Alpha's Moon: A special forces shifter romance Renee Rose (universal ebook reader .txt) 📖

was just waiting for my invitation. His head cocks to the side, and his perfect lips part. “Yeah, sweetheart?” His voice is deep and soft. Normally, I hate being called sweetheart, but his eyes are on my face. His nostrils flare like he’s breathing me in, and his eyes seem to turn even more green.

His intense regard is a little unnerving.

“Um,” I squeak again. “I’ve got a problem.”

“Problem?” he echoes.

“Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal, but I was hoping you could help me.” This is crazy. This is nuts. This is the boldest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ll probably never have the nerve to do again. Maybe it's the mango margarita talking, or maybe it’s just me being brave for once.

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Biker man agrees so quickly I lose my train of thought.

“You don’t even know what it is.” I gaze up into his brown eyes and get a little dizzy.

He shrugs. “Try me.”

“Okay. There’s this guy,” I say in rush. “He’s actually my ex, and he’s kinda bothering me. He tracked me down somehow, and he’s over there, waiting for me.” I point to the rideshare parking spot.

The biker peers around the corner. A low, rumbling sound seems to emit from his chest. The biker turns back to me, and the sound abruptly cuts off. “You want me to kill him?”

“No.” I giggle at the joke. Because it has to be a joke, even if the man sounds dead serious. “Silly.” I shake my head at him like he’s one of my kindergarten students.

A grin forms at the corners of his lips, and I feel warm all over.

“You sure, sweetheart?” Now there’s a hint of teasing in his voice.

“Yeah.” I play along. “It’s too public here. And where would we even hide the body?”

The guy scratches his chin. “We could figure something out. You could lure him somewhere. Somewhere remote. And I could make it look like a wolf finished him off.”

“Um, okay.” That is weirdly specific. I pretend to think about it. “Nah, not necessary. I just want him to back off. I was just thinking you could walk me over there and pretend to be my date. Just for a few minutes.”

“Your date,” he repeats.

Oh God. It was a stupid idea. I’m embarrassing myself horribly here.

“That’s what you want?” The man raises a dark brow.

Here it comes, my blush, rolling up from my chest. Fortunately it’s night, and the dim plaza lights should hide my bright red face. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s okay.” I want to turn away to escape this humiliation, but the biker ducks his head close. He smells like leather and clean male skin. My senses tingle. “Seems more efficient to make it permanent.” I can tell by his tone he’s joking.

I let out a hysterical giggle. “Could you do it my way?” I whisper back. “As a favor?”

“A favor, huh?” He tucks a bit of hair behind my ear. At his touch, my legs go wobbly, and I lean back against the building.

It occurs to me that approaching a huge and scary-looking man in a dark alleyway was probably not my brightest move. What made me think he was safer than Scott? But I can’t find it in me to be afraid. The flutters in my belly, the ratcheting of my pulse—they aren’t from fear. No, they’re from excitement.

“What’s your name?” I ask over the pitter-patter of my heartbeat.

“Deke. Yours?”

“Sadie.”

“Sadie,” he murmurs in his deep voice. He rests an arm above me. For a moment, his big body cages me against the wall.

I’m still not scared.

Instead, I feel small and safe, hidden from the world.

Then he steps away. “Okay, Sadie. Let’s do this.”

Sadie

I sense Deke’s big hand hovering at the small of my back as I stroll across the plaza with him at my side. Deke’s twice as big as me and almost twice as tall, but when he walks he makes no sound.

“My ex’s name is Scott,” I tell him as we walk toward the drop off spot.

“Scott.” Deke’s lip curls.

“We dated for three years.” I don’t know why I’m babbling, but I can’t stop. “I don't know why I was with him so long. He was nice in the beginning, but…”

Deke’s broad chest vibrates with another rumbling sound. Automatically, I put my hand on his shoulder, and the sound cuts off. He stops in his tracks, and so do I, turning to face him.

“He didn’t hurt me,” I clarify. “We broke it off when I found out he was cheating on me. But now he wants me back.”

“And you, Sadie?” Deke studies me in a way that sends little shivers up and down my spine. “What do you want?”

My heart sighs at the question. When was the last time a man asked me what I want? “I want him to leave me alone.”

“And then what?” We’re face to face and chest to chest, close enough I can feel his heat soaking into my skin. There's an ache growing in my lower belly, a deep hunger I haven’t felt in far too long.

“I want to be happy. I want to be free.”

Deke puts his hand on my arm, and for a moment, it’s just the two of us. His fingers circle my forearm and slide down, shackling my wrist. His thumb brushes over my pulse, and I'm this close to giving up our mission and finding a dark corner to explore the promise of this stranger’s touch.

Then I hear Scott’s voice echoing across the parking lot. He’s on the phone but not bothering to keep his side of the conversation quiet. He always did that, even when we were at home, as if he wanted to make sure everyone within twenty feet knew how important his call was.

I turn, but Deke doesn’t let go. He slides his hand down further to take my hand and thread his fingers with mine. My heart hammers at the excitement of it. The audacity of holding a stranger’s