Denying the Alpha Read online

  “You’re only saying that to get into my knickers.” Her breathy reply made me smile and I shook my head. I cupped her wet pussy and she squirmed and clamped her thighs around my hand.

  “At the risk of pointing out the obvious, you’re not wearing any knickers, sweetheart.”

  Annie attempted to glare at me but gave up when I slid one finger into her tight sheath.

  “You’re not playing fair.” Her internal walls clamped around that digit and she groaned. “Besides, you’re only saying that because of some weird mating dragon mumbo jumbo and I want more than that. I … oh, don’t stop please.”

  I’d slipped another finger into her channel and thrust them in and out, mimicking what I wanted, needed to do with my cock, and she went a little cross-eyed. I took her right up the edge and then stopped, eliciting another deep-throated moan from her.

  “Dammit.”

  Withdrawing my fingers completely, I swatted her ass and then helped her to stand up. Seeing her all flushed and needy had to be the best sight yet. I patted my lap in an unspoken invitation for her to sit down, but I might have known she’d take that one step further. The little minx straddled me, so that the wet heat of her pussy settled right above my hard cock and we both groaned.

  She started to rub herself against me, and I fisted my hand in her hair and dug my free hand into her hips to hold her still.

  “Enough, woman, or so help me I’ll claim you right here and now and show you what it means to be my mate.”

  She pursed her lips at me and grinned. “Yeah, so you keep saying, yet you still haven’t done that. Me thinks you’re all talk and no action you, big, bad dragon, you.”

  My dragon did roar at that, and my fearless mate matched him with a super cute growl of her own. Annie smiled at me and ran her hands over my face.

  “Please, I wish you would … show me, that is.”

  I held my breath at what I saw in her eyes. Acceptance, longing, and dare I say it, love? Instead of answering her, I put all of my pent-up emotions into the kiss I gave her. Annie didn’t disappoint in her reaction. She kissed me back and passion exploded between us. How long we kissed, I couldn’t tell you, but eventually she broke away, and tears shimmered in her eyes.

  “I don’t understand any of this and it shouldn’t be possible, but I think I love you too. Please tell me this is real?”

  I cupped her face with one hand and rested my forehead on hers while I removed my joggers with a thought. Annie gasped but lifted up, and my cock sprang to life between us. Poised at her entrance, her heat called me, but I held her still and stared into her eyes.

  “Believe me, this is real, my love.” A tear rolled down her face and I kissed it away while slowly lowering her onto my shaft. The feel of her hot, tight cunt sliding down my dick tested my resolve to do this slow, to give her room to adjust, but I needn’t have worried. This woman was made just for me and the sounds she made as she impaled herself all the way, gushed for me to aid the slide of my dick into her depths, told me she was so on board with this. We both stilled when I bottomed out inside of her, and when our gazes locked, we simply stared at each other.

  “I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how real this is. I love you, Annie.”

  I flexed my hips and Annie gasped and tightened around me.

  “You better, and I love you too.” She smirked and rose up, making us both groan in pleasure as she dragged her internal walls along my shaft. I let her set the pace for a while as she chased a release which almost sent me over the edge too, but I needed to finish inside her ass to complete our mating, so I counted backward in my head as she shuddered around me and bit my neck. My dragon roared his approval and my incisors lengthened, ready to mark this woman as mine forever. I stood up with her in my arms, and swiping the contents of the table onto the floor with one hand, I laid her back on the polished wood.

  She arched her back and grinned as I magicked the dress off her until she was exposed in all of her naked glory. Her nipples called to me, hard little beacons of want, and I bent my head to give each rosy tip the attention they deserved. Annie locked her legs behind my butt in a vain effort to imprison me, but I was in charge now, so I pulled out of her and pushed her legs up and out to give me a full view of her quivering cunt.

  After taking her hands, I wrapped them around her ankles and growled my instructions. “Keep them there, or I’ll tie you up.”

