Flame of the Alpha (3 page)

The sexual rush streaming through him was so potent it nearly kept his gaze from shifting behind the woman as the doors swung open to reveal four Central Command officials marching into the courtyard.

A warm hand slipped into his right palm. He jerked his hand back, but the fingers held him tight, as another grabbed his left. Pleasure servants lined themselves in a semi-circle, trapping him between the hard, well-oiled bodies of two men that might have well been twins.

“Showtime,” one of them said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Dante spared them a quick glance, but didn’t reply. The top of their heads reached halfway up his bicep. Mirrored frowns assessed him with thinly-veiled curiosity, but Dante’s attention kept darting to the woman on the steps and his pursuers.

One of the officers leaned in to whisper something in her ear and the relaxed, confident stance she’d exhibited only moments earlier dissipated in an instant. The rigid posture that took its place only served to intensify the dread coiling in Dante’s gut.

Whatever the officers told her had obviously made an impact. If he didn’t find a way out of here, this woman would serve him up to the
Terran
authorities on a silver platter. She’d already run from him once. This was her chance to get rid of him for good.

Jerking his hands out of the tight grips of the men who held him, Dante bolted back into the safety of the garden. He’d scaled the wall once. He could do it again.

He’d barely taken twenty frenzied steps before the feel of leather around his neck choked him, sending him sprawling backward. His fingernails clawed at his throat in an effort to dislodge the collar that had been strapped to him, but the leather only tightened in response.

He dropped his hands and raked his fingertips through the ground beneath him.
Desperation set in, tearing at his chest and summoning forth the beast within.

“Bring him back here.” He recognized the silvery, authoritative command. Despite his captivity, the sound of her voice sent a rush of warmth to pool in his groin, stiffening his cock to the point of agony.

A sharp tug on his collar jerked him to his knees, then up to his feet. His gaze skittered to the side, where a woman nearly as tall as he was held what looked to be a remote control in her right hand. Her left hand was clamped around a laser weapon she pointed at his chest.

A current of electricity ran from the device in her hand to the collar around his neck, jolting him toward the blue-robed goddess who’d climbed off the steps to head toward him.

He inhaled deeply, stifling the urge to shift, knowing he’d be signing his death warrant if he as much as summoned forth a sharp claw.

“Showtime indeed,” he murmured between clenched teeth as he struggled to force what he hoped was a charming smile onto his features.

Surprisingly, summoning a seductive grin wasn’t as difficult as he’d feared.

Chapter Two

That morning, the idea of a muscular stranger appearing out of nowhere inside the protective walls of the
Pleasure
Academy
had seemed preposterous to Sophia, but it hadn’t kept her from fantasizing about the possibility. Only she’d never imagined her patron Saint would grant her wish. Or that he’d send her an Alpha
panthera
leo
for the Lighting of the Flame ceremony.

One who was wanted by the
Terran
officials, at
that.

“He’s secure,
M’Lady
. The collar will trigger if he attempts to do anything ill-advised.” Brianna, one of the Academy’s guards, stepped back a few steps as Sophia neared the captive.

Out here, in full view of the pleasure servants and the Academy’s patrons, she was in complete control of the situation. He couldn’t hypnotize her with that austerely masculine body of his. And since she knew who -- or
what
 -- he was, glimpses of his gold-flecked eyes shouldn’t disturb her either. Only now, the golden feline eyes had dimmed to a pale green, and no hint of his leonine features still existed.

Yet, Saints, he was beautiful. That head of tousled golden curls framed chiseled cheekbones, a square jaw, and a nose that was a touch too long for the dimensions of his face. His nose also looked to have been broken a time or two, as evidenced by a thin scar running all the way across the slightly skewed ridge.

That wasn’t the only scar marring the delectable structure of his face. Another ran from beneath his ear to the tip of his jaw, as though a knife’s edge had been drawn across the sensitive skin. A third silvery strand divided his right brow in two but did little to hide the frown that wrinkled his forehead as he watched her, completely at odds with the cocky smile tilting his full lips.

He opened his mouth as though to speak. Frantic to silence him before he could mention their previous meeting, Sophia placed both palms along his cheeks and lowered her mouth to his in a lightning-quick move. He
gasped,
a soft, tumultuous sound that rumbled through her lips. She’d intended to hold him there for a fraction of a second and throw him off balance, in order to keep him from attracting the attention of the officers before she was ready for them, but the man had other ideas.

As fast as she’d been, her captive was faster. He opened his mouth slightly and darted the tip of his tongue across her lower lip, stripping the measure of control from her as though she’d never had it at all. A tremor of heat hummed along the seams of her mouth and sizzled through her veins, tempting her to open to him, teasing her with the promise of more to come.

