Alpha Protector Read online

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  Laurel was furious. Asher had been eavesdropping the whole time!

  “What the hell, Asher? That’s none of your business!” she spat, trying not to raise her voice.

  Asher pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the hallway leading into the back rooms, as if to gesture, Let’s talk in private.

  Laurel was going to give him a piece of her mind all right.

  They went back into a small room filled with filing cabinets, and Asher shut the door.

  “As I was saying…” Laurel began, folding her arms.

  “What do you mean it’s none of my business? Of course it’s my business. This is my dojo.” Asher interrupted, following suit and folding his arms and looking down at her.

  “Since when were there any rules about dating students?” Laurel asked, exasperated.

  “It’s unprofessional,” Asher muttered.

  Though it was true teachers dating students was considered taboo, there were certainly no specific rules prohibiting it.

  “Asher, it’s just one date. And Jacob seems like a great guy. He’s an alpha. He’s single. He’s handsome. He’s exactly the kind of person I should be dating,” she said.

  “But I don’t approve,” Asher blurted out.

  “I thought we just talked about this last night, about you giving me some space?” Laurel glared at him.

  He paused for a second, caught.

  Laurel would be lying if she’d said she found Jacob incredibly attractive. But he seemed like a really nice guy, and he’d clearly mustered all his gumption to ask her out in the first place, so she couldn’t turn him down.

  If Asher wasn’t going to say yes, she’d have to find the one who did.

  “He’s a complete newbie. How do you think he’s supposed to protect you?” Asher said after thinking a few moments.

  “This isn’t the dark ages. I don’t need some man to keep me safe from predators stalking the street or imaginary villains plotting unspeakable atrocities on me,” she said.

  Asher’s eyebrows lowered and his eyes darkened. Whatever it was Laurel had said, it made him angry.

  “Is that so? So you’re going to tell me if some alpha shifter tries to have his way with you, you’ll be just fine?” he said, moving toward her menacingly. His deep eyes glinted in flashes from the light filling the small room.

  Laurel gulped. The sight was intimidating. And kind of hot. “Of course. I have my self-defense training. I could take someone down if they got too close.”

  “Hm.” Asher looked unimpressed. “You don’t understand alpha males at all, do you? That’s assuming you can think straight enough to act. The thing about alpha males is they can be extremely seductive and overwhelming. It’s in our blood to attract a suitable mate. Who says you’d be able to keep your head clear long enough to fight?” he said, his voice a growl.

  Asher came right up next to her, his scent enveloping her in the small room that was little more than a storage closet. With a swift motion, he pinned his arms on both sides, caging her in completely. His huge, rippling arms surrounded her, his face intense.

  “I think I can handle myself,” Laurel retorted. But her argument didn’t sound convincing.

  “Really. What if I did this?” he said, inching closer. But instead of frightening her, the closer he got, the more aroused she became.

  You could slice the sexual tension in the air with a butter knife.

  In an instant, his lips were over hers, kissing her deeply. They felt as soft and amazing as she’d always dreamed they would be. So many times she’d pictured him doing this, and now she finally got to live it.

  Granted, he might have been trying to intimidate her right now. But in her mind, that didn’t matter.

  She opened her mouth slightly, beckoning him in, begging to feel his tongue inside.

  He did so, sliding in and slowly exploring, feeling along the back of her teeth and the top of her mouth, coming deep inside and stroking. Every movement felt like fire, burning her senses and lighting up her body. It was like he instinctively knew where the most sensitive areas were, and whenever his tongue ran along them, she couldn’t help but groan softly; it felt so good.

  The thought of someone else doing this to her was very unsexy, even scary. But what Asher was doing to her right now was ecstasy.

  She didn’t want it to stop.

  The warm, wet, stroking of his tongue was starting to make her feel weak in the knees, so she held on to his arms with her hands. It felt like holding on to steel beams, his strength an anchor for her as she took whatever he could possibly give her right now.

  Asher moved from her mouth over to her ear, first kissing along the shell of it, then coming down to play with her earlobe, rolling it around with his tongue, then nipping at it softly, applying just the right amount of pressure to send sparks shooting across her body.

  How could such a small thing feel so damn good?

  If just foreplay felt this amazing, Laurel wondered what Asher was like in bed.

  He moved from her ear down her neck, placing slow, perfectly spaced kisses all down the length of it. His lips were still wet from the kissing earlier, and the warmth from them electrified her skin wherever they touched.

  Her wolf howled in approval. But it had been doing that for years now whenever it looked like Asher was going to make a move. This was just the first time he actually had, so it seemed particularly eager about the prospect of having him as a mate.

  But that was just wishful thinking.

  Asher continued kissing lower, but when he reached the top of her collarbone, he stopped, even though her body begged for him to keep going down to her breasts. Or even lower. Now that she felt so alive, she couldn’t help but want more, couldn’t help but want to go all the way with him.

  Asher brought his eyes back to hers, and it was clear she wasn’t the only one affected by what they’d done. He had naturally tan olive-colored skin that didn’t blush easily, but by the look of his slightly swollen lips and the confusion showing in those dark eyes, he was feeling something too.

