Alphas of Sin Read online

  “He’s Hunter, he lives upstairs. He’s a close friend of Bryan’s. Bryan asked him to look out for me while he’s overseas. Doesn’t help that I’m pregnant, and on leave from work from these horrendous migraines, so he keeps an eye out on everything around here, and sometimes he comes in and grabs whatever,” responding with a sly smirk and a shrug of a shoulder. “I caught you eyeing him, he’s pretty hot, right?”

  I roll my eyes and sit on the couch in front of the T.V. next to her and work on finishing my cereal. “Don’t walk around here naked, got it,” I say, wanting to cut this conversation short.

  “Yea, you might not want to do that,” she laughs. Yea, that won’t be embarrassing, I think to myself. Not that I would walk around naked in her apartment, but still, the idea of him walking into the apartment unexpected doesn’t exactly scare me either. Kara doesn’t allow just anyone to walk into her house; there are only a select few. So for this guy to be able to come in, without knocking, shows their comfort level with this guy.

  “He knows who you are, you know?” I turn to Kara with my eyebrow raised.

  “What do you mean he knows me? I have no clue who that guy is. I don’t remember seeing him, ever. I would remember seeing him.”

  “So you think he’s cute too, then?” she responds happily.

  “He’s okay looking. I don’t know him, and I’m just not in a place in my life where I want a relationship or can even think about a relationship. I need a break, I need to find myself before I even go there again.”

  “I didn’t say anything about a relationship, he’s cute, you’re cute. Why not go out and have fun?”

  I sigh and place my empty bowl on the coffee table. “You haven’t even told me how he knows me. It’s weird that he knows about me and I know nothing about him. Here I thought you liked me.”

  “He’s seen pictures of you, he mentioned that he thought you were hot. It was a while ago.”

  “Ummm, okay.” I’m not sure how to respond to that. It’s endearing that this guy, who isn’t bad to look at and I could stare at him for days on end, thinks I am ‘hot.’ I just don’t know how to quite process that. Sure it would be great to have someone distract me, to have fun with. Be able to go out, relax, and help part of me find myself. The thought of the things he could do to help me relax is causing the room to be a little too warm; I should stop thinking of him like that. I don’t need distractions but I’ll be damned if that guy doesn’t do things to my core, dampening the panties I’m wearing.

  “Anyway, enough about Hunter. There’s a pool and a hot tub here, let’s go for a swim!” she tells me, as she gets up off the couch.

  I laugh, “I don’t know. I’ll hang out beside the pool with you though.”

  “Whatever, at least get into your bathing suit. Let’s go. I’ll be ready in five.”

  “All right, let’s go.” I pick up my bowl, finish off my cup of coffee from the counter, and place them both in the sink, as Kara scampers off to her room. Any time there’s a pool or a tub, that girl is going to take full advantage. Sometimes I wonder if my best friend is part fish. She would live in the water if she could.

  After I change into a bathing suit, and place a cover-up over it, both of which Kara has loaned me. I need to cover most of myself; as well as the part of me that I know, at some point, might raise questions if they look close enough at my skin. I don’t plan on someone being that close to me. Not close enough to inspect me so thoroughly.

  “Come onnnnn….let’s go! Stop being so damn slow, girl!”

  I roll my eyes, listening to this chick rush me. She really is part fish. I open the door to the bathroom and see her standing at the entryway, with the door open, anxious to get in the water. “Excited much? You live two steps from the pool, seriously.” I’m such a kill-joy to her, I’m sure, but her excitement pulls on my control. A small part of me is as excited as she is, not because I’m dying to get in the pool, but to see her excitement, fuels mine.

  Kara immediately dives right into the pool and begins to swim her laps. I lay the towel over the lounge chair and pull my hat slightly over my face, to cover my eyes from the direct sun. I soak in the warmth from the sun and begin to relax my body, and I hear the water splashing from Kara swimming in the pool. I’m enjoying the idea that we are the only two out here, even though the pool is accessible to the other residents of the complex.

