Her mouth opens and closes like a fish. She can't get any words out, she can only stare.
"Yes Kat, you are an adult, well in a few days. I trust you to make your own decisions and you are safe with your… the Alpha," my father says, glancing at Ezra.
"But-" My mother goes to argue with him, finding her voice again.
My father cuts her off. "She is in the safest place, love. Let's go home, I am exhausted," my father suggests.
She looks at me before nodding. "If you need us, no matter how late, Kat. You mindlink us and I will get here," she reassures me.
"I'll be fine," I tell her, and she reluctantly leaves, but not before eyeing Ezra suspiciously, like she thinks he is going to execute me at any given moment. I hear Mateo let them out downstairs, before the door shuts behind them.
Mateo's voice drifts from down the stairs. "Marge's left-overs all have to be cooked, and I'm not doing that! Pizza?" My ears ache from how loud he yelled.
I have to wonder if he eats anything but pizza. It was his go to meal. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of eating it yet again.
"Anything but pizza," Ezra yells back at him.
Even from here, I hear Mateo sigh. "Fine," he grumbles. "Be back soon!" The door opens and closes, once more leaving me alone with Ezra.
"Movie?" he offers. I nod and enter his room as he opens it.
Strange. I would expect his room to be in shades of black. His walls have a soft gray trim and his carpet is charcoal. It's thick and plush beneath my feet. I almost giggle thinking how it feels similar to Maddox's fur.
The light in the room is blocked off by thick velvet drapes with charcoal filigree designs. It makes this room perfect for movie night. The warmth from it seeps into my body and makes me relax. Instead of intimidating, this room is cozy.
A huge four-poster bed dominates the room. It's only against the middle of one wall, but the size of it makes it the main feature. Ezra walks over and grabs a remote off a rumpled thick gray comforter. He points the TV remote at the bedroom door behind me and the screen turns on, bathing the room in the artificial glow.
Ezra tosses it to me and goes to his walk-closet, coming out with a change of clothes and a thick gray towel. "Pick a movie, I need to take a cold shower."
I shudder at the thought of cold water right now. I like my showers hot and steamy. Why would anyone want a cold one?
He pauses at the door and gazes at me with a small smile on his lips. "Or, you can join me if you want."
My entire body burns from the suggestion and I turn away.
"So innocent," he whispers, with a gorgeous smile on his lips.
"I am not," I argue with my arms crossed over my chest.
His eyes sparkle deviously and he licks his lips. "Join me then," he dares. Opening the door wider.
"I um..I-" I stutter, not sure how to handle the situation.
He chuckles warmly at me. "Calm down, Kat. You don't need to. I know I overdid things in Mateo's room and pushed you past your comfort level."
"No, it’s not that, just that you will see me–" I trail off, even the word is embarrassing.
"Naked?" He offers with a chuckle.
"Will you turn around?" I squeak.
"Of course, I promise, I won't peek," he says, turning around and walking into the bathroom. The sound of the water hitting the bottom of the shower floor fills my ears.
Hesitantly, I follow him into the bathroom. He strips his clothes off without turning around and I get a glimpse of his ass. It is much more impactful seeing it in a lighted situation than seeing it with shadows in a hole. I cover my burning cheeks with my hands. Damn, if he looks, he'll know what I'm thinking! I avert my gaze, staring fixedly at a toothbrush balanced on his sink. Was that… a duck?
"Alpha?" I ask.
He sighs. "Ezra," he corrects.
"About your toothbrush, I thought you were scared of those? Why is your toothbrush a duck?"
He growls but it wasn't at me, more like he was growling at a memory. "Because Mateo likes to play practical jokes, but it's a great toothbrush. The bristles are charcoal."
He half-turns when he talks to me so I drop my vision to the black tiles on the floor. I don’t want to accidentally get a glimpse of anything I shouldn't be seeing yet.
He notices. "Sorry," he apologizes. He hadn't even turned completely around. He doesn’t need to apologize. Ezra opens the shower screen and steps under the steamy spray. Inside are two shower heads, one on each end and a long bench built into the wall. "You coming?"
I strip my clothes off and drop them in the basket. Creeping closer, I slip into the shower behind him. I can't resist the urge to try to cover myself, half expecting him to turn around. But, he doesn't.
Instead, he grabs the shampoo out of the niche, squirting it in his hands, and scrubs his hair. I turn the other showerhead on, the spray coming down is hard and I adjust the temperature until it is bearable.
Ezra keeps his back to me, giving me a perfect view of the contoured lines of his muscled back and his ass. He has a large burn down one side, just below his underarm to his hip. I reach my hand out and run my fingers over it.
