The Alpha and Her Secret Mate

Reunited

I stare at the door, nervously. In the short weeks since I’ve become the Alpha, my bedroom has started to resemble a war room. Or at least what I imagine one to be. Even though Dan advised that I isolate pack documents to Grandpa’s office, my office now, things have drifted down the hall. It doesn’t help that I do most of my reading in bed. I consider trying to straighten up a little bit, but I know it won’t matter. I know he won’t care.

I pace across the room for a few minutes, shooting anxious glances at the door, and when this does nothing to calm me, I drop to my bed and force myself to take slow breaths. I consider just going to sleep, but I’m sure that I can’t. Not now. So I resume staring at the door and waiting.

When it clicks open, I fly across the room before I even see who it is. Alex locks the door behind him and wraps his arms tightly around me.

“You came,” I whisper into his chest, my voice thick with emotion.

“Of course, I did,” he whispers into my hair. “Where else would I go?”

I squeeze him closer to me. “You were late, I was worried you weren’t coming today.”

“Darling, Layla…”

I got a giddy flush in my core when I hear my name in his voice. “What happened?”

Alex pauses, “The guard for this floor started chatting with several other pack members. When I tried to pass them, I couldn’t think of a good excuse for why I was there, so I just stayed to talk.”

I nuzzle my cheek against the warm skin of his neck. “I’m sorry,” I say simply.

I can feel the hesitation in Alex, and I nod to encourage him. “You know, it doesn’t have to be like this?” he says, for maybe the hundredth time.

I pull away slightly. “I’m sorry, I promise soon,” I whisper. He said he understood when I wasn’t ready to tell anyone. That I wanted to establish my position as a strong leader before I publicly had a man by my side. He may understand, but I could tell that it hurts him.

“Relax, darling…” he says, placing a light kiss in my hair. I lean into the touch, but he doesn’t linger. Instead, he scoops me up and carries me to my bed. When he sets me down, he whispers, “I couldn’t possibly stay away.”

He steps away from the bed, and I audibly whine at the broken contact. “Alexxxx!”

He laughs at me, and I burrow under my blanket to watch him get ready for bed. Usually, we get ready together, moving about the room in sync. Since he’s late, I’ve been in my pajamas for an hour, so now I have a rare opportunity to just lay back and watch him.

He takes off his jacket and drapes it over my chair. He stretches and I can see a sliver of skin at the hem of his shirt, and I hum happily at the sight. When he lifts his t-shirt it’s with such an agonizing slowness, that I realize he knows I’m watching. He grins and winks at me.

I feel my cheeks flush, and I groan as I bury my face under the blanket. I’m still there hiding when I feel the side of the bed sag under his weight. He wraps his bare arms around me, and I squirm, burrowing my way closer to his chest. A deep breath of his scent instantly calms me, and I press my body against his.

“I like it when you’re embarrassed,” he whispers as he leans down to put his lips against my neck.

“Why is that?” I tilt my head back, giving him more space, and he rewards me with a trail of kisses down to my shoulder.

“You’re supposed to be this powerful Alpha,” he says, “And, don’t get me wrong, out there you are.” He places another gentle kiss on my shoulder. “But when you’re alone with me, you’re just you. And I love private Layla. The one that only I get to see.”

“You think I only get embarrassed when I’m alone with you?” I say with a laugh. “You must have missed the phone call with the senate ambassador yesterday. I was a disaster.” And I worry how much the other wolves noticed. I feel him go still in my arms at the reminder of the outside world.

“Not here,” he whispers, banishing my frown. He growls possessively and pulls me closer. Mine, I hear, and I know it’s a rare time when Alex’s wolf speaks to me. I press my chest against his, and I hear his breath catch in his throat.

“Layla…” he groans, almost pleading.

“What?” I tease. I move against him until he holds me still with a firm hand on my shoulder.

“What are you wearing?” he asks, but I can hear in his tone that he’s actually asking about what I’m not wearing. When I selected what to wear to bed, I did have his preferences in mind. The shortest shorts I could find and an exceptionally thin tank top. So thin I could feel the warm of him through the fabric, and I’m sure he could feel me too.

