The Virgin Alpha and the Prostitute

Chapter 4: Steam

Paris

Amalia led me to the center of the rooftop, where there were more chaise lounges, arranged between lush trees and flower bushes and around a large hot tub, jets blasting. It was late springtime and the sun had set now, leaving the city a little cold, but Amalia didn’t seem to mind.

“Do you want me to change into a bathing suit?” she asked, with a shyness that surprised me. But I was also relieved at the suggestion.

“Sure. Do you have one I could wear?”

“Oh, I’m sure we do,” she said innocently. “But what if I don’t want to get you one?”

I grinned. A teaser, this one. “Well, I don’t really want to wear my underwear in there.”

“Then go without.”

“But then you’d see everything while I don’t get to,” I said, trailing my fingers up her rib cage, from the waistband of her skirt to the bottom of her bra. She shivered.

“True…but why get something for you that I’m going to have off of you in a few minutes?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure that’ll happen?”

“I know a trick or two,” she said. “If nothing else, I’ll make the swimsuit mighty uncomfortable.” She started loosening my tie, pulling it over my head and tossing it to the side, then slowly unbuttoned my shirt, allowing her fingers to graze my skin as she worked her way down. Shivers and sparks tingled across my chest and my abs. She stopped at the last button, and I was still craving more. “See what I mean?” she finally said, dispelling the haze around me. I looked down and realized my erection was straining my pants at the seams.

“All right,” I said, my voice thick. “You win. Go get changed and I’ll meet you in the hot tub.”

“I’ll order us some food. Any requests?”

“I haven’t looked at that side of the menu,” I admitted sheepishly. “You decide. I eat anything.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” she said, as she sauntered away and out of sight. I could feel my face burning red, but whether from the chilly air or embarrassment, I couldn’t say.

I sighed, and began to strip, tossing my clothes and shoes on a chair near the hot tub. I eased myself into the tub, willing the steam and the jets to calm my tense nerves before she got back. But before I could take a breath and relax, Amalia emerged from behind the vegetation, and all the air was drained from my lungs again.

Amalia

As I changed into my bathing suit in the rooftop staff area, Tracey mindlinked me.

Amalia! Are you with him right now?

No, I’m changing quick. What’s up?

I just f****d his Beta.

I laughed to myself. And why is this news? He’s not your mate, is he?

No, Tracey replied, a little sadly. I wish—then I could come with you.

I bet you could anyway if you wanted to, I replied, tying the strings of my swimsuit bottoms and positioning the back so it was centered on my ass absently in the mirror.

Nah, I’m not ready to retire yet, she replied. But if I ever do decide to settle down, you’ll be my first call.

I better be. But why’d you link me then?

Oh. I just wanted to tell you that he was really nice. Genuine guy, polite. If he’s anything like his alpha, I think you found a good one.

Thanks, Trace. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Be safe. Love you!

She closed the link and I turned my attention back to getting ready. These Speakeasy employee swimsuits—a sweetheart-cut, strapless bikini top and high-waisted string bottom that was basically a thong—weren’t exactly designed for modesty, and my normal routine was to put on a bikini top that was a size too small and then hike my t**s halfway up to my chin. But this “customer,” if you could even call him that, wasn’t any ordinary customer. I grabbed a bigger size top out of the basket of clean uniforms and tried to spread the material so that it covered more of my cleavage. Giving up on modesty—At least I won’t be totally naked when I get in, I reasoned with myself—I grabbed a few Bobby pins off of the vanity counter and loosely pinned up my wavy hair, leaving a few pieces at the front down to frame my face. Taking one last look in the mirror, and deciding it was good enough, I stepped out into the chilly spring air and hurried back to the hot tub.

I watched his eyes trail slowly over me as I approached, and I tried to play it cool—normally I’d be swaying my hips and trying to be especially seductive, but with Paris…I had to think hard about just being me. “Hi,” I said, trying not to let my voice tremble from the nerves and the cold. I rested my forearms against the hot tub next to the corner where he was sitting. “Are you comfortable? Can I get you anything?”

“You can get in the pool,” he teased, grinning at me.

I flicked water at him. “Sorry for trying to be hospitable.” I climbed into the hot tub, sighing comfortably as the water negated the effects of the cool weather. I seated myself at the corner diagonal to his. “Better?”

“Bit far away, aren’t you?”

