The Alpha House

Chapter Four

Jamie's POV

"Jamie?"

When Addison stepped out of the bedroom in the dress I'd bought her, I felt my heart actually stop beating in my chest. I couldn't help myself; my eyes scanned down her body as quickly as I could without risking her seeing me do it.

Boy, was it worth it.

The silky dress clung tight to her breasts, accentuating their fullness and then gliding down her soft curves to hug her small waist and flow over her wide hips. I let the memory of my hands digging into her waist flicker briefly through my mind, but I quickly squashed the feeling before it could take root inside of me. I still felt my pants tighten slightly, and I tried to adjust myself without her noticing.

"You ready?" I called, feigning nonchalance as I risked another glance down her body. The black heels she had on highlighted the muscles in her legs, which shone under the dim hallway light. Her golden brown skin looked like it was glowing from within, and I wondered how she'd managed to cover up the last of the sunburn.

"Yeah, but have you seen my--?"

I held up her small black purse as she turned momentarily to look back in the bedroom. Catching sight of her round, plump ass nestled in her silk dress like it was made for her, I almost dropped the purse, recovering just in time to hold it up again as she looked back at me. I really need to get a grip.

"I put your phone and chapstick in here. I wasn't sure what else you might want."

Addison smiled at me. "That's perfect."

Everything went smoothly from there, but as we exited the Jeep and entered the club, I still felt nervous about bringing Addison out so soon after we'd mated. There were still remnants of our heat all over her body, and any unmated wolf within a three miles radius would be able to smell it on her and come running. We had given the bouncers strict instructions not to let any of them in, but you could never be sure in Alpharetta. Georgia was like a breeding ground for werewolves, as I'd quickly learned.

It turned out I wasn't the only one on edge; when we reached the top of the stairs and the lion's roar signaled our arrival, Addison suddenly jumped and clutched my arm in a desperate attempt not to fall back down the staircase. I tightened my grip, but it wasn't necessary: I would've never let her fall to begin with.

"Relax," I told her quietly, angling my head so the words would only reach her. I was wary about showing any kind of affection towards her now that we were out in public. Besides Duke, the other Alphas didn't know about me and Addison yet, and I wanted to keep it that way.

"What's up Antonio," I said happily, greeting my friend before turning to introduce him to Addison. He beat me to it.

"And you must be Addison." I could tell Antonio was only pretending to size her up, having shot me a wink just moments before.

But to my surprise, Addison fixed him with a cool stare right back and said "You must be Antonio."

I almost let out a laugh at the shocked expression on Antonio's face. I don't think either of us had been expecting Addison to mimic his treatment of her, and sure enough, Antonio burst out laughing. I shot a look down at Addison, and saw her smile, too.

"Yeah, I must be Antonio, huh. Nice to meet you, Miss Addison."

"You, too."

I offered Addison my arm again and I felt pleased when she accepted it, allowing me to lead her the rest of the way to the VIP lounge. We had the great misfortune of running into Wes first, and I was sure he and Henrietta had made a decidedly strange impression on Addison. It was plainly obvious to anyone looking at them that Henrietta absolutely despised him.