He tasted of musk and male determination. The scent of sweat mingled with his natural odor to cause a flood of delicious warmth to course through her body. It pooled in her pussy, slicking her wet labia with more cream as a shudder spiraled low in her belly.

The intensity of her attraction to the man sucked at her, threatening to pull her into an inferno of lust and confusion. She braced her palms on his shoulders and pulled away before he could delve deeper into her mouth and taste the desperation that lingered on the tip of her tongue.

“Listen to me and listen
good
.” Saints, was her voice really that husky? She drew back a little more, fighting to put some much-needed distance between them.

“With a mouth like that, I’d figure you’d have the attention of any male within a twenty-foot radius.” His smile widened. To her surprise, it wasn’t a fake, deceiving grin, but the genuine, self-satisfied smile of a man who had the upper hand.

He glanced down at her breasts, and the weight of his stare seemed to coax them into fullness to press against the material of her robe.

Sophia blew out a breath to ruffle her bangs, wishing she could lift herself to her full height. Since he still knelt, his head would come up to her shoulder, putting
her
in the position of authority.
Exactly where she needed to be.

Unfortunately, she needed the intimacy of close proximity to say her piece even more. And she had to do it soon, before the officers grew restless and decided to ignore the sanctity of the Temple garden by marching into it fully armed.

She narrowed her gaze. “Those men over there want you, and I have no problem turning you over to them.”

He glanced up at
her,
green eyes the picture of innocence. “You don’t want to do that.”

Damn him
. “You’re right. I don’t. But I will, unless you follow everything I tell you to the letter. Understood?”

His smirk grew wider. In a flash, he’d wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him so her breasts crashed into his chest, her nipples rubbing through the thin material of her robe into the sleek, masculine perfection of his muscles.

The zap of the collar’s electric charge sent a tremor through Sophia’s limbs as it careened through him, but he barely grimaced. Far from looking threatened, he tightened his grip around her, bringing her down fully on his lap and shifting his palms so they cupped her ass. He nuzzled the side of her neck. “Yes…
M’Lady
.”

Another jolt, this one more potent, jerked his head up. Veins stood out in his neck as he struggled to bear the rough charge of the collar’s fury.

“Stop!”
Sophia commanded. She glanced in Brianna’s direction and shook her head. “No more.”

“I’m sorry,
M’Lady
.” A blush crept up Brianna’s pale cheeks. “I thought…I just…”

“Leave us.”

“Yes,
M’Lady
.”
Brianna moved back to blend in with the crowd of onlookers, all of whom gaped at the High Priestess entangled in a captive’s embrace.

Blood roared in her ears. She knew she should push the infuriating man away, but her body seemed to mold to his as though they’d been created to be fused together. That absurd thought brought to mind a barrage of images, each more carnally wanton than the next. Pictures of his thick, firm cock delving into the soft folds of her pussy, filling her channel, pumping inside her until the tremors of orgasm
erupted
 --

She shook herself out of that fantasy and gritted her teeth. Saints, what had gotten into her? Brianna had only been doing her job, and she should have been allowed to carry it through. It was due to women like her that the
Pleasure
Academy
was safe from criminals who dreamed of taking what didn’t belong to them.

A shudder stole up Sophia’s spine. She knew as well as anyone what the outside world was like. Even with government controls, Vieux Orleans was filled with people driven to the brink of their limits, men who’d eagerly rape a pleasure servant simply because they saw it as their right.

Sophia should have been alarmed at the Alpha’s advances, or at least scandalized by his nerve. No one touched a High Priestess without her explicit permission. Yet, wasn’t that what she’d done when she’d kissed him? Given him permission to take more, encouraged him to push things further than she’d anticipated.

The warmth of his skin seemed to scorch her through the barrier of her robe. Suddenly, she ached to take it off again and feel the touch of his bare flesh against hers.

“You’re a new breed of pleasure servant,” she murmured in his ear as quietly as she could.
“Stronger, leaner, rougher than those most of our patrons are used to.”

He growled low in his throat. The menacing sound seemed to caress her clit, making her tremble.

“I’m not --”

“You are,” she insisted.
“At least for now.
We’ll discuss what you really are when these men leave.”

He glanced up at her, all traces of mirth gone from his face. “You know.”

Of course she knew. Did he not realize she’d seen him begin to shift in broad daylight? Narrowing her eyes, she nodded, wordlessly.

“I’m Dante,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. His thumb rubbed small circles into her hip, warming her skin.

“Sophia,” she whispered.
“High Priestess of Saint Valentine’s
Pleasure
Academy
in Vieux Orleans.”

If he was shocked by her title, he didn’t show it. “Well, Sophia, I don’t know how much longer those men will be content to watch us. Whatever you’re planning, you’ll have to do it soon.”

