Alpha heat, p.1
Alpha Heat, page 1
Alpha Heat: A Boxed Set of 21 Tantalizing Contemporary & Paranormal Romance Short Story Teasers
Elianne Adams – Erzabet Bishop
Muffy Wilson – Tanith Davenport
Jacintha Topaz – Elvira Bathory
Tara Crescent – Crystal Dawn
Tricia Owens – D. F. Krieger
A.C. Nixon – Isis Pierce
Abi Aiken & Rozlyn Sparks
Gina Kincade & Kiki Howell
Bethany Shaw – Danielle Gavan
Abby Hayes – Tierney O'Malley
Jacqueline Sweet – Angelica Dawson
Dawn White
Naughty Nights Press ● Canada
Table Of Contents
Alpha Heat: A Boxed Set of 21 Tantalizing Contemporary & Paranormal Romance Short Story Teasers
Note To Our Amazing Readers
Alpha’s Temptation by Elianne Adams
Cat’s Got Her Tongue: A Shifting Hearts Dating Agency Short by Erzabet Bishop
Victoria’s Dangerous Bliss by Muffy Wilson
In Need of Therapy: A Billionaire Dominance Prequel by Abi Aiken & Rozlyn Sparks
Bringing Him Home: Majors Creek Ranch Series by Gina Kincade & Kiki Howell
Indelible Dyke Love Bound (Book 1.5) by Jacintha Topaz
The Point of No Return by Elvira Bathory
His Temporary Wife: A Bonus Short Story by Tara Crescent
Hiding in Plain Sight by Crystal Dawn
Short Story Teaser for Between the Marshal & the Vampire by Tricia Owens
Hope’s Edge: The Prequel by D. F. Krieger
From Director's Assistant to Director: A Short Story Spin Off by Abby Hayes
Heal Me: A Naughty Nibble by A.C. Nixon
Witch Playground: An Immortal Playground Spin off story by Isis Pierce
Alex and Enid: A Short Story by Bethany Shaw
Club Stratosphere: Lexa and Tom Short Story Teaser by Danielle Gavan
All This Time: A Short Contemporary Romance by Tierney O'Malley
Mating Mr. Right Now: A Bearfield Short Story by Jacqueline Sweet
Birth of a Brat: Prologue to Switching It Up by Angelica Dawson
Nightflying by Tanith Davenport
Gavin Takes His Throne by Dawn White
About the Publisher
Note To Our Amazing Readers
First, we would like to thank you for taking the time to read our free set of short stories. You are welcome to share the links to this set with as many friends as you like, just please don't share your copy. This set will remain free for as long as the series is available, so there's no need for anyone not to have his or her very own copy. Yay!
The authors in Alpha Heat wanted to provide our readers with a tantalizing taste of our world building and characters in the accompanying boxed set to come in a few short weeks, Alpha Fever.
To do this, we thought what better way than to pen some individual short stories and give these to our readers for free. So we did. Sort of a thank you to tide you over as you wait for your pre-ordered purchase of our set of twenty two novellas at the amazing deal we've offered. You've done that, right? Of course you have. We hope you will love our short stories, too, and we are happy to see you enjoy everything we have put together just for you.
If you're of a mind, please consider leaving us a review on the distributor site you downloaded this boxed set from, or even better, on the next installment in the Alpha Heat & Alpha Fever series of boxed sets, or both. Reviews are our way of life, our bread and butter, and our driving force. Hearing your thoughts, knowing what you liked, and even what you may not have liked as much, encourages us to keep writing every single day. Knowing you're out there waiting for the next dreamy, steamy read means the world to us authors. Your reviews are the best advertising and motivation us authors could ever have, and we appreciate each and every moment, every reflection and feeling you put into your reviews. They don't have to be big, oh no, not at all; even one-liners will do. Every word from our readers is cherished and remains in the minds of our authors as they craft the next great book. So thank you, if you do review. We adore you!
From the Alpha Fever Boxed Set of USA Today, Amazon, Award Winning, and International best selling authors, we bring you 21 steamy short stories to get your temperature rising as we introduce some of our characters.
Don't miss out on our boxed set of 22 full-length novellas in Alpha Fever, coming to you on March 19th!
Alpha Heat: A Boxed Set of 21Tantalizing Contemporary & Paranormal Romance Short Story Teasers
Smashwords Edition March 2016
ISBN: 978-1-926514-35-2
Published by Naughty Nights Press, LLC
http://naughtynightspress.com/
Credit to the individual editors of each author.
