Curse of the Alpha: The Complete Bundle by Tasha Black Read Free Book Online

being a girly-girl in the real estate world, not if you wanted to be taken seriously. A chignon and a Victoria’s Secret Body minimizing bra helped camouflage her assets enough to let her clients and colleagues focus on her brains.
    Her parents ran a frugal household. The hardware store made modest profits and, as with most college faculty, her father’s job paid more in prestige than in dollars. But one place her parents splurged was on their bathroom renovation. Her dad had won a Slavic literature studies award that came with a cash prize, a rarity. They ripped out the old sticky tiles and rotten sub-floor and installed a heated marble floor. The restored clawfoot tub beckoned her.
    Once the steam started rising from it, she added a dollop of crème brulee honey bath oil. It smelled heavenly. She dipped in a toe and sighed in delight, then eased her whole body in. The tension drained away from her in warm waves.
    Soon, the dust and sweat of the day was washed away and she emptied and refilled the tub for a good soak. Her dad was surely rolling over in his grave at the wasted water, but Ainsley figured she had earned it. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back on a towel and let her mind wander.
    She though of Erik, and the way he had almost torn through the chain link fence to get to her.
    What would it be like to be with someone without having to worry about losing control?
    The thought terrified and exhilarated her. Her wolf perked up and a small sigh escaped her lips.
    But that wasn’t her world. It would never work. She needed something more refined.
    Julian.
    She imagined his cool blue gaze and raised eyebrow and her nipples hardened. The water was suddenly too warm. She let her hand slip below the surface of the water to explore her body. Her skin tingled, and her pulse began to race.
    What was going on with her? Ever since she came back to Tarker’s Hollow, it was like her senses had turned up to eleven. She usually didn’t feel like this until the moon was full.
    She certainly couldn’t show up to Julian’s talk in this frame of mind. There was no telling what she would do. She slipped her hand lower, deciding to take the edge off a little.
    Just then the doorbell rang.

Chapter 14
    A insley’s eyes snapped open . No one had been living in the house for months. Who would stop by?
    She dried off quickly as the bell rang again, and wrapped her Victoria’s Secret white kimono around herself as she ran for the door. Maybe it was Charley with the name of a junk man?
    She opened the door to see two young men leaning on the porch columns. Both were dark-haired, suntanned jock types. One wore a red Tarker’s College Tennis t-shirt. The other was shirtless. Ainsley’s eyes followed the trail of his lean, muscular abs to where they disappeared into the waistband of his shorts.
    “Can I help you?” she asked, holding her robe together at her collarbone.
    “We read your post on Neighborly and thought we would help you out with your dresser,” said T-shirt.
    “Oh, um, thank you. That was fast. I thought I would get an email or something.”
    “You have to make your email public for that. Your post just showed your user address,” No Shirt chimed in.
    “We can come back at another time if you want,” T-shirt offered.
    Ainsley thought about how little time she had. She also thought about how much she was enjoying the view of these two strapping young men.
    “No, no, by all means, now is great.” She showed them inside. “I’m really sorry it’s such a mess in here, my parents passed away in January and I’m here to clean out the house. But it’s harder than I thought it would be.”
    “I’m sorry about your parents,” T-shirt said solemnly.
    “It’s okay,” Ainsley murmured.
    T-shirt had put his hand on her shoulder in sympathy, but now he was looking at the trail of her wet hair leading down to her cleavage, easily visible in the silky robe. Her nipples were stiff in the cool air conditioning and