Ripe for the Alpha

“You don’t have to,” I quickly add. I don’t want to be a bother.

“Are you still hungry?”

My lips curl up into a smile.

“I’ll make you another one.”

I laugh as he turns the burner back on.

I’m already being a bother. I’ve taken up his time and now I’m taking up his place. I really don’t want to repay him for saving my life by being a nuisance.

“I’ll leave after this,” I say as a wave of regret washes through me.

He freezes and I swallow hard when I hear his heavy breaths. My eyes are locked on his hulking back muscles that are tense and flexed.

My eyes widen as I watch him slowly turn around with a face that says, ‘you’re not going anywhere.’

“What did I tell you in the car?” he asks in a voice that has a hit of growl in it.

No words are forming in my head. My throat is so tight. I can barely breathe, let alone talk with his eyes on me like this.

“I have a lesson to teach you,” he says as his eyes drop down to my small breasts. “About mates. I said I was going to show you and I meant it.”

I swallow hard as his eyes dart back up to mine. I should be feeling fear. Alarm. Unease.

But I’m not.

All I feel is lust.

It starts penetrating me with every second that his sexy eyes are locked on me. And it’s not any type of arousal I’ve ever felt before. This is different. It’s all-consuming. It’s making my heart pound. It’s making my nipples ache. It’s making my fingers tingle. And it’s making me so very very wet.

The heat is pooling between my legs and I suddenly realize I’m not wearing any underwear, just his long t-shirt underneath this housecoat.

He seems to smell it. His shoulders rise and his chest puffs out. I glance down at his pants and see the hard long outline of his erection swelling before my very eyes.

It’s then that it hits me. It clicks.

He thinks I’m his mate.

That’s crazy talk. He’s more than double my age.

He’s pure rock hard muscle with a gorgeous face and I’m… well, I’m not. If he’s hard candy, then I’m pure marshmallow. If he’s carved out of wood, then I’m molded out of Play-doh.

We’re not in the same league. He can’t be interested in me.

But then… the look on his face… He’s looking at me like I looked at the BLT he laid in front of me… with pure hunger.

“What do you want to show me?” I say in a scratchy voice.

He holds his breath as his body tightens. There’s more than just arousal in his gaze, I start to see.

It’s almost a territorial look. Like he plans to own me. Like he knows that I’m already his and he wants me to know it too.

“Not today,” he says as he quickly turns around. I notice that the bacon is burning. It’s sizzling and bringing up smoke. It’s not the only thing in this kitchen that’s burning up.

I smooth out my hair and shake out my hands while he’s turned.

“You’ve been through a lot,” he says with his back to me. “You need your rest first.”

A low rumble fills the trailer and it takes me a second to realize that it’s coming from him. It’s an animalistic growl and my pussy clenches when it hits me that it’s his polar bear making the sound.

“Is that your bear?” I whisper as it gets a bit louder.

“Yes,” he grunts.

“Why is he making that sound?”

Austin drops two pieces of toast in the toaster and slams the lever down with his big hand. I’m amazed that it didn’t break off with how hard he hit it.

“He’s frustrated.”

“With me?”

He shakes his head. “No. With me.”

I shift on the stool and start nervously fidgeting with the fluffy belt on his daughter’s housecoat. “Are you sure it’s not me? I could leave.”

The last thing I want is for a polar bear to be pissed that I’m invading his territory.

He turns around and his eyes look strained, like there’s a pain behind them.

“It will get much worse if you try to leave,” he says. “I need you here. We need you here.”

I have a sudden, strong, almost irresistible urge to jump off the stool, run up to him, wrap my arms around his neck, and pull his mouth down onto mine.

It almost takes me over, but I come to my senses and drop my eyes to the crumbs on my empty plate.

“Then I’ll stay,” I whisper.

When I raise my eyes again, he’s staring at me with a look that can only be described as pure love and adoration. I feel like he’s going to come kiss me and my mouth waters in response.

Instead, the toast pops, ruining the moment.

He finishes making another BLT and drops it on my plate.