Copyright © Naughty Nights Press 2016:
Elianne Adams – Erzabet Bishop – Muffy Wilson – Rozlyn Sparks – Jacintha Topaz – Elvira Bathory – Tara Crescent – Crystal Dawn – Tricia Owens – D. F. Krieger – A.C. Nixon – Isis Pierce – Abi Aiken – Dawn White – Kiki Howell – Gina Kincade – Bethany Shaw – Danielle Gavan – Abby Hayes – Tierney O'Malley – Jacqueline Sweet – Angelica Dawson – Tanith Davenport
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Alpha’s Temptation
by Elianne Adams
What the hell had he been thinking? He hadn’t been. That was the problem. Six fucking months. That was how long Warren had been waiting for Joy to emerge from her grieving shell and come to him. But she hadn’t. When he got the call from Max saying that she was at the gym and he’d better get his ass down there, he dropped everything and went.
He wasn’t usually a controlling bastard, but his good sense scattered when it came to this particular female. He didn’t care that she wanted to join the gym. Many women in the wolf shifter community did, and it wasn’t a problem. It was all the fucking testosterone that would surround her that made his wolf want to tear into people who probably didn’t deserve to be torn into.
She was his mate, but he had no way of getting her to realize it without coming off as an insensitive asshole. That didn’t mean he’d stand there and let other males come sniffing around her, either.
By the time he got there, she was already changed and warming up. She had boxing gloves on, of all things. Couldn’t she just go for a jog on the treadmill or something? No, she had to be smack dab in the middle of other males, hopping around like fucking Muhammad Ali with her hands jabbing into the air and her breasts bouncing around with every damned move she made.
He had to admit she looked pretty damned hot doing it in her tight little tank top and low riding sweats, though. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one noticing. “Keep them off her,” he growled at Max as he headed into the changing room.
Max had her working at the heavy bag when Warren came out. Even from across the gym, Warren could tell her stance was all wrong. Her arms were down, and her point of contact was off. She’d end up hurting herself if she kept punching the way she was.
“I can take over from here, Max.” Warren wanted to growl at the man, even though he’d been the one to ask him to watch over her.
“Sure. Let me know if you need anything,” the wolf said as he sauntered away.
Joy stepped back, eyeing him like he’d grown a second head. She was breathing a little heavily, and her skin had a sweaty shine to it—gorgeous. It was all he could do to keep his eyes on her face and not let his gaze travel down the rest of her body.
“I can let you have this one, Alpha. I didn’t realize you were using it.” She tilted her head to indicate the bag.
“I wasn’t. Your stance is all wrong. I came over to give you some pointers,” he told her, trying to ignore the tightening in his groin her scent created.
Her eyes rounded a little. “Oh, okay. Thanks.”
“First off, you keep dropping your hands. You’re leaving yourself open. Keep them up here.” He brought them up to the proper position. “Like this. When you punch they should come all the way back here.”
Joy swung a few times, bringing her hands to her chin when she pulled them in again.
“Great. And your point of contact is way off. You want to hit the bag straight on with your middle knuckle. One bad punch and you’re going to hurt your hand.” He hit the heavy bag a few times to show what he meant, then got behind her. Big mistake. With her scent teasing his nose and her body so close to his, all he could think about was wrapping her in his arms and pulling her in tight. He wanted to nibble on that delicate neck of hers until she melted into him.
His cock jerked at the thought of all that softness pressed against him. Joy was right there—so close. If his wolf had its way, he’d already be fucking her right through the mat on the floor, but he couldn’t do that. Shit. He looked down and groaned. He should have kept his fucking jeans on. At least he could pretend the raging hard on tenting his sweats didn’t exist.
***
Joy tried to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest, but it was no use. She had wanted a good workout and had hoped to strike up a conversation with a shifter or two at the gym. But the last thing she had expected was to have her Alpha come by and give her boxing pointers. Had she known that was all it would take to have the man who haunted her lustful dreams come to her, she would have watched the damned boxing videos and come to the gym a long time ago.
Warren stood behind her, his huge hands on her shoulders. “Okay, hit the bag.” His voice rumbled deep and sexy right next to her ear. His hot breath fanned her neck, sending a shiver straight through her. Just a small step back and she’d be up against him.
She blinked a few times trying to remember what he’d asked of her. Oh, right. Hit the bag. She brought her arms up and swung, almost missing the bag entirely. Shit.
“You’re not concentrating, Joy,” he said, his voice sending another jolt through her.
“I’m sorry. I’m pretty new at this,” she admitted. The only reason she’d chosen to take up boxing was because she knew Warren included it in his workouts. The fact that she enjoyed it was a side bonus.
Warren brought his hand from her right shoulder to her wrist. He positioned it where he wanted, then stepped back. “It’s okay. You’ll get it. This is where I want you to hit. Not so far back this time.” He slid his hand down the red leather, showing her.
She took her swing, hitting the bag right where he’d instructed.