  A shocked-sounding moan came from my girl, but she complied, wide-eyed, and I kissed her soft belly. I continued my path downward until I reached her wet pussy lips.

  “Hmm, so wet and delicious and all mine, aren’t you?” I looked up from my bounty to see her watching me.

  “Yes, I’m all yours. Please, whatever it is you have to do, please just do it.”

  My dick jerked, my dragon growled, and she gushed more of her juices for me. They trickled down from her pussy toward that tight ring of muscle I needed to breach to complete our bonding. Using my fingers, I used her natural lubrication to wet that hole. She moaned when I pushed my slickened thumb through that ring, and her eyes clouded over in need. Purple flames danced in their depths as her dragon took over and I knew mine would reflect my dragon’s flames as the two halves got ready to join.

  “I need to claim this hole too, my love.”

  Her dragon answered me loud and clear, and Annie nodded. It was all the confirmation I needed, and I let my dragon soar. My claws ran out, as I thrust into her tight pussy, coating my dick in her juices before I ran it down to her anus and pushed in. Annie gasped and lost her hold on her ankles, not that it mattered, not when I slowly and surely claimed her body and soul. Our dragons roared, our fires mixed, and instinct took over for both us. As I pulled all the way out and then slammed back in again, Annie’s nails scored my back, her incisors lengthened, and she met me thrust for thrust as our joined climax built, hotter and faster than anything I’d ever experienced. I hollered my release when it came and spurted my seed deep inside her ass as I sank my teeth into her shoulder, dimly aware of Annie following suit. Every inhale of her scent, the taste of her blood, the feel of her sucking mine cemented the age-old bond between us. When we both finally came down from the high, our dragons retreated, and we smiled at each other.

  “You’re mine now, my sweet little goose.”

  Annie’s eyes widened in shock and I heard her response in my head loud and clear.

  “Oh, my God, you’re in my head. How is that possible?”

  We both thought it together.

  “Magick.”

  Epilogue

  Annie

  Three Years Later

  The annual summer fete was in full swing and all around us the villagers of Rabbenstall mingled with the influx of tourists this event inevitably brought to our little village. Ever since the Dragoons had put on a motorbike cross rally for the first fete after my mating with Gideon, this had become an event the tourists flocked to. That first fete had generated so much income, helped along by my mate’s clan’s monetary contribution, of course, that Rabbenstall’s old buildings had been restored to their former glory. It was a work in progress, of course. We fixed one thing and something else went kaput, but such was the nature of restoration.

  It hadn’t been the only work in progress, by any means. I rubbed our latest one still hiding in my barely visible bump and hugged our surprise to me like the precious gift it was.

  “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are, mate?”

  Gideon’s deep voice in my head made me grin, and shielding my eyes against the sun, I looked up into the cloudless sky to see him soar high above us as he kept an eye on the masses of humanity spilling along our streets. He wasn’t the only one up there by any means. The Dragoons took the safety of these events very seriously, and while their human MC brothers performed tricks on the ground, the dragon ones kept watch. Not that I had eyes for any of the other magnificent dragons circling overhead. No, besotted little me only had eyes and ears for Gide
on, whether he was in his human or dragon form.

  “You don’t look too bad up there yourself, husband.” I sent that thought to him and grinned as the sun glinted off my wedding band. While our mating bond was stronger than any human cultural tradition would ever be, I was still damn proud to call myself Mrs. Gideon Jackson, or rather Mrs. Gideon Daring, as our wedding certificate stated.

  So much for my feminist views. Gideon, God bless him, had assumed that I would want to keep my own name, but as I had pointed out to him, what would be the point in getting married if I did that?

  Gideon had spun me around and that sex had been one of our most inventive yet. Oh, yeah, let me tell you being a dragon makes for an interesting sex life. We never did find out who my real parents were, but it didn’t really matter. As Gideon’s mate, I’d found a whole new family and the way the clan had welcomed me with open arms had been delightful.

