He frowned and released her. She immediately stumbled into the wall. “I could feel your panic. I thought maybe something was happening to you.”
“Feel my panic?” She laughed in a hollow voice. “Of course you can feel my panic. I’m your prisoner.”
He cocked his head. “You’re not my prisoner. If you want to leave so badly, then be my guest.”
“I can go. You won’t stop me?”
“I won’t stop you.”
She eyed him warily. “I don’t believe you. Why go through all of this if you’re just going to let me go.”
“Because if you’re in danger, I want to help you.”
Without warning, all of her emotions broke. She slid to the floor and finally released everything inside of her. Fear of Paul. The pain that he had caused. Fear for her friends. Fear for her life. They all bundled up inside her until she could take no more. She wrapped her arms tight around her knees and sobbed.
Jackson crossed the hall instantly. She felt him gather her in his arms, but she didn’t have the strength to push him away. Murmuring softly, he carried her back to the room and quietly shut the door.
When he laid her down on the bed, she pushed at him, but it was futile. “Go away,” she cried. “Please, just leave me alone.”
He didn’t say a word as he pulled her shoes off. Carefully, he unzipped both jackets, and she didn’t fight him as he pulled them off her. He pulled the covers over her body and lay down next to her. They were both fully clothed, but he still made sure that the covers were a barrier.
She felt no sense of lust or desire in him. Only comfort. And as his warmth and his arms circled her, she finally cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Eleven
The sunlight streamed through the windows, and she regrettably opened her eyes. She’d had the most wonderful dream, and for some reason, she didn’t want to leave it. As the haze of sleep slowly lifted, her senses grew sharp. There was a warm body wrapped around her. And something was poking her in the ass. She wiggled her butt, and someone moaned.
The memories of what happened last night slammed into place. The sexy shifter was wrapped around her, and even through the layers of clothing and blanket, she knew an erection when she felt it. She struggled to move away, but he only gripped her tight. “Baby,” he muttered sleepily as he nuzzled her neck.
God, she was already wet. How did that even happen? His teeth nibbled on her sensitive skin, and her heart start to race. “So ready for me,” he whispered. He pushed her down and struggled to move on top of her.
Maybe it was the fact that she was still under the covers, or maybe it was when she slapped him, but his eyes immediately popped open.
“Shit,” he gasped and scrambled off her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he muttered.
She sat up and took a few deep breaths. “It’s okay,” she said after a minute. “It’s natural. You were still asleep. I was still asleep. It’s fine.”
He swept a hand through his hair, and Natalie couldn’t help but notice how sexy he was in the morning. Rough. Raw. Powerful. She stifled a moan and pulled the sheets up around her neck.
Jackson eyed her, and she could almost tell what he was thinking. He could obviously sense her arousal, and he was struggling not to point it out. “Are you feeling better?” he asked instead.
Grateful that he wasn’t going to push the issue, she nodded. “I needed the sleep.” Her stomach rumbled and she reddened. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning.
“Take a shower and change. I’m going to do the same. When you’re ready, come to the top floor. Room B. I’ll make you some breakfast.”
His eyes swept over her again leaving a heated trail before he left her. She immediately released the sheets and collapsed on the bed.
You’re acting like a hormonal teenager.
And it was true. One look at Jackson and she was ready to pounce. It was ridiculous. It was embarrassing.
But she couldn’t get the image of him out of her head. Would his chest be hairy as she ran her hands over those muscles? Did he like it when women licked his nipples?
Would he lick hers?
“Cold shower,” she said to the empty condo. “I need a very cold shower.” She practically raced to the shower and turned it on. Frowning, she stripped out of her clothes. She didn’t have anything to change into, and she desperately needed to wash what she was wearing. Exploring the expansive place, she found a washer and dryer. Sighing with relief, she threw the clothes in and hopped back in the shower. As she rigorously scrubbed her body with the washcloth and soap provided, she tried to get rid of all the traces of Jackson. Her neck was red where his scruff had rubbed against her. And wherever her hands lingers, she imagined his hands lingering.
The shower was doing nothing but turning her on even more. Disgusted with herself, she rinsed and wrapped the towel around her body.
It would be at least an hour before her clothes dried. She hadn’t considered that fact when she started the cycle.
Twenty minutes had passed before the phone started to ring. She stared at it in a panic. It was a landline. Who knew that she was here?
Tentatively, she picked it up but didn’t say anything. “Natalie? Natalie are you okay?”
“Jackson. Sorry. The phone ringing scared me. I should have realized that it was you. I mean of course it’s you. Who else would it?” she babbled. She paused. “Why are you calling me?”
“You were supposed to join me for breakfast. It’s been forty-five minutes,” he growled.
“Oh. I’m washing my clothes,” she admitted as her cheeks reddened. Why should she be embarrassed that she didn’t have any more clothes? He literally caught her stealing a jacket.
“I see.” Was that amusement in his voice? She narrowed her eyes. “Well, Stacey used to stay in that room. For all of two days. But we stocked it with some clothes. Check out the closet and see if you can find anything to wear. And if you can’t, just wear a robe. Breakfast is getting cold.”