  “See what I mean?” he said, his voice low.

  “Nope, can’t say I do,” Laurel said. It was a bald-faced lie. She could feel warm redness in her cheeks, her breathing quickened, and she was sure if she could scent Asher this clearly, then he could scent her just as easily.

  But if he wasn’t going to say how he really felt, she wasn’t going to either.

  Laurel released her hold on Asher’s arms, missing their tightness and strength surrounding her, and he stood straight again, folding his arms.

  “Really? If that’s the case, then I guess you have nothing to worry about,” he said disbelievingly, his lips turned down in a frown.

  Laurel couldn’t tell if it was because she was lying or because he felt rejected.

  Either way, even if his lips felt like heaven, the fact remained that he had refused to give her what she wanted, even when she’d asked directly for it.

  “Yes, you can just go back to worrying about yourself and the dojo and just put me out of your mind for good,” she said vehemently.

  Asher kicked the door to the room open and motioned for her to leave. “Don’t you have a class to be at right now?” he demanded.

  “That I’m late for, no thanks to you, asshole.” Just remembering his blatant rejection of her last night was making her furious again, which in turn was making him angry too.

  But as she walked down the hallway, she couldn’t help but remember his hot kisses on her neck. The feel of him all around her. The raw sexual tension released little by little, touch by touch, kiss by kiss.

  Laurel shuddered and tried to shake off thoughts of him doing more.

  She had a date tonight to think about.

  * * *

  The date that night with Jacob was okay. He took her to a midscale restaurant downtown, where they spent the evening talking about where they were from and what they had studied and what their hobbies were.

&
nbsp; It was painfully obvious to Laurel that Jacob was a little smitten with her. But she just didn’t have the same feelings toward him. He was nice, but beyond that, there was nothing interesting or sexy about him at all.

  As they finished dessert, Laurel’s thoughts wandered back to the dojo, where earlier in the day, Asher had given her the thrill of her life just by doing something as simple as kissing her.

  But with Asher, nothing was as it seemed. Just kissing was so much more.

  “Hey, are you all right, Laurel?” Jacob asked as he got the check, sounding worried.

  “Yeah, just a lot on my mind. Things have been really crazy at the dojo the past few weeks since everyone’s out for summer vacation.”

  And I just don’t have feelings for you. Sorry, Jacob.

  “Ah, makes sense. Would you like to go for a walk, get some fresh air before I take you home?” he offered cordially.

  Jacob had been a complete gentleman, which was more than she could have expected of some dates she’d been on. But aside from the fact that he was an alpha male by blood, there was nothing else alpha about him.

  “Sure, sounds like a plan,” she said, standing and taking Jacob’s arm as he offered it. She needed time to think, time to figure out what to do next.

  They walked outside and strolled around the city. It was getting late, and they were in an industrial district that was very quiet in the evening. Which was what Laurel needed right now.

  The surroundings did look slightly creepy, and a chill went through her. All those things Asher had said, were they really true?

  They turned the corner again, and Laurel’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a group of men ahead of them, talking in low voices. Laurel looked up from her reverie to see more than half a dozen large, tough-looking men walking in a tight group headed their way, muttering to each other. A light breeze blew from their direction, and Laurel instantly recognized them as shifters.

  Her blood froze with fear and her arm tensed around Jacob’s. But it would be a stupid idea to run from them. That might just instigate something and give them a reason to chase. And from what Laurel could see, the city block looked deserted, with no cars passing by and no other people on the sidewalks at this time of night.

  Just be cool, Laurel.

  She had taken years of self-defense training and mixed martial arts. But none of that taught you how to fight off men twice your size and in such a large group.

  Laurel took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as they passed them. She could hear them mumbling in deep voices about what they were going to do once they got back to the warehouse and other random things like what sports teams were going to be on TV tonight.

  It all seemed benign enough. Nothing to get worried about at least. She needed to calm down and stop letting Asher’s paranoia about all shifter males get to her.

  Laurel thanked her alpha senses, which enabled her to hear and smell much better than regular humans. She heard Jacob release a sigh of relief as well. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who was tense.

  But as they walked forward, her hearing picked up on a new voice in the group behind her.

  “Hey, guys, did you smell that just now?” It sounded surprised.

  “Yeah, I did,” said another.

  Laurel kept walking, almost wishing now that she couldn’t overhear them. She prayed they weren’t discussing what she thought they were discussing.

  “We’re not going to just let that walk away, are we?” said the first.

  “No, definitely not,” said a new voice, this one deeper than the rest.

  There was a shuffling of feet, and Laurel looked over her shoulder to see the group suddenly changing their direction, following them now.

  Laurel started walking faster, hoping they wouldn’t notice her change in speed. But from the quickening sound of heavy boots clopping on the cement, they were keeping pace.

  She could feel herself starting to panic. They hadn’t been walking long, had they? They were probably only a block from the restaurant. If they could just make it back to the parking lot…

  Laurel hated this part of the city. One minute you were on a street lined with restaurants and shopping centers, and the next, if you didn’t watch where you were going, you were surrounded by empty warehouses and dilapidated buildings.

