Mate of the Alpha by Marie Mason

 
    MATE OF THE ALPHA
     
    His animal was restless. An instincti ve uneasiness as if a storm was fast approaching. He felt charged, wired. On edge. And those feelings were centered on his personal assistant, Lily Reynolds. It was the damnest sensation, unlike anything he’d ever felt before in connection with a woman.
    It bothered him to the point that his work suffered. Hell, his whole life was one big jumble. He barely slept, eating was out, and his skin crawled every time a man spoke to her.
    He pictured her in his mind. She was decidedly not a classical beauty. She had flashing brown eyes, a headful of thick brown curls, and a kiss-me-if-you dare mouth. And she was curvy. Oh, the curves were sweet, mouth-wateringly sweet, but far removed from the stick thin women he’d fucked in the past, which covered a huge expanse of time considering he was a wolf shifter.
    Past , his wolf growled, reminding him in a not-so-subtle way that every sexual encounter he’d have from now through eternity would be centered on Lily.
    His mate.
    The reason for his suffering.
    His wolf growled again. The wolf was not nearly as confused or hesitant as the man was to embrace his fate. Fate had given him Lily six months ago. His reluctance to claim such an innocent woman had kept her from his arms but hadn’t stopped him from falling in love.
    For six long months, he’d been in a state of constant arousal. Ever since his mate had walked through his office door looking for a job. Today she hadn’t arrived at work alone. One of the other administrative assistants had accompanied her into her office. It was still a few minutes before eight and the two women were chatting about how the workload had increased and how hard it was some days to keep on top of things. He snorted, he knew about getting hard and there was only one thing he wanted Lily to get on top of – him.
    Every morning he played this little gam e of control. How long before his cock became hard with arousal? His wolf growling in frustration? He sighed at his body’s immediate response to the mere idea of her presence, the muted sound of her voice. And her delicious scent wafting through the air. What would she taste like? He had yet to kiss her, but he dreamed of how her slick juices would taste on his tongue. But the time wasn’t right. Not yet. His damn wolf just didn’t understand. It wanted to claim her, fuck her, and mate her. It had been years, long years since his body had broken free of his mental control. It had been even longer since his wolf had broken free. Now he was battling both.
    He exerted his considerable will power over his physical reaction. It required a lot of deep breaths and a tug-of-war with his wolf, but he won.
    He always won.
    His mind circled back to the women’s conversation. Was he working Lily too hard? Maybe he should consider getting her an assistant. His wolf growled at the idea and he had to agree with the horny beast. With another person in the office suite, it would be impossible to take their mate when and how they wanted.
    Newly mated shifters had a difficult time keeping their urges under control. Add in the fact that he’d been battling his desires for months, and he was as randy as a teenager. Not that she’d be working long. Once he bred her, she’d stay at home preparing for their pup’s arrival.
    Yeah, he was a s chauvinistic as they came – for either a man or a wolf. His instincts told him to protect and defend. They also told him to love, care for, and respect her like no other.
    Lily tapped on the doorframe of his office and waited. She never invaded his private space without permission. The thought of her pregnant with his child had caused him to miss the other woman saying goodbye and leaving.
    “Come in, Lily. ”
    “Do you have those contracts ready for me to finish, sir?” She s tood by the door, her hands clasped in front of her.
    While he had every intention of making her call him sir in the bedroom – mainly