The Alpha Behind the Mask

3.

I lay perfectly still in the rapidly cooling bath water until my stomach rumbled. I wasn’t even part way close to relaxed, but I climbed out before dressing and heading to the kitchen. On my way through the house, I passed my floor to ceiling bookcases and trailed my fingers over the books, but I had no desire to select one. Nothing could offer me an escape from reality today—not books and especially not TV. We’d lost cable last month after one overdue bill too many, and now my TV sat dark and silent in the corner like some sort of postmodern ornament. I was pretty sure it was judging me, actually.

I was certainly judging me.

And the judgement didn’t stop when I practically hung inside the fridge, gazing over the empty shelves like something edible might magically appear.

I dug my hand into my pocket again, pulling out my remaining three dollars and sixty-three cents.

It wouldn’t buy me a lot, but I should be able to get some pasta and the vegetables to make a sauce. Dad would probably be hungry when he got home as well. I was too angry with him to really take him into consideration this evening, but I did it automatically.

Even though he didn’t deserve it.

I sighed as I grabbed my keys and walked back to my car. Working at the bar meant I kept the antisocial hours of a vampire, but at least the grocery store would be quiet.

I zipped around the store, familiar with all the aisles and the bargain areas, then paid for my purchases and left before shame ate me up at the meager selection I could afford. That shame burned within me stronger than any hunger. I stuck to the lit walkway as I returned to my car, although the low purr of an engine idling nearby alerted me to a limo at the curb. I paused for a moment because… hell, an actual limo, so dark in the back I couldn’t see who was in there, even with the window partly open.

A limo. I didn’t think people who rode in those even knew this part of town existed.

I walked by, forcing myself forward even as my legs slowed, feet hesitating to take the next step. Dammit. I had too much else to worry about to be curious about the owner of a way too expensive car in a cheap grocery store parking lot.

But a strange desire to know ripped through me, accompanied by a different sort of desire. The sort that whispered of the company of another on sweaty night, full of heat and touch and rumpled bed sheets.

I shivered as my body beat a sudden pulse of awareness, and hurried past the parked car. But I turned at the soft clunk of a car door closing behind me, and my throat dried as I gazed at the tall guy now standing by the limo. His hair was longer on top, and tousled, and the lights revealed an angular jawline and turbulent gray eyes that glittered with interest as his lips quirked in a slow, easy smile.

I parted my lips to speak but no words came out as he sauntered toward me, and I remained fixed in place, just watching him get closer. Part of me wanted to turn and run away like he was some kind of predator, but the other part of me wanted to…

Shit. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Watch him? Drink him in? Welcome him somehow? My body tingled like it knew exactly what kind of welcome to offer.

I backed up until my ass bumped against the brick wall behind me, and my small bag of groceries fell from my hand as the man’s gaze remained fixed on mine, incredibly intense.

Something about him…

I shook my head, not sure where my tangled thoughts were leading. Then suddenly he stood in front of me, his fingers toying with the ends of my brown hair, and I lifted my chin to look up at him as he surrounded me like a shadow, his presence commanding, his scent masculine spice and exciting.

The first real touch was a light caress of his knuckles down my cheek. I closed my eyes, savoring something so unexpected and fleeting, melting into a spell meant only for me.

Then I jerked back at his soft mouth on mine, my head striking the wall before I relaxed and inhaled a breath of longing that allowed his tongue to slide past my lips—quiet, casual, exploring. He stroked the inside of my mouth before wrapping his arms around me and urging me closer to him as he groaned in a way I’d never heard. Somewhere between longing and satisfaction.

The tips of my fingers touched his cheek before I pushed them into his hair, gripping onto him as he controlled my mouth and pleasure twisted a slow spiral through me in a physical response I’d never experienced with anyone.

I sucked breath after quick breath, my breathing lost all rhythm and coordination, and I grew light-headed as I tried to answer the persuasion and teasing of his lips and tongue. My heart thundered in my chest, and my n*****s hardened where they pressed against him. I’d never wanted a man more, and the thought rippled through my head in a blaze of desire and wantonness as I ground against his thigh.

When he released me, he rested his forehead against mine and sucked in deep breaths as his chest rose and fell before he dropped his head so his mouth hovered over my neck. As my heart beat faster, the pulse below his mouth turned suddenly wild, like something was trapped beneath my skin. I could feel it—as though it was answering some kind of call to make itself known.

Holy crap… This was… It was incredible.

Wait. No. It was actually insane. This guy was a complete stranger, and here I was, making out with him on the street?!

What the hell was I doing?

I shoved him. Before I even thought about it, I thrust my hands against the stranger’s chest, and his mouth gaped as his eyes widened and he staggered back, leaving just enough space for me to run.

My chest ached with every breath I sucked in, and I couldn’t hear anything but the blood pounding through my ears as I focused on my feet striking the sidewalk, running back into the store. Adrenaline fueled my panic. Fear tightened all of my muscles, but there was also something else. A fascination and enjoyment I couldn’t hide from. Desire still coiled low in my body.

The limo was gone when I eventually left the store again, but my small bag of groceries sat on the curb like it was waiting for a ride, and after I’d collected it, my hands trembled all the way home.