  Moments pass and I hear water splashing in the pool beside me. “Don’t even think about it, chick.”

  “Stop being such a bore and get your ass in the water. It’s good for you.” I lift my hat up slightly, and contemplate getting in the water. I’m sure there are only so many laps she can swim before she gets bored, and it’s a matter of time before I pass out in this chair, and that would only result in a sunburn.

  I remove the cover-up and throw it onto the chair, sitting on the edge of the pool as I dip my legs into the water to acclimate to the temperature before completely sliding in. “Happy now?” I ask with a smile on my face.

  “Yep, about damn time. I wasn’t going to let you burn over there. I saved your life. You owe me now.” I laugh because we’ve always joked about how we owe one another our lives; we’ve lost track long ago on what we’ve done for one another. No matter the circumstances, we know we can count on one another. We don’t always agree on one another’s choices, but we support one another.

  “Hey, ladies!” I look up from the pool and see the cleanest, shiniest black shoes in my life. My eyes begin to travel up, and I’m starting to put together a military uniform. I make contact with the person’s eyes and pieces slowly connect that the guy, I am ever so slowly engraving into my brain as a memory, is none other than Hunter. He winks at me, and I know I’ve been busted checking him out. Again. Great, that’s not embarrassing. Not. At. All.

  “Hey, going to work?” Kara asks him, as I break eye contact with him and dive underwater to swim my lap across the pool. I can appreciate a handsome man, but I am so far out of his league, and haven’t played the game with the opposite sex for so long, it would be a horrible conversation. I don’t open myself up to just anyone. While it keeps my circle tight of who I can trust, it is also my downfall, as it does not allow me to get to know more people, or anyone else, outside of the said circle. I pop up on the other end of the pool; looking back, I see Kara and Hunter exchanging a friendly conversation. Kara is a better social bug than I’ll ever be, there are times I would like to be more social, but it just isn’t ingrained in me. It’s not in my DNA, to be social, happy, and chipper. She can have a full conversation with random strangers, while I’m the one that stands there awkwardly, smiling and nodding…and not listening. I begin to swim back across the pool, so I don’t appear as a complete anti-social bitch. I rise back up from the water and look at the two conversing. Hunter looks back at me and smiles, and I catch myself returning his smile. “I’m going to head out, great chatting with you. I’ll see you both later.”

  “Bye, Hunter! Come over later if you want to have dinner with Lily and me,” Kara calls back. I roll my eyes, I swear, this girl.

  As soon as Hunter is out of sight, we hop out of the pool, grabbing our towels to wrap around our wet bodies. I hear Kara gasp behind me. Immediately I know she can see the damage. “Don’t ask, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s healing and I’ll be fine.” She respects my demand and nods as she walks up beside me and we begin to walk back to Kara’s apartment. “Does he come over for dinner often, or did you invite him because you’re up to something?” Deflecting from the actual topic that I’m sure is burning on the edge of her tongue.

  Seeing that she’s mentally made the decision to let it go, she looks over at me smiling. “Girl, you need to get laid. You’re obviously over the asshole, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” She catches me frowning at her comment. “Okay, maybe you’re not over what happened between you and the asshole, but you’re over him, otherwise you wouldn’t have left Chicago. What better way to begin to move forward than to m
eet new people? Put yourself back out there. You don’t have to have a relationship, or something serious, but it will help you move forward. Remind yourself how to have fun again, be yourself. Hunter is a great guy. I’m not saying he is or isn’t a serious relationship guy, but he is a good guy. He’s not an asshole, he’s the guy you could fuck and still be friends with, because he’s not an asshole. Plus, I know how much you hate pushover type guys. I think Hunter would be good for you somehow. When have I ever steered you wrong?”