  There was a dark alley on their right, and Laurel wondered if it cut between the buildings or not. If it did, it would put them right back on the street where the restaurant was, where their car would be. Then she could be home and quickly forget all about this.

  Laurel decided to risk it. If they didn’t get back onto a populated street soon, something terrible could happen. She tugged on Jacob’s arm and cut the corner into the alley. Her eyes adjusted to the shadows, and to her horror, saw the last thing she’d been hoping for.

  A dead end.

  It was already too late to turn back now. She and Jacob whirled around, just in time to greet eight or nine men, all huge and wearing shabby work clothes, completely barring their pathway out.

  “Well, well, what have we here?” one man said, stepping forward.

  “Why would two nice-looking people be in such a rough part of town like this?” Another joined him.

  Jacob came in front of Laurel, putting himself between them and her. “I don’t know what you douchebags are thinking, but whatever you want, have it.” He took out his wallet and phone and tossed them on the ground before them.

  The first man just looked down disdainfully and stepped on the phone, crushing it.

  Laurel knew what they were here for.

  Asher had been right.

  “Screw the money. We’re here for her.” A new one came forward, pointing at Laurel. “Pure, unmated alpha female. Man, just the scent of you, the rumors are true.”

  “I’m not going to let you lay a hand on—” Jacob was interrupted as the first man rushed forward, throwing his arm into Jacob’s midsection with incredible force.

  Alpha or not, these were toughened shifter men, and they clearly came from a different lifestyle than the one she knew.

  Two others came and pulled Jacob away, holding back his arms, despite his struggling.

  Another man came forward, this one wearing a baseball cap and a thick jacket. “If you’re willing to play nice, maybe we can all get along?”

  Laurel lunged forward, throwing her leg upward, her shin connecting between the man’s legs. He yelped and collapsed to the ground.

  She wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

  “Bring it, punks,” she tried to call out, mustering her courage. But her heart was racing at incredible speed.

  Four more men came forward and surrounded her. She tried to fight them off as they closed in, hitting one in the nose and another across the cheek, but the fact was she was still only 5’5”, and they were ready for her this time.

  Within seconds, two of the men came from the side and grabbed her arms from behind. She did whatever she could to make them slacken their grips, kicking at their knees and pulling away, but no amount of training in the dojo could have prepared her for something like this.

  “Enough with the heroics.” It was the deep voice she’d heard earlier. A man stepped from the back of the group, this one the tallest and most intimidating of them all. He stood at least as tall as Asher and was square and muscled, filling out the black coat he wore. “Time for what I want.”

  He walked toward her slowly, ominously. He took in a long breath through his nose, savoring what she could only guess was her scent.

  “My, my, what are the chances? To think that a full-blooded alpha female, unclaimed and unmated, would show up right here on my doorstep. And a powerful alpha female by the smell of it.” He chuckled, a harsh, unkind sound. “Looks like it’s my lucky day.”

  Even in the dim light of the alley, Laurel could see the man’s harsh features, cruel gray eyes looking down at her. Her wolf could sense now what it hadn’t before, that this group of men was
a pack.

  And he was the alpha.

  Shifter men can’t be trusted…

  Laurel could hear Asher’s words ringing in her mind. Her skin was cold and clammy, her adrenaline filling her body with the inescapable need to fight or run, but she was powerless to do either.

  “Ah, what a beautiful female you are,” the man added. He ran the back of his hand slowly down her cheek, making her skin crawl. She wanted to cry, but it wouldn’t help.

  Asher had been right. And now she was going to be taken against her will, right here in some forsaken alley. How could she have been so naive to think she was okay on her own? Even now, she could see all the times Asher had stepped in for her. How many times he’d chased off men she barely knew. Every time, she’d just assumed he was being a jerk, but maybe he knew something she hadn’t. What if he really was protecting her all this time?

  I’m sorry, Asher. All your work is going to be for nothing.

  Out of nowhere, there was a loud sound that came from the end of the street the alley connected to. A car’s engine roaring at top speed. Everything paused, and the men turned to look behind them, curious.

  A black blur zoomed past the ally and was gone in a blink of an eye.

  “Probably just some street racer punk.” One of the men chuckled.

  His chuckling was interrupted by the noise of brakes clicking and tires screeching loudly across pavement for several prolonged seconds, the sound reverberating off the buildings lining the street. Then it stopped.

  The men paused again.

  An engine roared back to life as tires scraped pavement in an awful noise, then ceased as they made purchase with the ground, and the car could be heard coming closer once again.

  This time, the car came to an abrupt halt right at the mouth of the alley, a classic Mustang in jet black, perfectly polished. Whoever was driving was either a reckless person or in a terrible hurry. Or both.

  There was only one person she knew with a classic Mustang…

  The door opened, and a familiar figure stepped out, wearing a black leather jacket and fitted jeans, with short dark hair and black eyes peering at the scene taking place in the alleyway.