Alpha's Territory Read online

  Alpha’s Territory

  Alexis Davie

  Alpha’s Territory

  Text Copyright © 2019 by Alexis Davie

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First printing, 2019

  Publisher

  Secret Woods Books

  [email protected]

  www.SecretWoodsBooks.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Other Books You Will Love

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  1

  Lila looked around the bar in satisfaction. She couldn’t help but smile. At twenty-six, she had finally found the courage to start living the life she had always dreamed of. She had left the rat race of the corporate world behind and moved from LA to a small town, Hulett, in Wyoming, and bought her own bar. Being an investment banker for a couple of years had its perks—one of them being the money she needed as a safety net in case the bar thing didn’t work out—but she was glad to have left it all behind.

  She had been in Hulett for around nine months now, living in a two-bedroom apartment above the bar. She had made some friends in the town, and although she often sensed a weird atmosphere here, she really liked the community. She put the weirdness down to her being an outsider in such a small locality. At first, the townspeople had been a little standoffish, but she had expected that. In a town with fewer than four hundred people, someone new stood out and the townspeople were set in their ways. She felt like, for the most part, she had been accepted now, though, and because of this, business was booming. Or more likely it was because the only other bar in the town had closed down when the owners retired and left the town to travel to Europe and Asia.

  Lila kept a watchful eye on the group of guys who had taken over almost the entire left-hand side of the bar. They were regulars, and they had never caused any trouble in the bar, but there was something about them that always made Lila feel like trouble wasn’t far away. She could always feel a certain tension in the air when they were in. She wasn’t overly worried about them, though—she had held her own in the investment banking world, and compared to that, a group of rowdy drinkers was nothing.

  Two of the group, Brady and Jake, made their way up to the bar. Lila smiled at them, already dreading the interaction she knew was coming from Brady. Brady had a thing for her, and he seemed to be the type of guy who wasn’t funny or charming, yet believed himself to be both.

  “Two beers, please,” Jake said.

  Lila turned to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of Bud, the beer the group were all drinking.

  “You’re looking hot tonight,” Brady leered.

  “Hey, Sam,” Lila called to her bartender, who was serving another customer. He turned around and Lila grinned. “Brady thinks you’re looking hot tonight.”

  “I meant you,” Brady said through gritted teeth as Jake laughed.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I assumed you meant Sam,” Lila said with a fake innocent smile.

  “You know, for someone so hot, you’re not so much with the brains, are you?” Brady said.

  “Ah, what can I say? I’m just trying to fit in,” Lila grinned.

  Jake laughed again and Brady shot him a look. Lila put the drinks down and Jake paid her, took the beers, and walked away. Brady remained at the bar, much to Lila’s annoyance.

  “Did you want something else?” she asked.

  “How about your number?” he said.

  “You just said I was stupid. Why would you want my number?” Lila said with disdain.

  “Oh, honey, it’s not your brains I’m interested in,” he smirked. “So, how about it?”

  “Okay,” Lila smiled. “It’s one eight hundred no fucking chance.”

  Brady glared at her for a moment and then he stalked back to his table. He sat back down and was soon laughing with the guys again, but Lila could feel his gaze on her.

  “You know, you probably shouldn’t wind him up,” Sam said from beside her.

  “Oh, but it’s so easy and so much fun,” Lila grinned.

  Sam smiled and shook his head while Lila served another customer. She glanced over at Brady. He wasn’t bad-looking, she had to admit. He was tall and muscular, and he had lovely eyes and a nice smile. But as soon as he opened his mouth, any idea of him being a nice guy vanished. He was loud and vulgar, and to Lila, it seemed like he was only interested in one thing from a woman.

  It wasn’t long before Clay, another member of the group, wandered over to the bar. Clay was blond and a little on the short side. He smiled at Lila.

  “I hear Brady has been up to his usual tricks,” Clay said. “Do you want me to have a word with him?”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I can handle the likes of Brady,” Lila said.

  She secretly thought Brady would half kill Clay in a fight, but that wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want him to get involved. Clay made no secret of the fact that he, too, rather liked Lila and she had no intention of giving him the impression she needed his help. Not with this and not with anything.

  “You deserve better than him,” Clay said.

  “I’ll let you in on a secret,” Lila said, leaning closer to Clay. He leaned in as well, his face glowing with anticipation. “Every girl deserves better than him.”

  The disappointment on Clay’s face was clear to see, but he smiled anyway.

  “I guess he’s a little full of himself,” he said. “You should be with a guy who knows how to treat a woman properly. You know, if you give me your number, I could show you that’s me. I would take you to a nice restaurant and then…”

  “Let me stop you right there,” Lila interrupted him. “I’ve told you before, Clay, I’m not looking for anything like that. I’m happy on my own right now.”