“Much better. Now you have to do the same with the left. Always with the middle knuckle.” He came behind her, positioning both her arms, pressing his hard chest against her back. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. When he moved away, it was all she could do to keep a needy whimper from slipping past her lips.
When he brought his hands to rest on her hips, her heart thudded, then raced ahead. Although the workout so far hadn’t been all that strenuous, she couldn’t quite catch her breath.
“Use your whole body. Boxing, whether you’re facing an opponent or the bag, isn’t just in the arms. You have to move with it to put power behind the punches. Now, go again,” he demanded.
The authoritative tone of his voice had her girly parts tingling as she drew her arm back and struck the bag, first with the right, then with the left. Whap. Whap.
“You’re too tight. Let me show you.”
Joy stepped to the side, more than happy to watch him move and pose for her.
“See how my legs are? When you strike, you’re going to move everything from your feet up.” Warren didn’t have gloves on, but he punched the bag anyway, demonstrating what he wanted her to do. “Try again.”
She was going to regret letting him get that close, there was no doubt about it, but she got in front of the bag and brought her arms up. She didn’t have them up quite high enough, and her feet weren’t in the right position, but if this was the only contact she’d have with him, she wanted to make it last.
Warren didn’t disappoint. With his hands on her hips, he twisted her so she was facing in the right direction. Pushing his knee between her legs, he widened her stance. “How long did you say you’ve been doing this?”
“I just started. I watched a few videos at home and practised in front of a mirror. Today is my first time at the gym.”
Joy let the building pressure wash over her. She hadn’t had a heat since before the rest of her pack had been slaughtered over six months ago, but the need pulsing through her told her one was coming. All she wanted to do was throw her gloves off and tackle him to the mat. Too bad there were so many people in the gym. All around her, men were grunting and sweating as they did their workouts. If it wasn’t for the fact that the only one her wolf was interested in was the one who had his leg between hers, she might have enjoyed the sweaty display of rippling muscles.
Her wolf clawed at her, wanting more intimacy. It wanted her to rub herself all over Warren and claim him as her own. She could push her hips back and get a whole lot better acquainted with Warren, but she’d break her position. Was it worth the humiliation if he pushed her away? Totally worth it. But before she had the chance to do it, he pulled back.
“Okay, let me see.”
When she glanced at him, his eyes were on her form. On her ass, to be exact. Heart racing, she gave it a little extra sway as she turned her attention to the bag and swung, putting his lesson into motion. A second later, the deep rumble of his growl had her spinning to face him. He took two steps, eliminating the distance between them in an instant.
As if the man wasn’t sexy enough on his own, that deep growl had her throbbing at her core. “How was that?” The words came out in a husky whisper. He had yet to touch her, but her nipples pebbled and strained against the soft fabric of her tank.
He brought his hands to her hips, pulling her closer. When the hard ridge of his cock pressed into her belly, she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. She shifted her weight from one side to the other, her body rubbing against his. This was what she needed—what her wolf needed.
“Much better.” His gaze drifted to her mouth, and his minty breath mingled with hers.
A throat cleared next to them. “Call for you in the front office. Want me to take over?” Max asked, not looking directly at her.
Warren stiffened against her. The sexy sound he’d just made was replaced by something darker, meaner. His fingers dug into her hips, pulling her closer. He held her there for a moment, then closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled away.
“No, I’ll train Joy. Book us in for Tuesday afternoon,” he told Max before he looked at her for approval. “Two o’clock?”
How was she supposed to think when he’d been about to kiss her? When her body was still humming with need? “Sure,” she blurted out. She glanced at Max, who was busy looking at his shoes.
“Great. See you then.” Warren turned and left.
With all the sexual energy rushing through her, Joy didn’t bother with a shower. She pulled her hoodie on over her tank top before heading out of the changing room. A good run around Hersey Lake might shave the edge of her frustration off, or not, but it was worth a try. At least her wolf would be happy with the run in the woods.
She was just passing the front desk when a giggle drifted to her from the office behind it. Long blonde tresses fell down a narrow back to end just above a jean-covered ass. The woman had one arm around Warren’s neck and her free hand halfway hidden beneath the bottom hem of his black T-shirt.
Joy’s inner wolf snarled, and it took everything in her not to let the reaction bubble up to the surface. She waited for half a beat, expecting him to push the woman away, but when the woman giggled again, and he didn’t, Joy didn’t wait around to see more.
“Don’t bother with the appointment for next Tuesday, Max. I won’t be able to make it.” She turned and walked out the door.
Élianne Adams, is a self-proclaimed tropical Princess, so how she came to be born and live in snowy Canada is a mystery. She loves to read (and write) romances that lure you into different worlds, the kinds that suck you in until the very end.
