I Stole the Alpha's Car (18+)|✔️

Chapter 30

Out on the back patio, Dwayne set his fork down, savoring the last bite of salmon. Bringing his wine up for a sip, he took in the sight of the woman next to him.

Lauren looked like a goddess as she arched her head back to finish her glass. The slight wind played with the tendrils of her hair, and the way her legs stretched out before her made them seem a mile long. Her eyes closed, dark lashes resting against her cheek and a small smile playing on her lips as she swallowed.

A spark flared in his gut as his thoughts returned to their interlude on the porch...

"Down, boy."

Lauren glanced over at him, smirking.

She has no idea how beautiful she looks right now...

The setting sun backlit her profile, and she glowed, ethereal in the light.

Blushing under his stare, she turned away, shy suddenly, soft suddenly, the façade of bravado falling away, leaving her vulnerable and open.

He sighed, "Sorry."

"Do I have something in my teeth?"

Dwayne shook his head. "No, you look perfect."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You're just saying that because I gave you head."

Chuckling, Dwayne took another sip of wine. "Unrelated. Although, I must admit – you looked pretty terrific on your knees."

Lauren snorted, "Thank you. That's honestly reassuring – I figured that there was about a fifty-fifty chance of me making a fool of myself."

She really doesn't know?

Of the many people Dwayne had been with, some of them very experienced, very talented in bed, all of them paled in comparison to Lauren.

Dwayne shook his head. On her first attempt, his sweet, virgin mate had managed to blow all of his previous partners out of the water.

The mate bond is a hell of a thing...

"So," she set her glass down on the tabletop, "what now?"

Now? Now I need to get you back to the suite before I pass out from exhaustion.

His planned nap had evaporated like so much wishful thinking. If Oscar hadn't taken forever to debrief him, if Frank and Bryan hadn't shown up to grill him about Lauren, if Alpha Caroline hadn't called to follow up on their negotiations...

He'd barely had time to pick up groceries and shower.

"Your friends have to be at the resort by now – I should probably return you to them."

And then sleep – because if he'd been tired before Lauren's little surprise on the porch...

She scoffed. "They're big girls – they'll be fine on their own for a while."

Curious, he tried to gauge her mood. "Well, what did you have in mind?"

Lauren looked toward the woods. "How would you feel about going for a run?"

A run? Conflicting desires warred within him. On the one hand, he knew he was at his limit.

On the other hand...

Dwayne shook himself. If his stunning, exquisite mate wanted to go on a run with him, then they were going on a fucking run.

"I'll never say, 'no' to that."

Lauren grinned, kicking off her sandals, canines already larger than they'd been a moment before.

Standing, Dwayne pulled his shirt over his head before loosing the button on his jeans and letting them slide to the ground.

Bare to the summer air, he closed his eyes, feeling the sharp twinge in his spine that heralded the change.

Then the twinge became sharp, sweet agony as his bones shifted and his tendons snapped.

When he opened his eyes, he was about three feet closer to the ground and his already sensitive nose was suddenly catching the scent of a deer almost a mile away.

And, as he felt a snout gently bump his shoulder, all of his attention was on the female next to him.

Lauren.

His mate.

She stood beside him in her sleek lupine form, soft fur radiant in the waning light.

In his darkest moments, he'd begun to fear that he'd been doomed to go through life alone, that he'd never find his other half.

But here she is...

And, as Dwayne led her out toward the tree line, he knew that he would do whatever it took to make happy.