The Alpha Target

Fourteen

After catching up with the rest of the team, Cora entered the darkness of her room two hours later with what felt like the weight of the world on her shoulders. The moment the door clicks shut behind her, a thick tension clouded the air around her, suffocating her in the safe confinement of her room.

Her wolf came alive as his fresh, intoxicating scent of sandalwood and pinecones wrapped around her in a warm embrace, dancing along her skin and leaving a trail of goosebumps down the back of her neck. Her heart dropped, he’d been here again tonight. But had he left?

She automatically looked out of her window, but he wasn’t standing outside. There was nothing but the night staring back at her with the faint shadow of the moonlight, reminding her that she was alone in the torment he created. With bated breaths, she straightened her spine and drew the curtains, sending a message that she was blocking him out, cutting him off from his game at the switchboard, ending the torture they created for one another.

Isolated in the gloaming darkness of her room, she’d felt a slight triumph until intent footsteps sounded behind her. She’d locked the door when she entered, no one had followed her in. Whatever had made that sound was already here before she had arrived, lurking in the dark shadows like the corners of the earth, going completely undetected by her. She’d been so warped into the toxicity of his scent her other senses had sat on the backburner, like they always did when he was around. Nothing else ever seemed to matter. Common sense flew out the window.

All her training proved pointless when it came to him. He’d infiltrated that space of curiosity with something she couldn’t ignore. Like a virus, he plagued her with the overwhelming need to know more. She’d say it was for the purpose of the investigation, but the truth was, he could have killed her already – multiple times. And his reasons for not are what have her wanting to know more. Right and wrong danced together to the music of her own pitiful excuses, as she found herself locked in a slow dance with the devil himself.

And in that exact moment, she questioned her sanity. Because she knew exactly what was waiting for her when she turned, yet the obvious emotion of fear was lost upon her. Instead, she felt calm as she awaited his next move. Anticipating all the things he was going to say to her. Do to her. He’d promised to punish her, but it would be his mistake if he expected her to roll over and take it like a good f*****g girl.

Steeling her spine, Cora turns to face the overbearing figure watching her in the darkness. He didn’t even try to hide. Instead he was staring at her with a wicked smile on his face. Only the subtle moonlight peaking through the curtains allowed light into the room, but only enough to get a brief view of him. Still, she couldn’t see much of his face – probably a good thing considering one look at him immobilised her completely.

Her tongue darts out, wetting her dry lips as his build towers over her. His presence was so overwhelming, making it feel like he was ten feet tall with a shadow crawling up the ceiling, crawling towards her. The room felt tiny with him in. She felt tiny with him in it. “Ready for your punishment, little rose?” his dark tone caused the hair at the back of her neck to stand up, his voice washing over her.

He took a step towards her, the ghost of a smirk remaining on his face – just the slightest curl in his lips. But she doesn’t step back, she continued firmly holding her stance as she waited for his next move. Perhaps her instincts were completely jacked sideways, at least when it came to him. But she wouldn’t fear him like many others did, he’d met his match when it came to her. Though, it didn’t help her concentration when her wolf was stirring like crazy at his proximity as he continued prowling towards her. Her wolf wanted out, wanted to rub her scent all over him and feel his hands through her fur.

Finally, she found her voice. “How the hell did you get in here?” she snapped, purposefully ignoring the ache building within her that desperately yearned for his touch. She didn’t want to unpack that right now. He didn’t answer, instead chuckling, the sound as deep as his raven locks, awakening a flame within her.

Her eyes lock with his through the darkness, and all thoughts escaped her. He pressed the entirety of his body against her, with no shame. No shyness. No, let me buy you a drink first before I press my man pecs into you. The boldness of it nearly had her biting her tongue in surprise.

“I asked you a question,” Cora demanded as she discreetly reached for the knife secured in the waistband of her joggers. A sinful smirk tugs at his lips. Though before he could answer, the sense seemed to be knocked back into Cora’s mind momentarily as she swung her knife towards him, only to meet resistance when she lifted it.

She looked down in confusion, just to see his bare hand wrapped around the blade. Blood pooled in his hand, a small trail heading straight to her own. Cora’s eyes snap back to his. Not a single ounce of pain shined in those piercing blue eyes. Not even a glimmer.

