Purr For The Alpha (A Paranormal Romance) (Timber Valley Pack) (11 page)

Ty
insisted on driving Karen to Crystal Falls to meet her client on Monday. The talk of female shifters going missing brought out his protective side, although Karen told him he was over-reacting. She wasn’t a healer, so she wasn’t likely to be a target.

He put his hand on her inner thigh as he drove. “I’m not risking it,” he said. “I finally got you in my clutches; I won’t lose you again.”

“You think you have me in your clutches?”

He slid his hand up higher, and began moving it, rubbing, as he expertly negotiated a curve with one hand on the steering wheel. She moaned, and struggled to suppress a rumbling purr.

Then he pulled his hand away and laughed.

“See?” he said smugly. She ignored him, and bit back a smile. They’d spent a very hot weekend together. She was sore and aching in all the right places. She was still refusing to sleep in his bedroom afterwards, though.  That was her last bit of control, the only way she could tell herself that this relationship was on her terms.

“By the way,” he said casually, “I made a few calls yesterday and I paid off your father’s most recent gambling debt.”

“All that money?” She was horrified.
“Ten grand? Ty, you can’t!”

He shook his head, puzzled. 
“It was only two grand. I didn’t want him to have an excuse to come back and manipulate you any further.”

Of course.
She laughed bitterly. “He said that he was in debt for ten grand. Wow, he lied to me, I’m shocked. And for that matter, I gave him like three hundred bucks in tips.”

“No,
that was all he owed. I have connections all over, I would know.  I also called him and offered to send him to a center that deals with shifters who have addiction issues, on my dime.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me to go fuck myself. Said he didn’t have addiction issues, he had issues with ungrateful kids and meddling wolf shifters calling him up and trying to stick their snout in his business. I just want you to know that if he gets in deep again, it’s his choice. As of now he has no debts, and he has the opportunity to go to rehab for free. Next time he comes crying and howling about how somebody’s going to cut his throat because he screwed up again, for the love of God, don’t let him take your brother and sister’s money.”

Kar
en winced.  How typical of her father to bite the hand that offered to feed him. “I’m sorry he was such a jerk to you.”

Ty
snorted. “Don’t be sorry. I can take it; I’m a big boy.”

“Yes, you are.” She looked at him coyly.

“Karen Padfoot, was that sexual innuendo? Don’t think I won’t pull over right here.” His voice came out in a sexual rumble, and Karen felt a pleasant tingling between her legs.

“Wait,” she teased.
“That’s too many double negatives for me.  Does that mean you will pull over?”

“Oh, someone’s giving me a hard time. Trust me, my dear, I’ll be the one giving you a hard time later tonight.”

She laughed and relaxed in her seat. She’d have something to look forward to, then. Ty was a man who kept his promises, she was finding.

He turned another sharp curve, and Crystal Falls came into view. 
“You know, if you needed help with any of your bills or anything…”

She shook her head. “I can’t,
Ty. I really appreciate you paying off my father’s debt, and letting my family go to summer camp for free. I just – aside from the fact that I like my job, it’s important to me to be independent. I need to know that I can support myself and my family.”

“I admire that. I’m just saying, the offer is there if you ever need it.”

A short time later they pulled into the downtown area of Crystal Falls. The town was bigger than Timber Valley, with a community of about ten thousand shifters.  “We’re half an hour early,” Ty observed.

“Yep. I’m kind of compulsive about being on time,” she said.

“I hadn’t noticed. Let me buy you a coffee.”

They wa
lked into the coffee shop down the block from her office, the Java Joint. It was bustling with shifters of all species.  As they approached the coffee counter, she automatically reached for her wallet.

“If you try to buy that coffee, I swear to God, I will spank you
right here,” he said. “I’m an Alpha. Are you trying to unman me?”

“As if I could,” she said
, dropping her hand.

“Thank you,” he replied
smugly.

A
group of shifter wolves from the Crystal Falls Country Club were stirring sugar into their coffee near the counter. They shot Karen looks of disgust as she walked up to the counter. “Better count the money in the tip jar after she leaves,” one of them said with a snicker.

“What did you just say?”
Ty said loudly, turning to stare at her.

The woman’s face flushed. “Oh, Mr. Battle.
I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that she was with you,” she simpered. “How is your family doing? Please give my best wishes to your uncle.”

He stood there and stared at her steadily until she
slunk away to sit at her table, with her friends scampering after her, glancing back at Ty over their shoulders.

“It’s no big deal,” Karen sighed. “
I know why she hates me. My father stole from her family’s clothing store. Never got caught with the goods, but everybody knew that it was him.”

“It is a big deal. I can’t believe that you have to put up with this crap all the time.”
Ty glowered at the group of women, who pretended to be riveted in conversation with each other while whispering amongst themselves and sneaking glances at Karen and Ty.

Ty was still scowling at him. To distract him, Karen held her coffee cup up in front of Ty.
“Check this out. You know how Leah reads minds?” Karen said.

“Yep. Cool trick, although more than a little unnerving.”

“Here’s my magic trick.” She stared at her coffee and it began to bubble. She smiled ruefully. “I can heat up water! Seriously, the most useless trick ever. I suspect my brother can start fires by concentrating on things, although he denies it.”

“Why, Karen Padfoot, that clinches the deal. I am never letting you go now,”
Ty laughed. “If our power ever goes out, I will need you to boil water for me.”

