After one last stretch and a few more deep breaths, he turned back into the room to wake Stacy. He shook her, and the covers fell back to expose a bare shoulder, reminding him of what Nash had done last night. What an idiot. He’d bitten Laila, and just one more would make her his mate. But that little sexy she-wolf had jumped the gun. She hadn’t trusted Alphons to get the job done, to move Nash out of the way of his goal. Sure, he had been humiliated to lose the fight to that ass, but he was not giving up by any means. Laila should know him well enough by now to know he always had a backup plan. And that plan involved the sweet human in front of him.
“Come on, Stacy. Wake up,” he snapped, shaking her again.
Her lids rose, and her deep brown eyes focused on him. She was beautiful. He had to give her that. And her body! He grew hard just remembering how she looked under the covers.
Stacy blinked at him and then looked down at the bed. He saw the realization come into her eyes that she was naked. “What the hell?” she screamed, and sat up. A hand raked through her tangled hair. “Did I...Did we...?”
He grinned. “Of course, baby, and it was so good.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. It took everything in him not to burst out laughing at her horror, which he expected was more from her not remembering what had happened than anything else. After all he was a shifter. He knew he looked good, especially to the imperfect human. Damn, he was arrogant, and he loved it.
They didn’t fuck, of course, but she didn’t need to know that. He had taken her clothes off only so she would be more accepting of him when he wasn’t using his control over her. He much preferred a female shifter because he liked sex as hard and wild as it could be. The ability to heal was important, and Stacy wouldn’t do him any good if she was torn apart, unable to go after Nash.
That was his real use for her. He had done his homework before he showed up uninvited at Brant’s party. He’d known about the third unattached human woman and guessed that because of the successful mating of Brant and Lucas, she could be used to tempt Nash into breaking his pack’s rules. Joy had surged through him when one of the guys told him all about how Nash and Stacy had been practically fucking in the middle of the floor. The knowledge had given him an added certainty that his plan would work.
Soon enough Nash would make Stacy his mate, and the elders of his pack would toss him out on his ass. That would leave the field wide open for Alphons. He couldn’t wait. Now that he had things in motion, nothing could go wrong. He didn’t spend the last few decades learning how to bend people to his will for nothing. This was going to pay and pay big. Only then would he consider making Laila his on a permanent basis.
“Now, we really should get back. We’re heading home today. I can ride with you if you want.”
“Hell no!” She slung the sheet around her body and rose. “I mean, no thank you. I need the peace to think about some things, get my head right. I’m going to tell you the truth, Alphons, I don’t remember a thing about what happened between us, and seriously, if what you said is true, I regret it.”
He touched his chest in feigned offense. “You wound my pride.”
She rolled her eyes. “Get real. You don’t give a crap. You got yours, and that’s all that matters.” He watched her swaying ass while she walked over to the bathroom door, and then she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry. I’m not a morning person, and it ticks me off that I can’t remember. I guess...we can talk in a couple days, okay?”
Just as he thought. She was more open to him thinking they had already been intimate. It was scary sometimes how well he could read people. He nodded. “Sure, baby. Whatever you want.”
* * * *
“What is she thinking?” Nash murmured while he watched Stacy unfold her curvy figure from behind the wheel of her car, and that bastard Alphons sliding out of the passenger side. He’d known they were out all night. Zandrea had whined to Brant, and Brant had come to him, as if Stacy was his responsibility.
Lucas was unfazed. “She’s thinking she’s a single woman with the right to sleep with whomever she chooses. What’s it to you? You’ve got more important issues to deal with. Have you forgotten about Laila?”
He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the windowsill. The noise caught Stacy’s attention, and she glanced over toward the window where he was looking out. His first instinct was to duck out of sight so she wouldn’t think he had been watching for her return, which he was. Yet, he resisted hiding. Maybe she would realize that she couldn’t make foolish decisions that made her friends worry. Not him, but Zandrea. He tried to see the humor in this situation, enough to make him smile, but failed. “As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing to discuss regarding Laila.” He closed his eyes a moment, and finally calmed enough to plant a smile on his face. Then he turned around and joined Lucas for a cup of coffee, taking a seat across from his old boss. “I briefly considered taking Laila as my mate, but after what she pulled, I don’t think she’d be the right woman.”
“You think?” Lucas frowned before taking a sip from his cup. “She’s manipulative, and every time she enters a room full of men, she amps up the pheromones. No one likes to fight off that level of sexual pull every second of the day.”
Nash managed a laugh. “That’s funny, because you act like you’re not fighting the pull at all with Nita...all day.”
“That’s different.”
Nash shrugged.
“Anyway,” Lucas continued. “Laila knows the rules. A wolf just coming out of a fight is still too pumped up on adrenaline to think straight. He should not be touched, because for a brief window, he’d even attack his own mate should he deem her a threat. Laila should not have gone anywhere near you until you calmed down.”
“Like she didn’t know that?” Nash thought about what Laila had done. All it would take was once more. The humiliating thing was he had already been boasting that he was not like Brant and Lucas. He would never be out of his head enough to bite a woman. He’d never thought it would happen after a fight. All of them had more sense than that. “But then it wasn’t lack of sense that drove her. She tricked me.”
