Read 7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) for Free Online Page A

one.”
    “What, another one?” Tom laughed.
    “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Jones cautioned.
    “Whatever, mate,” Tom said as he gathered up his tools, placing them in the carry case. “Here are the keys. I put a unique double safety on there. You couldn’t get in even if you had a key when this is locked from the inside. This is my type of lock,” Tom informed him proudly.
    “Excellent.” Jones patted him on the shoulder and turned him towards the door. He wanted to get the guy out of the door fast, “I’ll call you.”
    “No problem. Bye,” Tom said as he left.
    Jones locked the door behind Tom and made his way back to the sitting room.  
    “All finished,” he told Val. He was anxious to reassure her that she’d be okay, but still Jones balked at leaving her there alone. She looked so vulnerable and lost, almost swallowed up by the large armchair she sat in.
    “I need to take a shower. Will you wait? I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore,” Val asked him softly.
    “Hey, babe, I'm here, all right?” He gave her a look that made her pull in a deep breath, as though she needed to get rid of the heaviness in her heart. “You take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?”
    Val nodded and walked out of the living room. He ran a frustrated hand through his long, shoulder length hair, pushing the strands together behind his head and tying them off with a hairband he’d found in his pocket. Sometimes, he left his hair just how it was, but other times, like now when he had a lot on his mind, the long hair annoyed him, getting in his eyes and lying annoyingly on his muscular neck.
    He picked up the two discarded coffee cups and took them into the kitchen.  He found the mess disconcerting, but he didn’t want to judge. He knew that she had a full-time job, and maybe housework wasn’t as important to her as it was to some people. He put the cups in the sink and washed them out before placing them in the dish drainer. He began putting other things away, mainly to give his hands something to do while his mind wandered over Val’s current situation.
    As he put away jars and packets of food left strewn around on the kitchen counters, he heard a noise behind him. As he spun quickly, he caught sight of Val, post shower.
    Her hair was damp from the shower and hung down her back in large spirals that framed her face and made it look smaller than it was when her hair was up and away from it. Her skin glowed red under the caramel color, giving her a healthy sheen. Her eyes had brightened, and she looked more aware and alert than she’d looked before. Her fragrance captured Jones in a spell, causing him to forget everything he’d been doing.
    He took his time to scan the rest of her body appreciatively. She’d put on loose fitting jogging pants, teaming it with a tank top in the same gray, marl color. Jones noticed the inky blackness of a tattoo on her left upper arm. A vine was inked, which snaked upwards from her elbow to her shoulder, sprouting flowers, small birds and other things in its intricate embrace. The design was so complex yet stunning that he hadn’t even realized that he was staring until Val cleared her throat.
    “I wouldn’t have imagined you having a tattoo,” Jones told her.
    “Oh? And why is that?” Val asked.
    “Because… you’re just too… You’re going to want to punch me, but I have to say it,” he said, smirking, “You’re not ‘rebel’ enough to wear ink.”
    She grinned. “Well obviously I am, as you can see,” she replied, lifting her shoulder.
    “May I see?”
    “Sure.”
    “What’s in it?” he asked as he moved to her left side to get a better look at the tattoo she wore.
    “My parents, grandparents and other things that are important to me,” she told him.
    “Why?”
    “Isn’t one question enough for you?” she asked him, her face registering slight shock.
    He laughed. “You really need to ask me that?”
    “Point taken.”