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He growled low, and I loved that primal, animalistic side of him.

  “Fuck no, they would have never laughed at you.” He tightened his hold on me. “And I knew you got the position because you're an incredible dancer. They would've been idiots not to hire you.”

  “Well…” I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I was deliriously happy, not just because I did get the position, but because Cole was mine. “Yes, they said if I wanted the job it was mine. They actually want me to start next week.”

  Cole pulled me in for a tight hug, and I absorbed the feeling. When he moved back, I could see the love in his face, could see the support written across his expression.

  “I love you,” he said in his deep voice, the one that always made me feel so very feminine.

  I knew without a doubt, knew until the very end of the earth, that my happiness was with him.

  I always knew, and would always know, exactly how loved I was.

  Epilogue Two

  Cole

  One year later

  A year and a half had passed since Jana walked into my life. I wasn't the same man I’d been before she came along, didn't even try and pretend like I was happy before that. It wasn't until her, until I looked into her eyes that I knew what living was really like.

  I’d always been a man known for his strength and unwillingness to bend. But for the woman I loved, I would break in two.

  I would show my weakness, would let her know that there was no other person on the face of this earth that could ever make me feel the way she made me feel. And I would show her that, prove that to her, until I drew my last breath.

  I stared down at the small baby blue box that I held. The ring inside was three carats; a single solitary princess-cut diamond. But no matter how beautiful the ring was, it didn't compare to Jana. It would never be good enough for her.

  The sound of the front door opening and then closing filled the house. My heart was beating so fast that I felt it pounding against my ribs. I was a strong man, knew how to handle stress and pressure. But in this moment I felt so fucking scared, so weak.

  I started bouncing my leg up and down, my nerves taking control. What if she said no? What if she wasn't ready?

  Even if she wasn’t ready for marriage, I had all the time in the world. For Jana I would wait until there was no time left, until I was taking my last breath. But having her as my wife would be a dream. Having her as the mother of my children would make me complete. I wanted my babies inside of her, wanted to see her get big with the life we created.

  And when she rounded the corner and saw me sitting on the couch, I saw her focus go down to the box I held. She seemed frozen in place, her dance bag over her shoulder, her hair in a messy bun. She was a little sweaty from work, but God, she looked so good. She looked so damn beautiful.

  “Hey?” She took a step closer and dropped her bag to the floor by her feet. “Cole? What’s going on?” I could see she was nervous, could see the way her pulse beat frantically below her ear.

  I stood and walked toward her, not about to make this drag on. I've had this ring for the last six months, wanting to ask her for that long, wanting to hear her say yes. But I’d wanted her to get established in her career, to be happy, and feel safe with me. I knew she was happy, because I strived to make that possible. But that didn't mean she wanted to get married.

  Before I lost my nerve—because this was the scariest fucking thing I'd ever done in my life—I dropped to one knee, lifted my hand, and popped open the top of the ring box.

  “Jana Helena Banks. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than I want you.” I took the ring out, set the box down, and held her hand in mine. “Having you in my life has been my greatest accomplishment. You already make me the happiest man alive, but having you as my wife would be incredible.” I slipped the ring on her finger, not sure if I was even doing this right but not about to stop. “Will you marry me?”

  She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes watering. I didn't know if those were good or bad tears, but I stayed on my knee, looking up at her, letting her take her time.

  “Yes,” she finally said.

  I stood and pulled her into my arms. “There is nothing in this world more important to me than you.” I pulled back and cupped her face, knowing that without Jana I would be a shell of a man.”

  She cupped the side of my face, her smile sincere, genuine. “I love you too.”

  This woman loved me, and fucking hell if that didn’t make me the luckiest man in the world.

  The End

  ALPHA MALE (A Real Man, 14)

  By Jenika Snow

  www.JenikaSnow.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © June 2017 by Jenika Snow

  First E-book Publication: June 2017

  Photographer: Wander Aguair

  Cover model: Jace Dean

  Photo provided by: Wander Book Club

  Editors: Kasi Alexander

  Line Editor: Lea Ann Schafer

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Layla

  For the last two years Lachlan has been my personal bodyguard. Although I don’t feel in danger and don’t need someone constantly watching me, because it’s Lachlan, I can’t help but feel safe.

  I love him.

  He’s big, strong, and deadly. Anyone stupid enough to cross him learns that swiftly.

  But I’m too afraid to tell him how much I want him. I’m too afraid to tell him that I crave him.

  Lachlan

  I was hired to be her bodyguard, to make sure she was safe because her father is a senator. But even if her father hadn’t hired me, I wouldn’t have been able to leave her alone.

  I love her, want her as mine, and I need to show Layla that she was meant for me.

  I need to show her that if anyone looks at her, speaks to her, or thinks they have a right to touch her, I’ll lay them out and not think twice.