Lucas grunted. “Yup, and if you’re not on your toes, my friend, she’s going to do it a second time, and you’ll find yourself shackled to her for the rest of your long life. She’s sexy as anything, but...”
“But I don’t want my right taken away from me. My choice.”
Nash picked up on the sound of a door opening and Stacy’s voice echoing through the house. He didn’t excuse himself from Lucas before he stood up and rushed from the room. Rounding a turn in the hall, he came upon them together, Alphons’ hand on Stacy’s chin while his face was less than an inch from her soft lips. Nash clenched his fists but forced his expression to remain impassive. He hesitated to walk past and wound up freezing in place, unable to take his eyes off them.
Alphons whispered something to her, and Nash, not wanting to pick up on lust filled words or reminders of what they had enjoyed the night before, made sure he didn’t tune in. Stacy nodded at whatever he said and leaned in to kiss his lips. Nash couldn’t watch anymore. He turned away and decided at that moment to pack and go home even though Brant had asked him to stay and leave later. He had wanted to discuss one of his pups with Nash and Lucas. Nash was sure Lucas could handle it and give Brant the advice he required. Nash’s pack needed him back where he belonged.
While he stuffed clothes in a haphazard way into his suitcase, grumbling under his breath, a knock sounded at his door. He sniffed. She was there. Her sweet voice calling out to him confirmed it. Annoyance at his body’s reaction to her made him stomp across the room and yank the door open.
She jumped. “Hey, Nash.”
He cocked an eyebrow up at her. “Hey.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her weight into one hip. He let his stare follow those curves until he realized she hadn’t said anything more.
“Was there something you needed?”
“Yes.” She he
sitated.
He reached out for her hand and tugged her inside the room. At least he could take the time to warn her off of Alphons. He didn’t know the guy very well, but coming out of nowhere to challenge him when he didn’t even know the pack he wanted to be in charge of did not sit well with Nash. A good leader developed a deep bond and a knowledge of his people before he felt he was ready to guide them. Alphons seemed to care about no one but himself.
Stacy’s shoulder brushed his chest when she walked by, and he actually lifted a hand to touch her before he caught himself. Clearing his throat, he shut the door. “So?”
“Something’s wrong with my car,” she rushed out. “I was wondering if you could give me a lift back to town when you go, and I’m going to call triple A to send a tow truck for it. They’ll haul it back home to get my mechanic to look at it.”
Nash narrowed his eyes at her. He’d never heard anything that sounded more like a lie, and yet, Stacy didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who would be sneaky about trapping a man. She was direct. If she wanted something, she would let it be known. “Didn’t look like anything was wrong with it when you drove up.”
“I know, right? I’m not sure what is going on. Whatever, I need a ride. I know Brant or Lucas would give me a ride, but they live out here. I don’t want to make them take me all the way home and then have to drive back. You and I live in the same city. So what’s the big deal, Nash? Will you do it? Please?”
Suspicion crawled over his skin. After all she’d only just stepped in the house, and Alphons had been whispering to her. Could he be up to something? Could he have put her up to getting him to take her home? For what purpose? Nash would have thought a man like he seemed to be would have his head swelling to have two beautiful women share his bed. Which one of them wouldn’t get off on that? Nash’d had multiple lovers in the past, and they had all known about it.
He scratched the back of his head thinking it over. A reason to tell her no didn’t come to mind, and really home wasn’t all that far, not the way he liked to drive. Opening it up on the highway was a rush. Also, if he kept the conversation to a monotone, he just might avoid saying something he would regret like “Let’s pull over and do what’s on both our minds.”
Before he could say another word, she had her body pressed to him and her hands running down his sides to his legs. He tensed when she reached around to grab his ass. Fuck, there goes my resolve.
“When you asked for a ride, Stacy, I thought you meant in my car.”
She smirked up at him and tilted her head to the side, her eyelids low and her eyes full of sensuality. “You know you want it.”
“Wanting it and accepting the offer are two different things.” He removed her hands from his body and stepped back. “I’ll take you home, but I am not getting trapped into anything. Not a second time.”
Her hands went to her own hips. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Nash moved past her, grabbed his suitcase from the bed and headed for the door. “It means the only riding we’ll be doing is in my Aston Martin.”
Chapter Eight
Stacy tapped her fingers on the armrest in Nash’s car until she felt like she was going to lose her mind. She didn’t even know how she had gotten into this mess. One minute she was set on driving home alone so she could think through her actions this weekend, and the next she was convinced something was wrong with her car, and she needed Nash to take her home. To make things worse, the jerk acted like she had a virus he didn’t want to catch. Even when her fingers had accidentally brushed his on the armrest, he’d flinched in disgust. Yet, that damn pleasant look had never left his stupid face.
“What’s your problem?” she finally demanded after a long silence.
He spared her a glance before focusing on the road again. “Excuse me?”
“You heard what I said.” Stacy leaned out and located the volume on the frickin’ elevator music he had playing on the radio and turned it down. “You always have this sunny day look on your face, even when I know you’re pissed off.”