She rolled here. There was no way that she was just wearing a robe around him. “Just order me around, why don’t you,” she muttered. Still, she went back to the bedroom and opened the closet. Sure enough, it was filled with clothes.
She rustled through the rack until she found a pair of jeans and a sweater that fit her. Feeling a bit better now that she was wearing clean clothes, she headed up to Jackson’s place.
The man from last light bumped into her in the elevator. “Natalie,” he said.
She smiled nervously. Were all the men in this pack drop dead gorgeous? “Brent, right?”
He didn’t smile back. “You’re going up?”
“Jackson is making me breakfast.” He eyed her suspiciously. “Are you going up?’ she squeaked.
“I’ll escort you there,” he said as the door closed.
“I’m not a thief,” she protested when they were alone. “I mean, I know Jackson caught me stealing, but that’s not usually how I do things. I try to uphold the law. I was just cold, and I don’t have any money.”
“You have money in your back account. More than enough to buy yourself a jacket,” he said quietly.
“You hacked into my back account?” she spluttered angrily. “How dare you? What gives you the right?”
“You stole from the pack. I’m security,” he said simply. “You’re avoiding using your card because you’re afraid of being tracked. Your ex is following you. Why?”
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. “Because he’s crazy,” she snapped. He stepped off with her, and she glared at him. She marched up to Jackson’s door and rapped on the wood.
He opened it up quickly and raised his eyebrows when he saw Brent standing there. “He doesn’t trust me,” Natalie murmured and stepped in the condo.
“Just making sure she got here safely,” Brent said easily. “It’s a full moon tonight,” he said unnecessarily. “Will she still be here?”
“No,” Natalie spat.
“Yes
,” Jackson said simultaneously.
“Awesome.” There was no inflection in his voice or expression in his face. “Micah will be here tomorrow. Perhaps we can clean this up before he arrives?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Jackson said as he closed the door. He turned around to study Natalie. “Pleasant chat in the elevator?”
“He’s investigating me,” Natalie fumed. “I seemed to have traded one overbearing bear pack for another.”
“You stole from us. We have the right to investigate you,” Jackson said mildly. “Sit down.”
“Look, I get that this is my fault. And I get that now you feel like you need to get to the bottom of things. But there really isn’t anything to investigate. I was in a bad relationship. I got scared, and I ran. I can get by on my own if you’ll just release me. Give me a week, and I’ll pay you for the jacket plus interest.”
“Sit down,” he repeated in a sterner voice.
“Are you listening to me?”
“For fuck’s sake,” Jackson roared. “Sit at the goddamn table so we can eat.”
Natalie sat. This close to the full moon, it was clear that his bear was eager to be free. She wanted to make sure it stayed caged while they were in the condo.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he composed himself. “I’m hungry.” He scooped up some eggs and bacon that were in the pan, dropped them on a plate, and gently placed in front of her. This was followed by hash browns, spinach, toast, fruit, and yogurt. Her eyes rounded.
“Big breakfast eater?” she asked softly.
He sat in front of her. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”
She could feel his eyes on her as she slowly took a few bites. She really was famished, and after a few bites, she practically moaned and scarfed down more.
“When was the last time you ate?” he asked softly.
She pushed the plate back and ignored the question. “Thank you for breakfast. I’m sure my clothes are finished by now, so I’ll just go change and be on my way. I’ll send you a check.” Natalie pushed her chair back and got up, but he was up and around the table in a blink of an eye.
She gasped as he grabbed her wrists. “You’re not leaving.”
“Really? Because last night you told me I could leave whenever I wanted.”
“It’s not safe, Natalie.” She froze as she stared at him. Her empathy intuition kicked in. He sincerely didn’t think she was safe.
He wanted her to be safe.
She relaxed, and he released her arm. “Can you please tell me what happened?”
“Why do you care?” she asked. “And I’m not trying to distract you. I really don’t understand why you care so much about a complete stranger.”
He cocked his head, and for the first time, she realized that he didn’t know why he trying to keep her safe. She licked her lips and sighed. “I was born with the empathy gene. I’m not powerful by any means, but it was enough to make me stand apart from the rest of my peers. They thought I was creepy and different. When I met Paul, he treated me like a queen. And I couldn’t really sense him. Not at first. I thought he was perfect for me.
She sank back down in her chair. “But then he started getting really controlling. He’d follow me around everywhere. He’d force me to spend the weekend on the territory. Let me tell you, the pack hated that. I was really uncomfortable, and then I started sensing things. There was this violent rage that simmered just below the surface.”
“Did he hit you?” Jackson asked.
“He screamed a lot and jerked me around. Once, he pushed me against the wall, and I thought he was going to hit me. But he never actually struck me. Still, I sensed that it wouldn’t always be the case. Then he started screaming that I had stolen something him.” She held up her hand. “And while you did actually catch me stealing, let me tell you. I didn’t take anything. You’ve searched my bag. There’s nothing valuable in there. I got scared. And I left. Paul is second-in-command of his pack. I had hoped that he would be to busy to track me, and if I reached the city by the full moon, I could lose myself in the sea of people.”
