As she finally opened her eyes, she saw Cole’s beautiful eyes staring back in to hers.

For a moment, her skin was aflame again with memories of the night before and the passion that they had shared. A part of her wanted nothing more than to press her lips to his and wrap her legs around him until the world around them faded away again. She knew, though, that it was time to let go of her harmless distraction before he became an addiction.

“Last night was wonderful,” he said, reaching for her. Clearly, he had a round of morning lovemaking on his mind.

“Sure thing,” she said, getting up from the bed and wrapping herself in a sheet as she walked shyly towards the living room in search of her dress. They had been in such a frenzy the night before that she was not entirely sure that she remembered where she had discarded it.

“Well...” he said, pausing for a moment as he took in the sight of her. She had just found her dress and discarded the sheet just long enough to pull it back on. Her nude body, bathed in the light of the morning, was just as appealing as it had been the night before and he was sad to see it disappear again under her dress.

Cole was shocked by the range of emotions he was experiencing. His thoughts on the morning after a conquest were always singularly focused on getting his overnight guest out the door and returning to work or looking for the next woman to warm his bed. Now though, with this woman whose name he still did not know, he wanted her to stay. He wanted to delve the depths of the secrets that she kept from him before delving back into her body and exploring every inch of it all over again.

“I am so sorry to interrupt you, but I really have to go,” she said, tired of waiting for him to finish his thought. She needed to leave. The longer she stayed, the more tempted she was to throw herself at him again.

“Alright,” he said, realizing that her leaving was the best thing for him as well, despite the ache he felt within his chest at the thought of letting her walk out of his life. He had carefully crafted his life of solitude and avoiding entanglements with women was a big part of what made him so successful at it. If she did stay and he grew to know her mind as well as he now knew her body, it would be useless, because he had no plans to change his life. He was happy with the life that he had. Getting closer to the lovely creature before him could not change that.

“Thanks for last night,” she said, feeling as though she should say something more. He smirked then, walking towards her with the same determination that he had when he had first approached her the night before. He had not bothered to put on any clothing on and made no effort to cover himself. She could see that he was erect and ready for her yet again and she could hear her own heart pounding. Clearly, her body wanted him just as badly, though her arousal was not as apparent as his. Tarsha did her best to keep calm, hoping that he could not hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

“I spent the last twelve hours inside of you. The least that you can do before you go is tell me your name,” he purred in her ear as he stopped just shy of touching her. Usually it would have mattered little to him, but this time was different. The only reasons that a woman could have to conceal her name all had to do with there being another man in her life and the thought bothered him. He had spent his fair share of time with other men’s wives and girlfriends, but he hated the thought that she was leaving to return to the arms of another man. Just the thought of the hands of another man upon her was enough to make him murderous.

Tarsha could feel herself blushing at the look of possessiveness in his eyes. After all, she had never had a one-night stand before and she was not at all sure how to act. Still, she wanted to maintain the allure that had come so easily the evening before. She very much liked the idea of him thinking back to their time together and thinking of her as the mysterious woman who has slipped in and out of his life like the night. She knew that women must beg him for a moment of his time. At least she would be one who stood out among his many conquests.

“Why? We will never see each other again,” she said boldly as she began her walk towards the door. She thought that would be the end of it. She knew in her heart that they had both gotten what they wanted from each other and their time together had come to an end.

“What makes you think that?” he said seductively, closing the space between them in two steps.

“Well, you picked me up at a bar and brought me back here like it is a thing you do fairly regularly. This place is an apartment designed for a man who wants to live a very specific life style. Everything here is of the highest quality, but designed for just one person. You have one chair at your dining room table. You like to be alone. Last night was about physical need and now we are both satisfied. You have no further need of me,” she quipped, taking a few steps away from him. The closer she stood to him, the harder it was not to touch him. Her body remembered the feeling of his hands upon her and her mind was having a hard time focusing on rational thought.