He freezes, but doesn't stop me, as I trace the burn with my fingertips, it feels rough in places, smooth in others.
"Gross huh?" He asks softly.
"No, but I bet it hurt."
"Fell on a campfire when I was a kid," he explains, stepping directly under the spray, rinsing the soap from his hair.
"How old were you?" I ask.
"I think eight or nine," he shrugs.
I drop my hand, reaching for the soap in the niche. "You can turn around. Technically, you already saw me naked in the video." I don't understand why, but I don't mind him seeing me.
He turns, and his eyes go to mine instead of looking down as I expect.
I stare back, before I find my eyes trailing down his body. He is carved like marble and I have this overwhelming urge to touch him, run my fingers over his abs, and his V-line when I suddenly get a glimpse of him. My eyes widen, and I gulp. The man was part horse or it's fake, it has to be fake. I'd felt it against my body before, but there is no way it was that large.
I suddenly feel terrible for the women in the brothels, he definitely would have ruined them for any other man, no human would ever be able to compete with that weapon. My face jerks away, flaming, all my blood rushes to my cheeks.
He laughs and my eyes snap to his and he raises an eyebrow. "Perv," he teases with a smile on his lips, when I hear the bedroom door open.
"Honey, I'm home," Mateo sings out from the bedroom, making me jump. My face pales, the bathroom door is still wide open.
Ezra jerks me to him, looking over his shoulder toward it. Ezra presses me against the tiles shielding my nudity with his body. "Mateo, shut the bathroom door for me," he calls out to his Beta.
"Ooh la la what have we here? Nice ass Alpha," Mateo chuckles before shutting the door and closing it.
I exhale. That was close.
"I got Chinese," Mateo announces from the other side of the closed door.
I'm about to slip away from Ezra when I notice he's not moving. I find myself looking into pitch black eyes. "Maddox?" I whisper. I hadn't expected to deal with his wolf a second time.
Ezra shakes his head, his grip on my hips loosening. "Sorry," he whispers, clearing his throat, and I become startlingly aware of his body pressed closely to mine.
He leans down, pecking my lips softly. He moves to pull away when I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him back down to me and kissing him. I'm shocked at my own brazen actions.
He chuckles, kissing me back, his tongue runs across my bottom lip wanting access. I part my lips and his tongue moves between them. He deepens the kiss, making me moan into his mouth, sparks rush over my body everywhere his skin touches. A strange sensation, like a pounding drum, throbs through me. It's something unlike anything I've felt before, but it makes me want to stay like this and explore more.
"Oi hurry up, our food is getting cold!" Mateo scolds us yet again
I pull back laughing, peeking around Ezra at the door. That man isn’t about to leave us in peace, was he?
"I should feed you," Ezra says with a smile, stepping back and letting me go. His eyes never wander, and I understand he is a man of his word. He never once peeks, never once pushes me for anything else, despite being pressed naked against him. My heart flutters at the realization. Great, I am more than crushing on my Alpha, I think dryly. Ezra wraps a towel around himself, holding one out to me.
"My clothes are in my room," I tell him, wrapping the towel around myself. I bite my bottom lip. It is going to be awkward going out in a towel in front of Mateo.
Ezra follows my line of sight. "Wait here, you can wear mine," he says, quickly slipping out before returning with a pair of shorts on. He hands me a shirt and some boxer shorts, then turns on his heel, going back out, and closing the door. I slip them on and wrap my hair in the towel. Ezra leaves the room, leaving me alone with Mateo and I hear his footsteps on the stairs.
Stepping out, I spy Mateo lounging on the bed with three plastic plates on the silken gray sheets. "Be grateful, I got the good china out, the disposable kind." He winks at me and hands me a plate of Chinese.
My mouth waters. The strong scent of citrus, honey glaze, and tempura-fried chicken is irresistible. My stomach growls as loud as it can in anticipation of this culinary treat, and I stare down at it in embarrassment. Stupid thing.
Mateo scoots over and pats the spot next to him. "Ezra went to get some drinks, he'll be right back."
As if his words summoned him, Ezra returns with a can of coke and beers in hand. He tosses a beer to Mateo who easily catches it with one hand. Ezra pops open his own and hands me the coke.
I get settled between the two men and grab the forgotten remote. I balance my plate on my lap and settle against the fluffy pillows.
Flicking through the movies, I go to the horror section on one of the apps he uses, and Mateo groans loudly beside me.
"No, go to comedy or the kid’s section," Mateo whimpers.
"Act your age, geez, you’re a werewolf not a child," I scold.
"Fine, but I am sleeping in here," Mateo mutters, while sipping his beer.