  “Ah, you’re still playing hard to get?” he winked.

  Lila shook her head, but it was too late to protest. Clay had walked away from the bar. Lila sighed and turned to Sam.

  “What is it with guys and never just accepting no for an answer?” she said.

  “I wouldn’t know, Lila. I’ve never gotten a no,” Sam grinned.

  Lila laughed and shook her head.

  “Seriously,” Sam said. “Those guys are assholes. Not every guy is like that, you know.”

  “I know. I just… I get the impression there’s something weird about those two. About the whole group, actually, but the rest of them are always polite and not pervy so I don’t notice it as much with them. Do you ever notice it or am I just being paranoid?” Lila said.

  “Oh, I notice it alright. I grew up here and honestly, there’s something kind of weird about the whole town. I didn’t really pick up on it until I went to college and saw how the atmosphere there was totally different. I noticed it when I came back. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, but the town just feels, I don’t know—kind of… off somehow.”

  “Yes!” Lila exclaimed. “I thought it was just me because I was new to town and people
were wary around me.”

  “It’s definitely not just you. But I wouldn’t go around talking about this to just anyone. Most people in the town won’t admit that they feel it.”

  “What do you think it is?” Lila asked.

  “Maybe the town is built on an ancient Indian burial ground,” Sam laughed.

  Lila nudged him with her elbow.

  “Seriously,” she said.

  “Seriously, I have no idea, and to be honest, I like not knowing. I have a feeling that people who learn the town’s secrets might end up having accidents.”

  Lila felt a shiver go through her, even though she was sure Sam was just messing with her. She was glad when a customer came to the bar, forcing their conversation to end. She finished serving the customer and wiped her hands on a towel.

  “I’m going to go out there and grab some empties,” she told Sam. “Can you make a start on filling up the fridges?”

  “Sure,” Sam said.

  Lila moved out from behind the bar and began making her way around the tables, collecting empty glasses and bottles. Someone had put Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” on the jukebox and Lila sang along quietly as she moved.

  She made her way over to the tables that had been taken over by Brady and his crowd. As she leaned across the table to grab some of their empty bottles, she felt a hand rub over her ass and down her thigh. She straightened up and turned around, already knowing who she would see when she turned around.

  “Nice,” Brady smirked when she turned around to look at him.

  “How about we make a deal?” Lila said, biting back the anger and keeping her tone light. She really wanted to punch him in his smug mouth, but she didn’t want to cause a scene in her own bar.

  “I like the sound of that,” Brady leered.

  “Good. Keep your fucking hands to yourself and I won’t ban you from the bar,” Lila said.

  “Oh, you’re touchy,” Brady laughed.

  “Yeah, it’s funny how being groped has that effect on me,” Lila said.

  Brady’s hand came out toward her and this time, she batted it away. Brady grinned at her.

  “Feisty. I like that,” he said. “I bet you’re a real animal in bed.”

  “That’s something you’ll never find out,” Lila retorted.

  Brady frowned, some of the humor gone from his expression.

  “You fucking love it,” he said.

  “Enough,” Clay said from opposite Brady. “Have a bit of self-control, for fuck’s sake.”

  “You’re just jealous because you know she doesn’t want you,” Brady shot back.

  “I bet she’d sooner date me than you,” Clay shot back.

  Lila quickly gathered up the empties, leaving the two of them to argue amongst themselves. Lila would never date either of them, but if she was forced to choose, Clay was probably right. At least he kept his hands to himself.

  Lila made her way back behind the bar and started loading the glass washer. The door opened as she was halfway through it. Instantly, the atmosphere in the bar became lighter. Lila couldn’t explain it, but the crowd she was wary of always seemed to calm down whenever Jasper came into the bar, which wasn’t often enough for her liking. It was bizarre, because Jasper never sat in their company, yet he seemed to have an effect on them just by being present.

  She moved away from the glass washer and watched as Jasper greeted a few guys sitting by the door. She could feel her stomach fluttering as she looked at him. He was tall and muscular, tanned and healthy-looking. He had dark brown hair that was cut so short it was almost a buzz cut. Most guys couldn’t pull off a haircut like that without looking like a thug, but Jasper could. It pulled the eye to his face, and his face was a sight to behold. He had dark brown eyes, so deep Lila could easily get lost in them, and he had a perfectly square jaw, so sharp Lila wanted to run her fingers along it.

  Jasper was a guy Lila could drop her no-dating thing for, but a guy like him would never be interested in a girl like her. She had seen him in the bar with women a few times—he went for the supermodel type. Stick-thin, big breasts, and stunningly hot. Lila was happy with her body, but she knew she couldn’t compare to Jasper’s women.