  Humans could learn a lot from dragons, if you ask me.

  “How is my son?”

  “Your daughter is just fine, thank you.” I stuck my tongue out at my impossible mate and earned myself a strange look from Barbara, who stood next to me at the library stall.

  “Gah, a bug flew into my mouth. Don’t you hate it when that happens?” I asked.

  Gideon’s laughter in my head joined Leonard’s. Gideon’s Beta crossed his arms over his big chest and grinned, his eyes on a flustered-looking Barbara. Heat stained her cheeks and I pulled in a sharp breath.

  Leonard and Barbara? Surely not. The ancient dragon shifter hadn’t mated, this was true, but Babs?

  Leonard’s dragon growled at me, Barbara dropped the iced tea she’d been holding, and Gideon simply laughed in my head.

  “Stanger things have happened, little goose.”

  Well, that was certainly true. One thing you could say about living in Rabbenstall. Life was never dull.

  The End

  www.evernightpublishing.com/doris-oconnor

  EAGLE’S SEDUCTION

  Elyzabeth M. VaLey

  Chapter One

  Kit revved up the bike’s engine. Adrenaline pumped through him, traveling from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He licked his lips, tasting the wind. Dipping to the right, he nearly grazed the asphalt. Had it been any other time of day, he would have heard a few cries of distress, perhaps even a few insults from other drivers at his manic maneuvers. Currently, however, there was not a soul in sight. Even the sun kept its distance, still a mere orange glow peeking through the dirty buildings, too shy to show its face.

  He sped up. Feeling the powerful engine reverberating beneath him was almost as good as flying, but driving through a city as if there were no rules was an aphrodisiac. It was him against the concrete jungle. Ahead, a traffic light blinked amber. Kit grinned and bent, tucking in his elbows at the side. Every inch of him tingled with anticipation. Could he make it before the light changed?

  She came out of nowhere.

  He gripped the brake but there wasn’t enough time. His world slowed and narrowed, everything but her fading as the inevitable collision crawled forward. Time ceased to exist. He took her in. Faded jeans, matching black tank top. She faced him, her pixie cut bobbing around her face and framing luminous blue eyes that screamed at him to halt.

  His fingers dug into the handlebars, but the machine didn’t respond, moving too fast to change course. Her backpack plummeted to the ground, landing with a solemn thud. Their gazes locked. Kit took in a shuddering breath, bracing himself for the impact. It never happened. Her clothing crumpled onto the pavement as an owl soared into the sky. Its cry of distress echoed in his ears and his eyes teared up, a mixture of relief and awe running through him.

  His bike came to a sudden standstill, sending him flying over it and onto the road. He rolled for a few feet, friction burning his arms, torso, and legs. Finally, everything ceased. He lay on the ground, staring at the changing sky.

  An owl.

  Grateful couldn’t even describe how he felt. Had it been any other shifter or a human, he would have killed them, but that little bird just flew. He twisted his head to look at her belongings. She probably wouldn’t return for them, or at least, not until she redressed. He’d take them with him and give them to her, apologize, and offer some kind of compensation. It was the least he could do.

  Slowly, he sat up. His body ached unpleasantly, but nothing seemed to be broken. Time to get moving before people started showing up and asking questions. Going to his bike, he checked it for any major damage. One of the mirrors had shattered when it had toppled over, but other than that, the machine seemed intact.

  Satisfied he could ride again, Kit collected the shifter’s bag and clothes. His fingers tightened around them. A shirt, no bra, pants, and a black thong. Her essence wafted up his nose, hypnotic, mesmerizing, calling to him to get closer and making his dick twitch. He groaned and stuffed everything into his motorcycle’s saddlebags. It hadn’t been long since he’d gotten laid, so this must be the way his mind chose to celebrate being alive. He could work with that.

