The Alpha's Hunger by Renee Rose Page A

she exclaimed, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck in a strangling hold.
    He pretended to eat her neck, making chomping sounds.
    She squealed in delight. “What are you doing here?”
    “Well, I came to make sure you were in bed. What are you doing out of bed, young lady?”
    She laughed, not taking his mock sternness seriously for a minute. “You woke me up,” she said.
    “I’m sorry, mi amor . I’ll tell you what—how about if I read you a story and put you back to bed?”
    “No,” the four-year-old said stubbornly. “I want to stay up with you.”
    “Well, I’m not staying, angelita . I just came to ask your mommy something and now I’m leaving. What do you say, want that book?”
    The child looked indecisive. “Did you bring your girlfriend?” she asked, changing the subject and staring at Ashley.
    He ought to tell her Ashley was his employee, not his girlfriend. But the idea of having Ashley really being his mate, having her at his side at family functions, the way Shayla had been Leon’s, hit him with such a stroke of longing that he just wanted to pretend, even if it was only for a moment. “This is Ashley, muñeca. Es muy bonita, verdad? ”
    Ellie giggled. “ Tío has a girlfriend , Tío has agirlfriend!” she chanted.
    “ Ya, mi amor. Let’s get you to bed.”
    “No,” she squealed, kicking her feet.
    “I’ll take her,” Shayla interrupted, reaching for his niece. “You should probably go.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said to Shayla as Ashley sprang to her feet.
    “It’s fine,” she said in a voice that really meant it wasn’t. “I think you should talk to Stanley again.”
    He didn’t answer. He had a whole heap of shoulds hanging over his head as it was.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Zolla’s house was dark and quiet. Ben knocked on the door, but no one answered and his wolf senses didn’t detect anyone inside. He sighed and called the phone number Mark had given him for the omega. An omega was the lowest ranking in a wolf pack, usually because of size or some other weakness.
    Zolla answered the phone by saying, “Ben Stone,” with a note of surprise. Obviously he had Ben’s phone number programmed into his phone, which would seem odd, except that the wolf was the kind of guy who was all about information.
    “Hey, are you around? I was wondering if I could meet with you tonight.”
    “Oh, yeah? I’m not home right now, I’m at El Parador, the salsa club on Speer.”
    “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.” He hung up and ushered Ashley back to her car.
    “Now where are we going?” she asked.
    “Salsa dancing.”
    “Really?”
    He didn’t answer.
    “Wait… really?” she repeated. “Are you serious?”
    “Well, we’re going to a salsa joint.”
    “Do you know how to salsa? Well, of course you do, you’re from South America. You probably were born dancing.”
    “Pretty much,” he said. In Latin America, every party had dancing, even the most simple get-togethers. He hadn’t meant they would actually be dancing, but she seemed so stunned by it, he found himself asking, “Do you?”
    “Um, not exactly, but I’d really like to learn. Will you teach me?”
    His skin prickled at the thought of holding her close to him on the dance floor. It would be too much. But he couldn’t make himself say no to her—she looked so cute looking over at him with pleading eyes. “We’ll see,” he said.
    They arrived at El Parador and went inside. Ashley tugged at her too short t-shirt, looking embarrassed.
    “You look fine,” he said. In fact, she looked smoking hot. Still in her tight little work skirt and high heels, the t-shirt took away the business look of the outfit, leaving pure feminine pizzazz.
    A band was playing on the stage and people were out on the dance floor. Tables were scattered around the perimeter and couples sat together, heads inclined toward each other. He didn’t see any sign of Zolla.
    He swept the room again, stopping short when he realized the