I pretended to consider this before moving to the corner adjacent to his. He shook his head, and I shot him a look, challenging him. He grabbed me by the hips and dragged me to his corner and onto his lap. Suddenly I was straddling him, our noses touching. A long moment hung between us, and I could see the conflict between fear and lust raging behind his eyes as his erection grew against my crotch pressing on his lap.

“I know you’re a virgin,” I blurted out.

He instantly looked mortified and for a moment and I thought I’d ruined everything, but then the threw his head back, his laughter dispelling my concerns. “That obvious, huh?” he finally gasped out when his laughter subsided.

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry—I just meant…I just meant there’s no pressure to rush anything. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

He trailed his fingers up and down my back, tracing my spine, his face pensive. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous or hadn’t worried that I was going to seem less appealing to you because of it,” he finally said. “But with the road I’ve traveled, it makes sense that the moon goddess would fate me to someone who wouldn’t judge me for how I got here.”

“Am I about to get the origin story?” I raised an eyebrow playfully.

He chuckled. “We could. Or we could start with not my emotional baggage.”

“Fair enough. So,” I said, playing with his curls, damp with steam and his own sweat, “you’re an alpha. Tell me about your pack.”

“I’m from the Hunter’s Moon Pack. But I’m not alpha yet. My dad is still in charge. I’ll take it over in a few months,” he replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait, how old are you?”

“I’m 28,” he replied. “I know…my dad is taking his sweet time formally naming me Alpha. The man really needs to retire.”

I nodded. In most other packs he would’ve been fully in charge years ago. But I decided not to push it, not yet. “Where is Hunter’s Moon? I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s somewhat remote. Up in the mountains out west. My beta has family out here. We’re just visiting for the weekend.”

“I’m excited to see your pack,” I said, instantly second-guessing myself, wondering whether I was coming on too strong.

His face lit up. “Yes, I—I’d love to take you there. When you’re ready of course,” he added hastily. “I don’t want to pressure you to come with me right away,” he continued, tracing my jaw with his fingers, “but I think I’d miss you a lot if I had to leave without you.”

He gently brought my face to his and pressed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling somehow like I needed to be even closer to him, as if any millimeter of space left between us was a vast chasm needing to be filled.

I parted my lips, and, after hesitating briefly, he reciprocated. I heard him groan as I dragged my tongue across his. I wondered how far he’d gone with other girls, and how long it had been since his last lover. My guess was it had been a while; everything I did seemed to be sending his arousal and heart through the roof.

I kept pushing him further and further, kissing him more and more deeply, until he broke the kiss, panting. He leaned his head back against the side of the hot tub, trying to catch his breath, but I didn’t let up. His jagged breathing and tight grip on me egged me on as I planted kisses across his jawline and down his neck. I reached the spot where I knew I’d place my mark, and I nibbled on it gently.

“Oh, goddess…” a whisper escaped his mouth.

“What was that?” I queried against his neck, my own voice husky from arousal. “Do you want me to stop?”

“Never,” he replied. “Never ever, ever.”

I pressed my forehead to his, and he sighed contentedly, which impressed me because I was still sitting on a very unsatisfied erection. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this,” he said.

“I haven’t shown you even half of what I can do,” I replied.

He shook his head. “Not s*x. I mean, that’s not what I’m talking about,” he whispered, taking my hand that still rested on his shoulder and slipping his fingers between mine. “I’ve been needing my one. The one. I was starting to think I’d never find you.”

Oh, f**k. He was perfect—almost too perfect. Either the moon goddess picked favorites and I was one of them, or I was in for a rough morning after waking up from one hell of a dream.

It’s not a dream, Crystal purred in my head. Mate wants us. He’s ours.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow too good to be true, that falling in love with Paris would be anything but simple—but for tonight, alone on this rooftop with the city twinkling around us and the steam from the hot tub concealing any imperfections or awkward conversations, none of that mattered. It was just me and him and the next moment, the next breath, the next touch. I was flooded with a kind of affection for him that I’d never felt before. There was the desire to f**k him until he couldn’t see straight, yes, but there were also deeper desires—to protect him, to support him, to make sure he never faced anything on his own ever again. I wanted to know everything there was to know about him, every strength and every vulnerability. Not to exploit or extort, but to cherish for myself and shield from danger.

I loved him. And as I leaned in to kiss him softly, it took everything in my power not to tell him so.