  She is my world, and no one but me will have her.

  I’m done waiting. It’s time I make Layla mine.

  Warning: Have a neck brace on hand because this story will give you whiplash. It’s short and to the point, but that’s how we like them. It’s not lacking in the heat department, has an over-the-top alpha hero, and a sweet virgin heroine. No worries, though; you get a safe read with a Happily Ever After and some baby making in the process.

  Lachlan

  I watched Layla. Always. But it wasn't just because that was my job. It was because I wanted her, fucking badly. I wanted her to be mine, to never know the touch of another man, to look into my eyes and know I’d take care of her.

  “Lachlan, location check-in.” Rocco’s voice came through in my earpiece.

  “South building of Pearson Hall. Layla should be heading back to the estate within the next ten minutes. I’ll check in once en route.”

  “Copy that.”

  I leaned against a tree and watched as Layla spoke to some little asshole that I knew was in her economics class. The possessive side of me wanted to come out and stake its claim right then and there. Hell, I didn’t want anyone looking at her, let alone speaking with her.

  I clenched my jaw as I watched him reach out and brush a strand of her hair from her shoulder. I wanted to go over there and beat the little fucker to the ground, but I had self-control, was trained to only make a move if absolutely necessary.

  Me going over there and being a caveman
, throwing her over my shoulder and stalking away to make my claim, was a bad fucking idea.

  Even that small gesture pissed me the fuck off.

  She was my job, or at least that’s what I tried to tell myself to make it easier to be around her. But being her bodyguard for the last two years made that an impossible task.

  Her father, Jonathan Lancaster, was a senator. Even before that, his connections and social standings had made the wealthy tycoon take extra precautions to protect his family, which resulted in him hiring bodyguards twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

  I’d been Layla Lancaster’s—Jonathan’s daughter—personal bodyguard for the last two years, before her father took office. I’d already deemed her as mine, even if I hadn’t been a man and told her.

  She’d been eighteen at the time I was assigned to her, freshly graduated from high school and starting her first year of college. And from the moment I saw her, she was all I wanted.

  From the moment I saw her, I knew she would be mine.

  And I’d made sure during that whole time that she was always my priority, my permanent station. The very thought of somebody else protecting her didn't sit well with me. I wanted to be the one that looked after her.

  She ended up walking away from the douche and heading to her car. Layla was stubborn, and I wanted her because of it. She was independent, which drove her father insane. That included her refusing to have a driver, which was what Jonathan Lancaster wanted. Instead she drove herself wherever she felt like going.

  She could be a force to be reckoned with, and it made me want her more.

  But the one thing her father would not budge on was her having a bodyguard.

  And I was always here, because fuck all to hell if anything happened to her on my watch.

  Layla

  I felt him watching me. I always felt him watching me. Lachlan was always close to me, always making sure I was protected. He was this big, imposing man, intimidating and powerful, the bodyguard my father insisted I needed. At first it had infuriated me, made me feel dependent, not like myself.

  But the truth was that feeling quickly diminished. For the last two years I’d been in love with Lachlan. I also knew nothing would ever come of it. I couldn’t be with him, not without causing issues with my father. At least I assumed there would be issues. It was that uncertainty that had me keeping my mouth shut and never telling anyone how I felt.

  It took a few minutes to get away from Dean, one of the guys in my economics class, who was insistent I go out with him. He’d been pushing me for a date for the last month.

  I headed to my car, knowing he was following me, feeling his gaze on me. When I got to my vehicle, I stopped at the driver’s side door and turned to look around. Although I knew he was out there, Lachlan was very good at keeping himself hidden. Maybe he thought his presence was unwanted, or he was trying to be professional. Truth was I wanted him close, but I was too afraid to actually admit that to anybody but myself.

  Telling anyone that I had feelings for Lachlan, that I loved him wouldn't be good in the long run. I loved my family, my father as well, but his standards and morals were old-school.

  Lachlan and anyone who worked for him were his employees, the help. Although we had money, my father saw us as more than we were. I hated that about him.

  I climbed into my car but didn't start it right away. I sat there for a few minutes just watching the students go in and out of the main building. I had insisted that I didn't want nor need a driver, even though my father wanted me to have one. But I’d agreed to have a bodyguard, as long as he didn’t interfere with my life.

  That was before I realized I’d fallen in love with mine.

  I finally started the car and headed toward the estate. I’d wanted to stay in the dorm, but again, my father had been too paranoid about that. I didn't fight him on everything, because I knew in his heart he was just worried and looking out for me.

  I glanced in my rearview mirror a couple minutes into the drive and saw a dark SUV following closely behind. My heart beat harder, faster.

  Lachlan.

  He had this effect on me, this pull, this magnetism. God, if he were to ever touch me, pull me under his big, hard body, make me come…

  I wasn’t ashamed to admit I fantasized about him more times than not. I’d touched myself, envisioned what it would feel like for him to take my virginity, to pop my cherry … make me his.