  She was a bit of a gym bunny, and while she was thin, she was toned rather than skinny. She had hips, curves, and a six-pack most men would kill for.

  It wasn’t just her physical appearance that told Lila she and Jasper would never happen. They were such opposites. Where she was sarcastic and came across as a little standoffish, he was popular, drawing people to him like a magnet, always laughing, always the center of attention. If this were high school, Jasper would be a jock, the captain of the football team, and she would be the loner geek who watched him dating the head cheerleader from a distance while he didn’t so much as know her name.

  She swallowed her thoughts as Jasper approached the bar.

  “Scotch on the rocks, please, Lila,” Jasper said, flashing her a perfect Hollywood smile.

  She smiled back and turned to grab his drink. At least he does actually know my name, she thought to herself as she put ice cubes into a glass.

  “How’s the restaurant going?” Lila asked Jasper over her shoulder as she added Scotch to the ice cubes.

  “Can’t complain,” Jasper said. “Why? Are you thinking of doing bar meals? I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t think you can compare to my chef.”

  He was laughing as he said it, and Lila didn’t take offense. She knew he was messing with her, and besides, she’d been to his restaurant a few times, and she knew he was right. She put his drink down on the bar and nodded to a bowl of nuts.

  “That’s as close to serving food as I ever want to come,” she said.

  She felt her stomach sink as she saw Brady coming toward the bar. She knew she could shut him up with a few sarcastic comments, just like always, but she didn’t like the idea of him humiliating her in front of Jasper. She was shocked when he politely asked Sam for a round of tequila shots. She had never known Brady to be so polite, and more to the point, she had never known him to not wait for her to serve him.

  She took Jasper’s money and rang the drink into the till. She didn’t know if Brady had finally taken the hint after she had threatened to bar him from the place, or whether it truly was Jasper’s strange influence over the group. Whatever it was, she was glad to have a reprieve from Brady’s incessant comments.

  2

  Lila was catching up on some paperwork in the bar. It was quiet, like it almost always was on a weekday afternoon. One couple sat sharing a bottle of red wine and two old men sat at a small table close to the bar, drinking pints of beer, and that was it. Lila liked working when the bar was busy and she was kept going, but she was also glad of the quiet so she could get her accounts up to date.

  Her heart sank when the door opened and she saw Brady coming in. She almost wished she had barred him the other night when he had touched her ass, but she forced herself to smile as he approached the bar.

  “What can I get you?” she asked.

  “How about your number?” Brady said.

  “Sorry, you couldn’t afford it,” Lila smiled.

  Brady gave a half-laugh, but he didn’t seem to be in the least bit put off by it. In fact, he seemed to take her refusal as a challenge.

  “Try me,” he said.

  “The only thing for sale around here is the drinks,” Lila said.

  “Well, I guess I’ll have a vodka and Coke, then,” Brady said.

  Lila turned to start pouring his drink.

  “For now,” he added.

  She pretended she hadn’t heard him and finished pouring the drink. She set it down on the bar in front of him and took his offered bill. He held onto it, forcing her to tug it slightly. She rolled her eyes as he laughed. Considering he’s trying to get my number, he isn’t doing much to make me like him, Lila thought to herself as she rang the drink through the till.

  She turned back to Brady and held his change out. He to
ok it, making a show of rubbing his hand across hers. It took everything she had not to pull her hand away as revulsion spread through her. She knew that any kind of reaction would only encourage Brady, though. She turned away from him when he finally took his change and started back on her paperwork, hoping he would get the hint. He didn’t. He sat down on one of the bar stools and Lila cursed herself for ever putting them in.

  “It’s quiet, isn’t it?” Brady commented.

  “Yeah,” Lila shrugged. “It usually is through the daytime.”

  “You should show more cleavage,” Brady grinned.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure that would attract the right crowd,” Lila said, giving Brady a pointed look.

  He picked his drink up, falling silent, and Lila began her paperwork again. She couldn’t concentrate on it because she could feel Brady’s eyes on her the whole time, and it made her uncomfortable to say the least.

  She had to wonder if this tactic ever worked for Brady. Did he just make his potential love interests so horribly uncomfortable that they went out with him just to make it stop? Or maybe she would feel differently about the staring and the awkward touching if she found him attractive. She couldn’t imagine anyone finding being groped in public attractive, though.

  Lila heard a throat being cleared behind her and she forced herself not to react. If she looked around, Brady would only get the wrong impression, telling himself she actually wanted his attention.

  “Don’t worry, buddy. She’s not purposely ignoring you. She’s playing hard to get with me,” Brady said.

  Lila did turn around then, realizing her mistake. One of the old men was at the bar.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, feeling her cheeks turning red.