Jackson leaned back and stared at her. “An empath,” he said softly.
“Very weak,” she muttered.
“Can you sense what I’m feeling?”
She squirmed uncomfortably. “Some times.”
A slow wicked grin crossed his face. “And this morning?”
“Look, it’s just a natural reaction to a woman and a man being in the same bed together, “she said as she avoided his gaze.
“Brent looked into Paul. He’s left his pack. He’s looking for you, and no city is big enough to hide you. I want to protect you, but I won’t keep you here against your will. If you want to leave, you can leave. But I’ll probably just follow you.”
She opened her mouth to ask him why, but she knew he didn’t have the answer. And that bothered her more than it should.
“I’ll stay, she said softly. For reasons that she couldn’t fathom, she believed Jackson. She believed that he would keep her safe.
Jackson alerted Brent of the situation and gave Natalie free reign of the territory. He felt strangely bereft as she left, but he had pack business to attend. Brent had already called a meeting, and if he lingered any longer, he’d be late.
So he gave her directions to a few places where she could entertain herself, and he headed over to the meeting hall. Inside, the family members were already bickering among themselves. Before they got too wrapped up into things, Jackson pulled Brent aside.
“Find him?” he muttered.
Brent shook his head. “I spoke to the alpha. He said Paul took a leave of absence citing personal matters. He doesn’t expect him back for a few days, and he doesn’t know where he went. I put a few feelers out between here and there, but so far, I’ve got nothing. He’s keeping a low profile. Are you sure he’s heading this way?”
“He thinks Natalie stole something.”
“Did she?”
Jackson stared at Brent and frowned. “I know it sounds crazy, but I think she’s telling the truth. If she stole something, she has no idea what it is.”
Brent shrugged. “Okay. If you trust her, I trust her. But I’ve got to be honest, Jackson. Between the full moon tomorrow, this whole Natalie business, and the whole de’Massier thing, I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“Me too, friend. Should we get this over with?”
His friend grinned. “You used to love running meetings in Micah’s absence.”
“Yeah, but then the damn man fell in love, and now the whole pack is struggling to do the same. Too many feelings. Things were more simple when love had be within the same species,” Jackson grumbled.
There was something secretive about Brent’s smile, but he dismissed it and entered the room.
In Micah’s absence, he was allowed to take the seat at the head of the table. Brent took Micah’s seat, and Lynette, Micah’s mother, sat on the other side of him. The seat next to her, designated for alpha female, was empty. Bridgette used to sit there until she went crazy. Now it would be Stacey’s seat.
Jackson liked Stacey. He couldn’t wait to see what the woman would do when she got back. He held up his hand. “All right. I know we’ve all got things to do today, so let’s make this quick. It’s the full moon tonight, so we’re going to be restless. Keep a lid on those tempers. Micah returns tomorrow, and I want this wrapped up by then.” He pulled out the folder and opened it.
“I know that most of you aren’t happy with the treaty, but with a new leader comes a new agreement. De’Massier has already agreed to all the previous terms, but he wants to add a few new ones. Namely, he wants an alliance.”
“And alliance with the blood suckers?” one male yelled. “No way.”
Jackson put up his hand. “Let’s talk about this. We haven’t had an issue with the vampire clan in over a century. True, our treaty has always been an uneasy one, but even though the previous leader was lax with his own group, everyone respected ter
ritories. There were no disputes and no fights. This new agreement would simply mean that if de’Massier needed back up during a dispute with another vampire clan or even within his own clan, he can count on us. And we would be able to do the same.”
“We don’t need them,” the same guy yelled.
“Mark, if you talk out of turn again, I’ll remove your voting rights,” Jackson thundered. The room quieted, and Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Look,” he said finally. “This isn’t the fifteenth century. We have no reason to fight with them. Look at all the progressive changes that Micah has made. You guys can marry whomever you want, and most of you are thrilled. You weren’t in the beginning, but you are now. This is simply one more progressive move. Let’s face it, we haven’t been to war with anyone is a long time. But the very fact that he wants us to be involved with policing his own people is telling.”
He nodded to Lynette. She flipped open her laptop and hit a few keys. Immediately, the white screen lowered from the ceiling and a projection of the amendments was displayed for all to see. “Look it over. Let me know if you have any questions.”
The table was quiet as they glanced over the proposed agreement. While most of them were horrified when they first heard the news, Jackson knew what they were looking at was a logical and progressive move. A finger tentatively went up. “Mark,” Jackson said with a sigh.
“Will they have access to the territory?”
Jackson shook his head. “If they come looking for sanctuary, they can find it in the holding grounds out back. No one will enter the main territory without the express permission from Micah, Brent, and myself. If you need sanctuary, you will have access to part of their territory as well, but no one can enter their lands without the permission of their de’Massier and his cabinet.”
Mark nodded. “Looks fine to me,” he said grudgingly.
“Any other questions?” No one said anything. “Excellent. Drop off your votes, and let’s get this over with.” One by one, the members came by and dropped off the pieces of paper. Jackson gave the box to Lynette to tally the votes, and everyone took their seat.
The Billionaire Bear Shifters Page 7