“Oh you can read minds now?” His eyebrows went up.
“Cut the bull, Nash. You’re pissed way off, and you know it.” She so wanted to point her fingers in his face, but she didn’t dare. “I ask you for a ride, and you act like I’m trying to attack you. Last time I checked, I’ve never raped a man, so you can knock off the fear.”
He laughed, and she thought it was at last genuine. “Trust me. I am not afraid of you.”
“Oh yeah, then why are you scared to share more than two words of conversation with me? I’m not Nita. I didn’t bother going to college, but I don’t consider myself a total idiot either. You high saditty guys think you’re better than us common folk. Is that it? You hate it that you’re attracted to me?”
“Is that the card you’re playing?” he demanded. “That I think I’m better than you? So I can’t just not want you. I have to think I’m better not to want you? Whose nose is high in the air? It’s not mine.”
For some whacked out reason, Stacy felt stimulated. They were arguing, but she was enjoying herself. Usually when she told guys off, or anybody for that matter, she always won the argument and shut them down. Something told her Nash wasn’t about to back down. Maybe because he thought that would mean admitting she was right about him. “Oh your nose is definitely out of joint, boyfriend, because I’ve got your number. Yeah, you like to pretend you’re all happy go lucky, but for real, something is eating you up inside. You’re just as messed up as the rest of us.”
His knuckles went stark white on the steering wheel, and his palms made a squeaking noise, he held on so tight. She was riling him up. That was for sure. But she wasn’t backing off either, even if she didn’t give it all she had, not knowing how a man like him would respond to her pushing his buttons.
“What, no comeback?” she teased with a half smile.
Nash responded with his own grin, but didn’t bait her. Stacy sighed and sat back in her chair. “So you think you’ll win the argument by not answering. Is that it?”
“You like to argue.”
“So what of it?”
“I like peace,” he told her.
“In other words, we’re too opposite and can’t be together.”
He shifted gears, his preference for a stick denying that they were too different. “Was that on the table? Our being together.”
“Bite me, Nash.”
For just an instant the look on his face told her he wanted to, and she gasped, remembering that he already had bitten a woman, and it damn sure wasn’t her. Not that she wanted to be his mate. She didn’t want any mate, not to be tied to a man.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re already taken anyway.”
She couldn’t have ruined their playful banter faster if she’d thrown a bucket of cold water on his head. His expression grew dark, and he tightened his hands on the steering wheel. For the next few minutes he didn’t say a word or look her way. Stacy wanted to dig at him again to get him to play with her, but she didn’t dare. Apparently, he wasn’t happy about what had happened.
“So if you didn’t want to make her your mate, why did you bite her? Z told me about the whole two bite thing,” she admitted.
“Zandrea should keep her mouth shut about my people’s business.”
She crossed her arms. “Maybe you should be more careful where you put your mouth.” She had so not meant that to sound like it did. The words reminded her of Nash’s mouth between her legs, licking her until she wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor. She chewed her lip, pressed her legs together, and stared out the window. With any luck, he wouldn’t pick up on how turned on she was right about now. His loud sniff told her otherwise, but he didn’t address the issue.
“You were out all night with Alphons, and now you’re here with me.” He glanced at her and then focused on the road again. Irritation that traffic had slowed to a crawl was etched on his face. “What game are you playing, Stacy?”
&n
bsp; “Everybody said you never let anything get to you. When Brant and Lucas were panicked over bonding with Zandrea and Nita, you were the one to keep them in check. But I’m not seeing it. Ever since I met you, you’ve been grumpy. Come on, loosen up and have a little fun, Nash. It won’t kill you.”
She reached across the space between them and laid a hand on his chest. He jumped so much, one would have thought she had scorched his skin, but feeling bold and determined to get him out of whatever dark place he was in, Stacy didn’t draw back. She ran her palm down over his rigid form until her fingers curled around the swollen piece in his pants. A small moan passed her lips.
Nash kept her from stroking him. “Tell me.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Tell you what?”
“Tell me why you would jump out of his bed this morning and try to get into mine now. I don’t know you very well, but I think you’re not the type of woman who sleeps around that much.”
She drew away. “You’re right. You don’t know me.” She didn’t want to tell him a thing, but for some reason she did open up. “My father abused my mother for years, as far back as I can remember. When I was ten, I pleaded with her to leave him, for us to just go somewhere and forget him. At least then there would be no more late night arguing at the top of their lungs, no more broken dishes or whatever he got his hands on, and especially no more crying. Me and my mother.”
When she paused to take in a few calming breaths, he reached out to stroke her cheek. She turned her face into his palm and closed her eyes, but only a moment.
“You know what she said about why she wouldn’t leave him?” He shook his head, and she went on. “Because she loved him. She loved him more than her own life, more than my life. Can you imagine a mother saying that shit to her ten year old child? I vowed right then that I wasn’t going to let a dumb ass man into my heart.”
She thought he would try to convince her that the right man was out there for her like everyone else had said who knew her past, but he didn’t. He nodded in understanding and uttered, “Makes sense.”
City Wolf 3 Page 4
