Read Online Rough It Up by Emma Hillman - Free Book Online Page A

her, soothing himself with the quiet caress. “Are you okay?” he murmured against the top of her head.
    She nodded and looked up. “I’m fine.”
    “What happened?”
    Alexa shook her head. “Not now. I’ll tell you everything, but not now. I need to talk to my mom.”
    “She already told us everything we needed to know.” He watched her face turn pale. “It’s not what you’re thinking, darlin’. She really did think you were a mixie. Connor had told her he was treating you because you were too weak. He said he’d implanted an IUD in you so you wouldn’t be able to procreate. He told her having children would kill you.”
    She blinked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
    “It does. It did. You’re her only daughter. She wanted to protect you.”
    “But he hurt me!”
    “And she’s going to have to live with that for the rest of her life, baby.”
    His words echoed inside her. Something shifted in her heart. Something she couldn’t quite put a word on. But when he took her hands and drew her up, she went with him.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Fifteen
     
     
    The Pride organized a trial. Connor and his two sons, who’d known for years what he’d been doing and had even encouraged him, were sentenced to a lifetime in prison. Alexa would have thought that wasn’t enough, if the Alpha hadn’t ordered his son to put implants on the three men, rendering them lionless until the end of time. It was a supremely harsh sentence, but only the fact her stepfather hadn’t implanted other women had saved him from being killed.
    Her mother was now on probation within the Pride, her future life dependent on her behavior over the next five years. And Alexa, meanwhile, was still here. She tucked her hands in her jean pockets, her gaze unseeing as she stared through the back windows. Winter was coming, snow in the air, the sky heavy and a grayish white.
    She hadn’t seen snow in so long, not since she’d moved south. She hunched her shoulders and thought about the coming evening. She was going to be officially presented to the Pride. Oh, they all knew about her now, especially after what’d happened, but this was also so they could see their future Alpha’s bride.
    A small smile graced her face. Jay was the only reason she was still here. She still hadn’t decided what she wanted to do, but he kept giving her more reasons to stay. They’d had time to get to know each other, their relationship turning into a full-fledged one. It wasn’t only sex these days, even if they spent an inordinate amount of time in bed. Or on the table. The sofa. The shower…
    Never mind that. She shook her head. No, it was more than that. It was the affection that engulfed them when they were together, the easy camaraderie she’d never shared with a man before. It was how much their animals enjoyed each other, especially when they shifted and went running in the woods bordering the town. It was…love.
    Yes, she couldn’t deny it any longer. Neither had said the word out loud yet, but anyone looking at them would have guessed. And probably already had. She’d seen Nate grin at them just the day before as they’d bickered over pizza toppings, of all things. He’d smiled at them as if he were a proud parent. She’d snarled at him, but he’d only laughed.
    He was a nice man, though, more like a brother to her than her step-ones had ever been. And thank God for that! She laughed softly at the thought, the sound cut short when arms embraced her from behind.
    “Hey,” Jay whispered in her ear.
    “Hey,” she replied, snuggling back, enjoying the way his body fit hers so perfectly. She’d never thought she’d get a mate, and certainly not one like him. He was handsome, nice and hard at the same time, Alpha to the core. She shivered when she remembered how he’d taken her the night before, his fingers finding the one spot inside her that made her scream in no time.
    “What are you thinking about?” His voice had turned husky, and