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to disengage from Dante’s arms and rise to her full height. She smoothed her palms over the surface of the robe in a feeble attempt to flatten out the wrinkles that made her appear as disheveled as any pleasure slave after a tryst then turned to face the crowd.

“The showing will continue as planned, with one addition. Dante was meant to be a surprise for a…private showing to take place later. As he couldn’t wait, we’ll have to make his presence known a little early.” She smiled at the patrons, who returned her easy grin.

The officer in charge shifted from foot to foot at the top of the steps, clearly not buying her explanation. “Madame Rousseau,” he called out. “A moment, if you please.”

Her heart lurched in her chest. She nodded toward the pleasure servants and clapped her hands twice. “Form the receiving line again, please. And do include Dante. He’s to be presented, like everyone else.”

She could feel Dante’s scorching gaze on her back as she ambled toward the officers, forcing
herself
to remain calm. She couldn’t afford to have them questioning her motives. The secrets of the
Pleasure
Academy
were too sacred, and too much depended on them. She didn’t owe Dante a thing, yet the truth of what he was -- the rarest of all Alpha species -- ensured she had to at least try to keep him safe. And whether she liked it or not, he was perfect for the Lighting of the Flame ceremony. Without him, she had to face the possibility that she’d have to cancel the Ceremony…something no High Priestess had done for decades.

“Gentlemen, thank you for waiting.” She tilted her head in a respectful nod. “As you can see, this man isn’t dangerous. He’s a pleasure servant.
Created for the specific purposes of delivering sexual satisfaction.”

“Then why was he running naked through the streets this morning?”

“Ah. I’m afraid that was my fault. As his breed is so new, there will be great demand for pleasure servants of his caliber in the future. Because of that, I didn’t want him revealed until the official showing. I’ve been keeping him confined to the Temple since he was brought to us. Last night’s Festival was too tempting, however, and he escaped without our knowledge. I guess he wanted to sample some of what we’ve been teaching him for himself.”

“I don’t believe you,” the officer in charge snarled through his helmet.

“If you’d like a demonstration, I’m sure Dante would be amenable to having one arranged,” she answered sweetly. “Though like any other prospective patron, you’ll have to abide by the Academy’s rules. No clothes. No armor.
And no testing kits or identification requirements on Temple grounds.
All our pleasure servants are fully certified, even those who haven’t yet been re-implanted with the official Academy seal. Of course, we include the proper paperwork for each one upon purchase.”

She lifted her chin a fraction of an inch, challenging him to accept her generous offer. He wouldn’t, of course. She knew his type: stuffy, morally superior. Men like him never mingled with the common folk and avoided pleasure slaves like the plague.
At least in public.
In private, they were often among the most sexually adventurous.

Luckily, there wasn’t a measure of privacy in the Temple gardens during a showing. A hundred potential patrons, hand-picked by the High Priestess herself, arrived every year on the day after the Festival to choose from among the new Academy graduates. Since pleasure servants were one of the most expensive pieces of property a patron owned, the selection process could take days.

When the officer reached for his helmet and pulled it off, revealing thick black locks that tumbled over his shoulders and into fierce sapphire eyes, Sophia gasped. Her hand fluttered to her chest. “You -- you’d like a demonstration?”

“Captain
Jolen
! Are you sure this is a good idea?”

The captain silenced his subordinate with a flick of his fingers. “The lady offered. And besides, I think the good Priestess is lying through her teeth.”

Sophia forced herself to take a deep breath. “
High
Priestess, Captain.”

He shrugged then pressed down on a small flap located in the crook of his left elbow. The metal armor made a smooth, sucking sound and retracted on either side of his flat abdomen, revealing a strip of flesh and muscle.

Sophia averted her gaze and glanced out over the crowd. Her eyes met Dante’s. He was surrounded by women, most of which she recognized as being wealthy enough to own a couple of pleasure slaves. A knot of jealousy tightened in her belly.

Dante nodded once, almost imperceptibly. He’d told her that whatever her plan was, she had to put it into motion soon. Well, here it was.
A hell of a plan.

She didn’t know who he really was, but one thing was clear, Dante was no pleasure servant. If Captain
Jolen
knew enough about the carnal arts to detect a fraud, Dante wouldn’t be the only one to suffer the consequences.

“Well, Priestess, I’m as naked as the Saint commands me.”

The captain’s mocking voice tugged Sophia’s attention back just in time to see him tossing aside the rest of his armor. True to his word, he stood on the steps in all his naked glory. If not for the haughty, arrogant look in those startling blue eyes, she might have considered him handsome. His lean lines and broad shoulders didn’t come close to Dante’s raw power or feral grace, but the Captain could hold his own against any laboratory-crafted Central Command officer.