“It’s not comfortable to sleep in a bra,” I say with an air of practicality. Even as he resists, I feel his hands run up my back, and I shudder at the touch. I kiss a spot just below his throat and stare at his lips in the dim light of the moon streaming in from the window.

He kisses my forehead, and I’m equally disappointed and relieved. This is how things have been since we reunited. All needy touches and longing stares. He’ll kiss my neck until I’m panting but stop short of kissing my lips. I’ll touch anywhere on his firm chest, and I’ve practically licked his abs, but I’m afraid to touch his mouth. I think we’re both scared it will break the fragile peace between us.

“Layla,” he whispers, his voice thick.

I don’t answer him. I just wrap my leg around his hip. Alex’s hands grip my thigh greedily, and I marvel at the feel of his calloused hands against my soft skin. “Alex?” I whisper.

His grip on my leg tightens and he lifts me over him. I gasp when he sets me down so that I’m straddling his hips. His fingers brush along the hem of my shirt, and for a moment, I think he’s going to take it off. Instead, his hands explore my body with the thin layer of fabric between us. Each place he touches, I lean into him, craving more, needing more.

I hear myself moan when his fingers twist into the hair at the nape of my neck. A gentle pull is all the encouragement I need to lean down to his face. I rest my forehead against his, and cup his cheek in my palm. Even though I know he’s mine, I know he won’t leave me, I still marvel that I’m allowed to touch him again. We spent only weeks apart, but the fact that he’s here now in my arms, is something I’ll never get used to.

His thumb guides my chin until it’s level with his. “I want you.” His voice is husky, and my fast beating heart melts.

Our lips are millimeters apart. “Are you sure?” I whisper, my lips brushing against his when I speak.

He exhales slowly, and his breath on my skin makes me shiver. “There was never a time when I didn’t want to kiss you.”

I hesitated, remembering my shame. “Even when we were broken up?” I finally ask, my voice so soft it’s barely audible. I can feel myself blush, just as I can feel Alex’s grip on me loosen. When we broke up, it was because I’d thrown myself at him. And because Alex didn’t want to be with anyone who wasn’t his mate. Now that I’ve shifted, and the Goddess revealed our mate bond to us, I’m terrified of losing him again. He’s my mate, but the careful space between us feels fragile.

“I wanted to kiss you especially when we broke up. Every day I had to come here and see you but not be with you was agony.”

I tighten my arms around his body, holding him close.

“Every day, I would long for you, all while thinking someone else would get to love you.”

“I missed you the entire time.”

“Can I kiss you, now?” he whispers. I feel the longing in his voice, and feel both of our wolves straining for each other.

I’m scared, but more than that, I want him. I want Alex. “Please,” I whimper.

Instead of leaning in towards my lips, Alex lays back and trails his hand slowly down my spine, settling to rest on my thigh. I draw a shuddering breath just before his lips touch mine. Everywhere he touches me, I feel like I’m on fire, and at his kiss, this heat shoots to the pit of my stomach, where it forms a molten ball of want.

My lips part, and he’s painfully gentle. My tongue darts out to brush against his lip. In response, he growls and I feel his teeth dig into my skin.

Suddenly, he lifts me and rolls over, pushing my back into the mattress. He holds me down, and I can see his muscles tremble. I raise my hips up to meet him, but he pushes me back against the bed. His lips caress mine, and I nip at him hungrily. My hands dig into his shoulders, trying to pull him closer to me, but he catches both of my wrists in his hand and pins them above my head. I push against him, but he shakes his head no, so I lose myself in his kiss.

It occurs to me, distantly, that this is the only way he’s stronger than me. In my wolf form, I’m stronger and faster, and I absently wonder what it would be like to be with Alex as wolves.

“Later,” he whispers eagerly against my lips, as if he senses what I was thinking. He probably did know, honestly. I feel a rush of glee that he wants me too.

With my hands pinned, I wrap my legs around his hips. I feel him smile as I kiss him, and I know we have plenty to explore, but his kiss is all I want. For now.