  I can’t believe I’m actually taking what she’s saying seriously, but it’s nonetheless true. Perhaps that’s what I need. Make more guy friends, have fun, put myself back out there. Remind myself how to be happy and confident in my decisions, rather than second-guessing everything I do or say. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Hunter, but I’m definitely taking what she’s saying into consideration. Better to be friends with someone that my friends know than some random person that nobody knows. Especially since that’s what happened with the guy I left in Chicago. I should have heeded everyone’s advice and gut feelings when nobody in my circle liked him, instead of getting to know one another better, he slowly pulled me out of my circle and through the gates of hell.

  CHAPTER 3

  I’m sitting outside Kara’s patio and it faces the entrance of the parking lot. It’s not a very busy complex. It’s actually fairly quiet and peaceful. I stayed back and decided to read a book on the patio, while Kara’s left to go grocery shopping. I hear an unmistakable roaring sound of a motorcycle pulling into a parking space right outside of the patio.

  I love the sound of a motorcycle and this one is a beauty: black with red accents, sleek, sexy, and powerful. I’m practically drooling over this stranger’s bike. I briefly contemplate learning how to ride myself to feel the power behind that rocket. The stranger kicks the stand down and turns his bike off. His movements catch my eye, and based on the structure of his body, it definitely looks more masculine than feminine from the broad shoulders down to the bigger thighs.

  He makes a movement to remove his helmet, and my focus shifts from the sleek bike to the owner with the strong, defined jaw and delectable lips. I certainly appreciate the combination of eye candies before me. “Like what you see, beautiful?” His voice snaps me out of my reverie, and I come into eye contact with Hunter.

  I start to blush furiously, as my body is flushed with heat from being caught ogling over him. Then again, I wasn’t very incognito when I was essentially eye-fucking him. He keeps catching me red-handed, and when he does, he smiles in the way that makes me want to wrap myself around him. In my defense, a girl would have to be blind to not appreciate a good-looking man.

  We’ve had lunch together here in Kara’s apartment a few times, and we’ve made casual conversation and gotten to know one another better. I’ve grown comfortable enough around him so we’ve hung out and watched television or had light-hearted conversations and laughed at each other’s antics without Kara around. Not in just a neighborly type of way, but I find myself slowly confiding in him and telling him about parts of me that I wouldn’t have thought to tell anyone else. I even told him in part about Chicago, my job working in hotels, the few hobbies I enjoy, and ones I discovered I don’t want to ever do again, like cycling. Things I only did to please him. As time goes on, and I find out more about him, the attraction to him is becoming harder to resist. I’ve caught him studying every move I make when he’s staring at any part of me, causing me to react in ways that have me wiggling in my spot, my breaths become more shallow. In moments like those, I see restraint in his eyes, but I also don’t miss the clench of his jaw, and his body tensing, before placing a kiss on my cheek and telling me he’ll see me around.

  He winks my direction from the parking spot, not even eight feet from me, after my lack of response. My mind is completely blank, no matter how hard I’m trying to get my synapses to function properly, so I can respond rather than sit here completely mute as I worry about my hardened nipples pushing past my shirt and continuing to embarrass myself further. He walks up to the patio, leaning against the half wall that separates it from the rest of the complex, and placing him on the other side of where I’m sitting, while I scatter to think about what my next motion should be.

  I could run back into the apartment, and say I’ll see him later, but I don’t want to be rude or appear as an idiot that is having a moment where I can’t string two words together. My luck, I would run into the glass door anyway. Maybe if I don’t say anything, he’ll go home. Yes. Then we can all pretend this awkward situation didn’t happen: strange girl ogling; yea that’s not weird.

  “Want to go for a ride?”

  My head turns toward his bike, and my heart races a little faster from the excitement of potentially being on that sexy machine. I catch myself smiling. “You didn’t tell me you own a bike.”

  “There’s a lot of things I would love to show you that I own, let me grab a helmet for you, we’re going.” Before I know it, he’s walked away before I have an opportunity to decline.

