Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden)

Chapter 1

Brooklyn

I'd just about given up hope on ever feeling my heat.

By the time most she-wolves were my age, they'd already settled down and had at least one pup. Instead, I felt like I was dead inside until I met Hudson a few months ago.

He ignites a spark in me, something I think could be more.

My love life is looking up, and I think I'm finally ready to take the next step.

Not just because things were...awakened...today.

But because Hudson is perfect. He's sexy, thoughtful, attentive.... We can talk for hours about the books we love. And when I said I didn't want to go too far too fast, he was okay with that. He's never pushed for more than kissing. When I told him I wasn't ready to have sex yet, he was okay and didn't try to make me feel guilty.

It made me like him even more.

Today...today I'm ready.

And I'm going to tell him.

I take a sip of my cappuccino as I look at him. Goddess, he's handsome.

Tall and muscular but not too bulky, and I love how his curly chestnut hair falls into his green eyes.

Hudson catches me staring at him as he reads, looking up and flashing me that sexy, playful grin of his.

He sticks a receipt between the pages to mark his place, sets the book beside him on the couch, and then shifts his body to turn toward me.

"Whatcha thinkin', lovely?"

My cheeks flush. "Do you really want to know?"

"Always," Hudson replies, placing a warm hand on my leg right above my knee.

"I think I'm ready."

All of the air leaves my lungs as I finally say the words.

Hudson's eyes widen, and his fingers tighten on my leg.

Before he can answer, movement over his shoulder catches my eye.

One of the biggest dudes I've ever seen is standing at the end of a row of books, staring at us. Intently.

He looks...scary. There's something about him that dings my radar, even though I'm used to seeing criminals in the prison.

He's well over six feet tall, and his professional suit does nothing to disguise how bulky he is. My eyes are drawn to the cruel scar that runs diagonally over his face, almost splitting his nose in two.

I sniff the air.

Definitely a wolf shifter, too. So how does he have a scar like that?

I can't fathom what would have happened to permanently mark him like that. A shudder runs through me at the thought.

"Hudson... There's...a guy over there. And he's staring right at us," I say quietly.

Hudson turns to look directly at the brawny guy, and I want to sink into the floor when the guy starts walking toward us.

"Don't worry about him," Hudson answers, frustration in his voice.

"Hudson, he's looking right at—"

"He's with me That's Preston. He's...my bodyguard." Hudson shoots a glare at the huge guy, his brow furrowing. The guys stops walking toward us. "He usually does

ul

a better job of keeping out of sight."

Wait, what? He needs a bodyguard?

BUMS

My eyes go to the fancy watch he's wearing today. I'd always assumed it was a knock-off, but now I'm not

so sure...

The questions are stacking up, and my wolf is on edge. What else is Hudson hiding? And why has none of this ever come up before on our dates?

More importantly, how did I miss all of this? I'm a trained professional. Reading people and evaluating them is literally my job right now. If I can't even read my own boyfriend, how will ever succeed in my chosen profession.

My stomach twists.

"Just ignore him. My dad gets overprotective." Hudson rolls his eyes. "Honestly, he's so stressed out about safety that he could use a shrink like you to give him some counseling."

He laughs, then winks at me playfully. I can tell the conversation is over and I'm not going to get anything else out of him.

"Anytime," I mutter, nervously playing with my long red hair, worrying about the mismatch between

Hudson's apparent wealth and my poor grad student status. I've never met anyone who has a bodyguard. "Can I get you anything else?"

Hudson and I look up at the barista smiling down at us, a handsome blond-haired guy with an apron tied around his waist.

The guy's timing couldn't be worse.

"No thanks, Chase," I say, giving him a big grin at the same time Hudson smiles and says, "Can we both get refills?"

"Oh, actually..." I look up at the clock and push my hair back behind my ears. If I don't leave now, I'm going to be late for my job doing psych evaluations at the state prison.

"She'll take hers to go then," Hudson says, rising from our sofa. He follows Chase back to the coffee counter to grab our drinks.

I start to pack up my bag so I can grab the next train, when I notice Hudson's phone vibrating on the table. When the number disappears, his home screen shows a family photo. The tall man in the back is certainly his dad, the other maybe an older brother?

As I'm staring at the picture, the phone rings again-the same number. Must be important.

I grab the phone and sling my bag over my shoulder, heading towards the coffee counter.

But there's no one here. I look around, confused.

I definitely just saw Chase and Hudson head this way...

There's a noise from the back room, a strange and muffled thump and a moan. I take two steps forward and peek around the door.

Maybe they both-

Oh my god. Not two feet from me, my boyfriend presses Chase up against the wall of the storage room.