  I wanted all of that. So much.

  2

  Layla

  I used my fork to push the last of my dinner around on the plate. My mother and father were busy talking about a current campaign he was involved with, and my younger sister, Sophie, was busy on her phone texting her boyfriend.

  Truth was I felt out of place most times.

  The estate was massive, reeked of money, and the security was ridiculous. Cameras were stationed outside of the property, taking in every angle, and there were usually a few guards posted around the entrances. When I was in my room, I was truly alone, the only privacy I really got.

  “I think I'm finished,” I said and glanced up at my mom. It was seven in the evening, a time when most people were relaxed, wearing comfortable clothing and winding down for the evening. But not my mother or father. He was in a suit, and she was dressed up with pearls and a full face of makeup, her hair meticulously done.

  “You don't want any dessert?” my mother asked, but she wasn't looking at me. After my father became a senator, she changed. More of a socialite now, she went to garden parties, visited with other political spouses, and tended to be more of a presence in our lives instead of a mother figure.

  But with Sophie being seventeen and about to graduate high school, and me turning twenty-one in a few short months, it wasn't like we were children that needed to be coddled. Once I graduated, I planned on moving away, starting my life and new profession away from the political and controlling aspects of my family.

  “No, I’m fine.” I stood and left the dining room, and once in my room I shut the door. I stood there for a second, my thoughts instantly going toward Lachlan.

  During the evenings he wasn't on the clock. We had enough security detail while at the house that it wasn't necessary for him to be here. But I wanted him here. God, I wanted him here so badly.

  Even just thinking of him made my body hot. I felt my nipples harden, my pussy become wet. I walked over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. With summer coming the sun hadn’t set yet, so I could see the guard stationed at the front of the wrought-iron gate.

  I could leave if I wanted to, be bold and risqué and find Lachlan and tell him I wanted him. But as soon as I thought that, I immediately pushed the idea aside. No, I wasn’t going to be brazen and contact Lachlan and spill my heart to him. I needed to just forget about it, forget about what I wanted—needed—in my life, and focus on what I did have.

  I needed to focus on what I could actually acquire, because Lachlan Stone certainly wasn’t one of the things that I could have as mine.

  Lachlan

  The next day

  She was sitting all alone, the book in front of her, the wind blowing her hair around. I curled my hands into fists, wanting to go to her so damn badly. I had incredible self-control, needed to in order to perform my job with solid composure and a clear head. But when it came to Layla, I wanted to say fuck the control and just go get her.

  I was transfixed by the way she looked, by the way she put a strand of hair behind her ear. Her fingers were long and delicate. I was a dirty fucking bastard for imagining those fingers wrapped around my cock.

  My dick became stiff then, this massive rod between my thighs that was pressing against my black cargo pants. Fuck, I wanted her. I was surprised I was able to restrain myself as long as I had.

  Truth was I didn't think I could last much longer. I wanted to taste her, feel her. I wanted her under me, her legs spread, my cock deep in her pussy.

  I reached out and adjusted myself so my erectio
n wasn't noticeable. And then I saw that motherfucker from yesterday walking up to her. This slow sound came out of me, animalistic in quality, possessive in need.

  He sat across from her, the smile on his face pathetic. He wanted in her pants. If I could tell, I had no doubt Layla could as well.

  She was shaking her head at something he said, and I found myself taking a step forward, wanting to position myself between her and that fucker.

  And then he reached out and touched her hand. She jerked it back, shaking her head even harder. My legs were long, strong, and I ate up the distance in no time.

  I was standing right behind her now, this looming shadow being cast along the table, and the little asshole stared up at me wide-eyed.

  “I think it's time you moved the fuck along and found something else to do.” My voice was hard, harsh. I didn't keep the guttural sound out of it. I didn't even give a shit if this little prick was afraid. Hell, I wanted him to be afraid. I wanted him to picture me standing behind Layla every time he decided to come up and talk to her.

  Even though I saw Layla turn and look up at me, I didn’t stop staring at the little fucker in front of me. He didn't say anything, but I could see the way his throat moved as he swallowed, the fear and nervousness coming off him in waves.

  He finally grabbed his bag off the ground and left without a backward glance.

  Good, he wasn't as stupid as I’d thought he was.

  I took several steps back, meaning to just leave and give Layla her privacy again, but I found myself rooted to the spot. She stood and looked up at me, her frame so small compared to my six-foot-four height. She was delicate and fragile, like this flower I wanted to keep in a glass jar so it didn't get damaged.

  I didn't say anything for long seconds, but neither did she. Although my job was to protect her, intervening when one of her classmates put his hand on her, albeit maybe innocently, wasn't exactly in my job description.