Free In the Alpha's Bed (Stealing the Alpha Book 3) by Kate Rudolph Page A

too, and as Mel woke, she remembered falling asleep in Luke's bed. No light streamed in under the curtains and the clock on his bedside table told her it was before six in the morning.
    By her count, that was nearly six hours of uninterrupted sleep. No wonder she felt rested. The alpha would be worth keeping around if only to keep the nightmares at bay.
    She didn't want to wake him; Luke’s face had lost some of the tension that he'd been wearing for days, and he looked five years younger. It took some careful maneuvering, but Mel extracted herself from his grasp and slid out of the bed. She wore a pair of shorts and a shirt. Last night she'd been raw, not ready for physical intimacy. And she couldn't have been happier that Luke had respected that silent request.
    Mel felt constrained indoors. She needed to think, to see the horizon. And, luckily for her, Luke's room came with a balcony. She let herself out silently and stood by the railing for several moments. But it still wasn't enough.
    She turned around and took a look at the roof. It wasn't too tall, and the slope was climbable. Mel crouched down and sprang up, grabbing onto the gutter and swinging herself up onto the black shingles.
    Mel climbed up to the ridge of the roof and straddled it, with one foot on each slope. Though the sky was dark, it was clear and she could see for miles. The streetlights in Eagle Creek were dim, but as the sun began to rise beyond them, she saw the outline of the mountains in the distance.
    It was beautiful.
    But that beauty did nothing to settle the tumult of her thoughts. She'd never intended to tell Luke about Chance or what happened in Cincinnati. Shame had a way of keeping her quiet. He knew she was a thief, and that didn't bother her. It was only the truth. But to let him know about her betrayal? It didn't sit well, no matter that it was the truth as well.
    If she was honest, though it was something she generally avoided, Mel knew why she told Luke - why she'd had to tell Luke everything.
    There was no way she could keep him if he didn't know. And she was beginning to think that keeping him was more important than anything. She was imagining her life after Ava, and in those thoughts, Luke had a place. He was beside her, living with her and loving her.
    He was also inside her and behind and above and under, but their relationship was more than prurient. Though she couldn't wait for the prurient parts.
    Mel heard another person on the roof and froze. She got low, rolling off the ridge and plastering herself as flat as could be. But she caught Krista’s scent and relaxed. Mel climbed back up to the ridge and waited for Krista to join her.
    "I felt something disturb my ward," Krista said in place of a greeting.
    "I didn't feel anything." Mel's sensitivity to magic was high for a shapeshifter, and she was used to the feel of Krista's spells.
    "That's the point of a defensive ward." Krista crouched on the edge of the eastern half of the roof, her hand gripping the ridge. She must have placed wards around the house to warn them of any unwelcome company.
    "It's a bit early for you to be awake." Krista normally didn't rise before the sun unless her house was on fire.
    "I could say the same for you."
    "I wanted to think," she said, though her thoughts were still in a jumble. Even the peace of the morning was not helping.
    "You didn't come back to the room last night." It wasn't an accusation, but Mel wasn't sure how to reply.
    "Do you care?" It came out sharper than intended.
    "Not really." But Krista didn't leave. It was as if she couldn't decide between staying and going, so she remained perched, not quite sitting on the roof.
    "I was thinking about Cincinnati," Mel admitted.
    Krista waved her free hand in front of her, "I don't want to hear about it."
    Now that Mel had said it, she wanted it off her chest. "Just one last time, and then I'll never talk about it again." And she meant it.
    Krista blew out a breath, "Whatever." But instead of