Lucien jerks on the blade, using her surprise to his advantage, and blindly tosses it behind him. The knife clattered loudly against something before topping on to the floor, the sound reverberating in the otherwise quiet room. His presence was a vortex, steadily depleting the oxygen from the room, even from her lungs.

Cora couldn’t think straight with his body so close to hers. Her instincts yell at her to move, yet her body refused to. He used his finger to lift up her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. The slightest curl of his lips stalled the breath in her lungs. The act spoke of something daunting. Something condemning. Her wolf, on the other hand, was now howling like a frenzied animal. “You’re a savage little thing,” he hummed.

The intensity in his eyes held her in place as his chest brushed against her. He smelt like pinecones, sandalwood and smoke. It was intoxicating. He was intoxicating. She was so consumed by him it hurt. He leaned into her, pressing his weight against her. Hot breath warmed her skin as his lips traced the outer edge of her ear. “I want to devour you,” he whispered.

“What if I don’t want you too?”

“You do.”

A shudder ran down Cora’s spine. Her body ached from his words, her lower abdomen tightened and she forced her thighs together to dull the fire burning between them. Knox leaned back slightly, separating only to bring his middle finger to the base of her throat where it dips. Slowly, he trailed it down her chest, over her shirt, between her breast, and down the line of her abdomen until he reached the hem of her joggers.

“I can get rid of that ache for you, little rose,” he whispers, running his tattooed covered hand along the edge of her hem, pushing his finger down the inner of the material. “If you allow yourself to fall into flames of eternal hell with me.”

She could practically hear the smirk in his throaty tone. Her skin awakened at his touch and a reluctant moan rumbled through her throat. He c****d his head, his eyes peering into the back of hers and she can see the satisfaction in his eyes alone. He was well aware of the effects he had on the body before him.

She’d never seen anyone like him. Never known anyone like him. Questions littered her mind again as she tried to piece together why her body called out to him like a siren. Her eyes trail up to his mouth, where a smug grin was forming. A grin she wanted to wipe off that devastatingly handsome face.

She opened her mouth, ready to tell him about himself, but the words quickly died on her tongue when he reaches up a hand and swipes his thumb roughly across her bottom lip. “Mm,” he growled in delight. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You seem to think you can take me on, so I’m going to allow you the opportunity to try. If I overpower you, then I will deliver your punishment. If I don’t in the first ten minutes, you will go unpunished and I will leave.”

“You mistake me for someone who takes orders,” Cora challenged, lifting her chin as defiance swirled in her eyes. The sight only made Lucien harder than he already was, which he hadn’t thought possible. The little vixen was testing every ounce of his self-control, not that he had much to begin with. He was going to enjoy f*****g that attitude right out of her. Not yet though, but soon.

“Fine,” he clicks his tongue. “Straight to your punishment then, baby.”

Surely, he wasn’t that stupid. Cora perched her brow, taunting him, as she pulled another knife from the inside of her bra. “Try it,” she encouraged, pressing her knife firmly against his neck. But the fucker only grins, leaning into the blade as it now pierces his skin, a smear of blood forming beneath the edge of the blade.

In a split second, his arm came up and gripped the hair at the back of her head. He pulls tightly, forcing her head back. “This is your only chance, baby.” He towered above her, looking down as blood slowly drips down his neck from the wound he keeps pushing into, as if he can’t feel pain. “You won’t get it again.”

Cora wished he would stop touching her, because every time he did her thoughts went flying out that locked window and she forgot why she wanted him dead in the first place. Electric sparks danced off her skin with every touch, it was mind-consuming and thought jumbling, enough to make her want to melt into his embrace.

“Times up, little rose,” he tsked, roughly grabbing her hand and tugging the knife away from his throat. Growling, and with the fog in her mind clearing, Cora swiftly brought her knee to his abdomen and delivered a painful kick. The shock of it was enough for Knox to let go of her for a moment, allowing her the opportunity to escape his grasp. But he didn’t seem hurt, in fact if it wasn’t for the surprised look on his face you’d never had guessed anything had happened.

Instead, he chuckles, which only pissed Cora off more. So, in what she thought was a sudden movement, she flung out her arm and sent a powerful punch his way, only for his strong grip to catch her fist midair before it could connect with his skin. Using it to his advantage, he used his grip to yank Cora towards him, turning her so her back was firmly pressed against his front. She tried her best to ignore the delightful goosebumps rising on the skin of her neck as his breath fanned against the sensitive area. “That’s it, baby, fight me. It will only make delivering your punishment that much sweeter.”