“Everyone’s gotta be good at something,” she said, pouring more milk in her mug to cool it down.

After they drank their coffee, they headed over to her office.

Mrs. Tufts
arrived shortly afterwards – strolling in with her husband, who was holding her hand and beaming at her. Mrs. Tufts had done her hair, her nails were shiny and pink, and she was wearing a body-hugging dress that flattered her matronly shape and revealed a generous amount of cleavage.

“I can not thank you enough for what you did for us,” she said.
“We’ve set up a getaway weekend for each other for the first weekend of every month, from now on, and date night every Friday. And my husband is treating me to a spa day every week. Isn’t he the sweetest?”

She glanced up at
Ty. “Is this your young man? My, isn’t he handsome!”

             
“Er, well, he’s…” Karen trailed off in embarrassment.

             
“You must let us know when the wedding is! I want to send you a gift!” Mrs. Tufts burbled enthusiastically.

Karen blushed.
Her and Ty? A wedding? Did they look like that much of a couple?

“So, I take it t
he divorce is off?” Karen said quickly, to change the subject.

“It sure is! All t
hanks to you, of course. You’re a Godsend.” her husband said eagerly. He quickly wrote her a check for her services – three hours of legal work.

“I just knew all those ladies at my sewing circle were wrong about you,” Mrs. Tufts added. “They said you couldn’t be trusted, because you’re a Padfoot, b
ut I have very good instincts. And I was right.”

“She sure was! She’s the best!” her husband said
happily. “I wish we could hire you at my firm, it’s just, you know…”

“I know,” Karen said.
Maybe she should change her last name. Anything but Padfoot.

“You talked them into reconciling?” Ty said after they left.

“Yeah, yeah. Isadora thinks I’m an idiot too.”

“You’re a wonderful person, and an absolutely sucky divorce attorney. You could have totally milked that for all it was worth, and dragged it out for months, and billed for hundreds of hours. Have you thought about being a relationship counselor instead?”

“Shut up!
So, sue me for doing the right thing.”

“
My uncle said you did a really good job for him with those contracts,” Ty said.

“Thank you. I like contracts. They’re so much easier to deal with than
humans.”

“We might be able to offer you something more permanent. We could use an in-house contract attorney. Don’t argue with me!” he added, as she started to argue. “It’s not charity. We’d make you work your ass off.”

“Well…” She really could use the work, but what would that mean for her relationship with Ty? What if he got tired of her, and all the chaos that came with dating a Padfoot?

“Speaking of your ass,” he said, running his hand over her butt and then cupping one cheek in his hand.

“Ty! There are people walking outside!” she hissed. Her office was right on the main drag, it was just after lunch, and there were a lot of people strolling past. She could see their shadows moving past them on the sidewalk, through the slatted blinds.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to be quiet.”
He pulled her up against him facing him, one arm circling her waist and holding her in place.

“But – I can’t when I’m with you!” she pleaded.

“Shh. You’re making too much noise,” he smirked at her.

He
pushed her skirt up and slipped his fingers inside her panties.

“
Ty. Please, not here.. No – oh God,” she moaned, and arched her back, opening her legs to let him in. Dimly, in some corner of her mind, she vowed revenge on him. Later. Much later.

             
“You’re so wet. You smell like honeydew cantaloupe. I love it.” He pulled her panties down, letting them puddle on the floor around her ankles.

             
He began moving the pad of his thumb on her clit, rubbing back and forth, and tightening his arm to hold her firmly in place while she squirmed. “Mmm,” she whimpered, a swirl of heat in her belly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sank her face into his shoulder as the heat exploded into a roaring inferno. Her orgasm shook her, and she bit down on his shoulder to keep from screaming.

             
“Oh, yeah,” he panted. “Mark me as yours. Yes!”

             
“Your turn, baby.” She sank to her knees and quickly unzipped his jeans.  He undid his belt and shoved his pants and boxer shorts down. His thick cock was ready for her, a white pearl of cum glistening on the tip.  She leaned forward and reverently breathed in his musky scent, then ran her tongue over it.

             
“Take me in your mouth,” he groaned.

             
“In a minute.” She ran her tongue around the head of his cock, grasping the shaft firmly with her hand and moving it up and down.

             
“Wench. Tease me, will you?” He tangled her hair in his hands, and moved her head; she opened her lips and swallowed him, sucking him in eagerly.  He pumped in to her mouth, and she sucked harder, caressing his testicles as she did. She lightly scraped her nails across the sensitive sack, and he groaned in pleasure as she did. Finally, he exploded, his cum a mixture of saltiness and sweetness.

             
They heard a pounding on the door, and she scrambled to her feet as he zipped up his pants.

             
“One minute!” she cried. She shot him a fierce glare. “I will kill you later! I swear!”

             
“You’ll try,” he taunted.

             
She rushed over and pulled the door open.

             
“Are you all right?” an older male bear shifter in a business suit asked, looking at them with concern.

             
“I’m completely fine,” she smiled brightly.

             
“Oh. I thought I heard yelling. I must have been wrong.”

             
“No yelling. It’s all good,” she said, with a big, fake smile pasted on her face.

             
When they left, she punched Ty in the chest, hard.  “Do not mess with the kitty. I have claws,” she hissed, as he dissolved into laughter.

             
“I know. I like them. You should unsheath them more often.”