Rejected Mate: The Alpha Shifter Collection

Her parents were assholes. He’d known it about them for some time but hadn’t realized how much they were.

“Pasta? That’s what I’m cooking. You want some?”

“I’d love some. Is there anything you want me to do? I’m not a great cook, but I follow instructions well.”

And there his mind went, straight to what he could get her to do. “If you’d like, you can chop up some of these veggies.”

She offered him a small smile that lightened up his world.

He handed her a knife and watched her as she got to work, chopping up the onions and peppers.

Gage went to the pantry, picking out the pasta he fancied eating, and then proceeded to cook their dinner. He added onions and peppers to a large pot with a tiny drizzle of olive oil.

Connie was so close. The scent of her arousal was far more overpowering than the smells coming from the food.

His cock was hard as rock. He hadn’t taken care of his … issue.

Fuck, he wanted her. He’d never felt this way about any female in his whole life. Sure, he’d enjoyed some casual sex before Tanner was born, and some more after. Tanner’s mother hadn’t been the woman he wanted to settle down with. Probably a good thing considering she up and left at the first opportunity.

Every now and then, he found himself glancing at Connie.

She stood tense, chopping up the vegetables, and he had this overwhelming need to hold her.

“You know, you haven’t spoken much about Tanner. How you’re feeling?” He noticed she still wore the sweaters, which meant she was dealing with the cold on a daily basis. This was all part of the rejection, but this went far deeper. Not only had Tanner rejected her, but so had the pack, and because of that, it was like her wolf and body were being torn away from the family and comfort she knew.

“Fine. Is it weird me being under your roof with him?” she asked.

“Not at all.”

“I don’t want to be mean, but your son is kind of an asshole.”

Gage laughed. “I know. I don’t exactly know where I went wrong with that one, but he has a good heart some days.”

“I guess he keeps it locked up.”

He chuckled, adding some tomatoes into his pot.

“You forgot the garlic.” She brought the chopping board over to him, and he quickly scooped the garlic into the pot. “Smells amazing,” she said.

“Of course it does, I’m the one cooking it.”

She laughed. “Do you like to cook or is it out of necessity?”

“I like to cook. Seems odd, doesn’t it, a man cooking?”

“Not at all. I think it’s nice of you to want to cook, and I benefit from it.” She rubbed at her stomach. She put a hand to her stomach and there he went again, thinking about her heavily pregnant with his child. His cock was still hard.

Gage distracted himself by grabbing the salt pot to add to the boiling water. After he poured in the pasta, he turned toward Connie and saw her gaze was on his dick.

He didn’t need to look down to see what she was staring at. He was hard as fucking rock. Had been since he’d tasted her. The scent of her cunt was still on his face.

“You like what you see?” He closed the distance between them, putting his hands on either side of her body, locking her in.

She gasped. “I’m sorry.”

“Connie, I’m attempting to make you my mate. You don’t have to apologize for everything. You see how hard my cock is, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“It’s because of you.”

“Why haven’t you taken care of it?” she asked.

“Because I wanted to feed you first.”

“But … doesn’t it hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt.” He pressed his body against hers. “It feels fucking incredible.” He dropped his face to the curve of her neck and breathed in the scent of her. She smelled so good. He wanted to take a bite. Actually, he wanted to strip her naked and fuck her all night long, to have her screaming for more, but he had to be a patient man.

“Come on. It’s time to eat.”

He withdrew from her, taking her hand and helping her into the chair at the counter.

Testing the pasta, he felt that it was more than ready and drained it while reserving some of the pasta water, and then he mixed the pasta and sauce together before serving.

Not once did his dick go down. He hadn’t been with a woman in a really long time. Not since he started to notice Connie and became attracted to her.

That was three years without a woman, and he was starting to lose control of his body’s reactions.

Chapter Four

Later that night, Constance lay in bed thinking about Gage. Her memories were so clear of how he touched her. The feel of his mouth between her thighs, but also how he looked afterward.