By the light of day, it was even more obvious that he was fully invested in his lifestyle as a lone wolf. Tarsha looked around and took in all that surrounded her. He had put nothing of himself in the place that he lived. It was all a façade. There was no sense of comfort or home anywhere in that place. There was nothing that would make a person want to linger there. It was a place that was designed to be visited and left behind, much like a hotel room. Still, the thought that anyone really called such a place home saddened her. It was so cold and hard, there was no sign of a real life being lived there.

“That is a cold assessment of my life here,” he countered, though he was clearly not hurt by her words. On the contrary, he smiled as though it amused him greatly that she had said it so bluntly to him.

“But an accurate one, right?” she asked, unable to keep from giggling at the expression on his face. For the first time, he felt more like a real person than the stereotypical lady’s man she had pegged him as the night before.

“I cannot deny it. Is that lifestyle so wrong? You seemed willing enough,” he said, walking in a slow and deliberate circle around her as though he was assessing her measure. She had no plans to let him think that he was intimidating her.

“Oh I was more than willing. I needed to get lost in the physical last night and you were exactly what I needed,” she answered, unashamed of why she had so eagerly gone home with him. They were both adults, after all. To her, if one pretended not to want the physical release, that was what made such moments awkward.

“Happy to help,” he countered, quite pleased with himself and amused with her unique honesty. None of his other lovers would have been so bold about what it was that they truly wanted from him. Most pretended that it was love that they wanted when really it was his money and power. Some were like her; they wanted only his body and the animal magnetism that he exuded. They were not as brave as her, though.

They all liked to play the role of the innocent victim, seduced by a callous lover who spurned them the next day. It would not do, he knew, for them to tell their friends that they had wanted nothing more than a good lay. They needed to have a tale of heartbreak to tell. It was those lovers who he detested most of all.

Perhaps he detested them so much because he saw his own deception reflected in them. He spent every day of his life lying to everyone around him. He had been raised by his father and the rest of their tribe to value honesty above all things, but he could not be honest in the life that he had chosen for himself.

If he was, those around him would have run screaming from him or locked him in an asylum or research facility. His inner bear was such a part of all that he did, but he spent all of his time denying that part of himself. He wondered idly if that was why his instincts responded to her so strongly. She was so fresh and open about what she wanted from him, even if she did keep the rest of herself a mystery.

“You certainly did, but now it is done,” she said, pulling herself away from him emotionally and physically. She could tell that he was the kind of man a woman could get lost in and she had no intention of adding another complication to her life.

She had enough of those, but she was not entirely sure how she was going to tell Gwen that she had bedded the most handsome billionaire in the entire city without even telling him her name. Her friend might think she had gone absolutely mad but she also suspected that Gwen might even be a bit proud of her for letting go so entirely.

“So cynical for such a pretty young thing,” he said, stepping towards her yet again. As eager as she was to put space between them, he was not yet ready for her to move out of arm’s reach. There was something comforting about knowing that he would draw her to him in a single motion if he wanted to.

“Do not let my appearance fool you. I have the soul of a bitter old man,” she teased, feeling more relaxed than she could ever have imagined as she stood before a one night stand in her dress from the night before, with her hair a mess and the scent of their lovemaking clinging to her skin. There was something about the energy between them that put her at ease. Besides, it did not matter at all what he thought of her. He did not even know her real name. With him, in those moments, she could be whoever she wanted to be and it was electrifying.

Without any hesitation, she threw herself through the air at him. Any other man might have been caught off guard, but Cole caught her with ease and pulled her tight against his body. Tarsha wondered for only a split second if she was being weak, giving in to a desire she had decided against, but then his lips met hers, all thought left her mind. She became a creature fueled by her own desire and what she desired most was for Cole to be inside her again. She wanted to feel the way he made her felt just one more time. The real world could wait for a few more hours.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her hands in his thick hair as she let his kiss consume her. All the while, he supported her with only one hand, there in the middle of his living room. When his lips finally broke from hers, she moaned in displeasure, only to have him toss her up like a rag doll and catch her in both hands, cradling her to his chest as he began striding towards the back of the apartment.

His nudity did not seem to bother him at all, but she was painfully away how close his instrument of pleasure was to her grasp and she wanted it within her walls again. When he walked past the door to his bedroom, she was confused. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she was beyond excited to be taken and was not eager to wait any longer.