  Kit paused. There was something else caught under his wheel. He reached for it, curious. His eyes widened and his eagle slammed against his chest, reminding him of its presence.

  “It’s just a feather,” he mumbled.

  He ran his thumb across the soft, brown surface. Goosebumps sprouted across his arms and his bird cried out a song he’d never heard but recognized.

  The mating call.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a feather.”

  The response was another hard jolt that traveled down his spine and through his limbs, bringing on the familiar ache he experienced before shifting.

  “Not here,” Kit growled.

  His bird complained loudly, his cries of distress bouncing off Kit’s skull.

  Mine. Mine. Mine.

  “We don’t know her.”

  Sticking the feather into his pocket, Kit mounted the leather seat.

  “But we’ll find out.”

  Chapter Two

  Kara collapsed onto her bed. She shook from head to toe, every inch of her aching with the speed of her shift and the circumstances. She shut her eyes, hoping the tears leaking from the corners would go away.

  The accident replayed in her mind. She’d heard the roar of the bike, but it had been miles away. Or so she thought. Suddenly, he was upon her. The message in his gaze was distinct: I’m sorry but I can’t stop this.

  Her options were equally clear: die or fly.

  Her body changed at a rate she’d never known was even possible. Bones bent, joints realigned, and feathers sprouted. She was up and gone in seconds.

  Curling into a ball, Kara took in measured breaths. The move had been reckless, but the alternative was becoming road kill. She preferred to live.

  ****

  She woke up with a jerk.

  “Shit.”

  She sat up in bed. How long had she been out of it? She reached for her phone to check the time and grasped nothing. Realization sunk in. She’d lost everything. Her backpack, which she’d been forced to leave in the middle of the road, had all her valuables. Heat flushed through her body and anger pumped into her veins. Her phone, her books, even her clothes. All of it gone.

  Heartbeat pounding, she made her way to the kitchen where the numbers on her microwave blinked green.

  “Almost eleven o’clock already?”

  Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed heavily.

  “Thinking on an empty stomach is impossible,” she murmured, recalling her mother’s old saying. “During a crisis, eat first, think later.”

  Kara snatched an apple from the fridge and sat down at the breakfast bar. It was all she’d be able to stomach. Grasping the notebook and pen she kept next to the telephone, she opened the pad to a new page.

  Cell Phone

  Wallet with two credit cards, driver’s license, and fifty dollars.

  Small makeup bag with skull print on it.

  Sunglasse
s.

  A book on astrophysics and a notebook.

  She tapped her lip.

  “What else, Kara?”

  Taking a bite out of the apple, she stared at the page, nervously bouncing her knee.

  “Now what?”

  Considering the neighborhood she lived in, someone had probably taken her backpack. Of course, the money was probably gone, but maybe she could get her phone, textbook, and class notes. Heck, she’d be happy if she only got the books back. She had less than a week to study for her last three exams before graduation, which meant she wouldn’t have enough time to rewrite notes and she knew her friend’s weren’t as good. Furthermore, if she didn’t graduate, she might not be able to do her internship. Her stomach cramped painfully.

  No. She was too close to her goal to let anything stop her. She would call the police and report the accident. Maybe they would find a witness who would know what had happened to her belongings.

  Kara covered her face with her hands. Who was she kidding? If she went to the police, they’d ask her why she’d left the scene of the accident.

  You see, officer, I shifted and had to leave all my stuff behind. I really had no other option.

  They wouldn’t believe her.

  “Fuck,” she swore.

  She wracked her brain for solutions.

  Go to the road where it’d all happened?

  Cold sweat slithered down her back.

  Too soon.

  Call a friend? No point in doing that.

  She bit her lip. What if she called her own cell phone? Would the thief pick it up? Drawing the landline toward her, she dialed her number.

  Ring. Ring.

  “Hello?”

  Her stomach flip-flopped at the sound of the sexy, masculine voice. The animal within her stirred, making her nerve endings tingle.