  Within moments, he shows up in the apartment, wearing jeans that wrap around his thighs and hips in the most delicious way, along with his motorcycle jacket covering the t-shirt beneath, which shows off his toned chest and abs. With the sexiest grin I’ve seen; there’s a pull of gravity that makes me want to throw myself at him and trust that he will catch me. Not in a serious relationship type way but in a sense of being able to be carefree. “Ready?” I start to dance up and down in place and nod frantically. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do something spontaneous and exciting.

  “Of course!” I beam. “If I had known you had that baby, I would of rode you months ago.” My eyes getting bigger, I clasp a hand over my mouth after blurting my response. “I mean, your bike. I’m so sorry.” I apologize as my face heats up from embarrassment.

  “You would look great on me.” His growly response causes me to snap up, looking into his eyes. I question myself, if I really heard what I think he said. Instantly, I notice a change in him as if a fire has sparked behind his eyes.

  He takes several long strides until he’s standing within a breath’s distance, and my heart starts to race from the feel of the heat radiating off him. Raising his hand and cupping the side of my face, I revel in his warm touch. There is something comforting about it.

  “There’s something about you that pulls me in. I don’t know what’s happened with or to you. There’s a passion in you that’s dimmed, let me help you bring that spark back in you. Ignite the flames that I know burn with endless intensity, because when I see that fire in your eyes, I want to be the one that plays with it.”

  Just then Kara comes through the door and Hunter pulls away slightly. Carrying two grocery bags, I offer to help as my emotions are scattered all over the floor. I feel vulnerable at this very moment, but for once in a long time, I feel safe and believe what he says. I can’t explain why I somehow managed to believe him, but I want to fall into him. To be embraced by him and for once in what seems like a lifetime, feel secure. I stare straight ahead, focusing on his lips. Before I’m aware of my actions, I feel myself leaning toward him, close enough where I can feel his breath. He leans in toward me and whispers in my ear.

  Kara pulls the grocery bags back when I reach for them. “I’ve got it, thanks. You two going somewhere?” she asks with a bright smile. She often reminds me how excited she would be if Hunter and I become a couple and preaches about how perfect we are, but I try not to fuel her fire. I don’t want to come off as so helpless that I need my best friend to hook me up with anyone.

  “We’re just getting to leave, actually,” Hunter responds to Kara. Then he leans over from standing beside me and whispers, “I’m going to take you for a ride now, on my bike. If you keep looking at me with that come hither look, I’m going to embarrass myself like a teenager and have to go back to my apartment and change,” causing shivers to run up and down my entire body. Then he places a kiss on my cheek. Grabb
ing my hand, he takes control and leads me out the door to his bike.

  “See you guys later, hope you eat each other alive!” Kara calls out, and I cover my face with my hand from embarrassment. She has absolutely no filter.

  CHAPTER 4

  We’re heading down Broadway, and Hunter is handling his bike as if he’s one with the machine. The asphalt below us is smooth, and we see the lights flashing by, as I can feel the breeze slipping underneath the small opening from the face of the helmet and pressed against Hunter.

  Stopping at a red light, I begin to lean back. My hands loosen from around his waist and begin to glide back toward his thighs; immediately he grabs my hands and pulls them back around. “Don’t let go, I want you close to me. I like to keep what’s mine safe, and I want you close to me.”

  “Who ever said I was yours?” I respond to be a smartass.

  “You’re mine for today, you don’t know the limits I will go to keep you mine each day. Let’s enjoy ourselves, kitten.” Before I can respond, the light turns green. He squeezes my thigh and pulls my hand closer to him, so I’m pressed against him, and takes off.

  Pulling into the parking lot of Kru, I hop off the back of the bike with the help of Hunter. The moment Hunter gets off his bike, he reaches under my chin to release the strap of my helmet, and I pull my helmet off my head. I brush my fingers through my hair to fix the bit of helmet hair I have. As Hunter removes his helmet and secures both to his bike, he turns, and places a kiss on my cheek. “You look great, kitten. Hope you’re hungry. Do you like sushi?” he asks, as he grabs my hand and leads me towards the restaurant.