“No,” Cora snarls as she brings her elbow sharply into his abdomen, resulting in him taking a stumble back before she swiftly turns and delivers a hard kick to his chest. But again, he doesn’t make a sound that resembles any form of pain, only grinning at her with a stupidly attractive look on his face. Never in her life had Cora been so turned on by the same person she was trying to end, it was infuriating.

As he stables himself, Cora goes to reach for one of the knives he’d tossed aside but finds herself being pulled back as he firmly grasps her leg, roughly bringing her front colliding with the floor. She thrashed as he bore his weight onto her, pinning her beneath his broad thighs. Cora growls, flailing her hands as her claws elongate and she aims to take a swipe, her wolf’s purrs doing nothing but distracting her from her task. Stupid wolf likes his domination.

Lucien hovers over her, his lips just above her ear. “Keep fighting, baby, you’re only making it worse.”

Speedily, Cora flung back her head, painfully connecting it with his. He groans in shock, allowing Cora the opportunity to wriggle beneath him and turn so her back is laid against the floor. She grips her thighs tightly around his waist, locking him in place, before briskly flipping them over so she straddled him. One hand firmly gripped his neck, while the other reached along her desk beside them to grab anything of use.

Lucien bits down on his lower lip, impressed with his sneaky little rose. He was hardly complaining with having her legs wrapped tightly around him, her warm core pushing against him. He almost wanted to let her win, just to see what she would do next. His wolf was impressed too, loving that his mate was a mischievous little spitfire who could take him.

Cora’s fingers brushed against the cord of her earphones and she quickly pulled them to her. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best she could do in this situation. Intrigued glimmered in Knox’s eyes when he saw what his mate had grabbed to use against him, he nearly stilled just to see what she had in store for him. Nearly.

Cora rushed to grab the end of the cord, preparing to tie Knox’s hands together under her when she felt him thrust his hips beneath her. She bounced on top of him from the movement, before suddenly landing on his large, stiff member poking through his trousers. The exhilarating sparks that shot up her core was enough to immobilise her for a moment, her body relishing in the feel of him beneath her, begging to feel more of him. The friction caused a soft moan to escape her lips, her lust for him resurfacing like a fever in her blood. She couldn’t deny how much she wanted him. She’d been fighting it, fighting it with everything she had, but the fight was quickly losing the war in the battle against her lust for him.

Knox ground the back of his teeth, he could feel her warmth press against him and it was taking every single bit of him to hold back from taking her right there. He wanted to bury himself so deep inside of her she lost her voice from screaming his name so f*****g loud.

He groaned when she subtly rocked her hips against him, relieving her own tension and sliding her hips up his length. His wolf was clawing to get to the surface, to claim her as his mate here and there, but Knox couldn’t have that. Not yet.

Taking her off guard, he yanked the cord from her fingers and flipped them over so he was on top of her again. She grunted as her back connected with the floor, and now knowing how sneaky his little rose can be, Knox pressed his thighs against her arms, pinning them to the ground.

“Get the f**k off me,” Cora spat, her chest heaving from her irritation. Lucien couldn’t help the grunt of amusement that left him as he wrapped the white cord tightly around her wrists, pinning them together. Then he leans back, taking a moment to admire his handy work, only infuriating Cora more.

“You motherfucker!” Cora snaps, banging her tied wrists repeatedly against his chest. “Unfucking tie me now, you bastard!”

She continued thrashing as Knox got to his feet, roughly grabbing her wrists and pulling her to hers. Then she suddenly stops struggling, as if something has caught her attention. Frowning, Lucien’s eyes flicker to where Cora’s hand landed.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. “Try it, baby, you’ll regret it.” He retorts, amusement colouring his words. Cora growls, frustrated by how f*****g unruffled he is as she reluctantly pulls her gaze away from the emergency button on the wall.

Using his hold on her wrists, he spins her so she’s sat on the edge of her bed gazing up at him through her thick, black lashes. The sight made his c**k throb. Being the defiant little b***h she is, she quirked her brow in challenge. “Is this where I beg for my life?”

Lucien slowly licks his lips, leaning forward so his face is barely inches from hers, his breath fanning her against her lips. “The only way I’m sending you to heaven, baby, is with my cock.”